Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The world of the 1420s is radically different from our modern world!

• Europe is still recovering from the Black Death (1347-1349), which took the lives of easily a third of all Europeans.
• It is still too early for the Reformation (1517+). For example, Jan Hus tried to reform the church, but was executed (1415).
• The Chinese fleet is exploring the Indian Ocean and firming up trade agreements with Africans, Arabs, and other peoples.
• The Old World and the New World are still not connected. The "Columbian exchange" is still over 70 years away.
• Further, it's still centuries before the industrial revolution.

And yet the words of à Kempis are still on target!

• Human nature hasn't changed, nor has the struggle between flesh and spirit.
• Perhaps because he worked so faithfully, copying manuscripts and striving to help others. He understood people, and accepted God's diagnosis of the human condition.
• We humans still tend to be self-focused. We have difficulty aligning our will with God's will.
• Many tend to be attracted to Christianity for mercenary reasons.
• With this in mind, today's meditation is both challenging and relevant.

Verses cited or alluded to:
Matt 16:24; 10:22
Prov 31:10
2 Tim 3:2
1 Cor 13:2
Luke 10:42; 17:10
Ps 25:16 (also Sirach 6:10)

Personal application:

• Would I keep the faith if those who led me to the Lord gave up theirs?
• Am I in any way a "mercenary"?
• If I make my living from the gospel, do I tone down the message or show favoritism, in order to keep my job, or in order not to offend?
• If God withdrew his blessings from my life (think Job 1-2), would I still make the effort to imitate Christ?

We will continue these thoughts tomorrow with "The Royal Way of the Cross."

Cool à Kempis quotes:

• If you gave more frequent thought to your death than to a long life, you would unquestionably be more eager to amend your life.
• It is better for you to live privately and take care of yourself than it is to neglect your soul even though you could work wonders in the world.
• Also, check out the à Kempis tweets.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The structure of James Watkins' arrangement (encompassing 90 of the 114 chapters in The Imitation of Christ) is:

I. Imitating Christ (Introduction) -- 5 chapters
II. Imitating Christ's Character -- 85 chapters
Loving, Teachable, Wise, Trusting, Obedient, Self-sacrificing, Humble, Gracious, Forgiving, Patient, Peaceful, Pure, Disciplined, Self-controlled, Eternally Minded.

Lead-in scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Verses cited or alluded to: 1 Chr 29:11,17; Heb 9:14; Ps 25:11; 1 Pet 1:18-19. There is also a citation from the apocryphal 1 Macc 13:46.

The Prayer of Manasseh, which I mentioned in my comments, is included in this podcast.

To download a .pdf version of an alternate (an older) translation of The Imitation of Christ, click here.

Application:
1. Without being morbidly fascinated with our own wrongdoing, we can still pray for forgiveness for specific sins, and (even better?) for specific categories of sin, since harmful patterns tend to reoccur in our lives.
2. Thomas à Kempis, although he was a productive and spiritual man, recognized himself as "lazy and useless." Do we take our own idleness and laziness seriously? A hard worker who is humble is usually aware of room for improvement. Are we too soft on ourselves?
3. When I pray, do I seek only forgiveness, or also a good conscience? Without a purified conscience, it is difficult to take a stand for the Lord. We may struggle with insecurity or second-guessing ourselves.

Tomorrow: "On Taking Up Christ's Cross" (Book 2, Chapter 11)

   Cool à Kempis quotes:

• To account nothing of one's self, and to think always kindly and highly of others, this is great and perfect wisdom.
• A man who truly knows himself realizes his own worthlessness, and takes no pleasure in the praises of men.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Book I, Chapter I

The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.

What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.

This is the greatest wisdom—to seek the kingdom of heaven through contempt of the world. It is vanity, therefore, to seek and trust in riches that perish. It is vanity also to court honor and to be puffed up with pride. It is vanity to follow the lusts of the body and to desire things for which severe punishment later must come.

It is vanity to wish for long life and to care little about a well-spent life. It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come. It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.

Often recall the proverb: “The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing.” Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible. For they who follow their own evil passions stain their consciences and lose the grace of God.

