AMOS is continuing his faithful witness to the word of the Lord given him concerning Israel. Such faithfulness is rare. It was in those days, and it is today. The word of the Lord was not a word the people wanted to hear, just as it is so today. It took courage for Amos to speak, but he would rather have the abuse and judgement of men, rather than the displeasure of God. In any event, though this message is unpalatable, it was a message given in love. The reason being is that unless we are warned of the way we are going, and the attitude of God towards our living while we are going our own way, we will not see the folly and danger of our ways, and so have the opportunity to repent and be changed.

THE DAY OF THE LORD.

There is no doubt as to what Amos is speaking about. It is what is referred to as the Day of the Lord. If we are to correctly understand these verses before us, and so rightly react to them, then we must answer this question -- What then is the 'Day of the Lord'?

From the way Amos introduces the subject, it is plain that the Jews in Israel thought the day of the Lord was something desirable, and they looked forward to it. The fact that they longed for the day of the Lord tells us that to these Jews the day of the Lord was a time of special blessing from God. To them, the day of the Lord would be a time when God would visit them with special blessings, where the quality of life, and the stature of the nation would be improved mightily. The fact that they looked for such a day expectantly, shows that they were quite pleased with their way of life, and felt they deserved such special blessing from God. It also shows that the Israelites were depending on the special relationship with God which Israelites had from the time of the Patriarchs, and felt this was inviolate, and any behaviour on their part could not change this status with God.

It is very easy for those who are religious, and practice religion, to so believe in their practice of religion as to imagine this automatically brings upon them the favour and blessing of God, without any real enquiry as to whether their way of life, and their practice of their religion is pleasing to God.

Israel had the outward trappings of their religion, which, no doubt, they kept very well. They did not realise that God does not simply look at our outward behaviour, but also into our thoughts, and motives, and at the inner bent of our hearts. Religion simply done as an outward observance, and as a work of duty to secure God's favour, is never acceptable to the Lord. The heart must be right with God, and must govern the whole life and activity for good. In fact the religion which was practised in Israel in the days of Amos offended God. Whatever the outward acts of worship and practice may be showing, their inner disposition was fleshly, selfish, and worldly. They lived for themselves and not for the Lord. They practiced one thing in their religious duties, and quite another in their daily activities. We have already considered the evidence of this in our previous sermons in chapter 5 of Amos. In verses 4 and 5 we hear God complaining that the religion Israel espoused was contrary to that which God had given them through Moses. The worship at Bethel and Gilgal was a corruption of God's pure religion. Then in verses 7, and 10 we hear God exposing the corruption in their justice system, where evil is condoned because Israel did not want their unjust practices corrected. Then in verses 11 and 12 we read of injustice to the poor in order to gain wealth for their luxurious life style.

It is amazing, that with all this evil exposed Israel still thought they could expect a day of the Lord which would be one of blessing in a large way for them.

SCRIPTURE REVELATION CONCERNING THE DAY OF THE LORD.

The revelation concerning the day of the Lord in the Scriptures gives quite a different picture. The day of the Lord is a day when God vindicates his righteousness. It is a time when God would bring his justice to bear on the ways of mankind. In the verses we are considering in this sermon, the day of the Lord is seen to be a day of disaster, when whatever the leaders and rich in Israel would do, they would not be able to escape the calamity that God was going to bring on them for their sinful practices.

The picture is very graphic and terrifying. Trying to escape from the attack of a lion, instead of saving themselves they would run into a bear, who would tear them apart just as powerfully as any lion would do. Here is the illustration of the inevitability of God's judgements. Whatever we may do to escape one threat, another would tear them down. Then the picture changes. A man entering his house where he would deem himself to be safe from all enemies and harm, yet at the moment of relaxation, when touching a wall in the house, he finds there is a snake there, and he is bitten fatally by the snake, and in their house, the place of safety where they felt they would be safe from all harm.

By these illustrations the message is pressed home to these Israelites that they can never escape God when he is after them in his anger.

When we turn to other Scriptures concerning the day of the Lord, we find that it invariably speaks of God coming in judgement, to put down evil and judge those who practice evil. In Joel 1: 15 we read as follows - "Alas for the day of the Lord! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." Then in Joel 2: 1 we read - “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm in my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord coming.” Then in Joel 2: 11 we read "The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are they who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it." This theme is continued in Joel 2: 31 where we read “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Here we are taken forward to the final judgement, which Jesus confirms in Matthew 24: 29, which is quoted from Isaiah 13: 10. We have this revelation of the day of the Lord confirmed in Malachi 4.

In all these places and in others the day of the Lord is a time when the Lord comes in almighty judgement, and will be a time when it will be too late to repent, and a time when God will be invincible, and those who have been living lives not acceptable to God will meet their final judgement. It will be a time of surprise for many, just as it was for Israel. There are so many, like the Israel Amos describes, who believe all is well with their soul, and that they can look forward to God's favour when he comes.

THE LESSON TO BE LEARNT.

What is the truth and lesson here which we need to observe, believe and take to heart? What reaction should result from the study of the meaning on the day of the Lord? This is absolutely crucial. If we don't apply the teaching here, and apply it to ourselves, then we shall no doubt come to our final disaster as the day of the Lord overwhelms us.

The truth and lesson being pressed upon us in these verses is the urgent importance of carefully examining our life and belief in the light of the message of the day of the Lord. Israel felt all was well with them, and felt that their living was satisfactory, and that they had no need to fear the coming of the Lord. They were deceived, and it meant their eternal loss.

The problem is not simply about how we live, but how and what we believe. It is crucial for the safety of our soul that we have right and saving belief according to the revelation of God in the Scriptures, as well as being sure our living is acceptable to God. In both areas, the area of belief and the area of actions, it is important that we are not deceiving ourselves.

Take the area of action. Most people simply look at their outward actions. If these are correct then it is felt that all is well, and the life that is led is pleasing to God. This was the fault of the Israel of Amos's time. God, however, looks within. He notes our thoughts and our motives and our affections. It is no good acting rightly, but having a contrary attitude within in our thoughts and emotions. It is because people don't look within, and examine their hearts, that they do not perceive their sinfulness, and because of this they never get to that point when they cry out to God for mercy, seeing themselves so sinful that they know that the day of the Lord would only bring devastating judgement and death. For lack of the knowledge of our sins and sinfulness, and the deserving which is the result, people live their lives feeling they are good before God, and feel that God embraces them with welcome.

Then there is the area of belief. The bible makes clear that there is only one Gospel, and that must be believed and embraced, with the resting of our souls upon it for salvation from sins' deserving and acceptance with God.

These days there is so much setting up of human wisdom over the word of God, and by this, and in a self righteous way, saying that the doctrine of Christ being punished in our place, and taking upon himself our sins and suffering for them in our place, is not right, and unacceptable as a belief in our modern culture. By this they judge God who gave his only begotten Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. The thought behind this seems to be that God being wrathful against sinners, and punishing us for our sins, is incompatible with the fact he is a God of love.