Amos 3

¹ Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: ² “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. ³ “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? ⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? ⁵ Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? ⁶ Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? ⁷ “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. ⁸ The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” ⁹ Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst.” ¹⁰ “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” ¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered.” ¹² Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed. ¹³ “Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, ¹⁴ “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. ¹⁵ I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares the Lord.

We have all watched with heavy hearts this past week the fires in Maui, Hawaii. The death toll continues to climb. The extent of the devastation is truly terrifying. But did you see the story of the Maria Lanakila church in Lahaina, in western Maui? All around it is destruction where the flames swept through, but the church has apparently survived relatively unscathed.

A lot of people are calling it a miracle. A lot of other people are offended that others are calling it a miracle. And a lot of folks—and I would put myself in this group—are being pretty cautious about labeling it one way or another. After all, lots of other churches did burn, so what exactly would this being a miracle say about those churches? But, of course, it could just be a miracle!

I suppose one question that comes to my mind is this: What if God had allowed that church to burn? If God had burnedthat church, had sent fire upon it, would it have meant that He failed to work a miracle? Or might it mean something else? How about this: If God sent fire against a church might it mean that He actually loved that church and that is why He sent the fire? Now there is an interesting question!

It is interesting to see this news story out of Hawaii right now as we are working through Amos and, particularly, as we are reading Amos 3. For here, in Amos 3, and again later in the book, the Lord is essentially saying this: “Because I love you, I am going to send fire on your sanctuaries. Because I love you, I am coming after your buildings and your altars.”

Let us consider the loving, disciplining hand of God.

God disciplines His people because God loves His people.

Chapter 3 begins with God connecting His painful discipline of Israel specifically to His deep love for Israel!

¹ Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: ² “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

These are two powerful thoughts, and it might surprise us that they are linked together:

• Israel is the special object of God’s affection.
• Israel will be punished for its sin.

As modern Americans, we might think that the first statement would call for laxity on the issue of sin, the way an indulgent parent might let a guilty child off with a wink and slap on the wrist. But the scriptures say the exact opposite: God punishes us precisely because we are His people and stand in unique covenant relationship to Him!

To remove any doubt about this fact, the Lord then asks seven rhetorical questions. You will note that each question consists of two parts: the first reveals an effect and the second reveals a cause. Watch:

³ “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?

^4a-b Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?

^4c-d Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?

^5a-b Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it?

^5c-d Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing?

^6a-b Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid?

The first six questions are clearly making a foundational point intended to lead to a grand conclusion. Philip Johnston writes that “[t]hese seven rhetorical questions stress that every effect has a cause, and the seventh makes clear that the coming disaster will be caused by the Lord.”[1] Yes! So if every effect has a cause behind it what is the cause behind the effect of Israel’s calamity, Israel’s woe, Israel’s discipline? The seventh question (tellingly, the seventh), reveals the cause:

^6c-d Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?

The Lord has done it! The Lord has brought about the calamity that is coming? Why? Precisely because Israel is chosen of God, the people of God, beloved by God! God’s intense discipline of Israel is a result of God’s love for Israel, not an abandonment of that love.

The theologian G.C. Berkouwer has written:

The Church, as the congregation of the Lord, called out of darkness into his wonderful light, exists under a profound responsibility for holiness. It was written of Israel, “I have known you alone, out of all the families of the earth; therefore shall I punish you” (Amos 3:1).[2]

That’s good: “a profound responsibility for holiness.” Why? Because we are the people of God! Better still, hear the author of Hebrews from Hebrews 12:

⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Is He disciplining you? Yes? That is because He loves you.

God can use an unholy tool to discipline His people without becoming unholy Himself.

There is another principle established in our text and it is this: when God disciplines us in love, He may use an unholy tool to do so…but this does not render God unholy! Listen:

⁸ The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?” ⁹ Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst.” ¹⁰ “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord, “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

Tellingly, the Lord invites Egypt and Ashdod to come along and watch His discipline. This suggests that God will discipline His children before their pagan neighbors. That Egypt is invited is particularly shocking given their shameful actions against Israel leading up to the exodus. This invitation highlights the shame of Israel’s sin.

Let us also note that this surprising invitation is fitting since, after all, Israel has aligned itself morally and ethically and spiritually with its pagan neighbors! In other words, it is as if God is saying, “Do you want to act like Egypt with its slaving and its oppression? Ok. Egypt, come on over and here and watch what I am about to do.”

