When we do something wrong, or when we ignore someone's instructions, it seems we have this innate desire to hide our actions. Many times, followers of Christ use the same strategy with God. However, The Explore the Bible Study: No Escape, reveals that no one can run and hide from God.

Running from God is about as ridiculous as what this young man tried to do when he was trying to hide from the police after committing the crime of theft.

Hiding in a dirty, dark, stinky garbage can is about as crazy as what happened when Jonah tried to hide from God. The beginning of the book of Jonah is best understood in the context of 2 Kings 14:23-27. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was wicked and led by King Jeroboam II, a king who “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight” (2 Kings 14:24). Nevertheless, God mercifully gave Israel victory over their enemies, according to His word, through the prophet Jonah.  Because of this, Jonah had it fairly easy, as prophets go, because his message of military victory and border expansion for Israel had come to pass. He was settled and doing fine.

The book of Jonah begins with God speaking to Jonah again—the prophet Jonah was going to have to get up from his place of comfort, his familiar and comfortable setting, and go preach to the Assyrian people of Nineveh. Nineveh was an Assyrian administrative city. The Assyrians had waged war and were known for being bitterly oppressive toward Israel. God told Jonah to go to the very people who he considered an enemy and to share the message of repentance with them. Jonah 1:1-14 tells us about Jonah’s disobedience and his attempt to hide from God. He boarded a ship in Joppa and fled to Tarshish.

500 Miles = To Obey | 2000 Miles = To Run and Hide

Tarshish was approximately 2,000 miles from his home. Instead of traveling 500 miles from his home to Nineveh as God had commanded, Jonah chose to travel 2,000 miles in the opposite direction, placing him as far away from God’s intended plan as he could possibly get. 

While sailing toward Tarshish, God brought a storm and the ship began to sink. The pagan sailors were convinced someone on the vessel had angered a god, thus causing the storm, so they cast lots to find out who it was. The lot fell on Jonah (Jonah 1:4-7). 

Jonah could no longer run or hide from God. Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the sea because he knew he had run from God. Jonah was looking for an escape from his responsibility to preach to Nineveh. The sailors were looking for an escape other than throwing a stranger overboard in the middle of a raging storm. Jonah assumed he would die for his disobedience, but God had a different plan. Let’s see how God responded and how Jonah responded when he was thrown overboard.

First, God demonstrated His power—Jonah 1:15-17

God demonstrated His absolute power, sovereignty, and compassion to these pagan sailors and to Jonah. The pagan sailors responded to the sudden and miraculous calming of the raging, life-threatening seas with a great fear of the Lord that led them to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and make vows to him.

"The fear of the Lord is a deep-seated reverence and awe for God that causes humans to want to honor Him at all costs and to avoid His loving discipline. It involves wonder, submission, obedience, worship, consideration, admiration, and love, inspired by His eternal attributes and authority.” (Source: Explore the Bible Daily Discipleship Guide, p.49)

Earlier Jonah had told the sailors that he was the reason God had brought the storms. In Jonah 1:9, he identified himself as a Hebrew and he went on to say that he worshipped (or feared) “the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the dry land.” Yet it was these sailors who demonstrated a true fear of the Lord on this day while the prophet of the Lord, who claimed he feared the Lord, failed to show it.

Do you think Jonah was thinking of the sailors when he told them to throw him overboard? Do you think he was thinking that he could just die and be done with running and hiding from God? How does Jonah’s thinking compare to the way someone who knows they have sinned against God might respond today?

Notice the irony. The wind and the sea submitted to the Lord. The heathen sailors tried to save Jonah’s life, feared the Lord, offered a sacrifice, and made vows to the Lord. Even the great fish obeyed the Lord, saving Jonah’s life. However, Jonah, the prophet of the Lord—the one who knew Him like none of these others—disobeyed God.

This narrative of someone hiding from God and willfully disobeying Him could have ended right here with Jonah drowning in the sea. Or, it could have ended with Jonah repenting and God immediately transporting him to dry land or back onto the ship. Yet, the next passages reveal that Jonah hadn’t quit running from God, so God compassionately spared Jonah by bringing a big fish to swallow him!

Second, God knows how low we can go before we turn to Him—Jonah 2:1-4

In the Hebrew text, Jonah 1:17 begins the next section of the story indicating that Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights; THEN he prayed to the Lord!

