Amos 04: This is Your Wake Up Call

Pastor Brandon explores Amos chapter 4, revealing how God sends wake-up calls to redirect His people before judgment comes. The prophet's harsh words to Israel weren't cruel but were meant as loving warnings from a God who desperately wanted reconciliation.

• Amos uses jarring language, calling the wealthy women of Samaria "fat cows" who oppress the poor
• God sent progressive warnings to Israel through natural disasters, military defeats, and economic hardships
• After each warning came the refrain: "but you still would not return to me"
• Like a parent using escalating consequences with a child, God's warnings show His patience
• When facing chaos in our lives, we should ask if God has been warning us about something
• God's warnings point to areas where we're approaching dangerous edges in our lives
• The wake-up calls aren't because God is angry but because He wants to heal and free us

Instead, God wants to see "a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living" (Amos 5:24).

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Bible Breakdown
• 1:49 Fat Cows in Samaria
• 6:33 God's Repeated Warnings to Israel
• 10:29 When Warning Signs Are Ignored
• 13:12 Time to Listen to Your Wake-Up Call

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:24

Well, hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, amos, chapter 4, and today's title is this is your Wake-Up Call. This is your wake-up call. I am old enough to remember when places would do wake-up calls and we're going to talk about that in just a second and we're going to see how Amos is definitely giving a wake-up call to everybody. He is being kind but he is not being nice. He's going to start off with talking about people being fat cows and it just goes downhill from there. So, while you're getting your Bibles out, get your Bible journals out, get your coffee out, all the different things, while you're doing that, make sure you take just a second to like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Excuse me, make sure you like the YouTube channel, make sure you like the podcast, leave us a five-star review and make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job and you can get links to all of that at thebiblebreakdowncom. Well, if you've been with us over the past couple of days few days we've been talking about the book of Amos and the overall big idea of the book of Amos is let justice roll. And what Amos is doing is he is reminding us that one of the big jobs that the prophets would have is they had the unenviable but, at the same time, wonderful responsibility to wave that white flag or, excuse me, yellow flag and say, hey, be careful. You know, justice is coming. Justice is about to roll over you and within 30 years of writing the book of Amos, assyria takes over the kingdom of Israel. And we've been talking about this and that is one of the interesting aspects of Amos is that he was not from Israel, he was from Judah, that's the southern kingdom. And being part of the southern kingdom, he is actually writing to his brethren in Israel and they were enemies in a lot of ways. But he's writing to them this idea and he's saying you've got to be careful because Assyria is on their way and they're going to take over. Careful, because Assyria is on their way and they're going to take over if you don't get yourself right. And he's partly warning them and partly just getting them ready for what's coming, because they're not going to change, because at the time Israel is doing very, very well financially, economically, they are just booming. Because they're doing this underhanded business with everybody and getting really, really corrupt. And Amos is waving that yellow flag and he's saying my brothers, my sisters, you got to be careful.

Speaker 1: 3:01

This is your wake up call, and what it reminds me of is it reminds me of when I was much younger. Nowadays, no one does this. I don't think you have your phones and you have alarms, all this good stuff. Well, back in the day, whenever I would go on a trip and stay at a hotel, I would be nervous about being there on time, because a lot of times hotels they didn't have alarm clocks, they were just places to sleep, right. And so what many people would do is they would call the front desk and they would say hey, can you give me a I don't know, 6 am wake-up call? Yes, sir, can you confirm your room for me? Yes, I'm in room 203 or whatever. Okay, all right.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Well then, you had to kind of hope they actually did it, because they'd write it down on a piece of paper somewhere. And can I tell you that I need to just repent before God and everybody how unfriendly I probably was many, many times, because I don't know about you. I have a hard time going to sleep in a place that's not my own bed, and so when I would finally get to sleep, you know, it seemed like just a couple hours later, here'd be the phone call, and then you it usually like be this really bubbly voice hey, this is front desk, this is your wake up call. And I don't know what they were expecting. But many times I would not say well, praise the Lord, thank goodness, from whom all goodness and mercy flows. I just pray you'll be blessed. I usually put well, I think most of them I just hang up and go back to sleep. But it was their job to give the wake up call. And here's the thing they wasn't your mama. They didn't call back 10 minutes later just to make sure you got up. It was the wake up call. And then it's up to you what you do with the wake-up call.

Speaker 1: 4:29

That's exactly what Amos is doing today. He is talking to Israel, talking about their failure to learn from all the things that's been going on, and he's saying this is your wake-up call. Bad things are coming, what are you going to do about it? And he starts off by calling them fat cows. So here we go, and don't forget Samaria, by the way, is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem is the capital of Judah, samaria is the capital of Israel, and so that's what he's going to be talking about. So, if you're ready, chapter 4, verse 1 says this Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria it's just ridiculous you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, you who are always calling to your husbands Bring us another drink.

Speaker 1: 5:16

The sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness. The time will come when you will be led away with hooks in your noses. Every last one of you will be dragged away with hooks in your noses. Every last one of you will be dragged away like a fish on a hook. You will be led through the ruins of the wall and you will be thrown from your fortresses. Says the Lord, go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel. Keep on disobeying at Gilgal. Offer sacrifices each morning and bring your tithes every three days. Present your bread made with yeast and offerings of thanksgiving. Then give your extra voluntary offerings so you can brag about it everywhere. This is the kind of thing you Israelites love to do, says the Lord.

