At a country church in Kentucky, two elderly women were sitting together in the front pew listening to a fiery guest preacher. When the well-dressed parson started lambasting the use of liquor, the two ladies cried out at the tops of their lungs, “Amen brother! Come on now!” For they knew that about a third of their congregation worked at the Jim Beam bourbon distillery.
A few minutes later, the preacher moved on the topic of tobacco. As he attacked the ills of chewing and smoking, the little ladies shouted again, “Preach it, Reverend! Uhm, uhm, uhm, tell us that truth!” For they knew that about a third of the congregation were tobacco farmers.
When the preacher got on the sin of gambling, the ladies jumped up on their feet and yelled again, “Woohoo! Go on preacher! Ground them horses! Give it to ‘em good!” For they knew that about a third of the congregation raised race horses.
But when the preacher condemned the sin of gossip, the two ladies sat down and got very quiet. One turned to the other and said, “He’s quit preachn’ and now he’s meddlin’.”
Isn’t that just the way it goes? When the preacher is railing on someone else’s trespasses, we call that “preachin’,” but when he takes aim at one of our sins, we call that “meddlin’.” Moreover, I wish I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me after church and said, “That was a great sermon pastor, I wish my husband had been here to hear it!” Sermons are great—as long as they directed toward someone else. Do you remember the question Jesus asked his disciples during his Sermon on the Mount, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matt. 7:3)
But long before Jesus preached these words, the prophet Amos dealt with this dynamic. If you happened to be here last week, you may recall that Amos began his sermon by directing his prophecy by judgment toward Israel’s six neighboring nations. From Amos 1:3 to 2:3, he pronounced divine judgment on Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. While Amos confronted these nations for the horrendous atrocities they committed against human beings, the Israelites, God’s covenant people, sat back and cheered for Amos to unleash fire from heaven.
Can you hear them shouting? “Come on now preacher! Amen, Amos! Devour Damascus! Burn the gates of Gaza! Make mayhem in Moab! Give it to ‘em good!”
Now in the rest of chapter 2, Amos shifts his focus from these foreign nations and sets his sights on Judah and Israel. He moves from preachin’ to meddlin’ as he confronts the sins of his kinsmen. As God’s prophet to people of Judah and Israel, he’s about to upset their sense of security by looking them square in the eye and saying, “Now it’s your turn!” Amos is about to do the unthinkable—pronounce God’s judgment on God’s people. He is about to teach them the important lesson that, “When you turn your back on God, God puts a bullseye on you back!”
Judah’s Rejection of Divine Revelation (4-5)
In verses 4-5, Amos takes his first shot at the people of Judah. During this period of history, we must remember God’s people were divided into the northern kingdom or Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Amos was born and raised in Judah, so he is speaking to his own people.
Judah’s sin was different from the sins of their neighboring nations. They did not commit atrocious acts against other human beings, like genocide or human trafficking. Judah’s primary failure was a rejection of divine revelation. They refusal to obey the stipulations and instructions outlined in God’s Law. They turned their backs on God.
Moses had warned the people not to forget what God had done for them in the past and what God said to them on Mount Sinai. If they did forget, they might soon become proud and self-sufficient, thinking that they really didn’t need God. (Deut. 8:1-20). This presents a high standard for Judah, for they were given the full revealed truth of what God wanted them to do. But in spite of such privileged knowledge of God’s Word, Judah bought into lies that led them astray from God. Like their ancestors before them, they abandoned God’s moral and ethical standards, and instead adopted social, economic, political, sexual, and spiritual principles from their neighboring pagan cultures.
Amos doesn’t identify Judah’s specific sins here, but if you read the I and II Kings, you will see many examples. Instead of worshipping the one true God who created the heavens and earth, they began worshipping false gods whom they thought would satisfy their immediate desires. They bought into the lie that the grass is greener on the other side.
The people of Judah turned their backs on God, so God put a bullseye on their backs. Look at God’s promise of judgment in verse 5, “I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.” No special mercy will come, and no second chance is mentioned. Their secure fortresses will be destroyed, and their capital city of Jerusalem would be devoured in flames. The political and spiritual leaders living in Jerusalem will be punished for leading the nation astray. (Smith 255)
The same is true for us today—when we turn our backs on God, he puts a bullseye on our backs. In many ways, American Christians are like the people of Judah. We have tremendous access to God’s Word—we have printed Bible’s in our homes, we can attend church and Bible studies without fear of persecution, and our culture still holds a general knowledge of God’s ethical standards.
But many Christians today have bought into the same lies that Judah believed. We are more interested in being like our pagan neighbors that conforming our lives to God’s Word. Like our non-Christian neighbors, we are prone to worship at the altars of work & wealth, power and popularity, success & sexual licentiousness.