Why did it take Jonah three days and three nights to finally pray to God? What does this communicate about His rebellion? What does it communicate about his assumptions regarding what he thought God was really going to do to him? What does this communicate regarding how God deals with disobedience today?

Perhaps Jonah thought that when he was thrown overboard, he would drown, and this would be his punishment from God. Then he was swallowed by a fish. Even then God wouldn’t let him die. Jonah tried to hide from God, and now God had given him a taste of what that’s like. He was stuck in the belly of a fish, living but not experiencing life, before Jonah finally came to his knees. Finally, Jonah begins to communicate with God again.

Jonah did what all people should do when they find themselves in a difficult situation or when circumstances due to our personal sin and disobedience finally takes us to our knees—he prayed! His praying to the Lord demonstrated that he still trusted in God to graciously hear his prayer. God used Jonah’s time in the great fish to bring him to his senses and renew his commitment as a prophet of the Lord. Look next at how God responded to Jonah.

Third, God Forgives Jonah—Jonah 2:5-10

It appeared that all hope was lost and Jonah was sure to drown, but God saved him! God saw Jonah’s plight, heard His prayer, and answered in a miraculous way. His God, the God of the Hebrews, was the only God who had the power to save, so Jonah’s prayer turned from petition to thanksgiving and praise. And just like that, the Lord commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land!

The fish vomiting Jonah onto dry land indicates that there was still much room for spiritual growth in Jonah’s life, as the remainder of the book of Jonah demonstrates. We will discover Jonah still had to work through a lot of baggage to become the man and the prophet God desired for him to be. 

Have You or Are You Trying to Run and Hide From God?

Which of the following reasons would be most likely to keep you from obeying God: inconvenience, fear, prejudice, or selfishness? Why?

Recall a time when you ran from God. How did He get your attention? What did you learn about yourself and God during that time?

Pray that God will give you the strength to avoid blatant disobedience of God in things He desires for you to do, the choices you make, how you should live, or in your personal relationship with Him. 

Perhaps you are where Jonah was, trying to run and hide from God because of sin and disobedience. Hopefully it won’t take this kind of discipline to bring you to your knees. But if it does, recall Jonah’s experience. He remembered the only One who could save his life and He turned back to the God from whom he had previously chosen to flee. He turned back to the Creator who sovereignly controls all of His creation. The prophet of God remembered that only God could lift him up from the gates of death and he was forgiven and saved. If you are in the darkest depths of the belly of your big fish and you feel as if you are about to drown, call out to God for forgiveness.

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

In the world of technology, to what do the words, “factory reset, reboot, and update” refer? If you have ever taken one of these actions, then you know. Sometimes we consider just tossing out a piece of equipment because of all the problems. Fortunately, for God, tossing us aside was not the plan. However, The Explore the Bible Study: Hope in God, will reveal that He can't ignore ongoing sin.

When we observe all that is taking place we may feel as if our society today needs a factory reset, a reboot, or an update. This is why a study of the book of Amos is so timely. Amos, chapter 9, reveals how God planned to deal with a society that had strayed completely from its intended design. It was broken by sin and needed a factory reset by the Creator. God was not going to be mocked by the actions of the people who claimed to be God’s covenant people.

The events of Amos 9 could have taken place during one of the counterfeit celebrations that had been described previously in the book of Amos. Beginning in Amos 9:1-4, God is declared as the One who reigns supremely over His creation. God is portrayed as having authority over both heaven and earth; therefore, no one can escape His judgment.

God Reigns - Amos 9:5-6

The phrase, the Lord, the God of Armies, points to God’s authority over all things and His ability to carry out all that He says He will do. He has the host of heaven at His disposal, and no one can withstand Him or flee from His wrath. No place in all of creation is beyond His reach. He simply touches the earth, and it melts, meaning to tremble and shake as in an earthquake. Notice how the people respond when they come to their senses and realize that the Lord is the God of Armies--They mourn.

What kind of god does our culture today desire? Why?

What evidence do you see today in many churches or individual believers that might indicate we have forgotten that the Lord is the GOD of Armies?

Why should understanding God as the God of Armies cause us to pause and consider the way in which we live our lives?

God then reminds them of their brokenness because of sin.

All Mankind is Broken by Sin - Amos 9:7-8

The Israelites believed that, as God’s chosen, covenant people, and His treasured possession out of all the nations (Exodus 19:5) they were exempt from God’s judgment. They behaved as if the Lord was obligated to bless them. Just because they had a special covenant relationship with God did not give them the right to live immoral and deceitful spiritual lives.

