Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label repentance. Show all posts

Thursday, May 11, 2023

No Judgment

 

 

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus,”

— Romans 8:1

 

“Now” of this verse seems to be a static point in time, but since God is the author of time and space and is not confined to them, “now” is forevermore for people who have believed in Jesus as God’s Son and the Savior who died for their sins. Each Christian’s “now” of salvation is fulfilled now, but not yet. Not yet because he/she has not died and entered eternity’s door into the presence of God. That “not yet” is the present hope of believers that will be fulfilled. It’s a hope backed by God, the ever-faithful and never-forsaking God. 

 

What is the promise upon which the present and future hope rests? Paul writes that no condemnation will occur to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Ultimate condemnation—judgment for sins (wrongdoing)—comes down from ever-holy God to sinful people. This judgment will render unbelievers in Jesus into a  permanent separation from God, a state of torment of endless evil with no good ever to come. This state of being and place is called Hell. See how great is the salvation Jesus died to offer when compared to unending evil with no chance of goodness and mercy.

 

There is now no condemnation for whoever believes in and are in Christ Jesus. 

 

On which side of that great divide between good and evil will you be? If you believe Jesus is God’s Son, who died as the ultimate and final sacrifice for your sins, you are saved and safe from ultimate and tormenting eternal separation from God. If you have not believed in Jesus by the time you die, your future does not hold any hope of goodness, mercy, joy, love, and peace. Your future will entail endless agony at not being able to taste, touch, hear, smell, and see God’s goodness. Your judgement—condemnation—will be sure and secure.

 

What prevents you from believing in Jesus, confessing and repenting of your sins, and asking Him to save you and be your Lord? What part of yourself are you unwilling to give up and, instead, let it lead to your condemnation? Is that really worth being separated from God’s goodness for eternity. Stop now and ask God to show you what separates you from Him. For the sake of your soul, confess, repent, and believe. 

 

Come to know the “now” and “not yet” of the hope of eternal salvation and life with God.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Forsaken


They abandoned the temple of the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. 2 Chronicles 24:18a (NIV)

Dust on Bibles,

Calluses on knees,

Tear stains on faces,

Confidence with ease.

 

Paint peeling, falling,

Gutters askew,

Litter uncollected,

Dust on the pews.

 

Beggars left pleading,

Cries heard through the night,

Kids’ hungry bellies,

What is their plight?

 

Eyes wander back,

Minds filter with dew,

Hearts recognize,

Spirits remember who-  

*Who left the altar 

*Who walked away 

*Who chose new paths* 

Who said, “Another day.”

 

Tears streak down faces,

Knees callused again;

Hearts fully repenting,

Spirits sway back to Him.

 

Dust blown from Bibles,

Paint fully renewed;

Litter now collected,

People in pews.

 

God recollected.

His love never gone!

People again sought Him,

Voices raised in song! 

**Sing Hallelujahs, 

**Praise to the King! 

**Our Savior, Redeemer. 

**Ring heaven’s bells and sing!

 

Let history remind us,

Let it teach and lead.

Let God be our Master!

Praise I AM, our King!

Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to Him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen. 2 Chronicles 24:19 (NIV)

Will you listen to God calling you to return to Him?

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. Matthew 16:24 (NIV)


Sunday, July 8, 2018

The King of Glory


The King of Glory
                                                                       Psalm 24
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the currents and rivers. Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood nor sworn deceitfully.” (vs. 1-4 [NASB])

We could top there and just praise, confess, and repent. David takes us through the first two parts of prayer-adoring and confessing. David wanted to be in the Lord’s presence. He wanted to praise God, but recognized his own sinfulness. Yet, that did not get David down. He knew God had the power to make him clean so he could be in the presence of God as He sat on His throne in His temple. David recognized he needed clean hands, hands that had done no sin, and a clean heart, one that had not contemplated evil thoughts that led to evil actions or words. Remember, from the heart comes the evil a man does or the good he does. Jesus said this when he said it is not what a man puts in his body that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart and mouth that makes him unclean (Matthew 15:11). David came to the Lord and said he had confessed and the Lord cleansed him. Have you confessed and allowed God to cleanse you and make you pure so you can be in His presence to worship Him?

David did not stop with just praise, confession and repentance. He gave us something for which to thank God in verse five. He said, “He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” David understood the greatest reason for him to thank God after his confession and repentance. Once a person genuinely comes before the Lord confessing and repenting, God will clean him or her. With this newly received forgiveness and salvation, the natural response is thanks and praise. David did that here. He said we must thank God for his blessings and the righteousness He gives us through the salvation Jesus provided through His death and resurrection.

With verse six, David explained who would receive this blessing and salvation. He said, “This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.” [AMP] David used the name Jacob to refer to all the Israelites in the Old Testament. For Christians today, this means all who have believed in Jesus for salvation as the Son of God and have received His forgiveness and mercy. No one will be left out. All people are called to believe in Him and receive salvation, being made righteous-cleansed from our evil thoughts, words, and actions. Any of the people of Jacob can go up the mountain to the temple of Zion, go into God’s great heavenly throne room and stand in His presence adoring, thanking, praising, and confessing to God.

After adoring, confessing, and thanking God, the One who made heaven and earth and all that is in it, the One who makes us clean and pure, the One who gives blessing and righteousness, and will be found by His people, David brought us back to why we should worship the Lord with verses seven through ten. He said, “Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, yes lift them up, you age-abiding doors, the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory!”[AMP]  We should worship the King, the Lord Jesus, because He is mighty and victorious in battle. He took on the powers of hell and defeated them for each of us. Open up, you gates of heaven and let your King enter and take His place. He is mighty and strong in battle. Again, David explained who the King, the One we should worship? He is the King of glory, Jehovah, our righteous and all-sufficient Savior.

Just as the angels in heaven bowed down when Christ returned to sit on the right hand of the Father, He calls us to open our doors and let Him into our hearts and lives. Do you know God? Do you recognize Him in creation on earth and in heaven? He is the One who created all things and deserves adoration and praise.

Have you looked into your heart and mind and recognized you are not innocent; you are unrighteous? Jesus died so you can be clean from your sin. Confess and repent now and the Savior, the Lord who died and won the victory over death and sin, will clean and save you.

Are you one who has tasted the victory Christ gives, but have forgotten to seek and praise Him? We are of the house of Jacob and we have oh, so many reasons to thank and praise Him. He is our Savior. He died because of His love for you even while you were a sinner and far away from Him. For this, we should heartedly and with humbleness thank and praise God.

Have you wondered who this Jesus, the Son of God is? Do you need a reminder why you should praise Him? He is the mighty warrior who defeated sin and death. He died and rose again to walk into the throne room of the temple in heaven. He is the King of glory. Jesus is the One to whom the angels and all the heavenly hosts bow down and the One to whom you bowed when you confessed, repented, and accepted Him as your Savior. He is the Lord of hosts and is your Lord.

