 Amos chapter 6. We'll begin reading at verse 1. I'm only gonna begin by looking at verses 1 and 2, giving you a brief review and then moving into chapter 6. A portion of scripture where the Lord is speaking of judgment as the book of Amos has been revealing to us, the Lord's judgment. So beginning at verse 1, Amos chapter 6, reading to verse 2, Woe to you who are at ease in Zion and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation to whom the house of Israel comes. Go over to Calne and see and from there go to Hamat, the great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? So as we're looking in the book of Amos, remember with me that Amos had just declared that Israel in the future was going to be receiving punishment. As a nation, and we've seen this as we've been going through the book of Amos, as a nation, they've been guilty of mixing idolatry with the worship of the true God. And they had even gone so far as to tell the prophets not to prophesy, and they had been worshiping at pagan altars. Amos tells us that these people were taken advantage of the poor and they were selling justice to the highest bidder. And so the result was a series of punishments that devastated the nation. God brought famine. He brought drought, pestilence and plagues upon the nation. And this prophecy was given through Amos. In spite of all of this, they refused to listen to what God was saying. And so in chapter 5, he ultimately let them know that he hated their feast days and he hated their sacred assemblies. He hated their church services, if you will. He let them know that he wouldn't accept their burnt offerings or their grain offerings because their burnt offerings and their grain offerings, he said through Amos, had no value. He said to them, I don't want to hear the noise of your songs. I don't want to hear your music because it's polluted. And he said also they are going to be taken into captivity beyond Damascus, which was pointing to the invasion that would take place through the Assyrians. So when we pick up here in chapter 6 in verses 1 and 2, he begins this chapter with a woe. When's the last time you said woe and not to a horse? Woe. We, not anyway. I was going to roll off. I'm not going to. I'll come back. The word woe is a word of sorrow. It's a word of grief. It can be used as a word of regret. Woe is an exclamation of judgment upon God's enemies or of misfortune on oneself. And in the ministry of Jesus, when he would use the word woe, it spoke of a sadness over those who fail to recognize the true misery of their own condition. A word of sadness over those who fail to recognize their own misery. I wonder how many of us fit into that category at one time, where we did recognize how bad off we really were. We would argue with other people that we were just fine, that the things that they were concerned about were really none of their affairs or things that we could conquer with a little willpower when we grow a little bit older. For me, my drinking problem was that way. My drug taking was that way. You know, I won't be drinking that much when I'm older. I'm not going to be doing that many drugs when I'm older. I'm not going to be like this when I'm older. I'll outgrow these things. And the word could have, the Lord could have pronounced a word of woe upon my life, because it was, it was a demonstration that I didn't even recognize my own misery. Now this particular word, when it says woe to those who are at ease in Zion and trust in Mount Samaria, this word is intended for the nation from the north to the south. When he speaks concerning being at ease in Zion and trusting in Mount Samaria, Zion is another word for Jerusalem. It speaks of that which is in the south. Zion, Mount Zion, is another word for Jerusalem. And Mount Samaria is at the border of the northern kingdom. So that gives to us an insight that God is bringing judgment from the north to the south. And that's why he says it that way. Those of you who are at ease in Zion and trust in Mount Samaria. In other words, the entire nation is being spoken of in this particular portion of Scripture. When he speaks of Zion, we need to remember that Jerusalem was where the temple was. And when we hear of Mount Samaria, that would represent something within the northern kingdom that had plagued and begun to plague those people, which was their prosperity as well as their sense of fortification because Mount, that area represented a place that was a fortified place that that if they were invaded by a foreign nation, they felt that they were secure there. And so he's saying you're trusting in your religion and you're trusting in your military. And the problem is both of them are going to let you down. Why? Because you have polluted your worship by combining idolatry with the genuine worship of God. And as such, God's saying, I'm going to bring judgment against you for that. In verse one, when he speaks of notable persons, that speaks of the rulers whom Israel had come to for guidance and for judgment. And he's simply saying, I'm bringing everything to judgment. There's a judgment against religious compromise. There's a judgment against materialism. The compromise and love for materialism has put them in the position of receiving this judgment. And it's interesting how he says it woe to you who are at ease. It's a picture here as being what you would call recklessly at ease. They're tranquil. They're content. And they believe that they are so secure that they are insensible to the danger that is awaiting them. They are completely at ease. You know, when it says here, woe to you who are at ease. That's another way of saying, woe to you who are taking it easy. Who are just kind of floating along thinking everything's fine. There's no problems at all. And what you've done is you've trusted in your riches. And as you have trusted in your riches, you have become