While the Israelites were a chosen people, they were equally as broken by sin as any other people. They could not escape the fact that sin had to be accounted for even if they lived under a special covenant.

In what ways might someone today express their assumption that God is obligated to treat them a certain way? Do some people assume God should or will ignore their sins? If so, why?

If you claim to be a Christian, God expects the way you live in the present to affirm what He did for you in the past through Jesus Christ. Just because Jesus Christ came, lived, died, and rose again doesn’t mean everyone on earth is universally exempt from God’s judgment. God says, “I am directly interested in your moral spiritual present. I am interested in where you were last night. I am interested in your thoughts right now. I am interested in your business dealings in the past week. I am interested in your relationship with the opposite sex. I am interested in how you view and treat others. I am interested in how you live out the truths of My Holy Scriptures.”

Consider your own life? Does your life truly reflect the life of someone who has received Christ?

Notice God’s words in verse 8.  On one hand he will obliterate Israel from the face of the earth. Yet, on the other hand, He will not totally destroy the house of Jacob. This seems to contradict itself, but it doesn’t. The Northern Kingdom would cease to exist as a socio-political structure, yet the Lord would preserve for Himself a remnant of people from the house of Jacob who remained faithful to Him, but this could only take place through God confronting them about their sin.

God Will Not Allow You to Ignore Your Sin-Broken Life – Amos 9:9-10

God says he will shake Israel like grain in a sieve, allowing the grain to escape while catching the husks, stalks, pebbles, and dirt so it can be discarded. Everyone in the house of Israel would be confronted by God regarding sin. Those who were like grain would escape judgment, but those who didn’t pass the sifting process would die by the sword.  The purpose of God’s judgment was to remove those who rejected the Lord and to save those who had been faithful to Him.

John the Baptist also says this is what Jesus Christ does as well. Matthew 3:12 tells us that Jesus’ “winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”

Notice the attitude of those who would not escape judgment. They said, "Disaster will never overtake or confront us." What kind of attitudes might indicate that people believe this today? 

While judgment would come and will come, God’s purpose and plan is not total annihilation, but salvation.

God Desires to Fix Brokenness - Amos 9:11-15

There are three key words in this passage that reflect the God who is Holy and just, yet the God who loves. It’s the words RESTORE, REPAIR, AND REBUILD.

When someone receives Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells him, and he becomes a new creation.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!" As believers we are no longer bound by sin. We are new in Christ. Therefore, we are given a new desire and the capacity to no longer live for ourselves but to live for Christ.

Responding to God

Reading God’s words in the book of Amos also helps us understand the glorious future when Christ will return once again. In the beginning, everything God created was very good. Yet man sinned, causing every part of His creation to be broken by sin. The book of Revelation reminds us that there is coming a future and final judgment. After sin is eternally judged, God promises a new heaven and a new earth where suffering, pain, sin, and death no longer exist. This broken world will be completely and totally restored by God who sits on the throne and says, “Look, I am making everything new.” (Revelation 21:5)

This future should give believers hope and strength to strive to live the most holy lives possible. This includes hearing from God when He confronts us about sin in our lives and then repenting so that He can continue to restore us. It also includes producing fruit by sharing and showing the good news of Jesus to others.

Today our world celebrates everything while saying this is the way God wants it to be. We must realize that God will not be mocked by churches, societies, or individuals.

Does your life reflect one who is in a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ?

Do you assume God is ignoring your sin because of His love?

What actions do you need to take based on the word of God?

This past week we witnessed the death of Queen Elizabeth II. According to The Guardian news, the UK has entered a 10-day period of national mourning for the Queen. This means all concerts, sporting events, and even strikes have been cancelled. As one observes the ceremonies that are taking place, it's amazing to hear so many references from the Bible regarding salvation, Jesus Christ, and Heaven. A time of mourning does appear to have motivated some UK citizens to seek God. The Explore the Bible Study: Seek God, focuses on another time of mourning when people were challenged to seek God and live.

Amos 5:1-3 describes how Amos mourned or lamented over a different kind of death. It was the death that would take place in the future. It was the death of Israel because of sin and rebellion: “Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, house of Israel: 2 She has fallen; Virgin Israel will never rise again. She lies abandoned on her land with no one to raise her up. 3 For the Lord God says: The city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left, and the one that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left in the house of Israel.”

