Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Sabbath SchoolLessonLesson Helps for the Week of April 25ifor April 25,1971God's ludgment Upon IsraelAmos 1:1; 2:4-7; 8:4-7,11Comments by John K. GaultOnly one man in the Old Testamenthad the name, Amos, and that man was theAmos of this lesson. He lived over sevenhundred years before Christ, in the vicinityof Tekoa, a small village about ten milessouth of Jerusalem. By occupation Amoswas a shepherd and the scholars say thatthe name herdsman indicates that he raiseda special breed of sheep, the wool of whichwas very desirable in the weaving industry.The call of Amos to be a prophet isdescribed in his answer to Amaziah, thepriest of Bethel, who counseled him to gosouth into Judah and "there eat bread, andprophesy there," as he said, "I was noprophet, neither was I a prophet's son; butI was an herdman and a gatherer ofsycamore fruit: and the Lord took me as Ifollowed the flock, and the Lord said untome, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.Now therefore hear thou the word of theLord." It is evident, therefore, that Amosnever attended any formal school of theprophets, but, notwithstanding, his simpleoutdoor life enabled him to realize thenearness of God and of the responsibilitywhich the people owed to God. Somecommentators are of the opinion thatAmos probably visited different cities ofthe land and in that way he saw the uncheckedwickedness of the countries andhis heart burned within him to dosomething about it.1: Amos, Speaking For God,Pronounced ludgment upon JudahBecause the People Despised God's Law.As he said in 2:4 they "have not kepthis commandments, and their lies causedthem to err, after the which their fathershave walked." To despise God's law is thegreatest sin which people can commit. It isthe origin of all other forms of transgressions.In Psalm 19:7 the singer said,'The law of the Lord is perfect, convertingthe soul." To despise God's law is,therefore, to be in an unconverted state.People, by nature, are inclined to do as'hey please, but this inclination can veryMARCH 31, 1971easily prove their undoing. A child alwayswants to do as he pleases; consequently hemight put poison in his mouth, fall into thewater, or destroy himself in many otherways. The restraining hand and voice ofthe parent is always necessary if the child isto be kept from harm. This is what the lawof the Lord does for people. When peopleobserve and obey this law they are keptfrom the harm of the Devil who wouldotherwise destroy them. The nation ofJudah had come to despise the law of theLord and as a consequence God said tothat nation in the words of Amos, "But Iwill send a fire upon Judah, and it shalldevour the palaces of Jerusalem." This waswhat happened when Nebuchadnezzar,king of Babylon, captured the city,destroyed the Temple, and took all theimportant citizens into captivity.2: God Pronounced ludgment uponIsrael Because the Greedy LandownersOppressed the Poor.Amos said for God, "For threetransgressions of Israel, and for four, I willnot turn away the punishment thereof;because they sold the righteous for silver,and the poor for a pair of shoes; that pantafter the dust of the earth on the head ofthe poor, and turn aside the way of themeek;" The poor of the land were forcedto sell themselves into slavery in order tohave food to eat and even to obtain a pairof shoes were the poor sold into slavery.The rich were so rapacious in their greedthat they sought to seize the poor who hadput dust on their heads as a sign of theirabject misery. The "meek" or those whodid desire to do the will of God were"turned aside"; that is, they werediscriminated against by the lustful rich. Inthe "Deserted Village" Goldsmith says,"111 fares the land, to hastening ills aprey.Where wealth accumulates, and mendecay;Princes and lords may flourish or mayfade;A breath can make them, as a breathhas made;But a bold peasantry, their country'spride,When once destroyed, can never besupplied."Amos said, also, as he denounced therich men of Israel for their oppression ofthe poor, "Hear this, O ye that swallow upthe needy, even to make the poor of theland to fail, saying, When will the newmoon be gone, that we may sell corn? andthe Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat,making the ephah small, and the shekelgreat, and falsifying the balances bydeceit." The rapacious land owners ofIsrael were guilty of the most flagrantsocial sins which amounted to openviolation of the second table of the lawrequiring love for one's neighbor.3: God Pronounced Judgment uponIsrael Because of Her Gross Immorality.This is stated in 2:7,8, "A man and hisfather will go in unto the same maid, toprofane my holy name: and they laythemselves down upon clothes laid topledge by e\ery altar." — Incest andadultery were evidently commonplace andtheir idol worship was characterized byopen wickedness of this sort. Israel,therefore, had become a nation of idolworshipers, which was a violation of thefirst table of the law wherein God had said,"Thou shalt have no other gods beforeme." Their oppression and cheating of thepoor were violations of the second table ofthe law which commanded people to lovetheir neighbors as themselves.4: God's Judgments upon IsraelWere Inescapable.For every cause there must be aneffect, so God said through Amos, "Cantwo walk together except they be agreed?Will a lion roar in the forest when he hathno prey? Will a young lion cry out of hisden, if he have taken nothing? Can a birdfall in a snare upon the earth, where no ginis for him? Shall one take up a snare fromthe earth, and have taken nothing at all? —The lion hath roared, who will not fear?The Lord God hath spoken, who can butprophesy?" Through Amos, God has saidto the people of every age and nation thatas day and night follow each other soretribution is sure to follow any disregardof God's laws.S: Israel Did Not Learn from LocalJudgments.Amos said in 4:6-9,11,12, "And I havegiven you cleanness of teeth in all yourcities, and want of bread in all your places:vet have ye not returned unto me, saith theLord. And also I have withholden the rainfrom vou, when there were vet threeII