Introduction: Imagine a friend who never listened to you! Your advice
was unimportant. Your needs irrelevant. You might better have saved
your breath then tell your friend what you like and what you dislike.
Now imagine an employee like that. One who never pays attention to
instruction. How would you react to a friend like that? How would you
react to an employee like that? Thinking about this gives us a sense
of what it is like to be the Creator God and have a group of
followers who do not really think that obedience is important. Let’s
plunge into our study of the Bible and learn more!
- Idols
- Read Psalms 115:1-4. How is our God different than other
gods? (He is not reduced to some sort of image. He is in
heaven and He does what He pleases.) - Read Psalms 115:5-8. What is the logical problem with an
idol? (Nothing works! They cannot speak, see, hear, smell,
feel, talk or walk. These are pretty serious
deficiencies!) - What results from trusting in an idol? (You are as
deficient as the idol. You have no power.) - Read Psalms 115:14-16. How else is our God different? (He
made heaven and earth. He runs the heavens and He gave the
earth to us.) - Read Deuteronomy 10:17. How does our God exercise His
authority over all? (He is fair and accepts no bribes.
Unlike an idol that cannot see or hear, our God makes
judgments.) - Read Deuteronomy 10:18. How does God’s fairness as a judge
manifest itself? (He “defends” those who do not have
power. Those without fathers, husbands or friends.) - What do you think it means to have a judge “defend”
someone? (If God is still acting as a judge here,
God’s favor is to be fair to the powerless, even
though they have no power. However, God’s role may
have changed here.) - Read Deuteronomy 10:19. This seems to require more than
being fair, right? It says that we should “love” the
foreigner. The western world has a huge foreigner
problem. Europe and the United States have experienced
people flooding into their countries. What does God expect
of us when we are told to “love” the foreigner? (Read
Leviticus 19:34. God keeps referring to the fact that His
people were “foreigners” in Egypt. His people should treat
foreigners like they would have wanted to be treated in
Egypt.) - Using that context and standard, what does God expect
of us today with regard to the great influx of
immigrants? (The Egyptians enslaved God’s people.
This does not set the bar very high. The Egyptians
would have shown them love by leaving them to their
own efforts and not enslaving them.) - Do you think that is what God means here?
- Read Deuteronomy 10:20-22. What critical advice does this
provide for the foreigner? (The most important friend for
the foreigner is God! This goes back to our discussion
about idols. Part of God’s message to His people about
remembering their background as foreigners is that God
tremendously blessed them.) - Faithfulness
- Read Amos 5:18. Do you want Jesus to come and take you to
heaven? - Is that what these people wanted? (Yes, they wanted
“the day of the Lord” to come.) - Would that day be as wonderful as they expected?
(Apparently, not. It would be “darkness” and “not
light.”) - Read Amos 5:19-20. Is this fellow having a terrible day?
(Yes! No matter what trouble he escapes, he finds more.) - Read Amos 5:21. What is the problem? Why are those who
follow God, who want Him to return, so wrong about how
this will turn out? (There is something wrong with their
relationship with God.) - Read Amos 5:22-23. Isn’t this exactly what God asked of
His people? (Absolutely! On the religious worship side of
things, the people are doing what God wants, but something
is terribly wrong.) - Read Amos 5:24. What clue does this give us as to what is
wrong with the relationship between God and His people?
(God calls for “justice” and “righteousness” as a constant
stream. This should be the continual output of your life.) - Let’s discuss this. What have we previously decided
is “justice?” (It is giving people what they
deserve.) - What is “righteousness?” (In this context it is right
living. Obedience to God.) - This is all pretty general. Let’s back up in this chapter
and examine the specific causes of God’s rejection.) Read
Amos 5:7-8. What is the failure here? (To acknowledge our
Creator God.) - Isn’t acknowledging God what was happening when the
people were worshiping God and bringing sacrifices?
(I would think so. We still have not discovered the
specific problem.) - Read Amos 5:10. Now we are getting specific. What is the
problem here? (Some people hate a judicial system where
the rule of law is followed (justice) and when the truth
is told.) - Notice the phrase “detest the one who tells the
truth.” I recently read a news account of a Canadian
being fined $55,000 because he referred to a
transgendered person as a “biological male.” Is that
an example of detesting the truth? - Look again at the context. Are we talking about
telling the truth in church? (No. The context is the
judicial system. The system of government. This has
to do with the wicked being dishonest about what is
really happening.) - Read Amos 5:11. The NIV translates this “levy a straw tax
on the poor and impose a tax on their grain.” Who is
behind this evil? (This is the government imposing a tax
on the working poor.) - How does government today create problems for the
working poor? - As you think about the poor in the world, how many
people are poor because of their government?
(Government is a huge problem. Wars, corruption, and
a lack of economic freedom make people poor. There
is an important link between religious and economic
freedom. Most countries that have religious freedom
also have economic freedom. The result of the
resurgence of democracy and free markets has
dramatically reduced the number of poor world-wide.) - How does God intervene when the leaders of government
harm the poor? (God warns that the leaders will not
enjoy their wealth.) - Read Amos 5:12-13. Amos repeats the nature of the problem,
corruption of the rule of law. How do people react to
this? (The “prudent keep quiet in such times.”) - Is this what God wants? Should we keep quiet about
evil in government? (God admits it is prudent to keep
quiet. But, it is not clear that is what God wants.) - How else will things change? (Let’s skip ahead
and read Amos 5:17. God says that He will
change things. He will “pass through your
midst.”) - Read Amos 5:14-15. Do we have a part in honest government
and the rule of law? Or, is it best to be prudent? (God
asks us to make a difference and not keep quiet. Just as
we are God’s agents for helping the poor, so we are God’s
agents for making the government more honest and fair.) - Recall that God tells the people that He detests their
worship. He wants justice instead. We turned to the first
part of Amos to see what God was talking about. What was
God talking about? (God detests our worship when we allow
our courts and our government to be corrupt.) - Change
- Read Isaiah 58:6. What kind of religious practice is God
calling for here? (To give the people freedom.) - Does this involve government? (When government is the
problem, it would mean to give people a just
government.) - Read Isaiah 58:7. Is this an instruction to government?
(No. This is about personally helping those in need.) - Read Isaiah 58:8-10. What will happen to our religious
worship if we do this? (God will listen and answer. He
will bless and protect us.) - Friend, once again we come to a familiar conclusion. God
asks us to show the poor justice and intelligent mercy.
Will you ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what
you must do? - Next week: Jesus and Those in Need.
