“Don’t Miss the Warnings!”

 

BIBLE READING: Amos 4-6

       

                A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.  Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."  The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."  So, the rowboat went on.

Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."  To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."  So, the motorboat went on.

Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."  To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."  So, the helicopter reluctantly flew away.

Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in You, but You didn't save me, You let me drown. I don't understand why!"  To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"

Amos is offering such a warning to Israel.  The wealthy of Israel were lying on “beds of ivory” (Amos 6:4) and using the “best ointments” (Amos 6:6).  Amos, the shepherd, even describes the women, who were lounging and having food and money brought to them, as “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1) [The imagery is that of cows having an easy life and fattening themselves for all of it, but being slaughtered in the end.]   But they were doing so at the cost of the poor and oppressed.  In fact, they would often attempt to offer sacrifices and tithe more often than they were required to in order to show themselves as hyper-spiritual.  The offerings, and the money that they would use to show themselves as hyper-spiritual they would attain from exploiting the poor.

In his warning, Amos says five times, “Yet you have not returned to Me.”  God had caused things to happen to Israel including “cleanness of teeth” and “lack of bread” (Amos 4:6), lack of rain and a drought (Amos 4:7), blight and mildew (Amos 4:9), a plague (Amos 4:10), overthrowing important people (Amos 4:11), and yet Amos gives this warning 5 times.  The Israelites simply were not looking at what God was trying to tell them.  It’s an encouragement for all of us to open our eyes and see what the “kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22) is trying to tell us.