Amos 4

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Second Sermon of Judgment to the Northern Kingdom

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. God expects men and women to be informed and concerned about the poor and needy.

  2. God expects the backslider to return as a result of hard times.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Are you prepared to meet your God?

QUESTIONS

  1. Who was the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel?

  2. Was he a good king?

  3. How is Jeroboam I remembered?

  4. Where did Jeroboam I set up his shrines?

  5. How had idolatry already begun in Israel?

  6. Are there ten lost tribes of Israel?

ANSWERS

  1. Jeroboam I

  2. No. In fact, there were no good kings in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

  3. As the king who made Israel to sin because he set up a new system of worship. He did this in order to keep the people from going south to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, Judah.

  4. At Dan and at Bethel, each shrine having a golden calf as the focus of worship.

  5. It began with Solomon because he had married many foreign wives, who brought their gods into the country with them.

  6. No, because at the time of Jeroboam I, many of the godly in the northern ten tribes of Israel had migrated south to worship the true Lord at His temple in Jerusalem. That’s why there is representation for all twelve tribes in the Jews today.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Amos prophesied against the wealthy, pleasure-loving women of Samaria. The sin was not that they were wealthy, but that their wealth was obtained by oppressing the poor and crushing the needy, and they didn’t care. What does this say to our culture today? Even among Christians? God holds us accountable and we will be judged concerning our care and treatment of the poor and needy. What are you doing for the poor and needy?

  2. Throughout the existence of the Northern Kingdom, God had sent hard times – famines, droughts, natural disasters, plagues and military defeats. Only by God’s mercy were they spared and not consumed. What was God’s purpose? He expected the backslider to return as a result of hard times. But because they would not return, they would meet God’s judgment. Relate this to today, both to our nation and to your personal life.

CHALLENGE

  1. Are you prepared to meet your God? Each one of us will stand before our Maker someday. Read Hebrews 9:27. If you are not a believer, you must acknowledge your sin and receive Christ as your Savior in order to meet God. If you are a Christian, remember that your life will be reviewed before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Read Romans 14:12. Are you ready to meet God and give account?

KEY VERSES

  • “Hear this word…you who oppress the poor and crush the needy.” Amos 4:1

  • “Prepare to meet your God…” Amos 4:12



Amos, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsAmos 4