If you have not believed in Jesus Christ as the Savior, the One who lived a sin-free life and died an innocent death, who rose back to life three days later and then ascended back to heaven, He waits for you to believe in Him, and confess and repent of your sins so He will clean you from your evil thoughts, words, and actions. Jesus loves you and wants you to receive salvation so you can be free of sin and death and live in an eternal relationship with Him, receiving His blessing of eternal life. Will you come before the Lord now opening your heart, adoring God for who He is and what He’s done? Will you believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the One sent to be the Savior for all people so you can be cleaned from your sins and receive eternal life? Will you come before Him thanking Him for all He’s done for you and what He will do for you? Will you come before Him praising Him because Jesus, Jesus alone, is the King of glory, mighty in battle, and victorious over sin and death?

Christian, will you come before God adoring Him? Will you come confessing and repenting so God will cleanse you from your sins? Come before Him thanking Him and confessing Him with all the hosts in heaven and on earth. All creation will rise up and praise His holy name.

“All the earth shall bow down to You and sing praises to You. They shall praise Your name in song.” Psalm 66:4 [AMP]

Lord, God almighty, we get caught up in doing life and forget about you. We do, think, and say evil things. Without you we are powerless over sin and death. Jesus, you give us this power because of your innocent death and resurrection. Please forgive us now, we pray. Bring us back into a right relationship with you so we can praise and thank You with our whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength. You, O Lord, deserve all praise, glory, and honor. Thank you for dying and defeating sin and death for us. Thank you for Your love.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Justice Like Rolling Water


Introduction

Amos spoke eight prophecies to Israel about the seven nations surrounding them and about their own nation. These prophecies were the LORD’s charges against the nations for their sins and His judgment of them because of their sins. God sought to get the Israelites’ attention because their sins were great. Their sins were against people and God.

Beginning in Amos 3, Amos preached and exhorted the listeners of Israel. God explicitly told the Israelites their sin through Amos. In Amos 3, Amos told the Israelites they were not immune to punishment because they were God’s chosen people. That would not keep them safe from God’s wrath. In Amos 4 and 5, Amos told the Israelites their ritualistic religion would not save them from the LORD’s wrath. God’s judgment is for all His enemies. This point Amos unequivocally pronounced to the Israelites in chapter five.

With Amos 5:18-27, Amos expressed clearly like what the “day of the LORD” would be. He preached against the religious hypocrisy of the Israelites. In the middle of the sermon, Amos called the Israelites to repentance. He made this stand out by using a chiastic structure in the sermon. A chiastic structure helps lead people to focus on the most important part of a sermon, the center part. The chiastic structure denotes itself as A, B, C, B*, A* where A and A* are the same, as are B and B*. The focus for both parts is C, the purpose of the sermon. In this sermon by Amos, the chiastic structure looks like the following diagram.

                        A  Description of God’s Certain Judgment (vs. 18-20)

                                    B  Accusation of Religious Hypocrisy (vs. 21-22)

                                                C  Call for Repentance (vs. 23-24)

                                    B* Accusation of Religious Hypocrisy (vs. 25-26)

                        A* Description of God’s Certain Judgment (vs. 27)

God’s Certain Judgment

People throughout history, when adversity combatted them, cried out to the Lord to hasten the “day of the LORD.” Our inner being recognizes God exists and is greater and mightier than our feeble human selves. The cry for the LORD most often seeks Him to halt or eliminate enemies. Throughout the Bible, the “day of the LORD” calls for God to bring the last days (the end times like Isaiah 5:19, Jeremiah 30:7, Joel 1:15, 2:1, 11, & 31). God will come to earth and judge evil people at that time. Rarely do the people seeking the “day of the LORD” realize he or she deserves God’s judgment, too. Crying out for the “day of the LORD” would bring judgment upon each person on earth not just one’s enemies. People do not think of that in their desperation. In Amos 5:18-20, Amos told the Israelites the “day of LORD” is more than they acknowledge. He said in verses eighteen through twenty,

18 “Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, for what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light, 19 as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. 20 Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?” [NASB]

The word “alas” comes from the Hebrew word howy and means “woe.” Amos proclaimed woe to the Israelites. They were not ready for that. Why should woe and lament come upon them? Israel considered themselves justified. God chose them as His people. They performed the rituals in the temple. The Israelites thought they lived correctly, and God would bless them and extinguish their enemies. He had always been the Protector, so why would He not be now or in their future. The people of the northern kingdom did not understand with their hearts and in their spirits what it meant to be the people of Yahweh, the children of GOD.

“Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD,” Amos said. The people desired, coveted, and craved for the day of God’s return to judge all people. Amos reminded the Israelites what that day would entail. It would not bring joy to each person because God’s judgment would occur then. Only the righteous would rejoice. Amos explained in three ways what that day would be like. He said it would be darkness and not light. This “darkness” is more than night, an absence of light. Amos called that time choshek, a day of gloom and obscurity.  Obscurity means to be unknown, inconspicuous, and unimportant. These Israelites would be unknown by God because their sins removed them from His presence. Their sins would bring judgment upon them like their enemies’ sins would for them. The LORD would cast the Israelites away from His presence forever. Amos explained the true reality of the “day of the LORD” for them. The Israelites sought God only when they needed something from Him–protection, provision, healing, etc.–not for a relationship.

Besides the “day of the LORD” being a time of darkness and the Israelites being unknown by God, Amos said they could not escape God’s judgment of them. Just like he said the Israelites could not outrun God’s judgment in chapter two, he said they could not outrun it in Amos 5:19. Though the unrighteous Israelite outran the lion God sent, he would meet with a bear and suffer defeat. When the Israelite ran for safety to her house, a snake would bite her hand when it rested against the wall. The place the Israelite considered himself most safe, his grand winter and summer houses or ivory palaces, would give no place of refugee from God’s judgment. God would judge all sinners, Amos said.

With verse twenty, Amos described to the Israelites again what the darkness would be like when the “day of the LORD” arrived. He said it would be darkness not light. The word “light” comes from the Hebrew word ‘owr and means light of day, prosperity or life. The “day of the LORD” would bring physical darkness, the absence of light. It would also bring darkness on a person’s life-mind, heart, body, and spirit. The darkness on the “day of the LORD” would cause poverty in these facets of life for the leaders and wealthy Israelites. What the Israelites considered came from their own hands and for which they did not thank God, God would remove. The darkness would be in the heavenly lights and within each person. The darkness would oppress them and cause joy and revelry to cease. Amos continued to describe the darkness. He emphasized the darkness by explaining it again. Amos said it would be gloom with no brightness. This darkness would be gloom, giving no light and creating depression and despondency.

When the day of the LORD arrives, God would judge all His enemies. God’s enemies are the people who sin against Him and His laws of righteousness. Though the Israelites called upon the LORD to bring His kingdom to cast judgment on their enemies, He would administer His judgment to all people on earth, not just their enemies. God’s enemies included the Israelites. The Israelites were not exempt because God called them His own. They had no entitlement. The Israelites’ election by God would not keep them safe from His wrath, as Amos said in chapter three. The people God chose to shine His light to lead other nations to Him broke their covenant with Him continually even after He sent prophets to call them back to Him. Because the Israelites broke their covenant with the LORD, they were His enemies, too. Yahweh would also mete out judgment on them. On the “day of the LORD,” God would defend and establish Himself and His righteousness. Israel was not righteous and God would punish them.