Speaker 1: 6:01

I brought hunger to every city and famine to every town, but you still would not return to me. I kept the rain from falling and when your crops needed it most. I sent rain on one town but withheld it from another. Rain fell on one field while another field withered away. People staggered from town to town looking for water. There was never enough, but you still would not return to me, says the Lord. I struck your farms and vineyards with blight and mildew Locusts, devoured all your figs and olive trees, but you still would not return to me, says the Lord. I sent plagues on you like the plagues I sent on Egypt long ago. I killed your young men in war and led your horses away. The stench of death filled the air, but you still would not return to me, says the Lord. I destroyed some of your cities as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Those of you who survived were like charred sticks pulled from a fire, but you still would not return to me, says the Lord. Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel, for the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains, stirs up the winds, reveals his thoughts to mankind, he turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the hills. The Lord of heaven's armies is his name. Wow. So what we see here is we see how God is saying I constantly, instead of bringing on devastating, lasting final judgment, I would remove my hand a little to cause you to realize what was going on and to seek after me. But you didn't do it and for some people who would read this with us today, you would go wow, god seems mean.

Speaker 1: 7:57

Well, it depends on how you look at it. For instance, everybody has all different kinds of ways they like to try to train up their children, but one of the things that my wife and I would do is when one of our children would consistently be getting something wrong, something they were supposed to be doing they weren't doing. What we didn't do was kick them out of our house. You know what I mean. Like, let's say, one of our children. Their job was to take out the trash, and this particular child and both of them have had this job over time. So I'm not picking on, you know they both have struggled with this, but one of them in particular, just that was not their jam. They just struggled to consistently take out the trash. Well, instead of kicking them out of the house and saying you can never come to our house again. I don't know you, you know anymore. They would be consequences, small consequences, okay, you don't take out the trash. First of all, we're going to have a discussion. I'm going to let you know. This is not good. Second of all, there's going to be a little bit bigger consequence. You know we're going to take your phone away for amount of time. Then the third consequence you're not going to be able to go out with your friends, you know, or they can't come over. The number four you know there's Escalating consequences.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Trying to get the message across, that's what God is saying. Is he saying first, I just made you have a hard harvest. You made it, but it was hard. Then this happened. Then this happened, but over and over again he says but you still would not return to me. So it kept getting worse and worse and worse and worse. In other words, he wasn't like the person we were talking about at the beginning, the person who calls from the main desk and says, hey, this is your wake-up call and then doesn't call back again. What God was doing to the nation of Israel is over, and over and over again. He was calling every 10 minutes going. Hey, you up. Hey, you're going to be late for your meeting. Hey, you need to get ready. He was over and over again until finally he just says okay, prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel. But don't be acting like I hadn't called you. Once again, it would be like the person at the front desk who says, hey, listen, you are going to be kicked out of the hotel now, but don't act like we ain't called you 10 times. And can I tell you that's a powerful lesson for all of us.

Speaker 1: 10:05

If we're experiencing massive judgment right now, if it seems like our life has just absolutely gone crazy, maybe, instead of going God, why are you being so mean? Maybe something we should do is look back over our shoulder and go has God been warning me for a while? Can I tell you there's been times in my life when I've just experienced chaos and I would go through seasons when I would just say, okay, god, wait a minute, why is this happening? Why is this chaos happening? And there were a couple of times when I would look and go okay, no, everything's right. This is just a difficult season and I get to see what God can do. This is going to be awesome. But there's also been been times when I've looked at just a chaotic season.

Speaker 1: 10:41

I look back over my shoulder and go oh wait, you know, three months ago I had that uncomfortable meeting with that friend of mine who said they'd been praying for me and they just wanted to warn me that they saw some things in my life and I just dismissed it. Wow, I was in that church service and that preacher was preaching that message and it felt like that. It was just hit me right between the eyes. I remember that. I remember this. I mean looking and going. Actually, for the past six months, god has been warning me, oh, and so here's my question for you Is God warning you about something?

Speaker 1: 11:11

Has God been maybe speaking to you in the chapters we've been reading, or maybe in a life group situation you're in, or maybe something you've been hearing on Sunday, or maybe just in your life? Is God warning you that you're getting close to an edge? Can we just get really honest? Maybe he's warning you that you need to stop having that conversation with that member of the opposite sex, because that's not your spouse and it's going from a casual friendship to it slowly becoming something more the moment when you want to talk to them rather than talk to your spouse, there's something wrong. Maybe you've been leaving work a little bit earlier, a little bit earlier, a little bit earlier, to the point now that it's not within that buffer time zone, but now you're starting to rob from the company and it could cost you your job. Maybe you've been skimming off the top just a little bit and it's been okay, it's within a margin of error. Let's get a little more. A little more.

Speaker 1: 12:06

Maybe at one point you would drink a glass of wine at dinner because you heard it was good for your heart, but one glass has turned into two, two glasses has turned into three, and maybe someone in your life has been saying hey, I think maybe you're doing a little too much, trying a little too hard. Maybe you should, and you have been listening. Is it? Is it time to start listening? Has God been sending you some warning signs? Because at some point, because of his justice, god will say okay, prepare to meet your God in judgment? Because I've been warning you and if the only way I can reach you is to completely let my hands go for a minute, I am more concerned with your eternal soul than I am with your momentary comfort. It's a strong word, but maybe today's your wake-up call. It's time to stop flirting and playing with sin. Instead, run to Jesus. Can I tell you the most amazing thing about God? He's not mad at you. He wants you to receive mercy. Why would he tell you, why would he point all this stuff out, unless he wants to heal you and set you free?

Speaker 1: 13:05

For some of us, today's your wake-up call. Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you for our wake-up calls. It's because you love us as much as you do that you send us these wake-up calls, because your desire for us is to be free. God, I have no idea what may be going on in the lives of some of these people today, but I trust you and I trust that you only reveal what you intend and are ready to heal. And so we trust you. Today, in Jesus' name, we pray Amen. And what God's word says in Amos 5, verse 24, he says instead I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living. God wants us free and righteous in everyday life. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Amos, chapter 5.