Read Amos 3
Questions from the Scripture text: How does Amos 3:1 begin (cf. Amos 4:1, Amos 5:1)? What two things does the Lord call them? What does He point out about them in Amos 3:2a? What does this cause (verse 2b)? Why can’t they walk with Him (Amos 3:3)? What illustrations for this Word against them demand immediate action (Amos 3:4-5)? What response does calamity demand (Amos 3:6)? And through Whom does He dictate the response (Amos 3:7)? What must the people do (Amos 3:8a–b)? What must Amos do (verse 8c–d)? Whom does Amos 3:9a–b summon? To where (verse 9c)? To observe what about Samaria/Israel (Amos 3:9-10)? What sentence does God pronounce in Amos 3:11? How does Amos 3:12 describe the surviving remnant? What does He require of the witnesses in Amos 3:13? About what judgment that He will execute on her worship (Amos 3:14)? And what judgment on her pride (Amos 3:15)?
How should we respond to calamity? Amos 3 looks forward to the first serial reading in morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these fifteen verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we must respond to the Lord’s “roaring” in calamity by evaluating and acting according to His Word.
Other nations are accountable to God (cf. Amos 1:3-2:3), but Israel’s sin (not just the northern kingdom, though they are primarily in view here), is much worse because it is against the grace of having been brought into covenant fellowship with God (Amos 3:1-2). Believers, Christian families, and churches, take heed!
But God will not settle for a covenant fellowship that is a paper fiction, or empty rituals for an hour or so each week. Unless we are coming through faith in Christ, so that we are reconciled; and, unless we are living a life of repentance and faith, so that we walk as those who are reconciled; we will not be “agreed” (Amos 3:3).
Then, instead of enjoying His fellowship, we must receive painful correction. Nations may find themselves destroyed, houses may fall, churches may lose their lampstand. Alas! So many do not take such warnings seriously, which is what the series of questions in Amos 3:4-6 is about. God has filled creation and providence with the evidence of cause and effect. But we must understand the Lord Himself as the ultimate cause of calamity (Amos 3:6b, cf. Isaiah 31:2, Isaiah 45:7).
But what do we do with the calamities in our life? Or our nation’s life? Are we to interpret them by feel? Or some sort of superstition? No, we must interpret them by the Word of God (Amos 3:7). When we examine ourselves for repentance, it must be by the Word. When we conclude how to respond and what to do, we must reason from the Word. One thing is certain: respond we must (Amos 3:8)!
This chapter as a whole (like each of the next two) begins with a command to “Hear.” It is the language of a lawsuit, a trial. With Amos 3:1-8 as an introduction to the seriousness of this trial, the Lord now summons the Philistines and Egyptians as witnesses to see how great the violence has become in Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom (Amos 3:9-10). He pronounces a sentence of siege and conquering (Amos 3:11), with only a tiny remnant even being exiled (Amos 3:12). His final word to the witnesses (Amos 3:13) is to observe the two great causes for this judgment: the false worship that goes back to the beginning of the northern kingdom (Amos 3:14, cf. 1 Kings 12) and the pride and fleshliness in which they were satisfied with earthly riches in the midst of spiritual poverty (Amos 3:15).
God takes very seriously whether we are worshiping Him according to His Word and whether we are as serious about our spiritual condition as we are about our earthly prosperity. The Lion has roared! Let us take heed.
What, if anything, in your worship might have originated with man? What is the condition of your walking with the Lord? How much time/effort/care do you give to your spiritual condition, by comparison to your earthly wealth and welfare?
Sample prayer: Lord, forgive us for how lightly we have taken both the calamities in our life and the warnings in Your Word. Forgive us for being content with heartless, inconsistent walking with You—and even with disobedience. Grant unto us to heed this Word, to turn from our sins, and to walk with You by faith in Christ, we ask in His Name, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH467 “Cast Down, O God, the Idols”
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