July 14, 2024
Pastor John Hering
Amos 7:10-15
Amos 7:10-15
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel:
Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words. 11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”
14 Then Amos responded to Amaziah:
I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
You can remember the last time you looked on Facebook, X, or TikTok, or Instagram and were disgusted by what you saw. Was it the attempted assassination of former President Trump? Was it the old guy who was molesting children? Was it the news about the mother and her child that was shot? Was it the news about the person who was selling her Facebook Marketplace coins to a guy in a parking lot that was robbed? Do you really thinking no one is watching you put your packages in the trunk at the Mall and waiting to steal them? Maybe you wanted to punch the guy standing in line at Burger King in front of you making lewd comments to the girl taking his order. You’re thinking, “First of all, that’s harassment, and secondly, what if that were my daughter?” Then wickedness swirls in closer as the people you are living with use language that isn’t even fit for the bathroom. Lying and cheating seem as natural as sneezing. Then Satan pokes his bony finger right into the corner of your brain and tries to get you to justify illicit behavior as though God doesn’t care if you’re shacking up or getting hammered on Friday during happy hour. There, did I cover all the commandments of God?
How can you stand living in this world with any hope or confidence? Today, we get the answer through an incident from the career of the prophet Amos:
God Stands Behind You
Your Station
Last week we heard about the tough job Ezekiel had to be a messenger to God’s people. Today, I’m quite sure none of you would volunteer to trade places with Amos either. Picture a community war going on. Imagine that you are on one side of the street, and the other side is completely over-run with thugs and criminals. Then God appears and tells you to go to the rich, snooty, high and mighty, big dollar, ritzy home of the bad guys to confront the landlord and proclaim, “God considers you and all your people to be a bunch of ruthless, rotten rodents, and you better get your act together, or he’s going to blast you to hell!” That was Amos’ job. He lived just before Isaiah and just after an internal war had split the nation of Israel in two—north versus south. God told him to leave his little farm town of Tekoa down south in Judah, travel to the big capital city of the north, march into the palace of the king, and tell him, “God considers you and all your people to be rotten, and he will destroy you unless you repent and return to him.” Making matters worse, there was a sharp-tongued opponent named Amaziah. He had a very important position. He was the priest at Bethel, the worship site of the northern kingdom. Amaziah got up every morning, looked in the mirror, and nearly threw his shoulder out of joint patting himself on the back. He was proud of himself and his station in life.
But then one day, along came this Amos with a message completely counter to his own.
11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”
“Who is this Amos guy?” Amaziah asked, “His resume is blank. He has had no formal training. He has no letters behind his name.” Amaziah looked down his pointy nose at Amos and despised him for his apparent lowly station in life. What did Amos do? Was he embarrassed and ashamed? Did he tiptoe back to Tekoa with his head hung low and his tail between his legs? No!
“I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
He was not ashamed of his station in life. God had given him the gifts and skills to take care of flocks and to farm the land, and he used those gifts and skills to the best of his ability. He had nothing to be ashamed of. He replied to Amaziah with the truth. He was not sinfully proud. Rather, he was content with his station in life because God stood behind him.
In the introduction I painted our station in life to be pretty grim. Perhaps the devil is working hard to make you discontent. Just like for Amos, it gets really hard when you learn the gossip queen at work got promoted instead of you. Dear Christian friends, what was true for Amos is also true for you—God Stands Behind You. He is the one who has given you your station in life. Is it wrong to try to get ahead in life? Is it wrong to seek a promotion or retrain for a job with a better benefit package? Of course not! But remember, you might be on the low end of the totem pole! Maybe you exchanged more hours at work for more hours with your children. Maybe you are using your gifts and talents to the best of your ability but you still feel like the broken brick on the bottom of the corporate pyramid. Like Amos, grow in contentment as God stands behind you in your station in life. Then you will be able to confess with the apostle,
“12 I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough.”
Philippians 4:12
In Christ Jesus is your station in life because you know:
Your Status
Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, surely didn’t want people going to Jerusalem, the center of worship in the southern kingdom. So he had set up a worship center at Bethel twelve miles north of Jerusalem and appointed his own priests. Amaziah not only had a very important position serving at Bethel, he also had status in the eyes of the king.
“10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words.”
Amaziah’s status brought confidence to his accusation, although it was a lie, of Amos. Amaziah was even so bold to confront Amos,
“13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”
There is a TV show called, “What would you do?” (Explain the show). We might expect Amos to back down, not just ashamed of his lowly station in life but out of sheer fear. Amaziah had the authority of the king of the northern kingdom to back him up. But Amos didn’t shake in fear because he had a higher authority standing behind him. Look at his courage. ”The Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go.” Amos knew the key. While his station in life may have been low, his status was high. Amaziah got his authority from a king, but Amos received his authority from God! God supplied the courage in order for Amos to carry out his task…. because God was standing behind him.
How often do you remember your status? If we would follow you around and watch your words and actions, you might be nervous. But, when you stop at the front of church and stare up at the crucifix where Jesus died to wash away all your sins, there you see your status from God’s point of view. You are God’s own dear child. We get the courage from the status God has given us. At our baptism he gave us the status of being royal priests even if we don’t feel like it or look like it. He gave his promise to stand behind us. Your status is Christ living and ruling your heart. You get to say, “No!” to temptation. You get to say, “Yes!’ to godly living. Stand your ground in this evil and hostile world. Join with Amos and grow in courage as God stands behind you in your station and your status. Then go and proclaim
Your Statements
I wonder what it was like the first time Amaziah heard Amos speak? Maybe he thought, “Who in the world is this!” Amos poked right into the heart of the problem, the sinful hearts of Jeroboam the king, Amaziah the priest, and all those who followed them. Amos delivered God’s message of doom. “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.” Amaziah heard the statement and fired back,
““You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”
While it was the truth, Amaziah couldn’t stand Amos’ statements about doom and gloom and wanted him gone!
Amos spoke the truth—God’s law to call sin a sin. And his prayer? That King Jeroboam became sick to death in his heart over his sinful life and leadership. Then Amos would have another statement from God! It would be a statement of mercy and compassion, of love and forgiveness.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed”
Psalm 34:18
Amos had been called by God to speak statements of truth and only the truth. Anything else would have been sludge in the water. So, Amos didn’t make things up or flounder around for words. He spoke with clarity because God was standing behind his statements.
God has called us to make clear statements as well. Today there are many reasons why people find it so difficult to witness for Christ. Some folks say that they find themselves at a loss for words. Really? When we get right down to it, in spite of all the denials, excuses, and criticisms from others, in spite of all the challenges from our society, witnessing for Christ is as easy as counting to two. One: We are sinners. Two: Jesus is our Savior. So join Amos to make clear statements because God stands behind your statements. Then you’ll be able to confess with Paul,
“13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me…. 19 And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”
Philippians 4:13, 19
In the introduction I talked about all the horrible things we see and hear on social media. When those things get you down let’s remember two great miracles have already occurred in our life. One – God gave us a Savior. Two – he adopted us into his family. That means that even when it seems the odds are against us, we always Have God Who Is Standing Behind Us with the promises of his Word. So, let go and have a life of hope, confidence, and meaningful ministry with contentment, courage, and clarity because God stands behind your station, status, and your statements in Jesus Christ. Amen.
