Arguing From Amos — Lesson 7
January 21, 2009
Arguing from Amos – Autumn/Winter Study Series
“Israel’s Future: Pain and Promise” Chapter 9
Sunday and Wednesday Adult Bible Class
West Broad Church of Christ
January 21 and 25, 2009
Dr. J.L. Nesmith, Jr., Facilitator
Introduction:
We saw in the eighth chapter of Amos that despite God’s love for his people, they will be destroyed because of their repeated and consistent sins. Destruction is promised, but what else is promised? And how do those promises affect us as modern people of faith? Open your Bible to Amos’s ninth chapter, and we will find out together.
I. A Vision of Destruction (9:1-10)
Amos sees a vision of the Lord. What is involved in this vision?
· Thoughts about the temple
· Distance and dismay
· Separatism and sovereignty. Amos makes it clear that the Jews have no exclusive claim on the holiness, mercy, or leading of God. Question: How does this reality speak to the United States? How does it speak to the Church of Christ?
· Vanquishment and vestige. Amos seems to have no hope for the nation of Israel as a whole, but is his focus on “the whole?”
II. Rest and Restoration (9:11-15)
As the chapter continues, we see a change in the tenor of Amos’s language. What is his final word to a rebellious, hard-hearted people?
· Realizing reconstruction. Question: In your thinking, how does this discussion speak to the theological and political positions that many church and national leaders have regarding Israel?
· Bountiful blessings
Conclusion:
We learn from Amos’s message to Israel that the people of God cannot hide behind the “actions” of religion. They must instead live the life of the religious and be people of holiness, compassion, and faithfulness. Amos’s audience refused to be that people. Knowing their end, what type of person will you be?