What is more, the wicked nations of the earth are not merely invited to observe. Verse 11 suggests that they will actually be employed as the instruments of God’s discipline of His people.

¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered.”

This “adversary,” presumably, is one of the wicked nations of the earth. Many commentators believe this is a reference to Assyria (and some translations translate Ashdod in verse 9 as Assyria). They will be used by God to discipline His people. Yet, their being so employed does not render God unholy. It would perhaps be most accurate to see this as God letting the evil powers of the earth off the leash a bit to do what they do, but ultimately toward the end of disciplining God’s children back to Him.

No, God is not rendered unholy if He uses an unholy tool. This too has a kind of logic to it. After all, can God be accused of wrongdoing if, after seeing His people constantly trying to dance with the devil, He lets them dance? If the people of God are constantly trying to rid themselves of the protective hand of God, is God evil if, for a moment, He says “Ok!” and removes His hand?

Christian, make no mistake: if you insist on acting like the devil, the Lord might just let the devil drive you back to Him. But His doing so does not make Him a devil! This too is love, painful and shocking though it is.

The theological point is unmistakable: God is sovereign over what happens in the world but that does not mean that God actively causes all that happen. Sometimes He causes. Sometimes He allows.

Make no mistake: God can use your wicked boss to drive you back into His arms. God can use a corrupt government to drive you back into His arms. In order to get us back, God can let loose any number of catastrophic forces that are itching to get at us. These forces will ultimately be judged for doing what their corrupt hearts want to do. And the people of God who are the objects of their wrath will be chastened and flee back to God. And God will be seen to be the sovereign King He is.

Take stock of your altars and ask whether or not they can withstand the hand of a just God.

All of this leads us to a very important question: Are those things to which you have given your heart able to withstand the disciplining hand of a sovereign God? Can they withstand the fire? Interestingly, the Lord, through Amos, highlights two of these: wealth and religion.

The first question He asks Israel, and us, is this: Can your wealth save you?

¹² Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.

We begin with a fascinating image. What is this talk of two legs and “a piece of an ear”? What on earth? This is an illustration from shepherding that Israel would have understood. If a wild animal attacked a flock and killed, say, a sheep, the shepherd was not to be held responsible if he could not have thwarted the attack. In such a case, the shepherd would extract the remains of the animal (i.e., “two legs, or a piece of an ear”) and present them as evidence that the poor animal was viciously attacked and mauled or eaten. In other words, it was a way of saying that the legs and the ears were all that remained! Then the Lord pivots to a chilling application of this image: When God pulls Israel out of the mouth of the nations He is setting loose on them, all that will be pulled from the lion’s mouth will be “the corner of a couch and part of a bed.” Why a couch and a bed? Because these were signs of luxury, of wealth, of comfort, of indulgence, of Israel’s priorities.

Church, this raises a horrific question, but one that is unavoidable given our text: if God allowed the devil to chew on you in order to discipline you what remains would be pulled from his mouth? What is really in your heart? The devil was set loose on you and all that was extracted from his teeth was a credit card and a car tire! All that was pulled from his jaws were a gnawed-upon ego and a terrible attitude. All that was pulled from his teeth were the knob of the front door of that house and some drugs. All that was pulled form the devil’s jaws were a mirror and a watch, a retirement plan and iphone. What would be pulled from the devil’s jaws if he were allowed to chew on you?

My goodness what an image! And keeping with houses and comfort, we see obscene wealth again in verse 15.

¹⁵ I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares the Lord.

Four different kinds of houses are mentioned: the winter house, the summer house, the houses of ivory, the great houses. God is turning on the uber rich who have presumably profited off of the backs of the oppressed, enslaved, trodden over poor. He is coming for their houses, their symbols of status, their strongholds, all that they have accomplished.

The question arising from all of this is quite clear: When the fire comes, will your wealth save you?

And again: Can your empty religion save you?

What of your religion, such as it is? Can it save you? Is your faith real or is it a sham? The Lord speaks again through Amos.

¹³ “Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, ¹⁴ “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.

To understand what is happening here, we need to know that when Jeroboam broke away into the northern kingdom of Israel, he wanted to set up altars so that the Jews of Israel would not go down to Jerusalem in Judah and worship there. We read of this in 1 Kings 12.