His lament took place during a time when Israel was living life to the fullest. The people had enjoyed a period of success and prosperity under Jeroboam II, which fostered arrogance. The people had come to think of God's blessing in the form of wealth as their birthright. Amos warned that they were soon to hear God's verdict. Their wealth, their nation, and their pride would lie in ruins. Much like the way many people seek God or examine their faith during the loss of a loved one or when experiencing some other loss, Amos called for the Israelites to seek God and live.

Just as Amos prophesies about the impending death of a nation, the Bible also reminds us that death is something that we will all face—the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Additionally, God reminds us that one day this entire world will be destroyed because of God’s judgment against sin (2 Peter 3:10). Yet, Amos’ message is not without hope. If we seek the Lord, we will live. As we examine Amos 5:4-15 consider the ways in which you should seek the Lord and live.

Seeking God Requires Authentic Worship – Amos 5:4-9

Israel was pretending to seek God in all the wrong places with all the wrong motives. The shrines described were places of idol worship while others became shrines because of their historical religious importance for the people of Israel. 

• The shrines at Bethel, located about ten miles north of Jerusalem, was one of two locations where Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, built altars, made two golden calves, and said to the people: “Here are your gods” (see 1 Kings 12:26-33). 
• Beer-sheba was a significant place of pilgrimage because of its significance in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
• After Israel crossed over the Jordan River, Joshua established Israel’s first camp at Gilgal, where they were circumcised and observed the first Passover in the promised land (Joshua 4–5). Gilgal was also near the place where Elijah was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:1). Consequently, Gilgal became a sacred shrine for the people of Israel.

Yet Amos emphatically stated that none of these locations or the religious practices that took place there would suffice for finding God. Nothing could be substituted for seeking God. All such substitutes would lead to destruction, and this destruction would be brought about by an inextinguishable, all-consuming fire.

What might be our “shrines,” religious rituals, or religious activities that we use as substitutes for seeking God?

Notice the phrase in Amos 5:7, “Those who turn justice into wormwood also throw righteousness to the ground.” Wormwood was the most bitter of plants. Amos uses this statement to point out that they weren’t really seeking God when they worshipped. If they were, then it would be obvious in how they expressed their love for God and people, but that wasn’t the case. 

Notice Amos 5:8-9 again. What is Amos saying about man as compared to God in these verses? In what ways does man consider himself to be greater than God today? How does this kind of thinking impact authentic worship?

It is the God of Creation, the Lord God Almighty, that they needed to worship. It is this God who is in control of all things, including the future. It is this God who exhorted His people to authentically seek Him and live, even with the impending judgment that was to come.

Seeking God Demands Radical Honesty – Amos 5:10-13

Israel had drifted so far from God that they had quit loving others as God had commanded. Amos says they hated the judge who was willing to render fair judgments and convict criminals, and they despised any witness who faithfully spoke the truth in defense of the innocent.  Additionally, those who had a lot in society didn’t use it for good but used it to abuse the poor. It was through this exploitation that they built houses of expensive cut stone. They also planted lush vineyards, hoping to enjoy the fruit of the vine they would produce. The Lord declared that these greedy people who were oppressing and profiting from the poor would not live in the houses they built or drink wine from the lush vineyards they had planted. 

Would you say our society today is guilty of the actions mentioned in verses 10-13—Hating the one who convicts the guilty; despising the one who speaks with integrity; trampling on the poor; oppressing the righteous; taking bribes; depriving the poor of justice?

Notice what Amos says in verse 13, “those who have insight will keep silent at such a time, for the days are evil.” If everyone had been honest, they would have realized there would be no legitimate reason to protest the destruction God was going to exact on unfaithful Israel. Their rebellion against God, their moral corruption, and the oppression of people had perverted the entire nation. God would bring down His righteous judgment because the days are evil, and those who have insight will realize nothing can be said about it.

Do you believe Christians find it easy to remain silent when injustices are observed? Why is it so hard to be honest about the sins we observe around us?

Perhaps believers are silent because they don’t know how to respond. Or perhaps it is because of fear. But perhaps the greatest reason we might not speak out is because we are guilty as well. However, if we are to seek God, we must be radically honest about our sin and the sin that permeates this world and our society.  We must honestly take responsibility for the part we play. Being radically honest requires immediate action.