Version above: From Christian Classics Ethereal Library, translated by Aloysius Croft and Harold Bolton, 1940. Version read in podcast: James Watkins (image below), 2015..

Scriptures

Application

internalizing

 his teaching. Just because I go to church doesn't mean I am living as Christ wills. Are there other things than Christ and his Word that have captured our heart, imagination, or enthusiasm?2. Apart from a life of service to God, everything is ultimately meaningless. After all, what is eternal? The good life -- whether the party scene of youth or the comfortable "retirement" of age -- is vain, in the light of eternity.3. We must be vigilant lest our appetites erode conscience and faith. Confidence, credibility, and ministry impact are all affected when we give in to fleshly desires.4. Sheer productivity (easily a fleshly desire) isn't the goal -- nor passion, conviction, or flurry of activity -- but the heart of Christ.

Tomorrow: "Offering All We Have to God and Praying for Others" (original chapter title)

Cool à Kempis quotes:

• Take pains to be patient in bearing the faults and weaknesses of others, for you too have many flaws that others must put up with.
• The man who is not yet wholly dead to self, is soon tempted, and is overcome in small and trifling matters.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

ACCESS ALL IMITATION OF CHRIST PODCASTS HERE (scroll down)

ce the early 1400s, 

The Imitation of Christ

 has been a Christian classic—for many centuries surpassed in printing and sales only by the Bible itself. Nor in its time was any book more translated into contemporary languages (apart from Scripture).

Imitation

 originally circulated as a series of devotional booklets, the earliest of which reached the public as early as 1420, a year or two after à Kempis began writing. Thomas à Kempis (Thomas Haemmerlein, 1380-1471) spent most of his life in Germany, spending 72 years of his life as a member of the Brothers of the Common Life at Mount St. Agnes Monastery. This work was originally written in Latin. For non-Latin readers there are numerous versions in modern languages. The 

Imitation

 has been available in English since 1696.

The 

Imitation

 consists of four books and 114 chapters. This is the original arrangement:

(In our series we will 

sample

 the chapters—reading selectively, not studying the entire work.)

* I'll read the selection for the day.

* Scriptural connections will be pointed out.* Practical application will follow (thought questions, personal challenges, prayer points).

1 Jan—

Despising Vanity 

Offering Ourselves

Taking Up Jesus' Cross

4 Jan—

The Royal Way of the Cross

The Power of Divine Love

The Intimate Love of Jesus

Futile Hope

Selfish Love 

Hearing God's Words

Knowledge / Wisdom / Not Believing Everyone

Not Trusting Self / Trusting God

Human Misery / Weakness

13—

The Loss of All Comfort

14—

Bearing Injuries / Christ's Obedience

15—

On Obedience / Earthly Affections

16—

Benefits of Obedience / Self-Denial / Surrender of Self

Over-Anxiety / Holy Examples

18—

Guard of Humility / Thinking Humbly

19—

Contempt of Worldly Knowledge 

The Confidence of Grace

21—

Bearing with Others

22—

On the Love of Solitude & Silence

Peaceableness / Purity / Conscience

24—

The Exercises of a Righteous Person

25—

Reading the Holy Scriptures

26—

Security / Temptation

27—

A Sensitive Heart

Rash Judgment and Words

29—

Desiring Eternal Life

Coasting / Delight / Free Spirit

31—

Meditating on Death / Final Desire / Eternity

Feedback on TIOC:

* Love the à Kempis podcasts—fabulous start to each day. Thank you, praise God!
* I’m encouraging our whole house church to follow along with the Imitation of Christ study series.
* The podcasts are thought-provoking—very helpful and refreshing for me. This teaching is a gift from God to me right now. I am sharing what I'm learning with my sisters (who live in four other cities). The Word will not return void.
* This is very powerful—so glad you decided to podcast from The Imitation. This also fits perfectly with our church's 2019 theme.
* The quiet times are short and very powerful and life changing. Thank you!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The book concludes with good news (9:11-15).

