Christ Church Washington D.C.

Today, we will continue the sermon series in the book of Amos. The text before us this morning is Amos chapter 3, verses 1 through 15. I’ve titled my sermon, Three Summons from the Lord. As we will see in a moment, in Amos chapter 3, Yahweh gives three summons or three calls.
God is effectively calling Israel into account based upon her covenant standing. My aim in preaching today is twofold. First, I want you to understand the words of Amos. I’m preaching so that you might understand what God’s Word says, particularly the three summons from the Lord Himself.
Second, I’m preaching because I want you to consider what these three summons mean for you. To help you follow along with my exposition, I have three points. First, a summons to the ten tribes of Israel. Second, a summons to Israel’s neighbors. And third, a summons to the people of God. With that being said, if you have your Bible with you, you can go ahead and turn to Amos chapter 3.
And I’m going to read verses 1 through 15, and then I’ll pray a prayer of illumination. Hear now the living God’s very words. 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. You only have I known of all the families of the earth.
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to meet? 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? Does a bird fall on 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? 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? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets. The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy? Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt and say,
And see the great tumults within her and the oppressed in her midst. They do not know how to do right, declares the Lord, those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, an adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered. Thus says the Lord, as the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion,
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. Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, 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.
Bow your head with me.
Do not let us harden our hearts when you call us into account. By your Spirit, turn your word from resonance.
Into summons. From warning into wisdom. And from judgment into repentance and life. We ask this in reverent faith before the God who speaks and whose word never returns empty. Amen. Consider this first point. A summons to the ten tribes of Israel. I’m going to draw your attention back to verses 1 and 2.
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. You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.
And they function like legal charges against the nations. These charges go out to Israel’s neighbors. But these charges also include Judah and Israel, the two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. In short, eight times in the first two chapters, God states that He will exercise His wrath
on the nations. The sin of the nations that warranted God’s just judgment comprised of things like violence, lying, human trafficking, rape, exploitation of the poor, and murder. These indictments, these eight indictments, are referred to by theologians and Bible students as the oracles
of God. And they’ve been given that nomenclature because each one of the eight accusations begins with the words, thus says the Lord. And if you glance or look at Amos chapters 1 and 2 and consider the typesetting in your English Bible, the phrase, thus says the Lord, sort of just jumps off the page at you. And that is purposeful because
chapters 1 and 2 are organized and arranged around these eight oracles or these eight charges of judgment against the nations. Now, when we come to chapter 3, a significant change in Amos’ vocabulary occurs. Instead of oracles, Yahweh gives three summons. And these summons
functioned like a covenant lawsuit. They are different than the charges against the nations. This change takes place because God effectively shifts His attention away from the nations and fixes His scope on the ten northern tribes of Israel. In other words, God’s focus is no longer the sin and injustices of the world. Instead, in chapter 3,
His concern moves to the sin and injustices committed by His covenant people. In verse 1 of chapter 3, the word that is translated into English as here is the Hebrew word shema. And for some of you, this word shema might sound familiar. That is because in Deuteronomy chapter 6, we are given the great shema.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. It’s the great shema. And right after that famous line, the message in Deuteronomy teaches that Israel, as God’s unique covenant people, should do the following four things. They are to love God fully with their heart, soul, and strength. They are to keep God’s word close in the mind and in the heart.
They are to teach His word diligently to their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren. And they are to keep God’s word ever before them, symbolically on the hands and foreheads and doorposts. But literally, God’s word is to be the lens by which they view all of life through. Attached to this great Shema in Deuteronomy
blessing and cursing. If God’s people remained faithful to Him, then they would experience blessing. But if Yahweh’s covenant people transgressed His will and ways, they would experience curses. In Deuteronomy chapter 28, one of the specific curses for disobedience or breaking the covenant was the invasion of foreign
conquering foes. This would come to fruition in 722 BC when the Assyrian armies sacked Samaria, the capital city of the 10 northern tribes. What I want you to understand is this. In verse 1, Yahweh is calling Israel into account in a different way than how He has already
called the nations into account. Particularly, Yahweh is charging Israel for their covenant unfaithfulness, namely their sin of idolatry and lawlessness. And God does so in a very profound way by using the very familiar covenant language,
said again here in Amos 3. God brings out the charges with the words, Hear, O Israel. Verse 2 emphasizes that Israel’s judgment is, in fact, a result of her covenant unfaithfulness. In short, because they are God’s people, Israel will be judged for their iniquity.
Look with me at verses 3 through 8.
Verse 3 through 9.