Seeking God Requires Immediate Action – Amos 5:14-15

Seeking God required repentance. True repentance is accompanied by action, and Amos called the people of Israel to pursue good, and not evil. They were to hate evil, love good, and establish justice at the city gate. 

Do you believe pursuing good, not doing evil, hating evil, and establishing justice is the path to repentance or the result of repentance?

All these actions reveal the heart of one who is truly seeking God. Notice the phrase in verse 14, as you have claimed. These people, just like many people today, claimed to know the Lord God, yet their actions did not back it up. Amos states that if you claim to know God then your actions must back it up.

To love good means to be devoted to, to value above all else, to delight in, to aspire to that which pleases and honors God, because God alone is truly good (Luke 18:19). Because man is created in God’s image, we can express some aspects of His goodness, but our goodness is broken by sin. Only through a personal relationship with Christ can we truly and purely learn how to love good as we pursue good.

Does your response to people today, either personally or on social media, demonstrate that you are pursuing good and loving good?

We usually think that people won’t pursue something that is evil. Yet, we live in a sin-broken world in which man is always tempted to embrace and pursue evil. Hating evil means to hate everything that is in opposition to God’s Word and His character. To hate means to despise, to abhor, to reject, to see something as ugly and to separate oneself from it. Hating evil begins with hating one’s own sin which leads to repentance.

If you claim to be a believer, do you actively pursue evil or do you hate evil?

When we realize we are sinners, repent, and receive Christ’s payment for sin, and believe God raised Him from the dead, then our view of evil will begin to change. As we seek God, and He empowers us to pursue good and love good, then we will grow in our hatred of what evil has done and is doing to this world.

We will come to hate the evil that so easily entangles us and this world. But hating evil does not mean we hate people who pursue evil. Amos says that the result of seeking God will result in justice being reestablished. People will be treated as God expects them to be treated by those who claim to follow God. They too will be given the same opportunity to seek God through repentance.

When you observe or hear of people who are pursuing evil, does your heart break for their brokenness, or do you tend to hate them instead of their sin? Do you view people as a means to an end, or do you view people as individuals who need to seek God and live?

Perhaps

There is one important word in verse 15 that we can’t miss. It’s the word, “Perhaps.”  God’s judgment awaited Israel in 722 BC with the invasion of Assyria. Amos held out hope that some would avoid that wrath by turning from their evil ways and throwing themselves upon the mercy of God. Those who loved good and upheld justice would indicate they were sincere in seeking God, and therefore they would live. They needed to seek the Lord regardless of what God would do in response. By doing so, it would be a true outward expression of their faith and repentance toward God, and not just a ploy to win God over and escape His judgment. God was not negotiating with them.

How do you know you are seeking God? How would you define what it means to seek God and live?

The call to seek God is not about finding something lost, but about passionately pursuing someone. Jesus spoke of this pursuit of God, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:33). 

Believers realize that what was true of Israel in the Old Testament is going to ultimately be true for this entire world. One day judgment is coming upon all who refuse to seek God and live. We know that day is coming when Christ returns. Yet, we have hope when we seek Christ with our entire being. Christ says to seek Him, and we will live. We will have life, not just a life of hope this side of death, but life eternal in a place where there won’t be any weeping or mourning. Seeking God this side of eternity gives us the chance to offer hope to others. Hopefully you are one that is truly seeking God and expressing it through authentic worship, radical honesty, and immediate actions.

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

 

Have you ever served on a courtroom jury? How did it feel to be sitting in that courtroom? Courtrooms are symbols of the accountability that we believe everyone should face when they commit a crime. While we believe people should be held accountable for their crimes, do people believe they should be or will be held accountable by God for their sins? The Explore the Bible Study: Turn to God, will answer this question.

Amos 3 begins a new section of the book where Amos brings a series of three messages introduced by the phrase, “Listen to this message” (Amos 3:1; 4:1; 5:1) and was intended to remind the people of God that with much privilege comes much responsibility, and with much responsibility comes much accountability. Amos 4:1-13 will focus on Israel’s sin of self-centeredness and how it was expressed. Consider how God holds His people accountable today and eventually will hold all humanity accountable for how they respond to Him as we review the passages.

The Sin of Self-Indulgence – Amos 4:1-3

From our cultural perspective, addressing the wealthy women in Samaria, Israel’s capital city, "as you cows of Bashan," seems odd. But one must understand the cultural context. The region of Bashan is located east of the Sea of Galilee. It served as Israel’s “breadbasket,” with wheat as its primary crop and provided high-quality pastures for livestock (Psalm 22:12; Ezekiel 39:18). The best livestock in the land came from Bashan.