²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. ²⁷ If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ³⁰ Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.

So Bethel was one of two places where Jeroboam put golden calves for the people of Israel to worship. “Then this thing became a sin,” we are told. Bethel was the seat, then, of their corrupted worship, a false worship that looked back to the golden calf of the wilderness and that was intended to keep God’s people from going down to Jerusalem. With this in mind, hear again our verse:

¹³ “Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, ¹⁴ “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.

God announces that He is going to strike the altars of Bethel! Specifically, He says He is going to “cut off” “the horns of the altar” and they will “fall to the ground.” What are the horns of an altar? These were fairly common occurrences in ancient altars. They were oftentimes the corner pieces of an altar that protruded almost like horns on the heads of an animal. And the horns of an altar were not unimportant.

The great Old Testament translator Robert Alter writes that the horns of the altar are “symbolic of power.”[3] Philip Johnston observes that “[t]hose seeking asylum could cling to an altar’s horns, though this did not guarantee protection (Ex. 21:14; 1 Kings 1:50–53; 2:28–34).”[4] And The IVP Bible Background Commentary notes that the horns of an altar “were…associated with absolution and atonement (Lev 16:18).”[5]

This last idea—that horns are associated with atonement—is significant. The clearest example of this is found in Leviticus 16 and God’s instructions for Israel to observe the Day of Atonement. Many things happened on this day, and they culminated in the symbolic placing of all Israel’s sins on the head of a scapegoat who would then carry the sins of Israel away. However, purification of the holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar had to happen first, and so instructions were given on how to accomplish this:

¹⁸ Then he will go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on the horns on all sides of the altar. ¹⁹ He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse and set it apart from the Israelites’ impurities.

This is most telling. The blood of the slain bull and goat was put on the horns of the altar. It was to be sprinkled seven times to cleanse it. And what is the next step in the process of atonement?

²⁰ “When he has finished purifying the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. ²¹ Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites’ wrongdoings and rebellious acts—all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task. ²² The goat will carry on it all their wrongdoings into a desolate land, and he will release it there.

This powerful moment of atonement, of payment for sin, of forgiveness, of deliverance had been turned into a mockery at the blasphemous altars of Bethel. The people of Israel might cling to the horns of the altar for sanctuary and might turn to the horns of the altar for atonement, but their hearts and their actions condemned them.

In the end, an altar to God that is not backed by an actual relationship with God will only condemn us and never save us.

Such an altar is just religion. It is just a show. More than that, it is an indictment. It will not withstand the hand of God. God will rip the horns off such an altar. It will provide no protection. Your church attendance, your busyness in church, your acts of service, your singing on Sunday mornings, your getting dressed up: it can only condemn you if there is no actual relationship with God behind it.

Which raises a most powerful question: Is there an altar where we can find sanctuary? Where we can find atonement? Where we can find salvation? Is there an altar upon which we can throw ourselves for mercy?

In John 2, Jesus is questioned after He cleanses the temple. An amazing exchange then takes place.

¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

“But he was speaking about the temple of his body.”

The temple that was going to be torn down and then raised back up in three days was Jesus Himself.

The altar upon which we can throw ourselves for sanctuary and for atonement and for mercy is therefore Jesus Himself.

Jesus is our altar. Jesus is our temple. Jesus is our scapegoat.

In Jesus, religion ends and life begins. In Jesus, empty ritual gives way to dynamic power and external forms are subjugated to a life of resurrection. In Jesus, there is life! In Jesus, there is hope! In Jesus, there is mercy!

And what of the holy fire of God? It has passed over Jesus, the Son of God, upon the cross of Calvary. Jesus has borne it, for us, in our stead. Jesus took the pressing hand of the Father for us, instead of us. The price, church, has been paid! The blood of the Lamb has paid it.

Your altars and your wealth and your cunning and your armies…none of these will save you.

But Jesus will. But Jesus will today, if you will turn to Him!

 

[1] Johnston, Philip S. “Amos.” Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Gen. ed. John H. Walton. Vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), p.67.

[2] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1970/november-20/current-religious-thought-sins-of-church.html

[3] Alter, Robert. The Hebrew Bible. Vol. 2 (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2019), p.1262n14.

[4] Johnston. “Amos,” 69.

[5] Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), p.768.