• "The words of Amos burst upon the landscape of the Northern kingdom, Israel, with all the terror and surprise of a lion’s roar. Though their main targets were the palaces of Samaria and the shrines at Bethel and Gilgal, the prophet’s words were to resound throughout Israel’s entire landscape leaving no part nor person unscathed" (Tyndale commentary, p.87).
• But the message of doom is followed by a message of hope.
• Gospel! "[Yahweh] committed himself to Jacob’s descendants long before they committed themselves to him” (Hubbard 236).
• Most books of prophecy alternate judgment and restoration oracles, but not Amos.

The people will return.

• Reversals are a major theme of Amos
  • Days are coming (v. that day – 2:16, 5:18ff, 8:3,9,13).
  • Falling/rising (5:2, 8:14).
  • Walls closed up/open.
  • Hunger/harvest.
  • People of God under grace > under judgment.
  • See how many more you can find...
• The return would take place in the Persian Period.
  • Assyrian exile -- from 722 BC.
  • Babylonian exile -- 605, 597 BC, and fall of Jerusalem in 587/586 BC.
  • Persian period -- Babylon falls 539 BC. Cyrus decrees return of Jews, 539/538. See Isaiah 44, 45, 2 Chronicles 36, and Ezra 1.
  • Greek period -- Persia falls in the 300s. By 333 Persian rules the land of Israel.
  • Roman period -- in 63 BC the Romans march into Israel.
• The punishment comes to an end. God is good!

The fallen tent will be rebuilt.

• This vision was not fulfilled in 1948, but in 49 AD. Amos 9:11 is fulfilled in the church of Christ, particularly through its Gentile mission, according to Acts 15:16. In Joshua 21:43 the land promised to Abraham (Genesis 12) was received, and during the reign of David and Solomon its borders reached their maximum. After the exile, the Lord brought the people back to their land -- in 539 BC. Now if there was a secondary fulfillment, according to James in Acts 15, it was in the first century, not in the political events of the Zionist movement and the mid-20th century.
• The restoration of the land does not refer to modern Israel, formed by Zionists (many of whom are atheists…). Orthodox Jews today insist that the restoration to the land will take place only when Messiah comes.
• The purpose of the rebuilding includes all the nations (as in 9:7 and Revelation 7:9).

The plowman will overtake the reaper.

• Plowing/reaping took place in October/November, March/April.
• v.13 amazing fertility – grapes growing on upper, inaccessible reaches of the land.
• Such abundant fertility requires water – streams of Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 14, Joel 3.
• V.12 Enemies (Edom) to be called by God’s name!
• The towns of the northern kingdom of Israel will be rebuilt.
• Before we hear this message of hope, we must hear his message of judgment.

Conclusion

• "Perhaps the saddest aspect of the book of Amos is not the tone of doom throughout its pages, but the perennial relevance of its message beyond its own world and time. For human society in the modern world has changed very little from that which Amos encountered, and his message continues to speak to each succeeding generation with the same immediate relevance and urgency” (Craigie 123).
• The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:8)

Further study (repeated from Amos A):

• Francine Rivers, The Prophet (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2006)
• Hosea-Jonah, The Word Biblical Commentary (New York: Word, 1987)
• The Twelve Prophets, Volume 1 : Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, The Daily Study Bible Series (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1984)
• Joel & Amos, The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1989)
• Podcast on the prophet Amos (at this website), here.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

This lesson covers most of Amos 9.

9:1ff – judgment begins in the sanctuary

• "Strike the capitals" suggests earthquake, not military assault. This ties in to the prediction of chapter 8.
• V.3  Carmel’s summit – caves, thickets, hiding opportunities.
• There will be no escape. “Gone is the time for object lessons, pleas, repentance and dialogue. Come is the time for the fullness of the judgment, whose nature and need dominate the book, to be released” (Hubbard 227).
• Egypt
  • The Israelites had been delivered out of bondage there
  • Nile pictures return of the floodwaters, a return to chaos (conquered initially in Genesis 1).
• God’s concern for the nations is a major OT theme.
  • Genesis 12:3, Exodus 19:6, Psalms 100, Jonah 1-4, Malachi 1, Matthew 28, Luke 4, Acts 1-28, Revelation 7:9, to list just a few of the many passages.
  • The Ethiopians (Cush) would have been regarded by Israel as insignificant.
  • This major theme reveals the heart of God.
• Exile is decreed!
  • The agents of judgment are the Assyrians.
    • Readings from Nahum 1:14, 3:1-19 describe the cruelty of Assyria (capital Nineveh).
    • They would meet their ultimate demise at the hands of the Babylonians (614, 612 BC).
  • Captivity is a reversal of the exodus.

