Amos 5:1-17

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Third Sermon to the Northern Kingdom

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Idolatry will not go unjudged.

  2. Injustice will not go unjudged.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Don’t forget that you’re dealing with the God of the universe.

QUESTIONS

  1. Why was Amos considered a foreign missionary?

  2. Where was the idolatrous shrine of the golden calf located where Amos began his third sermon of judgment?

  3. Was Amos a seminary student when God called him to missionary service?

  4. King Jeroboam had two residences. Where were they located?

  5. What do Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba have in common?

ANSWERS

  1. He crossed over an international boundary, leaving his home country of Judah in the Southern Kingdom to go to prophecy and preach to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

  2. In Bethel.

  3. No. He was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit.

  4. He had a residence in Samaria, the capitol of Israel, and in Bethel.

  5. They had all become places of idolatrous shrines.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Jews from the Northern Kingdom of Israel were crossing the border, going right past the true temple in Jerusalem in order to make pilgrimages to the idolatrous shrine in Beersheba. Bethel was the royal shrine of the Northern Kingdom, which had also become idolatrous, and it was here that Amos pronounced God’s judgment. In Amos 5:6, an invitation was given to any individual in the Northern Kingdom to escape the judgment by turning to the Lord. A number of godly Hebrews did escape judgment by migrating south to the Kingdom of Judah to worship the Lord at His true temple. As predicted by Amos, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered because idolatry will not go unjudged. Idolatry will not go unjudged. What is the application for us today?

  2. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was not only guilty of idolatry, but also of injustice. The people were rebuked, but they abhorred the one who spoke uprightly. Does this sound familiar in our own nation today? How do people respond to one who speaks righteousness? An appeal was made for people to turn from their wicked ways, but there was very little response to God’s gracious offer because the people were so far away from the Lord. How does this relate to us today?

CHALLENGE

  1. Don’t forget that you’re dealing with the God of the universe. See Amos 5:8-9. Ultimately, righteousness will reign. God not only has the right to judge, but He has to power to do so. Take heed, for God sees all, knows all, and is everywhere present. Stand in awe.

KEY VERSES

  • “Seek Me and live…Seek the Lord and live…” Amos 5:5, 6

  • “He made the Pleiades and Orion…the Lord is His name.” Amos 5:8

  • “It is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live…establish justice in the gate.” Amos 5:13-15



Amos, Old Testament, TalksDeb HarmsAmos 5:1-17