The phrase is an expression pertaining to their luxury and privileged circumstances. In our vernacular, the expression might be better understood as Amos addressing the “divas" of Samaria. He was not judging them for their affluence and wealth but for their self-indulgent lifestyle that led to a sense of entitlement. Others suffered to make sure every whim of theirs was met. It is a picture of extortion, exploitation, and manipulation from the poor to bankroll an extravagant lifestyle. While Amos focuses on the women of Samaria, it’s a message to all who commit the sin of self-indulgence.

As a judge pronounces a verdict, God describes a day when those living this self-indulgent lifestyle would be taken away with hooks. Like cattle, they would be hooked and dragged away. Amos was clearly prophesying about the Assyrian invasion and defeat of Samaria that would take place in 722 BC. God was going to call this self-indulgent society to accountability for their sins.

How is self-indulgence expressed in society today? How might it be expressed in the lives of those who profess Christ? How can we avoid this sin?

Not only did the people of God commit the sin of self-indulgence, but they also committed the sin of insincere or fake worship.

The Sin of Fake Worship – Amos 4:4-5

If someone were to say that the way you worship is fake, what would you think they were saying? How would you respond if you were welcomed at church with the phrase, “Welcome to worship, come on in and rebel”?

When God’s people would make their way to places of worship a priest or prophet would welcome them with a blessing that would include a welcome and an invitation to worship. However, Amos issued a sarcastic yet revealing invitation—"Come to Bethel and rebel.” Their worship practices did not honor God but only called attention to themselves. 

Every morning they would offer their sacrifices. These sacrifices were supposed to be made for the atonement of sins and to symbolize fellowship with God. Amos pointed out that they would boast publicly about their offerings, sacrifices, and tithes.

God saw through their religious veneer. Instead of pleasing Him, their fake worship served to deepen their transgressions and intensify God’s wrath.

How might this be expressed today by believers? How can a person’s worship practices be a cover-up for his or her sins?

Do you think some believers feel that religious fervor can be a substitute for faithful obedience to God?

Would you say that, in God’s eyes, fake or insincere worship is as sinful as false worship?

Not only did Israel sin through self-indulgence and through fake worship, but they also committed the sin of hard-heartedness.

The Sin of Hard-Heartedness – Amos 4:6-11

Amos described the following calamities that should have turned the hearts of Israel back to God but did not: (1) Famine; (2) Water shortage; (3) Crop Failure due to disease and insects; (4) Disease and death for humans and animals; (5) Some of their prominent cities were overthrown, yet God withheld total destruction. The nation had just come out of a period of domination by Damascus. But when that ended with Jeroboam II, they still did not repent and turn to God. 

Do you think God’s involvement in the events of verses 6-11 was redemptive in nature? When we see events similar to these taking place today, what should our response to God be? 

Not every calamity is a result of the unfaithfulness of God’s people today. Yet, when we experience any kind of calamity personally, as a body of believers, or as a nation, we should certainly seek God so He can bring clarity to the situation. If He reveals it is because of sin, then we should respond to God with repentance.

Sadly, in Israel’s case, God orchestrated the events to give them the opportunity to repent, but they refused bringing about a day of reckoning for their sin.

Sins Day of Reckoning – Amos 4:12-13

Amos informed the Israelites that they were to “prepare to meet your God!” In this meeting, they would give an accounting to Him. To emphasize the seriousness of the meeting, the prophet reminded the people of God’s power and sovereignty. Amos reminds them that God is:

• The God who is the Creator of everything including the mountains, the wind, the dawn out of darkness, and the earth.
• He is the God who reveals His thoughts to man. We are without excuse because God has spoken through the Law, the prophets, and He would soon reveal Himself through Jesus Christ the living Word and through the Bible. He has also revealed Himself through His creation so that no man is without excuse.
• He is the God who commands the hosts of the heavens—the God of Armies. He alone had the power to bring judgment against them for their rejection of His grace. 

How could they have been as foolish as to disregard their covenant with the Lord God? How could they have ignored the Almighty God who graciously revealed His Word to Israel through His prophets? Sadly, they would realize their blunder when the Lord, the God of Armies came to meet them in judgment and wage war against His rebellious people.