No person can escape from God’s judgment. Wherever a person can run, judgment will still find the person. God’s judgment is evitable and certain. The Apostle Paul said this over seven hundred years later, too. In Romans 3:23, Paul said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Each person deserves God’s judgment, not just Israel or our enemies.

·         What wrong have you done that you believe no one will ever know about so you feel safe? Have you taken money from someone’s wallet, spoke scathingly against a person, or told an untruth?
·         Did you truly think you could get away with that wrong?
·         Have you really escaped the guilt of that wrong? That guilt comes from God? He put it there to lead you to seek Him, confess and repent, and receive newness of life?
·         How does knowing this affect you at this moment?

Accusation of Religious Hypocrisy

Amos explained in chapter four God cares about the heart’s intention, not religious rituals. He ardently addressed the Israelites in the next two verses. Amos said in verses twenty-one and twenty-two,

21 “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.” [NASB]

God spoke seriously in these two verses. Like Amos did in verse ten when he described the Israelites’ hating and abhorring the righteous in the gate, he doubly described God’s dislike of the Israelites’ religious festivals. Amos said God hated the Israelites’ religious festivals. The word “hate” is the same Hebrew word Amos used earlier in this chapter. It means to hate, detest, and call an enemy. This hate is a mental and heart-felt rejection of the religious rituals the Israelites’ offered in their worship. Remember, the Israelites continued performing the festival rites God established and the ones Jeroboam established for their own gods. When they offered these same rituals to the LORD, He hated them because they did not execute them with singleness of devotion nor bring glory exclusively to Him. The rich Israelites sought glory for themselves by bringing extravagant things to the altar, like leavened instead of unleavened bread. They also gave their offerings and sacrifices more often than God required so they could show off their wealth. It gave them glory instead of God. In Amos 5:21, Amos said God hated their festivals, such as the festivals of Passover and Tabernacles.

Just as Amos said the rich hated and abhorred the righteous in the gate, he used similar terminology for God’s hate of the Israelites’ religious rituals. God hated in His heart how the Israelites worshiped. He rejected their festivals, too. The word “abhor” in verse ten means to despise, detest, and consider abominable. “Reject” comes from the Hebrew word ma’ac and means to despise, refuse, and reject. The Israelites physically turned away from the righteous people in the gate and turned people away who sought justice. God turned His eyes away from Israel’s worship. He turned His face away from them in rejection. The Israelites no longer had God’s blessing and protection.

Isaiah 1:11-16 says God had enough of their burnt offering and took no pleasure in the blood of the lambs they slaughtered. God did not delight in the Israelites’ offerings anymore. The word “delight” from verse twenty-one comes from the Hebrew word reyach and means smell. The Israelites’ sacrifices and offerings no longer gave a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Their actions were just ritual, not worship when they entered the places of worship for sacred and festive meetings. Their hearts were not right with God. God said He detested and rejected their festivals and solemn assemblies. The aromas were not soothing or fragrant to Him. Leviticus 26:31 mentions this. Jeremiah 14:12 says God would not accept the Israelites’ burnt offerings.

With verse twenty-two, Amos explained God’s seriousness. He said though the Israelites offered God the best of their flock and storehouses, whole burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace offerings as God established in Deuteronomy 12 and Leviticus 2 & 7, the LORD would not accept or even look at them. The sacrifices and offerings were detestable to the LORD because they offered them out of ritualistic obedience to the Law. The Israelites did not offer genuine love for and thanks to Him. God said their offerings displeased Him and He would disregard them. Even though the people brought these to His altar, because their hearts did not present them, only their hands, it was as if they never came to Him at all. Genuinely meeting with the LORD requires heart, spirit, mind, and physical action. That is why Moses and Jesus taught the people-Jews and Gentiles-to love the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Luke 10:27). Worshiping God requires devotedly loving Him with your whole being. The Israelites offered worship with their physical bodies only. Their worship was an abomination and idolatrous. The people’s worship of the LORD was ritually incorrect, which came about because of their desire for themselves and not to love Him with their whole being.

·         What do we worship and what do we offer as worship? Money? Family? Flashy cars or big houses? Kneeling? Singing routinely?
·         Whatever occupies most of your physical time and mental thought processes, and causes hunger and craving in your heart are your gods.
·         Will you recognize these false gods and seek a right relationship with God?

A Command for Repentance

In the earlier verses, Amos told the Israelites what they did to cause God’s judgment on themselves. With these next two verses, the LORD through Amos told the people what to do to get right with Him, to worship Him with righteousness. Amos said in verses twenty-three and twenty-four,

23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. 24 But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” [NASB]

Theologians over the years have debated whether verse twenty-three should go with verses twenty-one and twenty-two or with twenty-four. They said verse twenty-three seems to speak more of God’s condemnation of their false worship. It rightly could be so, but verse twenty-four, a verse obviously calling for repentance, begins with the word “but.” Verse twenty-four hinges on what Amos said in the immediately preceding verse. Besides this, verses twenty-three and twenty-four begin with commands while verses twenty-one and twenty-two are proclamations of fact by God. Personally, I believe Amos, with verse twenty-three’s command, gave one more example of the Israelites’ religiosity without heart, soul, and spirit. It operates as a counterpoint to his command to repent and be righteous.

The LORD commanded the Israelites to remove the noise and confusion of the songs from His presence. He rejected the songs because they were a noise rather than a praise of Him. These songs showed the divided hearts of the singers-divided between their gods and rituals to appease Yehovah and the true worship of the LORD. These songs were for show like their offerings and sacrifices. They were just ritual, not true worship. The command, “take away,” created a void where the antithesis should reside. It left an opening for true worship of God. By commanding a negative action, it implied a positive action should replace it. That is where the command of verse twenty-four enters.

With the command of verse twenty-four God told the Israelites to be just and righteous. The LORD rejected their “worship” songs because they were noise and chaos, which does not come from God, but Satan. Their songs lacked true devotion to God, which comes from the heart, mind, and soul and shows through actions. Amos gave vivid imagery in this verse. He told them to let justice roll down like water. Justice is righteousness in action. Justice is taking care of the orphan, widow, and foreigner. It is putting away violence. Notice this justice is flowing down. When water flows downward, it does so rapidly and with power. It moves stones, unhinges rocks and boulders, and displaces dirt. The justice the Israelites were to let roll down comes from the LORD, Amos implied. When it comes down over a person, the flowing water removed hard places and the stain of sins. A newness of life occurs. Amos commanded the Israelites to let it affect them. He said “let justice roll down.” Do not block the channel flowing from God to your heart, He meant, but let it do its good and righteous work so it will cleanse you and make you righteous.

