Our Nation And Israel — Similar Attitudes Toward Sin
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles Tags: Bible Lessons on Attitudes
In Amos 2, we see the depths to which Israel plunged headlong, in its callous attitude towards sin:
“They sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals” (Amos 2:6).
They were so obsessed with silver and shoes that they would do whatever it took to possess them. They had a winter house and a summer house. Their “houses of ivory” were more important to them than human life (Amos 3:15). They longed for the end of the Sabbath so they could accumulate more wealth (Amos 8:5-6).
A Nation Of Lawbreakers
Israel also encouraged its citizens to violate God’s law:
“But you gave Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’” (Amos 2:12).
A Nazirite was one who vowed not to partake of the fruit of the grape (Numbers 6:1-3), but Israel was characterized as encouraging them to violate their vow, and discouraging the preaching of God’s truth. Similarly, our society gives encouragement to sin by advertisement, subsidy and tax deductions. However, if the citizens of our nation even attempt to take a Bible into a public school, they might find themselves incarcerated!
A little later in the book, Amos writes:
“They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly” (Amos 5:10).
Note that they did not want their sins to be rebuked (cf. Acts 7:51-58).
The words of the prophet Isaiah reflect the attitude of many people in our country today:
“This is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children that will not hear the law of the Lord; Who say to the seers, Do not see, And to the prophets, Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:9-10).
A Non-Caring People
It’s bad enough to be part of a nation guilty of such wicked rebellion against God, but even worse is to discover that no one really cares. In Amos 6:1-6, we see that because of their wealth and powerful position among the other nations, Israel felt very secure.
This attitude of self-sufficiency allowed them to ignore the plight of the poor and the eventual threat of God’s wrath (Amos 6).
They were preoccupied with today’s pleasures. They had neither the time nor interest in things spiritual (contrast with Colossians 3:1-). They could not be bothered with such things.
An Ungrateful People
Even though God brought the nation of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt (Amos 2:9-11; cf. Exodus 12:40-41; Exodus 12:51), provided them sustenance and protection in their 40 years of wilderness wandering, and gave them the land He had promised (Joshua 21:43-45), they still possessed the selfish attitude of:
“What have you done for me lately?”
God had given them much, but they wanted much more (cf. Proverbs 27:20; Ecclesiastes 1:8).
Conclusion:
From the above study, do we not see the similarity between Israel’s attitude toward sin in 750 B.C. and America’s attitude toward sin today?
If Amos were to stand in our pulpits today, would he likely say the same things to us as he told Israel? Would God hate our worship as He did that of Israel? (Amos 5:21-27).
Brethren and friends, it’s something to seriously think about!