But when we turn our backs on God, God puts a bullseye on our backs! I know many people who once walked close with God and enjoyed all of the blessings that come from an intimate relationship with him. But then, for whatever reason, they decided that they didn’t need God anymore. They stopped coming to church and they quit listening to God’s Word. They have pursued idolatry and immorality rather than following God’s path. But this path is always a dead end. It leads to emptiness and misery! When you turn your back on God, God puts a bullseye on your back!
Listen to Amos’ prophecy! Learn from Judah’s mistakes rather than repeating them. Don’t buy into the lies that you can live without the Lord! Obey his Word and follow his path! Don’t go through life with a bullseye on your back!
Israel’s Abuse of their Kinsmen (6-16)
After Amos fires his prophecy against Judah, he then marches toward Samaria, the capital city of the kingdom of Israel, where he takes a prophetic aim toward Israel’s sins. He levels Israel with a litany of abusive actions against the weak. In verse 6, the issue is financial abuse. Merciless moneylenders were taking advantage of the poor by foreclosing on insignificant loans. If the poor debtors couldn’t pay on demand, the financer would confiscate their land and add to their own wealth. They were literally selling the poor over a measly pair of sandals.
You don’t have to look very hard to see this same financial abuse in modern American culture. Even after our financial collapse in 2008, Wall Street sharks, predatory lenders, the subprime mortgage brokers are on the prowl again. Be financially gracious toward people or you will find a bullseye on your back!
In verse 7, Amos emphasizes physical abuse against the weak and helpless. “Trample the head of the poor into dust” is a metaphor of power for how someone treats someone else like dirt. “Turn aside the way of the afflicted” is a figure of speech for actively turning a blind eye toward justice and not sticking up for the oppressed. As a whole, this verse is referring to powerful people manipulate the weak and afflicted, pushing them around, controlling their lives, and depriving them of the rights that every human being deserves.
Again, we see how the wealthy and powerful manipulate the poor and powerless all the time. If you are in a position of authority over someone else, be careful how you treat your subordinates. Treat all people with dignity and respect or you will find a bullseye on your back!
In the last line of verse 7, Amos shines the spotlight on Israel’s sexual abuse. The shocking phrase “a man and his father go in to the same girl” refers to sexual mistreatment of household employees. God’s law prohibited a father and son from having sex with the same women, but female employees were often vulnerable to multiple men in a household. Powerful men would often threaten women with severe financial consequences if they did not cooperate with their deviant desires. These despicable deeds profane God’s holy name. (Smith 258)
Amos’ indictment of sexual abuse is certainly pertinent in light of the recent #MeToo movement in America. If you didn’t already know it, sexual violence is still a pervasive problem that plagues our nation. If you perpetrate sexual abuse, God will place a bullseye on your back!
In verse 8, Amos highlight’s the Israelite’s spiritual abuse. They would wear garments that they repossessed from the poor to a worship event. A similar irony is seen in the way the wealthy and powerful Israelites would impose fines on the poor people and then use the money to buy wine and get drunk in the name of worship. This was blatant spiritual abuse!
Can you even imagine? This would be like stealing a coat from a homeless person and then showing it off to your friends at church. When clergy and church leaders or anyone spiritually abuses the weak and defenseless, you better believe God will put a bullseye of judgement on your back!
In verses 9-12, God uses Amos to remind the Israelites what he had done for them in the past. He delivered their nation from the clutches of the Amorites and Egyptians. Although the Amorites were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, God cut them down and liberated them from oppression. Likewise, God brought the Israelites up out of Egypt and led them and fed them for 40 years in the wilderness.
God even raised up prophets to preach his word and Nazarites, holy men who dedicated their lives to the Lord’s service, to be examples of faithfulness. But Israel even abused them—“they forced the Nazarites to drink wine and they would not let the prophets preach. The people who were once abused had now become the abusers. The oppressed were now the oppressors.
And make sure you don’t miss the end of Amos’ prophecy. He gives us a vivid view of the bullseye he put on Israel’s back. Notice the graphic images of judgment in verses 13-16—even the strongest, fastest, and bravest warriors won’t be able to escape God’s judgment. They would be crushed like a cart under a heavy load of grain.
When we turn our backs on God, when we manipulate and abuse other human beings, when we forget what the Lord has done for us, when we take advantage of God’s grace, he puts a bullseye on our backs!
As we reflect on Amos’ prophecy together today, I don’t want to hear anyone say, “Great sermon pastor, this would have been perfect for my brother-in-law!” The Holy Spirit is using Amos’ prophecy to speak to us! All of us!
So, let’s admit that it is “me” who is standing in the need of prayer.
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Not the preacher, not the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord,
Not my father, not my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Not the stranger, not my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord,
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.