Besides allowing God to cleanse them and allowing that righteousness to influence their lives and actions, Amos commanded them to let righteousness be “like an ever-flowing stream.” The waters of justice that come from the LORD are not stagnant; they keep flowing. We can and often do choose to stop the flow into our lives when we decide we want to do things our way or “live our own lives.” Amos told the Israelites to let the righteousness of God continue to their hearts as an ever-flowing stream. Let that stream continue through them to the people they encounter and represent in the community. Let their thoughts and actions be righteous. An ever-flowing stream smooths stones, makes a deeper stream bed, creates a more permanent path, and allows people a permanent supply of water upon which they can count for planting, growth, and sustenance. Amos told the Israelites to let God’s justice and righteousness flow on and through them. Be made right with the LORD and let it affect their actions and words. Let its affect cause the community and the people to care for and serve each other.

These metaphors of justice and righteousness being like an ever-flowing and powerful down-flow of water are a foreshadowing, too. It reminded the Israelites of the LORD’s plan to send a Messiah whose blood would flow to bring us salvation from our sins and make us righteous.  For the Israelites it spoke of God’s judgment, cleansing, and continual provision of cleansing, righteousness, and judgment. For their future, it spoke of His promise of cleansing and a continual provision of life and salvation for all people who believe.

The LORD rejected the Israelites’ worship because it was hypocritical and because of their absence of righteousness and justice. He rejects the worship of people today who are hypocritical and unrighteous. Our worship of God should come from our whole being, not just our body. It should not be mere ritual, but should be real and from our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

·         Do we have the continual flow of God’s righteousness in our lives?
·         Does it show in our actions and words each day?
·         Do you need to unblock the water flow from God and let His justice, righteousness, and mercy flow into your life?

Accusation of Religious Hypocrisy (reprise)

Amos resumed his sermon on the Israelites’ religious hypocrisy. The people of the northern kingdom claimed their election by Yehovah as His holy people, but they did not exclusively choose Yehovah as their God. They worshiped other gods. Because they did that, their worship of the LORD was merely ritual. The Israelites had covenanted to have no other gods except the LORD and not to worship manmade images (Commandments 2 and 3). With verses twenty-five and twenty-six Amos directed the Israelites to their sins of breaking these commandments. He stated in verses twenty-five and twenty-six,

25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 You also carried along Sikkuth, your king, and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.” [NASB]

In verse twenty-five, the English word “present” comes from the Hebrew word nagash. Nagash means to draw near to God to bring something to Him. Amos asked a question of the Israelites in this verse. Did they draw near to God to bring Him sacrifices? The main part of this question is did they draw near to God. To draw near to God, one must have a repentant heart and genuinely seek Him. God said this to Solomon when He answered his prayer in 2 Chronicles 7:14. The LORD said, “If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.” [NASB] To be in His presence, God said people must pray, seek Him, and turn from their wicked ways. In Amos 5:25, Amos asked the people did they draw near to God with sacrifices and grain offerings. If they did, God would accept their offerings and sacrifices. He promised the Israelites if they genuinely sought Him, they would find Him.  

When Amos asked the question in verse twenty-five, he asked if they did it during their forty years wilderness experience. Many times Moses recorded the worship of idols in the wilderness. Moses, too, was the one who gave God’s laws about worship to the Israelites as they wandered. Some people wonder if Amos asked a rhetorical question. Others say it cannot have been rhetorical because the worship regulations were to begin after the Israelites entered the Promised Land according to Numbers 15:1. (Frank Page) What is important about this question by Amos is not so much the timing of the offerings, but their hearts. Did they during their history truly draw near to God? That required a genuine seeking of God with the heart requiring contrition and love for God, not self. Truthful Israelites would mostly have replied in the negative. Since they did not draw near to God, their acts of worship toward God were false and He rejected them.

In verse twenty-six, Amos reminded the Israelites of their idol worship. This harkened back to the Israelites’ worship of golden calves in the wilderness and the gods of Moab when they camped on the eastern side of the Jordan River before entering the Promised Land. It reminded the Israelites of their worshiping false gods during their current time, too. By naming some gods they worshiped during the 750s BC, it showed their unfaithfulness to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. Amos said they carried along Sikkuth. “Carried along” comes from the Hebrew word nasa’ and means to bear, lift up, and exalt. The Israelites exalted another god. Sikkuth means tent or tabernacle, but it was also a Babylonian deity like Moloch or Saturn, a war god. Amos said the Israelites lifted up and exalted a Babylonian false god, instead of the One God Yahweh. He said they made a star image to represent their god, Kiyyun. Amos was not the only writer to speak of these gods of the Israelites. Acts 7:42-43, written by the apostle Luke, refers to these gods the Israelites worshiped.

The important point Amos made in these two verses is the Israelites did not worship God exclusively. They worshiped other gods and, thus, the ritualistic worship they gave to the LORD was not worship. The people of the northern kingdom did not draw near to the LORD seeking Him with their whole being. Their worship included several gods. For that, Yehovah ‘Elohyim rejected the Israelites’ worship and judged them. They were unrighteous and unjust. The Israelites practiced hypocritical worship. Their election as God’s holy nation would not protect them from the wrath of the One Holy God who is righteous. His righteousness required justice on His enemies. When the Israelites or anyone broke His just laws, judgment would occur.

·         What wrong have you committed that you refuse to admit to yourself? Possibly you keep stuffing it down hoping it will go away. We each have at least one of these wrongs because we are all sinners and are ashamed of our sins.
·         What have you done to try to appease the guilt and make it alright? Did that work?
·         Have you sought God, repented, and found Him and His mercy? He told Solomon about it in the Old Testament and made it a reality for all humankind with the death of His Son, Jesus, in the New Testament.

God’s Certain Judgment (reprise)

Amos prophesied to the Israelites several times about God’s judgment of them for their sins. In Amos 3:12, 4:2-3, and 5:5, Amos said the people of the northern kingdom of Israel would go into captivity. Lest the Israelites not believe him as they did not believe the other prophets who proclaimed God’s word to them, he said it would certainly come because God swore by His own name (Amos 5:8). With Amos 5:27, Amos again spoke God’s word of judgment on the Israelites. He said in verse twenty-seven,

 27 “‘Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,’ says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.” [NASB]

With the word “therefore,” God explained something would happen because of Israel’s sins of the preceding verses. His judgment proclaimed they would go into exile beyond Damascus. This told the Israelites which nation would subdue and capture them, the Assyrians. No nation had ever subdued and captured the Israelites. The LORD had fought their battles for them. The Israelites had remained a theocracy, a nation chosen by God and ruled by His laws. Notice this time when an enemy came to the gates of Israel, it would happen because the LORD allowed it. How would the Israelites know this prophecy would occur? Amos stated, “the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts, said it.” Yehovah (the existing One, the I AM), whose name is the ‘Elohiym (the ruler and judge) of hosts said it would happen. ‘Elohiym, the ultimate judge and ruler, would carry out this judgment, not an intermediary. By removing His hand of protection, He willed the Israelites’ conquer and capture. Because there was no justice or righteousness in Israel and they worshiped idols, they would not survive God’s judgment. His judgment would affect all the Israelites of the northern kingdom.

