Amos 5:6-7, 10-15 * October 29, 2006 * Pentecost 21 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Purely from the standpoint of human interest, one of the more fascinating aspects of our God is the seemingly unlikely people He has called and chosen to do His bidding.

Think of Jesus’ disciples, for example. Most were men unschooled in higher education. About half were fishermen. One was a tax collector, and the others came from ordinary walks of life. Yet we know how God used them mightily to advance His Church.

Our text for today is from another one of God’s unlikely messengers, the Old Testament prophet Amos. By vocation he was a shepherd and, in his own words, “one who took care of sycamore-fig trees” in the small Jewish town of Tekoa. He never went to seminary, nor did he come from a line of religious workers. He farmed…

…And probably would have continued in this walk of life except for one thing – the Lord chose him to be His man of the hour in the land of Israel approximately 800 years before the birth of Christ. Unfortunately, the hour at that time in Israel’s history was a dark one, characterized by spiritual indifference, hypocrisy, and rank unbelief.

Like all the rest of those Old Testament prophets, Amos’ primary God-give task was to confront the people with their sin. Hopefully this would lead to repentance and a restored relationship with God.

It has been said that the task of the preacher in any age is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Amos spent most of his time making Israel uncomfortable. He was engaged in an uphill battle that called for strong words and preaching. Our text is a sampling of this. What we have before us and what we wish to consider are

STRONG WORDS FROM THE FIG PICKER

Words, we might add, that cut across time. Although originally spoken to Israel almost 3000 years they also address problems and sins and tendencies which most certainly exist today – and not only among “other people,” but among us. As we examine them, here is the main lesson we must take home today:

1. What Israel forgot 2. We must not

What was life like in Israel some 800 years before the birth of Christ? At this particular time the Israelites were enjoying a period of peace and prosperity. Politically things were good, but spiritually Israel was a wreck. They had lapsed into “surface spirituality” – that is, they said the right things and made the necessary religious appearances. But they did not practice what they preached. So Amos called them on it.

With that brief introduction, let’s work our way through this rather stern text.

Seek the Lord and live, or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire; it will devour, and Bethel will have no one to quench it. You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground… You hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth.

Amos implores the people to “seek the Lord.” In other words, he asks them to return to God and His Word as the real center of their lives. He follows it up with the promise that when they do this, they will “live” – both eternally and physically.

On the other hand, if they do not return to God, they could expect to deal with some very real consequences. Amos paints a picture of destruction. But he also makes it clear that this isn’t a case of God having a bad day and wanting to take it out on someone (and Israel just happened to be in the line of fire). No, they would bring these consequences upon themselves. And then he goes on to tell them why as he lists the flawed fruit of their phony faith…

Specifically they 1) “turned justice into bitterness” – that which was supposed to help people ended up embittering them; 2) they “cast righteousness to the ground” – showed no desire to do the right thing; 3) they “hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth” – if indeed “truth is the first casualty of war,” then these people were at war with God by their cavalier attitude toward His Word and will.

Injustice was the rule of the day. Amos brings more evidence forward: You trample the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.

Amos’ words would indicate that these people were totally self-seeking, which led to them never being satisfied and mistreating people due to their selfish motives. The Lord tells those who are so self-absorbed and driven by materialism that they will never have the satisfaction of enjoying what they felt was so important.

But Amos is not done yet. The indictment continues: You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Again, although these were supposed to be “God’s People” who were to practice fairness and impartiality, it just wasn’t happening. Things had become so bad that truly wise people would not even attempt to use the means God had set up because the system had become so corrupt.

Yet as bad as it was, God had not given up on His people. So through Amos He again pleads with them: Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of David.

How do you think the people of Amos’ day responded to this plea? They didn’t listen. As a result, bad things happened. In 722 BC the world superpower at that time, Assyria, invaded and led these people into captivity. This was a sad and tragic portion of Old Testament history; but one thing the people could not say is that they hadn’t been warned.

So far the text. Like all of His Word, God has given this to us for our spiritual benefit. What can we as 21^st century believers learn from the strong words of an ancient fig-picker? Let us now consider what Amos clearly suggests Israel forgot – and that we must not. Two things in particular.