Advanced

• 9:2 || Obadiah 4, Psalm 139:7-11.
• Another point of no escape: 2 Kings 10:25.
• V.5 melting earth = Psalm 46:6, Micah 1:3-4.
• Cush (v.7) extended from Aswan to a point near Khartoum, a little north of modern Ethiopia. The borders of ancient countries often differed from their modern counterparts.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

So far:

• Amos preached a message of divine judgment, demanding repentance.
  • Religion without righteousness is worthless.
  • Economic and political prosperity are not necessarily a sign of divine approval.
  • Opulent, self-directed living plus lack of concern for the needy is reprehensible.
  • Yahweh's reign is over all the earth, not just over Israel.
  • Since the law demands covenant faithfulness, without which the ultimate penalty of exile will be exacted, and since Israel has refused to listen to her prophets, she will surely go into captivity.
• Amos encountered official opposition.
  • Religion in Israel was closely allied with the state. Power appears to have intoxicated the priests of the corrupt system of Jeroboam.
  • Amaziah, priest at Bethel, commands Amos to return to Judah. "Southerner, go home!"
  • The prophet remains undaunted.

Light-hearted harvest is to become heavy-hearted judgment (8:1-3)

• Songs of joy in the season of plenty will become dirges and laments in time of judgment.
• The summer fruit (in August or September) would have been figs or pomegranates.
• Word-play: qayits means summer fruit (2 Samuel 16:1-2); qets means end. It's the end of Israel; the time is ripe!
• In these verses the message is no longer “Seek the Lord and live” (5:6). Now it has become: “It’s too late; you must die” (like a physician telling patient his disease is terminal).
• That day (v.3) is none other than the day of 5:18-20. The Assyrians will surely come, though this is still a couple of decades off.

Love of money at any cost (8:4-7)

• 8:4-7 echoes 2:6-8. The entrepreneurs are running roughshod over the poor.
• The rapacity of the leaders reached criminal proportions. For an illustration of how the powerful seized whatever they desired, read 1 Kings 21 and 2 Kings 9 (the incident with Naboth's vineyard).
• They are impatient for the Sabbath to be over, so that they can get back to business (exploiting the poor). Israel was, as it were, eager to get out of church as quickly as possible in order to return to their favorite activity: making more money.

God will bring an earthquake! (8:8)

• The earthquake (judgment) motif is also found in 2:13, 3:14-15, 9:1, and of course 1:1. Amos' prophecies would have grown greatly in credibility after the quake (see Zechariah 14:5).
• “… Amos perceives [the foundations of materialistic greed] to be so firm that only an earthquake can shatter its proud structures.” Craigie 185
• Then the prophet's imagery moves from the common to the metaphorical.

Darkness, baldness, death

• 8:9-10 – eclipse.
• Interestingly, there were two total eclipses in Amos’ lifetime (9 February 784 BC, 15 June 763 BC). These would not have failed to impress the Israelites!
• Isaiah 30:26 and many other metaphorical passages describe blessing/punishment in terms of amplification/reduction of various natural phenomena.
• V.10 -- baldness refers to heads shaved in mourning (Jeremiah 16:6).
• The loss of an only son = goodbye to continued existence, personhood or progeny. See Jeremiah 6:26, Zechariah 12:10 (also Luke 7 – the widow of Nain).

Spiritual famine

• The famine has been caused by godless leaders, and failure on both their part and the people's to heed the word of God.
• This is not like Matthew 5:6. For these persons will stumble in their seeking, yet not find (as they refuse to repent).
• See 2 Chronicles 15:2-4.
• Word of God as bread: Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4 (Luke 4:4), Isaiah 55:1-3.
• V.13 -- When the young men/women (youth) are gone, there’s no hope for the future. It's the end of the nation.
• Israel will fall, never to rise again. (Read about how Israel was dismantled and destroyed in 2 Kings 17-25).