·         In the past when you did something wrong and knew it was wrong, but refused to stop, did you feel God’s censure of your actions and attitudes, of pulling away from Him and what is right? Hardened criminals and addicts show this and we can easily discern it.
·         What did you do to stop feeling the guilt God put in your heart and mind because of your wrongdoing? Did that make it go away and you feel better?
·         Is your life now not what you would like because God allowed it since you would not repent and return to a right relationship with Him?

Recap

Amos spent four chapters expanding for the Israelites of the northern kingdom their sins of which God specifically charged them. In Amos 5:18-27, Amos used a chiastic structure to help the Israelites and later readers understand the message of this sermon. God wants all sinners to return to Him, and let His justice and righteousness cleanse them. The Lord wants His righteousness and justice lived out in our lives through our words and actions. God said Israel did not do that. In this section of Amos 5, the Israelites did not worship the LORD with their whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength-only with empty religious ritual. God said they worshiped false gods and did not worship Him solely. For this, Amos prophesied God’s judgment would certainly happen. If a person ran from a lion, he would meet a bear. If she ran to the safety of her home, a snake would bite her. There was nowhere the Israelites could go where God and His judgment would not find them. It would certainly happen. When the Israelites cried out to the LORD for His day to come upon their enemies, they would realize they, too, were His enemies. The “day of the LORD” would not be the day of celebration they wanted, so they needed to return to a true relationship and worship of God.


Conclusion and Relevance

Though Amos spoke to people who lived in the Middle East over 2800 years ago, we can still apply this lesson to us today. We all sin against other people and God. When we hurt someone, we break one of God’s commandments. Breaking a commandment shows lack of love to God. When we break one of these commandments, which God gave humanity for its orderly and respectful functioning and to lead us to keep our focus on Him, we break all His commandments. James made this point in James 2:1-13. Specifically recall James 2:10,

10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” [NASB]

No one can keep the letter of the law perfectly. We are all sinners and keep sinning. Yet God made a way for us to receive cleansing permanently from our sins and guilt. That way came through the death of His Son, Jesus, who took on human form and did not sin in his 33 years of living on earth. Though Jesus faced temptation, He did not sin. Because of God’s love for us, He died a sinner’s death on a cross. Jesus’ crucifixion paid our sin penalty that God’s judgment requires. Romans 6:23 says, 

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Death while one remains guilty of sin is permanent, eternal separation from Yehovah, the existing One, I AM. Yehovah is the One who created you and has provided the redemption price for you to live with Him eternally in heaven. He wants to have a relationship with you and so sent His Son to die for you and all people. When you accept Jesus as the Savior of your soul who takes away your sins and believe He is the Son of God, you become a child of God. Paul stated it this way in Galatians 3:26,
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

When we become children of God, we fellowship with Christ. Romans 8:16-17 says this,

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if we indeed suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” [NASB]

If we live as the Israelites did, we would remain sinful. Our worship of God, if we worshiped Him, would be in vain. Our lives would be fraught with guilt and shame. Our deaths would be permanent. It would be eternal separation from God,
the One who loves you

the One who paid the price for your sin so you could be in a loving relationship with Him

the One who keeps calling to you

Pray
Seek Him
Turn from Your Sin
He will hear You from Heaven
He will forgive Your Sin
He will welcome You to an Eternal Relationship with Him

Let justice flow down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.




Friday, March 10, 2017

Amos and the Judgment of Moab

Introduction

So far, we have studied the background of Amos and the prophecies by Amos against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon. These prophecies Amos spoke to Israel, not to the countries being charged and judged by God. God had a purpose for Israel hearing His charges and judgments against these nations. He wanted them to know He avenged them against their enemies. God, too, wanted Israel to recognize their own sins as He charged the surrounding nations.

Damascus, the capital city of the nation of Aram on the northern border of Israel, battled Israel and stole Gilead from them. They took part of God’s promised inheritance to the tribes of Gad, Manasseh, and Reuben. The people of Aram persecuted Israel. Gaza, in the southwestern most nation in Canaan called Philistia, often raided Israel and took their possessions and people as spoils of war. They sold the people into slavery, sometimes with the help of Edom. The people of Philistia harrassed Israel. Tyre and the nation of Phoenicia had a covenant of brotherhood with Israel because of their relationship with David and Solomon. They broke their covenant and betrayed Israel by often capturing Israelites and selling them into slavery with the help of Philistia and Edom. The people of Phoenicia back-stabbed Israel. Edom, blood relatives of Israel through Esau, harbored anger and jealousy against the Israelites because of Jacob receiving Esau’s birthright and blessing from his father. Each generation fed that anger and caused them to take every opportunity for vengeance. The people of Edom held onto jealousy and anger over Israel's gift of the Promised Land from God. Ammon’s people, too, were blood relatives of Israel. Through Lot and his youngest daughter, their son, Ben-ammi, became the founder of the nation of Ammon. The people of Ammon remained discontented with the land upon which they lived and were not grateful for Israel’s help in defeating King Sihon of the Amorites. The Ammonites’ greed caused them to want what King Sihon took from them even though it was not part of God’s provision of land for their people. Ammon coveted what the Israelites had instead of experiencing contentment and recognizing the fruitfulness of Israel came from the LORD. Though the Israelites showed they were allies of Ammon against the Ammorites, the Ammonites bore a grudge because they wanted the land for themselves. Ammon felt greed and discontent and harmed Israel. The descriptors of each of the nations could hang like plaques beneath the nations' names upon a wall: Gaza-Persecutor; Philistia-Harasser; Phoenicia-Back-Stabber; Edom-Angry; Ammon-Greedy and Discontent.

If you look on an Old Testament map, you will notice Amos’ prophecies wove a net around Israel. His first prophecy dealt with people to the north of Israel. The next prophecy dealt with a nation, Philistia, in the southwest corner of Canaan. The third prophecy dealt with people in the northwestern corner of Canaan. Next, Amos crossed over Israel to the southeastern side of Canaan to the nation of Edom. He wove his rope to the northeastern side when he prophesied against Ammon. Today, we will understand Amos took the rope back to the middle of the eastern side of the Jordan to prophesy against Moab. He now has pulled each side of Israel into one net. The next prophecy will begin to pull it tight so Israel feels God’s charge and judgment itself.

Today, we will study Amos 2:1-3. This passage is Amos’ prophecy of God’s charge and judgment against Moab. We will learn who the people of Moab were and what God’s charge against them was. Next we will gain an understanding of Moab’s history and God’s later judgment of them. Beyond this, we will look at the history of the fulfillment of God’s judgment against them. Finally, just as Amos and God wanted Israel to hear this prophecy and apply it to themselves and their relationship with the LORD, we will look at our own hearts and lives to see if God could judge us of these same things and what we can do about it. Let’s begin our study.

Who was Moab?

If you remember from our study on Ammon, Ben-ammi, the founder of the Ammonites came from the union of Lot and his youngest daughter. After they fled Sodom, Lot’s daughters thought they were the only people left alive in the world. They assumed it fell upon them to repopulate the world so they caused Lot to get drunk. After he was drunk each of the daughter’s lay with him and became pregnant. Moab was the son of the oldest daughter and Lot. (Genesis 19:30-38) Moab’s name means “from father.”