Israel forgot about the nature of true faith. Though outwardly religious, they had reduced the life of faith to performing certain external activities rather than incorporating the will and Word of God into every area of their life. They had religion, but they didn’t practice faith. And it showed in the way they interacted with others.

At some time I’ve probably told you about a guy I worked with while I was going to school. I’ll call him Gary. If you asked him if his faith was important to him he’d be proud to tell you how he was in church every Sunday and even taught Sunday School.

I never knew what Gary was like on Sunday, but I can tell you what he was like on Monday. All I’ll say is that his language, his treatment of others, and his general attitude did not in any manner reflect the will or the spirit of the Savior he said he loved. There was a great and obvious disconnect between what he said and what he did. And it was noticed by both believer and unbeliever alike.

Got a little bit of Gary in you? I do. We all do. Israel did. What they forgot and we must not is that the life of discipleship is not about meeting certain requirements or fulfilling certain obligatory rituals. The life of discipleship is about a connection to Christ. Jesus said “I am the vine, you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I in him, he will bring forth much fruit.” A life that is connected to Christ through time spent in His Word, time spent at His Table, time spent in quiet contemplation of the Gospel message, will produce genuine fruits of faith.

Therefore, if we honestly evaluate our lives and see there is a disconnect between the profession of our faith and the practice of our faith, there is only one way to bring the two together. In the words of Amos: Seek the Lord. And where can He be found? In the means of Grace – Word and Sacrament.

Practically speaking, a two, three or five minute devotion or Bible reading in the morning sets the tone for and fortifies our soul for the day that is about to unfold. And that minimal time spent in the Word when we actively “seek the Lord” will oftentimes, spiritually speaking, be the difference between a good day and a bad day at work, at school, at home.

A second and related thing which Israel forgot that we must not has to do with a proper self-image and the vital importance of repentance in the life of the believer.

“The ultimate proof of man’s sinfulness is that he does not think he is a sinner.” That’s a quote from Martin Luther. Amos’ Israel was a nation in denial. They didn’t think they sinned. Or if they said they did, they didn’t really believe it.

We have that tendency, too. Think of the last time someone had you dead to rights and called you on something which was clearly wrong, clearly a sin. How did you react? Did you get angry? Did you get defensive? Did you offer a half-apology but then go on to justify your action? Have you learned the wonderful art of manipulation so that you can actually make someone else responsible for your sin and in the process not only absolve yourself, but come across as being righteous about it? I’m thinking that’s the way Israel probably reacted to God’s call to repentance.

For the last couple of decades we’ve heard a lot about the importance of a proper self-image. And according to the world’s definition of that, the suggestion that man is sinful is not very popular. The only problem is that it’s true. I’m a sinner. And so are you. In fact I’m a “poor miserable sinner.” And so are you. As such, I deserve God’s wrath and punishment. And so do you.

Consequently, when sin is brought to our attention – either by God in His Word or by others – the proper response is not to defend our sin or redefine it or explain it away. The proper response is to admit it, confess it, and repent.

Because here’s the good news. Though we deserve His wrath and punishment, God’s not going to give it to us. He put it all on His Son. Jesus Christ, though sinless Himself, paid for all the rottenness and sinfulness we ever have or will commit. He took the penalty of death we deserve upon Himself there on the cross. And then He provides the white robe of His righteousness to all who embrace Him in faith as their Sin-bearer and Savior.

And you know what? The fact that I – a guilty, admitted, convicted, serial sinner – am loved, redeemed and apparently mean so much to God does loads for my self-image. The reason we confess our sins every Sunday is not to make us feel badly about ourselves, but to remind us of the greatness of our God’s love for us. Now I don’t have to find worth in what I do or what I achieve or how much success I attain. I find my worth in Christ. And that changes things. Now, in the words of Paul, for me to live is Christ. And discipleship is not a burden, it is a joy. When Jesus tells us to follow Him, well, we can’t imagine not…

In looking back over this rather austere text, a 19^th century Scottish evangelist named Henry Drummond pretty well summed up the sad state of affairs Amos’ Israel brought upon itself when he said: “Seek the Lord first. I promise you a miserable existence if you seek Him second.”

A philosopher once said those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. God grant that what Israel forgot, we do not. Amen.