The Lord had promised to judge Israel due to her rebellion, but He also promises to restore and rebuild. This is only possible through Christ.
Amos 9: The Destruction of Israel
1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: "Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.
2 "If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4 And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."
5 The Lord GOD of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
6 who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth--- the LORD is his name.
7 "Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.
9 "For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.'
The Restoration of Israel
11 "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this.
13 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the LORD your God.
Things to think about…
1. God speaks from the temple. He is in heaven and we are on earth, but the temple in Jerusalem was a sign of His presence. The ancient Israelites had left off true worship. Love from the Lord now involved judgement. Hard to say, but true. Amos 9:1 says ‘not one shall escape’. The Apostle Peter says, judgement begins with the house of God, 1Pet 4:7. If God blesses Australia with righteousness and a desire for holiness and His word is faithfully preached, guess where He starts. That’s right, the church.
2. Have a look at Amos 9:7. The Cushites were the Ethiopians, they were small in number yet God looked after this people even though the Egyptians were the rulers and potential oppressors. In the same way Israel was small and taken out of Egypt. The Lord says they are no different to the Philistines who were small and yet taken off the Island of Crete and re-settled in Canaan, the same with the Syrians from Kir (small area in Moab) were settled in Syria and made into a nation. God has done with other nations what He has done for His people Israel. The point is that Israel should not think they are any more special than the other nations if they reject the Word of God. As they were planted, so they can be removed. The only thing that set Israel apart was their identity in YHWH. Yet in the time of Amos, the Israelites were carrying on just like the other nations. There was no difference between the people of YHWH and the other nations. The application for our day is obvious for Christians and associated churches. Embrace the characteristics and words of Jesus or have your lampstand taken from you, (cf Rev 2:6 – the church of Ephesus. It’s a good study and reflects many characteristics of the modern church in Australia).
3. Israel would be taken captive in 722BC. But as read in Amos 9:8 Jacob would not be totally destroyed. Judah remained and survived until 586BC. Judah would return and Jacob (Israel) would be scattered. Both would be levelled in 70 AD by the armies of Titus. The house of Israel is still being shaken. The Lord promises to “shake the house of Israel among the nations”, vs 9. The proud among Israel will have nothing to do with Yeshua and many will die as a result in their zeal for a Zionic kingdom. Woe to Christians who build Israel on a false foundation that is not centred on Christ.
4. God promised to restore the land of Israel, Amos 9:11-15. This has only started to happen in our generation. But look at the context of these verses; they shall never be uprooted again. Israel is experiencing blessing – vineyards, olive groves, orchards, etc., even though its borders and sovereignty are being attacked and ridiculed. But this blessing can only be complete as they turn to Christ. Look at verse 11. It says, ‘the booth of David will be raised up’. This only happens through the Son of David – Jesus. Pray for Israel to receive Christ – their true Saviour. This is the only Zion the western church should be building, the one that is established on the Cornerstone. He remains a stumbling block to Jews.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray for our elder Doug as he preaches on the book of Amos this Sunday.
2. Pray for the church in Australia that it focuses on Christ, His Word and holiness and away from trying to mould character aside from the cross and repentance.
3. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
4. Pray for the Liberal party as they wrestle with leadership issues.
5. Pray for the people of Iran that they finally get their freedom from an oppressive regime
6. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
7. One for Israel ministry.
8. Conflict zones – especially within Africa, Israel, Iran and Ukraine
9. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
10. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
11. Finances to cover our needs
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for His blessing over our service on Sunday
2. Another day of joy on Sunday with new folks at our service.
3. Praise God for ministries – Life Groups, Prayer meetings, Kids@Church
4. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy.
5. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
6. Kids Church teachers – Jacqueline, Maddie, Elise, Anastacia and Fiona
7. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
8. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. All ministries on break over the school holidays
2. Kids@Church starts back Sunday 1st Feb
3. Members Meeting – Sunday 22nd Feb after the service
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for February...
Q. 5. Did our Lord Jesus Christ ever sin? A. No; he was holy, blameless, and undefiled.