unaware of your true condition before God. You are living luxuriously. And as you're living luxuriously, he's saying to them, you think that your luxuries are actually blessings from God when in fact they're not. As a result of this, you are ripe for judgment. There's an interesting portion of Scripture in the New Testament is found in Luke chapter 12 verses 16 through 21. And in that passage, Luke writes, he spoke a parable to them saying, the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, what shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I'll say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be married. But God said to him, fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then who's will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. You've been putting all of this away for your retirement. And you're never going to retire. I've told you this before. Some of you have heard me say this many times. I've said it over the years, more than once. My cousin, Eleanor was married and her husband retired. And the day he retired, my cousin, Eleanor, gave her husband a retirement party. All his friends came. They had a big party. It was his last day of work and his first day of retirement. I'll never forget this. And he died in his sleep that night. Yeah. Yeah. See, you haven't heard that story. Good. He died in his sleep. He died in his sleep. He didn't get a single day of retirement, not a single. Think about it. Not a single day of retirement. He worked all those years, put all that time in, said to his soul, take your ease, be married, enjoy life. And he died in his sleep. There's no guarantee. There's no guarantee that you're going to wake up tomorrow. Now, am I trying to scare you? Yeah. A little bit. Maybe we need to wake up. Maybe we need to be aware of the days that we're living in because when we get caught up trying to, to, to live luxuriously, not to say that enjoying a good meal or having a nice vacation is wrong. That God's not saying that. He's saying to the nation, what you've done is you think that the blessings that you have are coming because I'm blessing you. In fact, that's not true. You have mixed your religion with idolatry. And I am not blessing that at all. What you've done is you've self-deceived. You're thinking I'm blessing you. And in fact, I'm not. As a matter of fact, I'm bringing judgment against you because you're living at ease and not even aware of the fact that I am not blessing you. But I have been speaking to you through a prophet saying to you that judgment is coming, but you're ignoring this. You'll see this a little bit clearer in just a moment. In Mark, in chapter 10, verses 23 and 24, Mark says, Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God. It's not riches in and of themselves. It's when you trust in your riches that causes problems. And that's why many who have a lot of money put their trust in their riches. And Jesus says, no, if you trust in your riches, it's very difficult to enter into the kingdom of God. Why? Because you can't trust God and your riches simultaneously. Either you choose God or you choose your riches, but you don't have both. You can't choose your riches over God and think you're going to have eternal life. So he continues to speak here in verse two. And he says, go over to Colne and see, and from there, go to Hamat, the great, then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is there territory greater in your territory? When he says, go over to Colne, when you're looking at a map, Colne would be in ancient Assyria. Then he says, go to ancient Assyria. From there, he says go to Hamat, which would be from Hamat, from Colne would be going south. And so you're going into a region of Upper Syria. Then he said, go to Gath. When you go to Gath, that's to the southwest. And that's where the Philistines were. So he's speaking of territories. And these are territories that had once been great, but they've been conquered. And so he's basically saying, you know how great these territories have been, yet they've been conquered? Are you saying that you are safer than they? You see, you're not better than them because you engage in the same sins that they engage in. And the fact is, because you have greater revelation, you stand in greater judgment than they. The more you have, the more responsibility you have to what you've been given. One who has been given much from him, much is required. And so the Lord is saying, do you think you're greater than these other places that have been great also? No, the fact is, you're not, you're not better than these kingdoms. Your territory is no greater than theirs. And now he goes on to pronounce these woes. Verse three, woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seed of violence to come near, who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flocking calves from the midst of the stall, who chant to the sound of stringed instruments and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David, who drink wine from bowls and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore, they shall now go captive as the first of the captives and those who recline at banquets shall be removed. We'll take our time and look at this in not great detail, but some detail, because it begins to tell them what's going to happen. And he's pronouncing woes upon them, which I think are very practical and even applicable for us today. Now, first he says, notice verse three, woe to you who put far off the day of doom, who cause the seed of violence to come near. First thing that he begins to pronounce a woe about, he's saying you are guilty, you can mark this in your heart if not in your notebook, you are guilty of not applying God's word to yourself. You are guilty of not applying God's word to yourself. There are many who are able to memorize messages and repeat them to others. When the