Conclusion

• Is there any hope for Israel? Perhaps a better question, is there any hope for us?
• Will we escape if we continue to ignore the word of the Lord?
• Am I giving my heart to something bigger than myself, to the message of Christ, to the cross of Christ, to the body of Christ and being transformed into the character of Christ?
• How many church members fail to read Amos, supposing it has nothing to say to them, no vital message? May it never be so.
• And last, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?

Advanced

• On their cheating in business, the ephah = 22 liters, the shekel 11g. Merchants would line the basket to make it heavier, or use a larger counterweight than legal in the scales (Proverbs 11:1, 16:11, 20:10,23).
• Re: v.9: This is apocalyptic language, not literal. Like Isaiah 30:26, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2, and the book of Revelation. How many passages with apocalyptic language can you locate in the Bible?
• Re: v.12 – sea to sea = S to W; N to E (Dead Sea to Great Sea [Mediterranean], North to West: all four cardinal directions. The famine -- the judgment -- is national.
• V.14 -- "from Dan to Beersheba" means from one end of the land to another (see Judges 20:1).

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

(7:1-9) Locust, fire, and plumb

• Locust and fire
  • These are the worst enemies of agriculture!
  • Some in Jerusalem still remember the locust plagues of 1865 and 1915.
  • After the king’s mowing (v.1), then locust decimation, there would be nothing left!
  • Fire: 1:4,7,10,12,14; 2:2,5; 5:6; also Hosea 8:14.
• Amos' reaction
  • Moved, the prophet tries to prevent the visions of locusts and fire from coming true.
  • Parallels in Numbers 14:11-23, 16:43-50 (see also Exodus 32:7-14,32).
• Yet the threat of the next vision cannot be thwarted.
  • Israel has been measured and found wanting, or out of kilter. "The wall of Israel’s political and spiritual life is tilted beyond repair!"
  • High places/sanctuaries were being used for idolatry.
  • "Pass by" (v.7) recalls the forgiveness of Passover.
  • Nevertheless, though the vision is correct -- and will certainly come true -- it is politically unpopular. Official opposition comes from the priest of Bethel, Amaziah.

Official opposition (7:10-17)

• Those who speak the truth will be opposed, and this is all the more true of those who speak truth to power (2 Timothy 3:12 [Luke 6:22-23,26].)
• 7:13 – Amaziah (high priest of Bethel) claims authority to dismiss Amos. Amaziah implies Amos has threatened the king.
• 7:14 – Amos is not a professional prophet.
  • Prophets were paid for their work.
  • Amos insists that he'd had a perfectly good living without having to moonlight as a prophet.
  • He was not in it for the money!
• Parallels
  • Conflict between prophet and priest || Jeremiah 26, 28.
  • Opposition from the establishment, and from the high priest in particular, similar to what happened to Jesus.
  • In his challenge to priestly, royal authority, Amos stands in the tradition of such other bold prophets as Nathan (2 Samuel 12), Elijah (1 Kings 21), Micaiah (1 Kings 22), and Elisha (2 Kings 9).
• Amaziah is only proving the truth of Amos’ words in 2:11-12. This false priest will suffer a fitting triple punishment:
  • His wife will become a prostitute in the city (Deuteronomy 22:23-24, Leviticus 21:7) -- no other means of support. And thus Amaziah could not serve as a priest.
  • His offspring will be slain; this means both his family and his office would perish.
  • Death in an unclean, non-kosher, land would be an insult to all his priestly instincts.
• Exile cannot be warded off!