God gave land to both Abraham and Lot. Lot chose the fertile southern area near the basin of the Dead Sea. In Deuteronomy 2:9, we read of God telling the Israelites, “Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their lands as a possession because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.” Lot’s sons possessed the lands from the southern basin of the Dead Sea to the Ar (Arnon) River on the eastern side of the Dead Sea as God’s gift to them. This land ranged from being fertile because of the water from the Jordan, Arnon, and Zered Rivers to being mountainous. It had plateaus of 3000-4500 feet to chasms and valleys at sea level. The tops of the plateaus were fertile for produce such as corn. The plains and valleys were excellent places for crops and grazing cattle and sheep. Second Kings 3:4 gives us a hint of the lands fertility. Moab could give 100,000 lambs a year to Israel along with the wool from 100,000 rams.

Moab made a living off the land God gave them. They did not recognize the God of their ancestors, Lot and Abraham, as the provider of their prosperity. The people of Moab worshiped false gods. They worshiped Chemosh, Baal of Peor, and Molech. (Numbers 21:29, Jeremiah 48:7, 13, & 46, 2 Kings 3:27) Chemosh was their chief god. Molech and Chemosh were two names given to the same deity. Chemosh demanded human sacrifice as we understand from 2 Kings 3:27 just as Molech did.. King Mesha of Moab sacrificed his firstborn son to gain the god’s favor to defeat his enemies. The worship of false gods comes about because of fear – the fear of not appeasing every god that may exist and could become dissatisfied with people causing them to experience hard times. This belief meant, instead of hard times being times to grow in reliance upon the loving Yahweh, it was a time of fear wondering what wrong you committed and how to appease the gods’ anger. Understand, Moab did not differ from the other nations around Israel. They all worshiped false gods. For this, the LORD was punishing them, too.

The Charge against Moab

What was God’s charge against Moab? Was it different from His charge against the other nations? Amos tells us in Amos 2:1,

“Thus says the LORD, ‘For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.’” [NASB]

Would the king of Moab really desecrate the corpse or bones of a king? Let’s understand what Amos meant by looking at the Hebrew words and remembering what the prophetic form meant.

Amos began his five other prophecies using this same prophetic form – “for three transgressions and for four I will not revoke its punishment.” Remember, in biblical numerology, three plus four equals seven and denotes completion. The Moabites had sinned so much and often without remorse and repentance that their sin filled them up and God had to act to stop them. Moab had measured sin upon sin and God’s righteousness could take no more. The loving Father, who was the Father of Moab’s father, had mercy upon them for hundreds of years. Now His mercy and love would have to bring about discipline. God had to discipline them to bring them back to a right relationship with Him. God’s righteousness had to bring judgment, and He said He would not revoke it.

Now let us look at the Hebrew words Amos used. The word “transgressions” comes from pesha (peh-shah) and means rebellion against God, other nations, and other people. Transgressions are sins. The word “burned” comes from the Hebrew word saraph (saw-raf) and it means to burn, possibly like an undertaker. It meant they burned the body of the dead instead of burying it respectfully in a tomb. The word “lime” is what we know it to be. It comes from the burning or cremating of bones into calcium carbonate. The charge God brought against Moab means they cremated the body of the King of Edom.

Why would the charge of that sin be significant back in the 800-600 BC era? Consider the uses of lime. It is used in graves and in the treatment of sewage and waste to remove impurities. Plaster, mortar, and whitewash contain lime. Besides these, fertilizer or plant food contains lime to help plants grow. These each are useful things, but realize Moab burned the bones of a king, the King of Edom, one who received God’s past blessings. For people of royalty and wealth, their relatives and servants placed their corpses into hewn-stone tombs to rest with their ancestors. To burn them into lime, meant disrespect of their title and rank among people. Consider Israel asked his sons to take his bones into the Promised Land. Jacob of Arimethea placed Jesus’ body into his own hewn tomb. As in other places in the Bible, the place and manner of burial was very important. For Moab to burn the bones of a king, especially one whose ancestor was Abraham, showed disrespect. The bones of the king would not be gathered to their ancestors or have part in a resurrection of the dead as the Jews taught. By taking bones out of a grave or not burying the corpse, the Jews and people of the region believed the deceased would not find rest and was cursed. Exhuming the bones of a person profaned the dead person’s memory. By turning the king’s bone to lime, the King Mesha sneered and denigrated the status of the king by relatively saying his corpse after death was worthy only for grave, fertilizer, and waste decomposition use. His actions against the king of Edom showed his contempt for the king by placing him below even the lowest caste of society.

Why is that significant? Consider David’s thoughts and actions. While Saul chased David to kill him because of his jealousy, David had a couple times when he could have killed Saul. He explained to his army why he did not kill him. David told his followers to kill Saul would have been killing God’s anointed leader. Who was he to decide who would be king and make himself greater than God? When the king of Moab burned the king of Edom’s bones, he took it upon himself to decide – to judge – the king and display him as being worthless. The king of Moab disrespected the king of Edom and called him worthless by burning his bones.

·         Is there someone we know who shows contempt for other people and disrespects them publicly? The person defames their reputation in his or her actions and words.
·         Are there times when we do this to people we know? Possible gossiping about a person or cutting a person down to size so we feel bigger and better about ourselves and what we are doing?

The History of Moab

What is the history of Moab? What is the history of this charge by God? Were the Moabites really this ruthless and disrespectful?

Just like Ammon and Edom, Moab had a long history before the Israelites arrived in the Canaan territory. They had a long history of animosity toward Israel, too. Consider these instances.