Lord is speaking to them, you ought to see what happens when I teach on marriage and family. When I'm speaking concerning how husbands are to love their wives and the wives, I can always tell who's having a problem, because the wife turns and looks at the husband and says, I'm speaking. They always do. I see all that husband squirms and that wife just looks at them. The best way to understand a Bible passage is to determine to apply it to yourself. It's the best way. Do you want to know the word of God? Make a decision to obey it. That's how God manifests himself to you. But when we get caught up memorizing what is said, but not applying it, we're in danger. I knew somebody, I still do, he's not dead, I knew somebody who told me, I have a tape, I want you to hear, I really think it'll bless you. And I said, really? And so he begins to speak in the voice of the person who taught and began to give me that message. And it was obvious that the message was by a Pentecostal preacher. And this fellow is raising his voice and his cadence. And it's like he put himself in the position of that pastor and was preaching word for word what he had memorized from this particular message. And I found it intriguing and very interesting because I knew him fairly well how he could give a message that he was not yet living. And we need to understand that if God's word is being spoken to us, it's not for the person who is next to us behind us or in front of us, or who is being raised by us necessarily, or who is married to us. When we hear the word of God, it is to us. And I've known too many people and I'm not judging them, it can sound that way. I'm just trying to give illustration about this. I've known many who know many things about various doctrines who have information, but no transformation, who are able to tell me things concerning the last days and yet don't live as if they truly expect Christ to return at any moment. And basically what is happening is this, he says, you're not applying God's word to yourself. You knew that God has said judgment would come, but you have not applied it, is what he's saying. Yes, judgment is coming, they're saying, but it's still future. It's not going to affect us. We don't need to worry about it. In Ezekiel 12, 22, we read, Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel? The days go by and every vision comes to nothing. What is it that you guys are saying? You're saying that you've heard that judgment is coming. It hasn't come yet and therefore we know what's being said, but we don't necessarily believe it's going to happen. In Matthew 24, verses 38 and 39, we read, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of man be, for as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be, so also will the coming of the Son of man be. They went through life eating out Noah being a preacher of righteousness, building that ark undoubtedly with neighbors and those who live close by mocking him throughout this entire building. And the Bible tells us that he was a preacher of righteousness and he spoke to them of becoming judgment and obviously none listened to him. None believed him. The only ones who were saved were his family. And as he built this enormous ark, as I mentioned recently, we went to see the replica of the ark. It's 505 feet long. It's over three stories tall. It's an amazingly large structure. And as we're there, we recounted the story of the judgment that came. And when you're looking at that ark, there's so many things significant about it. But one of the things that stands out will be that there's just the one door. And so that one door is where all of the animals and where Noah and his family came in. And the Bible says that when the day of judgment came and the flood hit, God closed the door. So there was no more opportunity for man to enter in. When the day comes that God closes the door, that's it. And so in the days of Noah, though Noah as a preacher of righteousness had been saying to friends and neighbors and all who would hear for all those years, the Lord is going to bring a judgment. They didn't listen. They went about life as normal. They ate, they drank, they married, they gave in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark. Judgment is coming, Amos is saying. And you're acting as if it will not hit you. The judgment that you are aware of, yet think is still future, is actually in your midst. The awareness of coming judgment should be an incentive to safeguard your walk with God. The awareness now in Romans 13, 11 through 14, Paul said this, another reason for right living is that you know how late it is. Time is running out. Wake up for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone. The day of salvation will soon be here. So don't live in darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Shed them like dirty clothes. Clothe yourselves with the armor of right living as those who live in the light. We should be decent and true in everything we do so that everyone can approve of our behavior. Don't participate in wild parties and getting drunk or in adultery and immoral living or in fighting and jealousy. Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires. The question we have to ask ourselves tonight and it's a good question beginning with me and throughout this room and those who are here in this message is do I really believe the Lord is coming? Do I really believe that Jesus Christ is even at the door? Because if I really do, my life is going to change. I'm going to live in anticipation of his return. Somebody once asked the question, if you knew that Jesus Christ for certain, if you knew for certain that Jesus Christ was going to come today, what would you change about your life? Is there anything in here when you think about it yourself? Is there anything you would change? Let's say that we really did know that. That we really did know that. Jesus is coming tonight we will say at 10 o'clock. Okay now somebody's going to take that and say Pastor David is setting a date. 10 o'clock. Is there anything you would change? Is there anything at all that you would do and change? Anything? Most of us would probably say, yeah, there are some things. Why? Well, because everybody's life can be fine tuned. Not one of us is perfect in this room. Not one of us is saying, oh, I don't have to change a thing. I am so perfect. As a matter of fact, I might go out and do a few bad things just because. No, I mean, I'm so good. But the fact is most of us would be able to say, well, you know, I would probably, well, then do it. Then do it. Because we're preparing and we're prepared because the Lord is returning. He's even at the door. So one, he's saying to them, you aren't applying God's word to yourself. Then second, verse four, he said, who lie on beds of ivory, stretch out on your couches, eat lambs from the flock, calves from the midst the stall. Second thing here, interestingly, it's a picture of luxurious self indulgence, luxurious self indulgence. When he speaks of beds of ivory, that's a picture of luxury as does eating the best lamb and veal. Now what's interesting on top of that is luxury and indulgence. When he speaks concerning stretching out on your couches, one of the commentators, because I thought, well, you know, I do that all the time. Is there something wrong with stretching out on my couch? One of the commentators was saying this is a picture of sexual promiscuity. It's a picture of sexual indulgence. It's a picture of what has a word that's never used or seldom used anymore. It's what is called illicit sexual involvement, illicit. What is that? Nobody uses that word anymore. When we speak of illicit, it simply speaks of sexual relationships that are improper or forbidden. And Christians, many professing faith in Christ fall into the category of sexual indulgence, where singles are having sex and saying it's no big deal because we love each other, where single Christians are calling the person they're fornicating with their fiance to give an air of legitimacy in a sense that we're going to eventually get married and thus it's okay because before God we're already married and we're just acting as married, eventually we'll go out to the justice of the peace or have a church wedding, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But the Lord doesn't say that's proper. God says that's wrong. That's called fornication. And so the picture here is indulgence in every form, from the stretching out on your luxury couches to the sexual promiscuity to the going out and eating the best veal and lamb that you can have. And the picture he has is people who are living in such a way that they're luxuriously living without any sense that they're doing anything wrong. Now in 1st Timothy chapter six verses six through eight, Paul said this, he said, godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out and having food and clothing with these we shall be content. With these we shall be content. You know you were born naked and though they may put you in a suit or a dress when they put you in that coffin, it's the last thing you're going to be wearing, you're not going to be going out and buying some new shoes. That'll be it. Naked, I came into the world and naked I shall leave it, Job said, the Lord gives, the Lord takes away. So the things that matter aren't necessarily the things that we wear or the things that we eat, the things that we indulge in, the things that matter are deeper than that. And that's why Paul said godliness with contentment is great gain because we brought nothing into this world and we can carry nothing out. So having food and clothing with these we can be content. Well he's speaking about their self-indulgence and their luxurious living and they did not care about the poor at all. A third thing, now this I found really interesting as I was preparing this, most of this is, well it's all interesting, but this really, verse five, he said who chant to the sound of stringed instruments and invent for yourself musical instruments like David. Now who chant? I thought what an interesting phrase who chant? You know the word chant in the Hebrew it means to improvise carelessly, improvise. There's style of poetry today that's freestyle, right? So it's not brand new. This thing that we see sometimes where people have this amazing ability to rhyme and all of that and I actually, you know, when it's clean it's interesting. When it's dirty anybody can cast like a 12 year old but when it's clean it's interesting because it just shows a genius and what's interesting here is when he speaks of this and he says who chanted the sound of stringed instruments and then he goes on to say and invent for yourself musical instruments like David. I want to talk to you for just a moment about that because what he's saying here is you have extremely accomplished songwriters and musicians and you're using David, King David, as your example. When you look into the life of King David and you look at first Samuel 16 at verse 23 that tells us that David played a stringed instrument it was called the lar and that he had a beautiful singing voice and when you look at the life of David before David became King David he was the shepherd when King Saul was having attacks spiritual attacks and he was in tremendous anxiety David would play his musical instrument and sing to him and his beautiful singing voice and skilled playing would actually cause Saul to be able to relax and to have a moment of peace when you look in second Samuel in chapter 23 verse 1 it reads these are the last words of David David the son of Jesse speaks David the man who was raised up so high David the man anointed by the god of Jacob David the sweet psalmist of Israel so David became the