Advanced

• In Amos 7:1-8:3 are multiple reversals of expectation (as before in 1:2, 2:9, 3:2,12, 4:1-3, 5:3,13,18-23). E.g., what should have been ample crops are decimated and water is vaporized. Pore over the text and see which others you can locate.
• 7:4 -- The great deep likely refers to the waters beneath the earth (in ancient cosmology), or else to the ocean itself.
• 7:7-8 -- The object may be either a plumb-line (the most common view) or else tin (based on cognates).
• 7:9,16 -- This is the only chapter in the OT where Isaac stands for the nation. (Of course Isaac's son Esau was not included, only descendants through Jacob [covenant name: Israel].)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Background

• The mid-8th C. was a heady time for both kingdoms, because
  • Syria (Aram) was drained from its exertions in resisting Assyria.
  • Egypt was weak, thus constituting no southern threat.
  • Assyria was preoccupied with the kingdom of Urartu.
  • Israel's smaller neighbors, Phoenicia, Philistia. Ammon, Moab, and Edom, posed no threat.
• The prophet now shifts his attack to the rich and powerful men (having already criticized the callous upper class women in chapter 4).

Complacent (6:1-7)

• In heady times, it is easy to grow complacent.
• Zion is Jerusalem.
  • The southern kingdom of Judah was not much more righteous than the northern kingdom of Israel.
  • Israel, despite its (false claims) to be God's people (the true Zion), were not!
  • Samaria and the entire kingdom of which it was the capital went into captivity nearly a century and a half before the kingdom of Judah was exiled.
• Israel was no better than other kingdoms (v.2).
• Lives of luxury are reprehensible when basic physical and spiritual needs in others are going unmet!
  • The operative word is "lounge."
  • These people are drinking wine straight from the bowl!
  • Note: anointing was part of daily personal hygiene (as in Matthew 6). It also kills body lice.
  • Meat (probably lamb) was a great delicacy, at a time when most tasted meat only 3x/year. (See Luke 15:23.)
  • They cared only for themselves and the perks that come with power.
  • Their creative energies went into music, not into helping the poor. Their priorities were skewed.
  • Historical sidelights:
    • Harvard University expeditions of 1908-1910 found potsherd inscriptions at Samaria recording deliveries of jugs of old (well fermented and textured) wine and refined olive oil.
    • An ivory carving from Megiddo depicts a noble quaffing her thirst from a bowl while a servant is playing the lute.
• Exile is certain! "Your feasting and lounging will end!"

Devastation and a dismal post-war scene (6:8-14)

• A pattern of military victory will not, in the case of Israel, avert ultimate military defeat. The homes of which they were so proud will be smashed to pieces.
• As useless as plowing the sea with oxen, or plowing the rocky crags with horses. Donkeys can manage the rocks, not horses. Either way, Israel's self-directed efforts are ultimately worthless. Word-play: Lo-debar -- nothing (not a thing). Their efforts have been in vain, their military achievements meaningless. (As though Robin Hood were to call Nottingham "Nothingham.")
• The nation to be stirred up is none other than Assyria!

Thought questions

1. Does Amos 6:1 apply to me? Am I one of those who could be described as "complacent in Zion?"
2. Am I living for luxury, status, indulgent pleasures, guilty of conspicuous consumption?
   1. Do I have to live at my present standard of living?
   2. Calculate how many hours a week you are working to pay your rent or mortgage, meals, entertainment, etc. Do your budgetary priorities reflect your spiritual convictions? (They usually do!) Our use of time (the Lord's time) should follow biblical priorities.
3. Am I grieving over the ruin of Joseph?
   1. Grieving over the fractured and faithless state of most groups that claim to be following Christ?
   2. Grieve when your local church is not growing spiritually / numerically?
   3. Grieving over the pain, alienation, lostness and ultimate condemnation of the world?
   4. Does my involvement in evangelism reflect my conviction about the lostness of the world?
4. Are we taking excessive pride in our own accomplishments, as though they can shield us from the Judgment day?

Advanced:

• V.2: Calneh and Hamath are in Syria. Cities suggest human ingenuity, strength, and achievement. But (Hebrews 13:14) we have here no continuing city. Our city is above (also a theme in Revelation).
• V.8: "by himself" is literally "by his throat," an image underscoring the seriousness of keeping the oath.
• V.10: Not mentioning the name of the Lord is susceptible of several interpretations. Should his name not be mentioned because of the risk of further judgment? or for shame? or because it would be fruitless, given Israel's abandonment by the Lord? The text is not clear.
• V.12: One doesn't plow there (or doesn't plow the sea, depending on a single consonant [yam or sham]).
• Karnaim (v.13) is a Hebrew dual form meaning (two) horns. Horns represented power.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Day of the Lord

