Theme: No one can serve 2 masters.

Intro – Serving Self & Money (6:4-6, 12; also 8:4-6)

Amos 6:4-6 (NASB)

4 Those who lie on beds of ivory,
And lounge around on their couches,
And eat lambs from the flock,
And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have composed songs for themselves,
6 Who drink wine from sacred bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils—
Yet they have not grieved over the collapse of Joseph.

Amos 6:12 (NASB)

12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow them with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.

Amos 8:4-6 (NASB)

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain;
And the Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the ephah smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with dishonest scales,
6 So as to buy the helpless for money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

God’s Attributes in Judgment:

1. Mercy (7:1-3)

Amos 7:1-3 (NASB)

1 This is what the Lord God showed me, and behold, He was forming a swarm of locusts when the spring crop began to sprout. And behold, the spring crop was after the king’s mowing. 2 And it came about, when it had finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, “Lord God, please pardon! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.”
3 The Lord relented of this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord.

2. Patience (7:4-6)

Amos 7:4-6 (NASB)

4 So the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farmland. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop! How can Jacob stand? For he is small.”
6 The Lord relented of this. “This too shall not be,” said the Lord God.

3. Righteousness (7:7-17)

Amos 7:7-17 (NASB)

7 So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold I am about to put a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer.

9 The high places of Isaac will become deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. 11 For this is what Amos says: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” 12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there! 13 But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”

14 Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ 16 So now hear the word of the Lord: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you prophesy against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”

4. Justice (8:1-14)

Amos 8 (NASB)

8 This is what the Lord God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer. 3 The songs of the palace will turn to wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The corpses will be many; in every place they will throw them out. Hush!”

4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain; And the Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market, To make the ephah smaller and the shekel bigger, and to cheat with dishonest scales,

6 So as to buy the helpless for money, And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Because of this will the land not quake, and everyone who lives in it mourn? Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile, and it will be tossed about and subside like the Nile of Egypt.

9 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon, And make the earth dark in broad daylight.

10 Then I will turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into songs of mourning;
And I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist,
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
But rather for hearing the words of the Lord.

12 People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam about to seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.

13 On that day the beautiful virgins
And the young men will faint from thirst.

14 As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria,
And say, ‘As your god lives, Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and not rise again.”

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Amos 3:1-15 (NASB)

1 Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt:

2 “You only have I known among all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your wrongdoing.”
3 Do two people 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 growl from his den unless he has captured something?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no device in it?
Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people not tremble?
If a disaster occurs in a city, has the Lord not brought it about?
7 Certainly the Lord God does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret plan
To His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken! Who can do anything but prophesy?

9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great panic within her and the oppressions in her midst. 10 But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares the Lord, “these who store up violence and devastation in their citadels.”

11 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

“An enemy, one surrounding the land,
Will take down your fortifications from you,
And your citadels will be looted.”

12 This is what the Lord says:

“Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,
So will the sons of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away—
With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Declares the Lord God, the God of armies.
14 “For on the day that I punish Israel’s offenses,
I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
The horns of the altar will be cut off,
And will fall to the ground.
15 I will also strike the winter house together with the summer house;
The houses of ivory will also perish,
And the great houses will come to an end,”
Declares the Lord.

Theme: God’s people must be and do what God has called them to, lest they face disastrous consequences.

Two Privileges & Two Consequences for God’s People

2 Privileges

1) God’s Calling of His People (3:1-2a)

2) God Calls His Prophets to Warn (3:3-8)

2 Consequences

1) God’s Calling of Witnesses (3:9-10)

2) God’s Call for Judgment (3:2b, 11-15)

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2 Thessalonians 1:6-12 (NASB)

6 For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will consider you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the Lord Jesus returns, He will bring true justice upon all mankind.

1) The God of Justice will punish willfully ignorant, disobedient unbelievers with their future penalty (1:6-9)

2) The God of Justice will bless faithful, suffering believers with their future reward (1:7, 10)

3) The God of Grace does hear prayers for believers to be fully sanctified so that the Lord Jesus will be glorified (1:11-12)

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2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 (NASB)

6 For after all it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified among His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our testimony to you was believed.

When the Lord Jesus returns, He will bring true justice upon all mankind.

1) The God of Justice will punish willfully ignorant, disobedient unbelievers with their future penalty (1:6-9)

2) The God of Justice will bless faithful, suffering believers with their future reward (1:7, 10)

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Genesis 6:9-22 (NASB)

9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for humanity had corrupted its way upon the earth.

13 Then God said to Noah, “The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. 14 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. 17 Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. 18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 As for you, take for yourself some of every food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.” 22 So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.

Theme: The righteous live by faith in God and prepare accordingly, believing God’s warnings that He will judge the wicked.

1) Righteous Character (6:9-10)

2) Corruption of Man / Character of God (6:11-13)

3) Commands of God (6:14-21)

4) Obedient Faith (6:22)

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