Verse 3 through 6. Rhetorically communicate the concept of cause and effect. And verse 7 and 8 explain that Israel’s judgment was the outworking of cause and effect. The cause was this. Israel, God’s covenant people, was unfaithful to Yahweh by engaging in idolatry and lawlessness. That’s the cause.
The effect is this. God the lion roared from his holy hill and disaster befell Samaria. This is the first point. A summons to the ten tribes of Israel. The vocabulary of chapter 3 changes with the use of covenantal language. Hear, O Israel.
God’s wrath shifts from the nations to his people. In God’s cosmic courtroom, Israel is on trial for breaking covenant with Yahweh. This leads us to our second point. A summons to Israel’s neighbors. Look with me at verses 9 through 12.
And see the great tumults within her and the oppressed in her midst. They do not know how to do right, declares the Lord, those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, an adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered. 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. The Hebrew word that is translated in verse 9 as proclaimed is the same Hebrew word that is used at the beginning of verse 1. It is this word, Shema.
Hear, O Israel. In verse 9, God employs this familiar covenantal language again. At this time, Yahweh issues a summons to two foreign nations. Ashdon, which was a major Philistine city, and Egypt. In verse 9, God summoned the Philistines and Egyptians to serve as witnesses in his cosmic courtroom.
When taking the witness stand, these two foreign nations were to do two things. They were to testify against Israel, and they were to witness what would become of Israel. The Philistines and Egyptians were summoned to testify against Israel because they were firsthand eyewitnesses to Israel’s covenantal status and standing.
In the Exodus, Egypt witnessed Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness toward Israel through His redemption. Egypt had a front row seat to the Lord’s mighty hand and outstretched arm. Egypt had an experiential knowledge of the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. They saw and knew that Israel was God’s people.
They could attest to this. Likewise, the Philistines also witnessed Yahweh’s covenantal fidelity to Israel. The Philistines were able to give testimony about how God delivered His people time and time again, but particularly through the exploits of a shepherd king. In short, the Philistines,
and the Egyptians could objectively take the witness stand and implicate Israel for her covenant unfaithfulness by stating, we have seen that you alone among the families of the earth are Yahweh’s people, and yet you are lawless. You have stored up oppression,
violence, and robbery. In addition to testifying against Israel, the Philistines and Egyptians were summoned by God to witness what He would do to Israel. Verses 11 and 12 describe what would take place in 722 BC. They give us a graphic detail of Samaria being ravaged by the foreign armies of Assyria.
The Philistines and Egyptians were called to witness these events so that they could testify to Yahweh’s covenantal faithfulness. They already saw and witnessed God’s fidelity to His people through His redemptive acts. But now the Philistines and the Egyptians would see the Lord exercise faithfulness in His wrath and judgment. Because remember,
the covenant made with Israel comprised both blessing and cursing. Yahweh summons Ashdod in Egypt so that His cursing of Israel could be justified on the account of two witnesses. This is the second point, a summons to Israel’s
call the Philistines and Egyptians into His cosmic courtroom in order that they might testify against Israel for her lawlessness and give witness to Yahweh’s faithfulness, not only in blessing Israel, but cursing her as well. This leads to the third point, a summons to the people of God. Draw your attention to verses 13 through 15.
Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord God, the God of hosts, 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. 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.
In verse 13, the word that is translated in your English Bible as here is once again this Hebrew word, Shema. This time, Yahweh used the covenant language to issue a summons to the house of Jacob. The moniker, House of Jacob, can be understood as a term of endearment,
concerning Israel, a term that’s personal. Just think about the familiar phrase, Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated. Here, Yahweh adjusts His scope away from the nation and state of Israel and now turns toward the people themselves. Using an enduring term,
God makes things personal. One can argue that a nation’s identity is rooted in its people, their character, sentiment, and collective life, not just in written law or public policy. In short, a nation is not just an institution made of policy and law. It is a culture made of human beings.
And in this vein of thinking, Yahweh’s judgment was not only reserved for the nation’s leaders and representatives, but it was aimed at the individual citizens who had dirty hands and unclean lips.
The Hebrew terminology that is used for house in verse 15 can refer to family dwellings or places of worship. Now, the people of Israel had both summer residences and winter residences. In modern parlance, they had beach houses and chalets. And as a result,
they also had summer places where they practiced idolatrous worship, and they had winter places of false worship. And because of the people’s idolatry, Yahweh would strike down the summer and winter residences. He would strike down the beach houses and chalets, along with the seasonal places of false worship.
The houses of false worship. In short, God’s judgment would not only deal with the national sins of Israel, but it would also address the individual, unfaithful, covenantal breaker in His house. Said differently, in 722 BC, Yahweh would not only rain down judgment
buildings of Samaria, but He would strike the homes of its people. This is the third point, a summons to the people of God. Hear, O house of Jacob. In summary, Amos chapter 3 is an indictment against Israel for her covenant unfaithfulness and lawlessness.