example of skilled musicianship and writing and vocal skills keep that in mind because what they're saying here is they chant to the sound of stringed instruments and invent for themselves musical instruments like David they're basically saying that their songs are equal and as inspirational as the songs of David himself keep in mind one thing and this is practical and very basic music reveals the soul of a nation and music reveals the spiritual health of a professing believer I want to say this in a way that makes sense and for me it's difficult to make sense because it sounds so outdated that I know that it could be misunderstood but let me say it anyway and hopefully it'll make some sense to you music reveals the soul of a nation the things that you sing the things that you allow are the things that you ultimately embrace and very often help to establish your philosophy there's no doubt about that no doubt about that if you just did a quick look at music in the united states from the 40s to now you'd see what I mean you would see that and I'm gonna I'm gonna take you through memory lane for a moment so relax there we go you would see that in the 50s there was no such thing as rock and roll you would know that because in the early 50s it was still just a extension of what was called the big band era so a lot of the music that came was actually songs that were they used to call them crooners they were songs that were kind of corny I mean I am very corny I can still remember a song my mom used to play on the radio how much is that doggy in the window the one with the waggity tail and so that was the kind of music you will see that all you need to do is look at billboard hits number one songs from the 50 51 52 53 you'll see what I'm talking about you can do this very easy to do that and you will see some of the cornyest songs oh my papa and all kinds of like what there was an innocence and then this hillbilly rocker by the name of albus pressley came out right and he kind of like he brought in a rockabilly style you know blue suede shoes and and hound dog and he what he was doing is he was taking many many of the songs that had been brought out in the 20s and 30s and they were bringing them update I could give you a whole lot of information about this I better not because I didn't prepare it I'm just kind of sharing something with you real quick but albus began to do that as well as jerry lee lewis and others but what you saw was was people getting upset over what was happening because the music the term rock and roll how many of you know what that word what that means raise your hand if you know what rock and roll actually means rock and roll was a a term that was used in the early 50s to speak of sexual intercourse did you know that I know you didn't that's what I'm telling you that's what it meant that's what it meant and I don't want to be dirty up here but that's what it meant rock and roll spoke of sexual intercourse and so people got upset because they knew that that was a term coming out that was now becoming mainstreamed and when it was brought in people were upset about that so what you had was an invasion of morals through music if you look at the innocence of the 50s and then see how they slowly it slowly changed then you're going to see that I mentioned recently that albus had a song one night with you is what I've been praying for which was actually a remake of a different song that said one night of sin is what I'm paying for and they changed that song around and made it into a hit by cleaning it up there were so many examples like that I I know I like music a lot and for many years I've actually studied a lot of it I don't bring it into sermons because it normally doesn't matter but that's what I'm trying to say with this verse because the soul of a nation is often revealed by the music it enjoys the music it enjoys and you can trace our nation philosophically through the music that we like and you can see home movements that transformed America one of the things that I think is a blessing in many ways to the civil rights movement of the 60s was Motown because it gave America the opportunity to appreciate the genius of African-American lyrics and songs it introduced a different culture in a time that we were open to learning new things but with that came different other musics and so when the British invasion enters in and the Beatles come and start making comments and statements people like me looked at the Beatles as more than songwriters I actually looked at them as prophets I looked at Bob Dylan as a prophet I did blowing in the wind and a variety of other songs that he's saying were fueling the movement for change in our nation older people saw it and were threatened younger people heard it said that's the direction we ought to go music directs you in many many ways then let's fast forward because I don't want to take you that take that much time up I will go into this then the Jesus movement hits when the Jesus movement hits they take music the form and they start putting Christian lyrics they start taking the songs and verses from the New Testament and Old Testament putting them to music so when I get saved I am singing a similar kind of music with edifying lyrics so I'm now singing songs of praise to God in the form that people of my generation like all older people got mad and began to say oh that's the devil's music you're singing bad music you Calvary Chappals bringing in that garbage music and they're forgetting that that Martin Luther put the words of a mighty fortress is our God put those words to a bar song of his day and what he did is he took the bar song took their music and he put in a mighty fortress is our God and so we redeemed those things by bringing in words that edified and gave glory to God right and so what happened in the movement of music in the church and I'm getting to my