1.      Judges 11:15-18 – Joshua asked the kings of Moab and Ammon to allow the Israelites to pass through their land to get to the Promised Land. The Israelites walked around Edom and Moab because their kings would not let them enter their territory. Fear of the numbers of Israelites caused them to shut their borders to Israel.
2.      Numbers 22-24 and Exodus 15:15 – The chiefs and leaders of Edom and Moab trembled at the size of the band of Israelites. When the sons of Israel camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River opposite Jericho, King Balak of Moab with Midian sent for the prophet Balaam to cast a curse upon Israel. He refused three times and blessed them as the LORD told him. At God’s command, Balaam instead cursed Moab in Numbers 24:17. Fear drove Moab to want to harm Israel.
3.      Number 25:1-3 – Moab’s women seduced the men of Israel while they camped in Moab at Shittim before crossing the Jordan River. They caused the men of Israel to worship false Gods and bow down to them. If the Israelites were too big to defeat, they could make them stray from their mighty God to worship other gods. Fear led Moab to seduce the Israelites into following other gods.
4.      Judges 3:12-14 – The LORD used Moab under the leadership of King Eglon to punish Israel for not following Him. They served Eglon for eighteen years. The Israelites sent tribute to King Eglon for these years because he defeated and possessed the city of the palm trees. God can use Israel’s enemies to punish them by allowing their actions against them. He will later punish the enemies of Israel.
5.      Judges 10:6 – Again the people of Moab, along with of Aram, Ammon, and Philistia, seduced the Israelites into following their gods – the Baals and Ashteroth. God allowed the Philistines and Ammonites to capture portions of their tribes for eighteen years as punishment. God used Israel’s enemies by allowing them to capture parts of the tribes. He would punish their enemies later.
6.      1 Samuel 14:47 – Moab and the other Canaanite nations plundered Israel so King Saul attacked these enemies and afflicted punishment on them. Moab was discontent with what they had and wanted more.
7.      2 Samuel 8:2 & 12, and 1 Chronicles 18:2 – Moab kept attacking Israel so David battled them. As before, Moab was discontent with what they had from God. They fought God’s people and He would later punish them.
8.      1 Kings 11:7 – Solomon’s wife influenced him to build and altar for Chemosh, her god, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. Again the Moabites seduced Israel to worship other gods. If you cannot beat your enemies, bring them down to your level or lower, is probably what Moab thought.
9.      2 Kings 3 – King Mesha of Moab paid duties to the king of Israel as a vassal whom he conquered. When King Ahab of Israel died, Mesha rebelled. King Jehoram of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the King of Edom went to battle against the rebelling Moabites. Mesha’s rage caused him to sacrifice his firstborn son to appeal to his god to help them win the battle. Moab fought the Israelites and God’s punishment. They practiced human sacrifice, a sacrilege to God.
10.  2 Chronicles 20:1, 10, & 22-23 – Moab, Ammon, and the Meunites came against Judah in the days of King Jehoshaphat. God set an ambush for these nations and killed them. Moab still was discontent with their portion of land and wanted to take the Israelites down. They disrespected the Israelites’ God by throwing themselves against Israel repeatedly.
11.  2 Kings 24:2 – As punishment for Israel’s sin, God sent Moab, Ammon, Aram, and Chaldee to destroy Judah. Though God allowed these nations to go against Israel as punishment from Him, He did not hold these nations unaccountable for assailing His children. God would judge them, too.

As becomes obvious with reading each of these passages, Moab was not a restful nation. They sought to create discord with both kingdoms of Israel. Moab often disrespected the Israelite rulers. They feared the numerous Israelites. The Moabites feared their own false gods. They wanted more land than the LORD apportioned to them. The Moabites were discontent and disrespectful of the LORD’s people-Israel, other nations and their leaders. They were disrespectful of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. The Moabites were a fractious people.

Despite this, two instances arose in Moabite history that showed they cared for others. The first occurred in the story of Ruth and Naomi. After Naomi’s husband and sons died, Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, moved with her back to Israel. Ruth cared for Naomi and provided descendants for her family lineage. The second instance of Moab caring for someone other than themselves occurred when David took his parents to Moab. He asked the king to let them stay with him while he tried to survive as King Saul hunted him (1 Samuel 22:2-4).

We need to concern ourselves with God’s charge against Moab. Most theologians through the centuries consider the incident when King Mesha burned the bones of the king of Edom as having occurred after the battle recorded in 2 Kings 3. As a vassal state of the kingdom of Israel, Mesha rebelled against Israel when King Ahab died. The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom joined together to go against Moab and bring them in line. These three kings sought God’s will through one of His prophets, Elisha. Elisha told them what God said, and they followed His instruction. On the morning after the prophecy, the king of Moab saw the water was red and thought the three kings had fought and killed each other. He ordered his army to get the spoils of war. When Moab’s army arrived at the camp of the three kings, the battle became intense and the Moabites fled. Mesha took 700 swordsmen to try to break through to the king of Edom and could not. In his rage and fear, he returned to his city and burned his firstborn son, the heir to the throne, as a human sacrifice to his god, Chemosh. This appeal to his god emboldened the army of Moab so they rallied with a great wrath against the king of Israel and his allies. The three allied armies returned to their home countries.

Notice in 2 Kings 3, King Mesha burned his son as a sacrifice. He did not burn the king of Edom. God’s charge in Amos 2:1 says he burned the bones of the king of Edom. Though no written Bible passage exists recording the burning of the kings bones, historians and theologians through the ages agree on two possibilities. The one most often cited is that after the kings of Judah and Israel returned to their lands, the king of Moab followed the king of Edom, who was weaker without his allies. Mesha then killed the king of Edom and burned his bones. A slight alternative to this considers Mesha dug up the bones of a previously buried king of Edom and burned them. The other major line of thought is that 2 Kings 3:27 did not mean Mesha burned his own son when it said, “he took his oldest son who was to reign,” but that he took the son of the King of Edom and killed him upon the walls of his city. This scenario is a stretch, but some Jewish historians prefer this understanding.

Whichever scenario is the actual history of God’s charge is not as important as the reason for God to level this charge against Moab. Ultimately, Moab disrespected the remains of a king, judged the king and disgraced him by treating his bones and memory with contempt. He metaphorically made him common, nothing more than lime that makes fertilizer, cleanses gravesites, and makes common whitewash. Besides this, Moab disrespected a person of Israel, Esau’s descendant, or Lot’s descendant if Mesha burned his own son. Just as David knew God would judge him for killing King Saul, God would judge King Mesha for killing and desecrating the king of Edom or the future king of Moab. Both were related to Abraham though only Edom’s king was a direct descendant of Abraham. What judgment would be fitting punishment for disrespecting a king from the line of Abraham, any person of Israel, or any human all of whom God considers sacred? God’s wise and righteous judgment tells us in verses two and three.

·         Have you experienced a person who mercilessly continued to harass you? Did they do it to make themselves feel more important or significant in the community or family?
·         Do you catch yourself wanting to say bad things about a person or cut a person down because he or she thinks too highly of him or herself or because you feel you are not being noticed?
·         What consequences happen when you do these types of things? Does it affect you internally? Do you act upon these impulses? How does that affect you?

Judgment of God

God’s judgment of Moab for their sin of disrespect and desecrating the dead is similar to the His judgments on the other nations. Amos stated it in verses two and three,

“‘So I will send fire upon Moab and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth and Moab will die amid tumult with war cries and the sound of a trumpet. I will also cut off the judge from her midst and slay all her princes with him,’ says the LORD.” [NASB]

As we remember from Amos’ earlier prophecies, “fire” come from the word ‘esh (aysh) and means the flames of God’s anger either as fire from heaven or as war from enemies sent or allowed as punishment from God. “Send” means to stretch out, shoot forth, or let loose. Amos said God’s punishment and anger would shoot out as fire. He would completely destroy the citadels – the fortresses and strongholds – of Moab. Amos named Kerioth of Moab to receive this destruction. As the principal city of Moab, like the other prophecies, it meant the whole of Moab would receive the wrath of God. God would destroy them. Jeremiah 48:24 and 41 note Kerioth as being a fortified city containing a sanctuary for Chemosh. Historians consider Kerioth may be the same as the city of Ar on the northern border of Moab. God stated through Amos that Moab would die amid tumult of war cries and the sound of a trumpet. “Die” comes from the Hebrew word muwth, which means to perish or be put to death. The people of Moab would experience inner fear as they heard the war cries of the enemy army approaching. Their insides would melt in despair at the sound of the trumpet calling the charge of the army against them. The people who disrespected and appeared to have no fear of other nations since they often rebelled and battled the surrounding nations would quiver at the mighty din of the war cries and trumpets, and the crash of destruction as the walls fell.

