A Good Prophet
Amos 7:7-15
July 15, 2018 – Redeemer
Amos is a good prophet. His congregation – the people of Israel was in trouble with the Lord. You know their history, for it is your history. They were rebellious against the Lord. Like a child going through those teenage years it seemed that whatever the Lord said His people did the opposite. The Lord had His temple in Jerusalem. The Israelites built their own temples up north – one in Dan and one in Bethel. The Lord said that the high places of the false gods were to be torn down. The Israelites kept them and offered blended worship where false and true were worshipped side by side. The Lord said He would be their King. The Israelites whined like little children in the grocery store until their Father gave in.
The Lord had had enough of His people. At the beginning of Amos chapter seven the Lord promised a hoard of locusts to devour the crops of Israel. But Amos, with a pastor’s heart for his people, intercedes. “O Lord, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small.” (2) And the Lord did not send the locusts.
The Lord’s mercy had no effect. Can you imagine? The Lord forgives His people and they just go on sinning, so He threatens fire from heaven. Once again, Amos pleaded, “O Lord God, please cease! How can Jaocb stand? He is so small.” (5) And the Lord did not send the fire.
Amos is a good prophet. He pleads for mercy for his people, but when they won’t let their sin go, he also tells them exactly what the Lord shows him. “Behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.” Older carpenters know what a plumb line is. I still have my dad’s plumb line. It is simply a weight on the end of a string. Because God’s ordered creation has perfect gravity you can hang a plumb line from the top of a wall and it will tell you if that wall is straight, at a right angel to the ground.
The Lord holds up the plumb line of His righteousness against His people and what does it reveal? They are not right. They do not do what is right or believe what is right. Soon their blended worship services would be empty and the sanctuary in Bethel would be no sanctuary from the Lord’s wrath.
John the Baptist also holds up the Lord’s plumb line against King Herod, in this case that plumb line is the sixth commandment. Here’s the Lord’s straight and righteous plumb line of what is right for sex – one man and one woman inside of holy marriage. When you separate what God has joined together you are not right – sex outside of marriage, pleasure and procreation apart from the promise of faithfulness – that is wrong. Herod had married His brother’s wife. That’s not right. John the Baptist called the King to repent as Amos told the Israelites and their King that judgment was coming if they didn’t repent.
How did the preaching of Amos and John go over? Did they get raises when it came time for the annual salary review? Did their hearers rejoice in the message and thank God for these men? Amos was basically told to go back to Iowa, down south where He came from. John got worse than Iowa. He was sent back to the dust from which he came.
Were John and Amos good preachers? Jesus thought so. He said among all those born of women none was greater than John. Amos is so good that we hear his sermons 2800 years after he preached them. Yet, do you consider it good when some preacher holds the plumb line a little too close to the phony walls you’ve erected. Last week in Bible Class we were talking about a definition of an active member at Redeemer based on attendance. The deacons are thinking about 20 times a year makes you active. If you only ate 1/3 of time your doctor would have you in intensive care. I’m guessing most of us spend far more on our entertainment and pleasure budget than we give to the church. Are you giving the same $10 a week you were giving 15 years ago? Do you ignore God’s Word during the week while you visit the high places of this world for pleasure? Do you blend the desire to be a nice person with the good Word of God, and pretty much keep quiet in the face of sin in your life or your family’s life? Do you talk about your neighbor without talking to your neighbor? Is that good?
I am currently reading a book on Biblical manhood. It is among the best books I have ever read. I’m planning to give copies to my son-in-law, my future son-in-law, my son, and any other young man who finds his way into my family. This is what I learned about men – you don’t want your daughter to marry a nice guy. The word “nice” actually used to be a criticism – it meant simple, foolish, spineless — Casper Milquetoast as the author says. According to the book – and the Bible – a good man will protect his wife, provide for his wife, and procreate with his wife. Because a good man lives not for himself, but for his bride and his children.
Amos and John the Baptist are not nice preachers. They are good preachers. They are protecting God’s people from sin and destruction. They are providing them with the truth of God’s word. By the working of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word they hope to be instruments by which Israel and Herod are born again by forgiveness and trust in Jesus alone.
Preachers and Prophets are good in so far as they do the good work of Christ. Jesus was good, but He wasn’t nice. He called his own mother to repentance at the wedding of Cana. He called his disciples names – like “little faithed ones.” He called Peter Satan. He told a rich man to sell everything he had. He called a woman who was praying to him a dog. He told people who were crying at a funeral to knock it off. He called some of his enemies “blind guides, hypocrites, murderers, vessels of death, a brood of vipers.” Jesus threatens the destruction of the temple and says if you want to follow him you need to follow Him to death hate your family. Don’t those sermons sound nice?
All of this is good because it is what we need to hear. What would happen to Israel if they didn’t repent? Death. What could happen if they returned to the Lord – forgiveness and life. If you did not know God’s judgment against you would you ever listen to Saint Paul’s words about our redemption by Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, the riches of God’s grace. Who needs redemption if you don’t know you are a slave to sin and death? Who needs forgiveness if you don’t realize you’ve trespassed on God’s will? Who needs grace if you don’t realize you’re a helpless, guilty, dying sinner? It is not nice to be called a slave, or a rebel, or a murderer or an adulterer or a thief, but apart from those words would you ever say, “Amen” to these words, “Christ Jesus died for you. The blood of Christ sets you free from sin and death. God loves you and favors you with eternal life and the resurrection of your body.
I’m guessing Amos wanted to be nice. John the Baptist probably wasn’t too excited to knock on the palace door and accuse King Herod of adultery. Perhaps even John was tempted to be nice, but they didn’t give in. Nice wouldn’t save Israel, Herod, and it won’t save you or anyone else. What happens when you’re nice with sin? Sin becomes your friend and God becomes your enemy. We don’t need nice. We need good – and it is good when our preachers show us our sins, so we can repent and receive forgiveness and God’s favor in the good name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
July 14, 2018 anno Domini