point now what happened is when we first started singing with the new form of music that is today many say well that's old and it is when we started doing that the music was centered on Christ who God is what Jesus has done how your friends need to know Jesus Christ that's what early Christian music was how people could get saved why they should get saved and how come God should get all the glory but as that was taking place into the late 70s a movement sprang up and there were churches that began to be known for their worship style and instead of it being God centered worship began to be man centered meaning when I would sing in church I would be singing how God makes me feel oh I am loved oh I am cared for oh I am and instead of us saying how great he is how great thou art we started seeing in the late 70s how he makes me feel which is what has brought us to where we are now where a lot of songs that you will hear on Christian radio are really songs that you can't you wouldn't know if it was God being sung to or a boyfriend because it is that shallow because it has that little content and so he says verse five who chant to the sound of string instruments and invent for yourselves musical instruments like David you are saying that your songs are inspired equally to the songs of David and that your skill is just as good as he and what has happened is they have tainted their music with the world and it isn't bringing honor and glory to God and so I have spoken to music Christian musicians I meet with my own worship leader Jared every Monday and we try to keep our eyes together on who Jesus Christ is and the songs that we select should give praise and honor and glory to him because that's what worship is because the form of music has to have content and if the content doesn't bring glory to God then it's just a song and the Lord says I don't like that it's amen amen that was Jared so so our music should be fresh our music should be relevant our music should be worshipful but our music should always be centered on Jesus Christ then he goes into verse six who drink wine from bowls and anoint yourselves with the best ointments but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph now interesting you may not notice this I'll be honest with you I read this and I didn't really get until I began to look at commentators and they made this point they drink wine from bowls not glasses so what are they saying what is God saying you are given over to drunkenness when he says the best ointments the best ointments were used as deodorant so you care about perspiration but not inspiration see for you drinking is no problem whatsoever because it shows sophistication for you you think it's okay he's saying to them to go out and to over indulge you're not drinking a glass of wine you're drinking a bowl of it he said so you're over indulging your flesh and you have no problem doing that at all you're thinking that you look sophisticated when you do that you know there are some younger brothers today who consider themselves very sophisticated if they talk about the bible while having a glass of sherry and smoking a cigar like spurgeon but he says but you're not grieved for the affliction of joseph now that's an interesting phrase but are not grieved for the affliction of joseph what is he saying okay all you need to do is remember the story of joseph joseph was um i think he was the eleventh he had a younger brother named benjamin he was the eleventh and he had a coat of many colors which showed his father's preference and his older brothers were jealous and upset that he was the favorite of their dad and so he had spoken to them concerning a dream and all and they started calling him the dreamer and on one occasion he was coming to his brothers and as he came to the brothers they were so upset at him as he began to speak to them that what they did is they threw him into a pit and when they threw him in the pit they actually sat down as he's there in the pit and they had a meal and they ultimately sold him into slavery to some traders who were walking by and so the point here is you don't care about other people you don't care about other people in the same manner that joseph's brothers didn't care as they sold him into slavery some people have a freedom to indulge their flesh they believe that comes from christ but they're not caring about the people they stumble keep that in mind your liberties should always be motivated by your love you may have freedoms in christ for certain things you may not have a conscience that certain things are wrong certain things that are not prohibited by god i'm not saying just anything but some things but if your liberties cause a brother or sister to stumble they cease being liberties and they begin to be a stumbling block you need to always remember that god has given to us liberty in christ but not license all things are lawful for me but not all things build up there may be things that i don't have conscience about but i will respect i will restrict those things even if i don't think there's anything wrong with them for the sake of somebody else and in this context it would include the drinking that a lot of believers today feel that they can be sippian saints no have a problem with it but they fail to realize that in their sipping they are also stumbling and if you have to go to the store and buy something and go home and drink it you're really not free at all anyway because you're hiding from other people so you ought to live away in a way that people could come in open up your cabinets years ago many years ago now when the harvest crusades began greg lory came over my house he had come to do some ministry out here with us and and he came over my house and the first thing greg did is he walked up to my refrigerator and he opened it up so i offered him a beer no he and i laughed and i laughed because