Besides their fall to enemy armies, Amos prophesied God would cut off the judge from Moab. He would eliminate the leader/governor of their country and they would have no government. They would be a people lost without a leader. The LORD said He would slay her princes, too. Remember, princes can mean the king, prince, or chief. It can mean the priests who lead them to worship false gods, too. God would remove their government and their religious leaders. Their false gods, as always, would have no power over them and no influence. The Moabites would be completely cut off from their gods. They would be lost and wandering.

Given this understanding of the words Amos used, what do these two verses mean? Consider this paraphrase. God would send His wrath like a fire upon Moab. It would destroy their strongholds upon which they counted for safety including the chief one at Kerioth. God would destroy Moab completely. They would perish before their time with much confusion and with war cries that made people fear and put the fear of the LORD in them. The LORD would come like the sound of a trumpet-suddenly and with deathly certainty. Moab would die in war. God would cut off their rulers, judges, and priests. Moab would die and no one would remain to lead the remnant of survivors. There would no longer be a nation of Moab.

·         When a person disrespects or denigrates another person, how does that make the community see that disrespectful person? Do they look up to him or her with disdain or with admiration? What happens to that disrespectful person in the short or long term?
·         Have you disrespected someone and brought undue scrutiny upon him or her? How did that work out for you? Did you receive praise? Did you feel good about yourself? Did God prick your conscience? Later, did you wonder why your relationship with God wasn’t vibrant?

The Fulfillment of God’s Judgment against Moab

God’s servants, the prophets, prophesied against Moab beginning with Amos’ prophecies. Other prophets spoke God’s judgment against them later. These prophecies include Isaiah 25:10-12, Zephaniah 2:8-9, Jeremiah 9:26, 25:12-38, and 48:1-47, and Ezekiel 25:8-11. What Moab experienced immediately after Amos’ prophecy was not the total fulfillment of God’s judgment against them. The later prophecies confirm that. Isaiah said the Moabites would be trodden down. Zephaniah said they would be like Sodom, a perpetual desolation. Jeremiah said God would punish the uncircumcised. The LORD would slay them like a great storm, and Moab would experience shame and brokenness. The LORD offered hope to Moab. At the end of Jeremiah 48, God told them He would restore the fortune of Moab in days to come. He would remember His people. Though the people of Moab would be leaderless, some taken into captivity, and the remnant left to survive in the desolate places, God would bring them back, He said.

What happened to Moab in history? Did God’s judgment occur? In reading the annals of history, we read of empires battling against the nations of Canaan, the middle and near east, and north Africa. In 738 BC Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria occupied the provinces east of the Jordan River. The Nimrud inscription of Tiglath-Pileser III states the Moabite king, Salmanu became a tributary to Assyria. Sargon II of Assyria mentioned on a clay prism a revolt against him by Moab joined by Philistia, Judah, and Edom. On the Taylor prism, the Assyrian account states the king of Moab paid tribute to Sargon.

After the Neo-Babylonians defeated Assyria, they overtook the previously held vassal states of Assyria in the middle and near-east. Of these, history tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon overtaking Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other small nations on the eastern side of the Jordan River in 582 BC after Judah fell in 586 BC. By 572 BC, Babylon was in control of the whole region.

After Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire took over ruling the previous areas of the Babylonian Empire. During the Persian reign, Moab disappeared from historical records. It became an area overrun by tribes from Arabia. Nehemiah 4:7 notes the Arabians of the region, not the Moabites, were allies of the Ammonites. Remember, Nehemiah was the man of God used to get the remnant people of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem while the others were still in Babylonian captivity. Even then Nehemiah recognized Moab was no longer a nation.

·         God will judge people for their sins. Sometimes that judgment and correction comes while we are still alive.
·         Have you felt God’s judgment/punishment/chastisement on you when you disrespected another person?
·         What did you do when you felt God’s punishment? Did you run and hide or did you repent and return to a right relationship with God?

Recap

What was Moab’s sin according to God’s charge against them? They burned the bones of the king of Edom. The king of Moab disrespected and desecrated the body of royalty, one from the line of Abraham, no less. The Moabites continued to rail against authority and God’s judgment against them throughout their history. They did not receive correction and punishment with grace, repent, seek forgiveness, and renew a right relationship with God or other people. The Moabites continued to do what they wanted, when they wanted, for whatever reason they wanted. They were a force unto themselves and considered themselves unaccountable to anyone.

·         Do we consider ourselves in this same way?
·         Do we go about our lives thinking I want it, I deserve it, I will reach for it, and I will get it no matter what may be in our way?
·         Do we think the ends justify the means?

Conclusion

Not even considering the king of Edom was from the line of Abraham, he was a man created in God’s image. God does not condone human sacrifice. He judged people of the Bible for it and for their worship of false gods. God made a commandment and gave it to the Israelites saying, “Thou shall not murder.” Whether murdering is causing the death of a person, the defaming of a person’s reputation, or the disrespecting and desecrating of a person’s body dead or alive, God speaks against this. To God each human life is sacred.

Jesus took this one step farther. When the Pharisee asked Him what the greatest commandment was, He condensed the Ten Commandments given by the Father to the Israelites into two commandments. He said in Matthew 22:37-40,

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” [NASB]

If you disrespect or denigrate a person physically or verbally whether dead or alive you do not love your neighbor. By not loving your neighbor you have broken the second greatest commandment. When you break any commandment, you show you do not love God and so break the greatest commandment.
Obedience = Love
How do you love your neighbor?
·         Speak kind words.
·         Do not gossip or cut them down.
·         Do not disrespect them or seek to harm them even if you disagree with them.
·         Do acts of goodness and kindness for the person.

Proverbs 25:21-22 spoke about this. It said, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” [NASB] Multiple benefits occur from following this. First, by doing good to your enemy-the one who harms you or wants to harm you-you stop them in their tracks questioning why you treat them well when they do not do the same for you. Second, by continually doing good for the one who wants to harm you or continues to harm you, they experience the goodness, grace, and mercy of God and may seek it for themselves. Third, by doing good, you practice it and it becomes habit so you change for the better and consider more than once before you disrespect or denigrate another person. Be like Hosea who continued to love his wife, Gomer, though she was a prostitute. Be like Jesus who continued to love people though they spat on Him, lashed his body, nailed Him to a cross, and pierced His side.

Ø  By doing good, and speaking kindness and love to people, the person will see God’s light of love. That person might change before God judges him or her like He did the Moabites.
Ø  By doing good, you will change more into the likeness of Christ. You will pray for your enemies, turn the other cheek, and share the suffering of other people while encouraging them.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” [1 John 4:7, NASB]

v  Where do you need God’s help to love when someone disrespects and denigrates you?
v  Where do you need God’s help to love when you disrespect and want to denigrate someone?

Loving is not always easy, but it is necessary.

God commands it.