• They were not prepared to meet their God (4:12)! And yet they longed for the Day of the Lord, which would be their undoing. Amos is correcting a misconception (Day of Lord) probably developed at Bethel (5:5-6, 7:13).
• “In fleeing from the lion of the present, such persons will bump into the bear of the future” (Craigie 164).
  • As mentioned earlier, lions inhabited Palestine until about 1300 AD.
  • Bears (2 Samuel 17:8, Proverbs 17:12, Hosea 13:8) survived until the beginning of the 20th century.
• “The desperate, more detailed pictures of the Day in the prophets (e.g. Is. 13:6-16; Joel 2:1-2, 30-31; Zp. 1:7-16) take their dark colours from Amos’ palette” (Hubbard 180).
• Yet why the stern, dark, severe, judgment?

The Lord's demand for righteousness

• “I cannot stand” || Revelation 3:16. God will no longer take any pleasure in aroma of their sacrifices, which is sickening, not pleasing.
• Sacrifice without obedience is meaningless ritual (1 Samuel 15:22-23, Psalm 51:16-17, Isaiah 1:10-17, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Jeremiah 7:21-26, Malachi 1:6-14).
• These were not "solemn assemblies," but noisy festivals. Archaeologists have discovered in Egypt evidence of harps (v.23; see Psalm 33:2) of 10+ strings. Some stood 10-12’ high!
• The best-known verse in Amos is v.24.
• Righteousness mustn't just stop and start like a desert stream (wadi); it must be consistent, continuous.
  • God's people should be righteous all the time, not just on special occasions.
  • Justice is one of the fundamental attributes of God.

Exile is certain!

• Concerning the "good old days," Israel exhibited general devotion, despite periods of complaint, rebellions, especially in contrast to the present corruption, which make the earlier era appear more righteous. Jeremiah 2:2-3 and Hosea 2:14-15 also look back on those days of relative devotion.
• Israel will be sent into exile, the ultimate punishment for the covenant people of God.
  • Loss of land, loss of sovereignty, state of being cursed.
  • Opposite of Abrahamic promises (Genesis 12): land, statehood, blessing.

Application

• Don't get caught up in end-time speculations. The day of the Lord is doomsday (doom = judgment in older English). For most this will not be a time of rejoicing. We can only be ready by living right (walking justly -- see also Micah 6:8). For more on this, listen to the audio series Revelation and the End of the World, and also hear the podcasts in the Last Things category.
• We must be careful not to equate noise and exertion with true zeal. Religion can never take the place of righteousness.
• There are times for self-reflection, and even for corporate reflection. Yet it is much easier to feel safe in the group. That's why the trumpet blast is so vital; that's why the roar of the lion has a chance to shock us, to bring us back to spiritual reality.
• I should be praying for the Lord to develop in me a strong sense of social justice. For we will be judged on the basis of our faithfulness to our mission, which is two-pronged: help the poor (Matthew 25) and preach the word (Matthew 28). Neither one of them is optional.

Advanced

• Dark / light (v.20) refer to danger/safety; there are no necessary moral overtones.
• Does 5:25 suggest the possibility that Israel didn't bring sacrifices in the wilderness? (There is little mention of the sacrificial system in the days of the Tabernacle.) In his speech in Acts 7, Stephen embellishes – changing "beyond Damascus" to "beyond Babylon," thus adapting the passage to the reality of Israel’s history.
• In Acts 15, "the remnant of Edom" has been modified to "the rest of mankind" (citing the LXX). This change enhances the theme of the universalization of the church.
• Two NT citations of Amos 5:25-27 cited quoted in Acts 7:42-43, and 9:11-12 in Acts 15:16-17.
• The same two passages quoted in the NT (5:25-27 and 9:11-12) are also cited in the DSS: CD 7:14-15 and CD 7:16, 4QFlor 1:12 respectively.
• In v.26, two Assyrian astral deities are mentioned, Kaiwan and Sakkuth. The Hebrew vowels have been deliberately changed to heighten the seriousness of the charge of idolatry.