How should the promise of standing before God impact how one lives? How does a person’s understanding of God impact how a person lives his or her life?

What About Today?

September 11, 2022 will mark 21 years since the attack of 9/11. Where were you? How did you respond? For those of you who remember 9/11 you may recall how church attendance and prayer was impacted by this event. Some thought we might be heading toward a spiritual awakening in our country. Now, 21 years later, consider where we are. A September 2021 article from Christianity Today summarized it this way: “For a few weeks after 9/11, people packed the pews, but it soon became apparent there was not a ‘great awakening or a profound change in America’s religious practices,’ as Frank M. Newport, Gallup Poll editor in chief, told The New York Times in November of 2001.”  

Don't you find it amazing how quickly we forget God and turn to sin? Yet, perhaps, through the circumstances and calamities we face, God is trying to remind us to turn to Him and to trust Him.

As you examine Amos’ words to a rebellious nation, consider why it is so hard for people to realize when God is trying to get their attention, confess their sins, and turn back to Him.  The Israelites had committed the sin of self-indulgence and self-reliance. They had faked their worship to call attention to themselves. They had ignored all God’s warnings. Their unwillingness to return to God would result in Him coming to them in judgment.

All who are outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ can expect that they will one day be called to accountability for their refusal to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We who profess Christ will also be held accountable for how we have dealt with sin as  believers.

Examine your own life. Are there areas where God has continually revealed your sin and disciplined you for your rebellion, yet you still refuse to turn to Him? Respond to God’s invitation of forgiveness through Jesus Christ and commit to living a life that honors Him.

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.

 

According to one survey, about three in 10 (29%) admitted to ignoring the check engine warning for a month or more before finally taking the car for a checkup. This is just one of many warning lights on most cars today. Though the lights are helpful, the driver must still pay attention to the warnings. The Explore the Bible Study: Listen to God, will remind you that the same is true for the warning signs God sends us. We must pay attention to His warning signs.

In your opinion, do you feel most believers are more or less likely to ignore God’s warnings? Do you believe unbelievers are less likely to recognize God's warning signs?

Throughout Old Testament times, prophets acted as “warning lights” for the people of Israel and Judah. They signaled warnings of impending judgment, but it was up to the people to listen to God. The Explore the Bible Study this quarter will focus on four prophets God sent to warn of God’s coming judgment on His people—Amos, Jonah, Hosea, and Micah. We begin with the warnings found in the book of Amos.

The book of Amos tells us that Amos was a businessman who bought and sold livestock in Tekoa (Amos 1:1), which was about six miles south of Bethlehem and ten miles south of Jerusalem in Judah. Amos prophesied during the time Uzziah reigned over the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and Jeroboam II reigned over the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It was a time of tension, war, and then a frigid peace between the north and the south. The Northern Kingdom was experiencing economic prosperity and military superiority during this time. Their victories over enemies had brought an economic boom, leading many to believe that God was pleased with them. However, they were mistaken. 

2 Kings 14:23-27 indicates that God had taken pity on them despite their wickedness. They had a great deal of religious activity, but their devotion to God had been replaced with insincere religiosity, and they failed to see their sin and need to repent. They thought they were right with God when in reality they were in danger and far from Him. Amos 1:3-2:3 tells us that they had become just as wicked as the wicked nations surrounding them.

It was in this context that God called Amos, a southerner from Judah, to go north to Israel and preach a message of judgment to both kingdoms. Through Amos, God reviews the wrongs they have committed beginning in Amos 2:4-8.

God’s warnings are specific – Amos 2:4-8

Amos’ pronouncement of judgment both Judah and Israel began with the same wording he had used against the foreign nations in Amos 1:3-2:3: I will not relent from punishing Judah for three crimes, even four. There comes a point when enough is enough even with God, as patient as He is. Just like a car warning system has specific warnings for specific issues, so God will be specific regarding our sins when He warns us.

