If the hat fits, then we should wear it. Israel’s women were called cows in our reading today. Their husbands were morally weak men. God and man can only walk together unless there is agreement.
Amos 3: Israel's Guilt and Punishment
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
3 "Do two 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 cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing?
6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?
7 "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?"
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst."
10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, "those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds."
11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defences from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered."
12 Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
13 "Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
14 "that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.
15 I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end," declares the LORD.
Amos 4:
1 "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'
2 The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.
3 And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon," declares the LORD.
4 "Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;
5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the Lord GOD.
Israel Has Not Returned to the LORD
6 "I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
7 "I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
9 "I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
10 "I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
11 "I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
12 "Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"
13 For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth--- the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!
Things to think about…
1. Look at the Lord’s logic in Amos 3:2. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities”. The Lord rebukes and chastens those whom He loves. Because of His love, we are disciplined. Let’s never despise His correction in our lives. Love does not mean we merely express sentiment or empathy, it means we love enough to share and show the truth and then we encourage and comfort accordingly.
2. When our dog Chloe goes on walks Fi and I walk at a consistent pace and direction, but Amos 3:3 comes true when Chloe tries to sniff something or gets distracted and goes in a different direction. The Lord has already told us what direction and what pace we are to go in our lives through His word. The trouble starts when we are distracted by other things. What distracts you? Remember your calling and purpose in Christ means your course in life and destiny are set. Don’t get distracted.
3. Look at how Amos describes the sovereignty of God in Amos 3. Does a lion roar without prey, etc. Amos says, ‘has not the Lord done it’, 3:4ff. The prophets have spoken, but Israel refused to listen. It’s discouraging when Christians have been shown the will of God through His word and yet they choose to reject it. Try not to ever be labelled as suffering from spiritual amnesia. You are a Christian. Isaiah says in Isaiah 1:3 regarding Israel and their relationship to the Lord, that the ox knows its master and the donkey knows its owner’s manger, why don’t you know Me? May we know Christ even as we are known by Him and follow Him accordingly.
4. Holiday houses are nothing new. The wealthy Israelites had summer as well as winter houses, Amos 3:15. God says He was going to destroy them. Why? Because He doesn’t like people having holidays or owning two houses? No. Because they had amassed wealth and rejoiced in the blessings rather than the Blesser. The prosperity gospel has been tainted with this spirit. Give thanks to God for all things, whether you have much or little, it is your portion from the Lord. This means you have what is required to praise Him. True contentment acknowledges the Lord’s provision over your life.
5. The women of Israel are called cows, Amos 4:1 They were obstinate, proud, demanding women. God was about to punish them, vss 2ff. May God banish such women from the church! Husbands, please love your wives enough to tell them the truth. Don’t allow them to wallow in pride, gossip, concept and self-deception. Lead them well and make sure you are being the loving example of Christ for them. Your wives have an incredible influence on the next generation, fear God rather than your wife’s emotions or moments of weakness. The hooks mentioned in Amos 4:2 are not allegorical. The Assyrians would come in 722BC and overtake Samaria. Israel would be ‘hooked’ together by hooks through the nose or lip to keep control of them better as they were marched to Nineveh. These have been depicted in reliefs of Assyrian conquests that are now on display in the British Museum.
6. Cleanness of teeth was not a blessing, Amos 4:6. It meant they had no food and their teeth didn’t need to be cleaned. Amos says in the past they were in famine and lacked bread because they disobeyed God. These obstinate people were going back to this place of judgement. Rain would be withheld, cities would be without water, blight and mildew would take over, vss 7-10. God will do this because they had rejected Him. It would be like they were in Egypt again or like another judgement akin to Sodom and Gomorrah, vs 11. I fear Australia is in this place spiritually. We have so much wealth, but if we don’t acknowledge where this blessing has come from it will be taken from us. The droughts and fires that occurred in Victoria are not disassociated with the Lord of glory. Pray we have the discernment and grace to repent as a nation and seek after Him.
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 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.
2. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
3. Pray for the Liberal party as they wrestle with leadership issues.
4. Pray for the people of Iran that they finally get their freedom from an oppressive regime
5. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
6. One for Israel ministry.
7. Conflict zones – especially within Africa, Israel, Iran and Ukraine
8. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
9. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
10. Finances to cover our needs
11. 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.