Three summons are given. First, a summons to the ten tribes. This summons was a covenantal indictment explaining that Israel would be judged for their collective and national lawlessness. Second, a summons to Israel’s neighbors, Ashdod in Egypt, to pagan nations, served as witnesses in God’s courtroom.
Faithfulness in Yahweh’s fidelity. Third, a summons to the people of God. This summons was a personal reminder to the individual covenant breaker. Dirty hands and unclean lips would be dealt with by Yahweh himself.
Helped you understand the words of Amos. Particularly the three summons from the Lord. But more importantly, as a pastor, as a shepherd like Amos, I want you to consider what these three summons mean for you. So in closing, I have three points for you to consider. The first is this.
We cannot miss the fact that Amos chapter 3 is directed at the covenant people of God. It’s not directed to the nations. It’s directed at God’s covenant people. And as partakers in the new covenant, you and I need to take two apostolic statements very seriously.
St. Paul stated that what happened to Israel in 722 B.C. was a warning for the good of the universal church. And in 1 Peter 4.17, the apostle said, it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God. As God’s covenant people, Israel was to operate in a peculiar way.
Likewise, as the church, we are to function in a particular way, according to the new covenant. Therefore, if Israel was judged for her unfaithfulness and lawlessness, how can we, the church, expect that God would not discipline us for our various forms of idolatry and disobedience?
How can we expect God not to judge our sexual immorality? How can we expect God not to judge our lying, our theft, our robbery, our oppression of those who are weak and poor? How can we expect God not to deal with our sin? Second,
as Ashdod and Egypt bore witness to Israel’s unfaithfulness and Yahweh’s fidelity, they learned something about the wrath of God, something that the Apostle Paul articulated in Romans chapter 2 verse 9, and that is this, there will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the covenant people of God first, and also those who are
outside of the covenant. Therefore, if you don’t identify as a Christian, and you’ve listened to an exposition of Amos chapter 3, you might have started to think that God’s wrath is only reserved for His people. Now, while God does discipline those whom He loves, you need to know He also exercises justice against all evil.
And sin, including your sin, your sexual immorality, your hatred, your anger, your malice, your lying, your robbery, and your pride. All of it, Yahweh will deal with in hot, furious wrath.
Third, it is easy to believe that God will judge the nations for their lawlessness. It’s even easy to conceptualize that God will correct and discipline the church when she is in error. But the thing we often dismiss or don’t want to consider is that you and I have a propensity to sin and violate God’s law.
We have a proclivity toward iniquity. And if you’ve been baptized in the triune name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if you have been united to Christ Jesus by faith, then you should understand what Hebrews chapter 12 explains. God, as your loving heavenly Father, is going to discipline you.
He will discipline you for your sexual immorality, your untruthful, deceitful words, your theft, your anger, your loss. God will discipline you. But hear this. There is good news for everyone in this room, for every lawless nation, for every impure nation.
For every non-Christian, for every baptized individual. There is good news. And this good news is the reason that I got out of bed this morning. It’s the only reason I would come from Pennsylvania to Capitol Hill and stand before you today. This is the good news. Jesus, the eternal begotten Son of God, came into the world to save you from God’s wrath.
Incarnate by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus united human nature to His divine nature so that He might represent you in God’s cosmic courtroom. He lived a sinless life procuring real righteousness on your behalf. Jesus stood on trial in your place, and He was condemned for your sins.
On the cross, Jesus suffered and died as your substitute, taking God’s just judgment for you. The righteous suffered in the place of the unrighteous. He was buried, and on the third day, He rose again victoriously, conquering the power of sin, Satan, and death.
He was seen by more than 500 eyewitnesses. Then He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father, reigning and ruling over every nation, church, and house. The good news is this. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection satisfied the wrath of God for everyone who repents of their sin and comes to Him.
In faith. But everyone outside of Jesus will face tribulation, distress, and judgment. Therefore, hear. Do not harden your hearts. Turn away from your sin. And in repentance, turn toward Jesus in faith.
Amen. Bow your head with me in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we consider Amos chapter 3, I pray that by the power of the Spirit, it would not be lost on us that you deal faithfully and truly and in justice with your people. I pray, Father, that by the power of the Spirit, you would make known to us all the ways in which we have been living in the name of the Spirit.
We have a propensity to break your law, to despise your word, to harden our own hearts, to ignore your shamans. Lord, we pray that by the Spirit’s power, you would give us faith and repentance.