Notice:

1. God’s people consciously rejected and perverted God’s Word to suit their own wicked desires. How might this be expressed today by believers?
2. God’s people oppressed their own. They sold them into slavery. Instead of helping people in need as the law intended, they misused the law for their own profit. How might this be expressed today by believers?
3. God’s people treated the poor like the dirt upon which they trampled and obstructed the poor from any opportunities to better their situation. How might this be expressed today by believers?
4. God’s people pursued perverted sexual desires. Both fathers and sons were having sexual relations with young female household employees. They took advantage of their position to abuse these young women. How might this be expressed today by believers?
5. God’s people who were financially successful flaunted their sins before the Lord in their religious feasts before their altars by using the coats they had taken from the poor to lie on as they worshipped the Lord. They also brought wine to their feasts that they had purchased with the fines they had wrongfully collected from the poor. How might this be expressed today by believers?
6. God’s people had profaned God’s name through all these actions. Instead of bringing honor to the Lord’s name and displaying the holiness and greatness of God to the nations, they treated God with contempt and brought disrepute upon the nation and the holy name of their God. How might this be expressed today by believers?

Notice what the Lord said He would do because of their sin in verses 5-6: “I will send fire against Judah, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem. . . I will not relent from punishing Israel.” Do you think God would ever do the same to His people or to you today?

God’s warnings come with some reminders – Amos 2:9-11

Amos pointed out seven things God had done for the people of God.

1. The Lord had defeated their enemies, the Amorites. The Israelites were intimidated by the Amorites (Numbers 13:33); nevertheless, God defeated them on behalf of His people. 
2. Not only did God defeat the Amorites, but He also once and for all removed them as a threat to Israel. The destruction of his fruit above and his roots beneath poetically describes how God ended the posterity of the Amorites.
3. The Lord delivered His chosen people Israel from slavery in Egypt.
4. The Lord led Israel through the wilderness with His providential care. He led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22), and He provided them with water and food (Exodus 15:22-27; 16:13-16).
5. After being in Egypt for hundreds of years, God kept His promise to Abraham and caused his descendants, Israel, to possess the land of the Amorites (Genesis 15:13-16; 17:7-8).
6. The Lord gave Israel spiritual leaders. The prophets were sent from God to proclaim His message to Israel. The Nazirites were spiritual leaders given to Israel to communicate a message of commitment to God, not so much by what they said but by how they lived.
7. The Lord gave Israel ample evidence of His kindness toward them. Amos completed the Lord’s list of examples of His loving-kindness shown to Israel by asking the question, "Is this not the case, Israelites?" In other words, Israel could not plead ignorance when it came to a history of God’s dealings with His people. They knew what God had done for them, and they knew why. As a result, they were without excuse for their actions.

In what ways has God blessed believers today? 

Imagine how God feels when we blatantly disregard His blessings by choosing to do things that dishonors Him, mistreat others, or pervert His Word?

Some might say that God would not respond to believers in this manner. Yet, because He is Holy, He must judge sin. When we abuse the grace God has given, He will warn us and remind us of His blessings. Then He will discipline us.

There are catastrophic results when God’s warnings are ignored – Amos 2:12-16

After one more warning regarding their blatant sin of how they treated the Nazirites and God’s prophets, God described the catastrophic results of their unrepentant hearts.

1. God will crush them. The weight of the judgment will be such that Israel will be crushed under its weight like a wagon under too heavy a load.
2. No one will escape.
3. Even the strong will be overcome.
4. Warriors won’t survive.
5. The archers in the military won’t be able to stand their ground.
6. The foot soldier will not be able to save himself.
7. The horse soldiers will be defeated.
8. The most courageous warriors will be humiliated by fleeing the battlefield naked.

Amos’ foretelling of the slaughter of Israel’s army in this passage must have been unbelievable to his audience. Not since Israel’s days of glory under the reigns of David and Solomon had Israel amassed so great an army as they had during the reign of Jeroboam II. Even so, Amos’ portrayal is one of total annihilation of the military and the humiliation of the entire nation.

How would you have responded if you had heard Amos’ description of God’s judgment?

You Have Been Warned

God had warned the Israelites. This should have caused them to look back to their history with Him and realize that God is full of grace and desires to make people right with Himself. However, they ignored the message of the prophets including Amos. God’s judgment would eventually come in the form of the Assyrians. They would come and conquer Samaria and the entire nation of Israel by 722 BC, about 30 years after the prophet Amos preached.

What are ways that God uses to warn you that you are moving in a direction that will lead you to dishonor Him, mistreat others, or pervert His Word?

Are you willing to listen to God, or will you look for ways to justify your actions when you are warned about your own sin.

The downloadable teaching helps provide more details for this study, along with some tools you can use in guiding a group Bible study. Be sure to use this as a supplement to your study of the Explore the Bible Study resources provided by LifeWay.