you know you can do that if you want you can you can move anything you want you can look around if you want there's nothing i'm hiding there right that's how we ought to live don't you think and and the freedoms christ gave to you don't use them to stumble somebody else and and if you if you're hungry for that old wine have you tasted the new yet i've never had a hangover with the new wine but i've had plenty of hangovers with the old and then the new is better the holy spirit is much better and moving on into verse seven therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives and those who recline at banquets shall be removed as they were first among the people in rank as they anointed themselves with the best ointments they will also be the first to go into captivity it's interesting how he says those who recline at banquets shall be removed because the word banquet speaks of a loud and boisterous party and so he's saying those who recline at banquet shall be removed he's simply saying the party's over in verse eight the lord god is sworn by himself the lord god of host says i have or the pride of jacob hate his palaces therefore i will deliver up the city and all that is in it the lord god is sworn by himself because there's none greater than he so he swears by himself and he says i hate the pride of jacob the word pride is also excellency can be spoken speaking of arrogance the pride of jacob could also be speaking of the sanctuary that was in jerusalem as was the priesthood and god is simply saying what you are and what you've been doing is going to be humbled so he tells us how he feels about pride sexual sin partying the filthy lyrics and drunkenness and he simply says i abhor it i hate it why because they can take you away from him or they can prevent you from coming to him in the first place he says he hates his palaces i will deliver up the city palaces can speak of storehouses he's speaking of israel's prosperity and he's simply saying i will deliver up the city all that's in it i am bringing judgment in verse nine it shall come to pass that if ten men remain in one house they shall die and when a kinsman of the dead with one who will burn the bodies picks up the bodies to take them out of the house he will say to win inside the house are there any more of you than someone will say none he'll say hold your tongue for we dare not mention the name of the lord when judgment hits he's saying israel will be under siege there will be people who are who have survived in a house but those are going to die in jeremiah 24 10 it says i will send the sword famine and plague against them until they're destroyed from the land i gave to them and their ancestors in verse 10 it says when a kinsman of the dead with one who will burn the bodies picks up the bodies in other words when someone dies the nearest of kin would come to take the body for burial or disposal because they most likely died of plague the body would be cremated and it seems he's saying here one out of 10 may survive but when spoken to the survival survivor will be told don't even mention god for fear of more wrath and finally verse 11 behold the lord gives a command he will break the great house into bits the little house into pieces do horses run on rocks does one plow there with oxen yet you have turned justice into gull and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood you who rejoice overload the bar who say have we not taken karnayim for our south by our own strength but behold i will raise up a nation against you oh house of israel says the lord god of host and they will afflict you from the entrance of hamat to the valley of arabah when god gives a command he's saying verse 11 lord gives a command when god gives a command it is completely fulfilled he's saying i keep my threats as well by the way as keeping his promises when god has made a threat judgment is coming he keeps that threat but god also keeps his promises and when god says to us if you're in christ your new creation he keeps his promise when god promises us to be with us and never leave us he keeps his promise when god says that he'll provide my daily bread he keeps his promise so god will will will bring judgment yes and that's what we're looking at here in amos is god bringing judgment but i like to remember that that god also keeps his promises for good to those who love him and the nation of israel is is rejecting him and thus is falling under his hand of judgment he finally says in verses 12 and following um do horses run on rocks um does one plow there with oxen uh horses don't run on rocks and plowing over rocks is useless and so he's saying you're useless you are incapable of fulfilling justice and you block god's blessings from the people justice and righteousness have been made in unattractive and even bitter to other people and he finally says in verse 13 you who rejoice over lo debar who says have we not taken carnaim for ourselves lo debar is the town east of the jordan river and carnaim speaks of a location that's south of damascus and carnaim has translated horns and so that would mean that israel has been trusting in its own military strength and that he's saying is foolish some trust in chariots some in horses but we will remember the name of the lord our god some 1511 says you who fear the lord trust in the lord he is their help and their shield some 118 verse 8 it is better to trust in the lord than to put confidence in man and so the question is who do i trust in they were trusting in their own strength the wisdom is trusting in his and then finally says i'll raise up a nation against you from all over your enemies will come and take you into captivity and ultimately we know what took place as syria came and took them captive and that's the point he's making you will be taken captive they will afflict you completely and that took place under a syria