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was that which God gave at mount Sinai through Moses to Israel when He entered into covenant relationship with them. This Law was perfect, Psa. 19:7; but Israel’s failure was due to the weakness of the flesh (cf. Heb. 7:18, 19; 8:7, 8). This Law, however, could not make one alive (Gal. 3:21). (2) “And have not kept His statutes“L-In contrast with the word “law,” which primarily means that which is customary, is the word “statutes,” which has as its dominant idea the thought that the decrees were imposed solely by the au thority of God. They may refer both to the ceremonial and the religious code. (3) “And their lies have caused them to err.” —The heart of man, being corrupt (Jer. 17:9; Matt. 7:11), will deceive him and cause him to do most unreasonable deeds. “A deceived heart hath turned him aside” (Isa. 44:20; Tit. 3:3). It is. a proverbial saying that a liar is the only one who is deceived. Taking refuge, however, in lies and that which is false proves only an illusion and a false hope (Isa. 28:14-19). (4) T he T hreatened J udgment .— “ I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces at Jerusalem.” This prediction was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar. “The Transgression of Israel.” Human nature being the same, the Israelites doubtless rejoiced to hear the prophet point out the national sins of their neigh bors and in so doing pronounce judg ment upon them. It is quite probable that they thought they were “holier than they,” and were encouraging themselves with such false hopes. With the same expression, as indicated above, showing that the nation had already gone too deep into sin to continue as a nation, the proph et called attention to the sins of the northern nation and pronounced judg ment for the same. (1) “They have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes.” Inhumanity and inconsideration ar<* two of the outstanding sins of the day. The rich, during the prosperous reign of Jero boam II, were becoming richer, and at the same time the poor were becoming poorer. The economic situation was very acute, and in order for a man to support his family he sold himself into slavery for money ; and frequently a man was sold into slavery for the price of the shoes which he wore. Such lack of con sideration for the poor is hard for us to conceive of. (2) “They that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek.” The figure of “panting after” is a very strong one; it indicates the strongest kind of a desire, which, on the part of David, was proper and right (Psa. 42:1). But in these people this-strong desire was misdi rected—they had their hearts centered upon the “ uncertainty of riches” (1 Tim. 6:17), when they should have had their minds set upon things above. (Col. 3:1- 4). Furthermore, they took advantage of the non-resistance of the meek, and robbed him of his property and that which was justly coming to him. (3) "And a man and his father will go in un to the same maid, to profane my holy name.” Such gross animalism as this later crept into the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5:1-8) and brought shame and dis grace upon the holy cause of Christ. This conduct caused men to profane God’s
of Jeremiah the people seemed to depend exclusively upon the fact that the Tem ple was in their midst, as a perfect guar- antèe of national safety. The only guar antee of safety in this world and in that which is to come is to be in fellowship and covenant relationship with God (Psa. 50:5; Jno. 17:3). In chapter 1 :1 ; 2:3 Amos looked at the surrounding nations and called attention to the fact that there were outstanding national sins of each nation on account of which God would bring judgment. Gòd is a holy God, righteous, merciful and One Who "unii in no wise clear the guilty” (Ex. 34:6, 7)., If a prophet of God should arise today and should bring to our remembrance the history of the people of each nation, there would doubtless be many, shameful na tional sins which, would make the people of those nations blush because of the heinousness of their crimes. Syria, Baby lon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome have had their day and passed from the stage of action because of the fact that God is a righteous God and One who punishes na tional sins as' well as the sins of each in dividual. Likewise, the surrounding na tions whom Amos mentioned suffered the judgment of God because óf their sins and are, with the exception of Damascus and Tyre, but memories of the dim past. Should the Lord tarry very long, since history repeats itself, and since sins of nations bring about their downfall, one could bé safe in predicting that the na tions of the present day will likewise be come but a memory of the past. Vs. 4 and 5. "The transgression of Ju- da/i/’SHaving pron'ounced judgment up on the surrounding nations, Amos, the prophet of the northern kingdom, looked southward and dropped his word against Judah, the rival kingdom of Israel. “For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.” Some numerals in Scripture un doubtedly have a symbolic meaning, as is well’ recognized by many Bible scholars. This fact, however, is no warrant for our attempting to find a spiritual meaning for all numbers. It is agreed that the num bers three and four do have some mys tical or symbolic importance. Without dis cussing these, it is clear from the context that the numbers three and four signify that the transgressions and sins of these nation's have become so very numerous and abominable in God’s sight that there is but one thing that He can righteously do, namely, bring judgment. The same truth seems to be expressed in the state ment (Gen. .15 :16), “For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.“ The limit of sin in this figure is compared to a cup, and their sins to the contents which were poured therein ; hence, when the cup runs over the nation is ripe for judgment. “T ransgression .” —The word “trans gress” is of Lptin origin, and.means to bear or carry beyond certain limits or bounda ries. A similar expression in the language of the day is “trespass,” meaning, however, simply to walk beyond a certain prescrib ed limit. The word “sin,” likewise, is an other word used frequently in Scripture, which word is based upon ancient arch ery. When one of thè bowmen missed the mark he was said “to sin”; hence, to sin was to miss the mark, which is the glory of God. S pecific S in . (1) They rejected the Law of Jehovah. This Law of Jehovah
S uggestive Q uestions What is God’s promise to those who are ready to forsake their wicked ways? (Isa. 55:7.) What does God say to a nation that is ready to turn back to His Word? (Mic. 7:18-19.) V What is sure to happen to the nation that despises His Word? (Prov. 13:13.) What are the sure results of setting at nought all His counsels? (Prov. 1:25-29.) What is the certain path of blessing for a people? (1 Jno. 3:22.) G olden T ext I llustration Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live', and ?o the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you; as ye have spoken (Amos 5:14). Bunyan represents Mr. Worldly Wise man, who dwelt in the town of Carnal Policy, near to the City of Destruction, persuading Christian to take a shorter path to get clear of his burden. Mr. Legality lived in the village of Morality, and was famous for his skill in reliev-.: ing pilgrims of their burdens. Should he be absent from home, his son, Civility, would do the business as well as his father. Christian was misled by the fair speech of Mr. Worldly Wiseman. The terrors of Sinai overwhelmed him, and at last Evangelist came to his relief and led him back to the right path. There are many voices in the world today trying to tell us that we may take the easier road and prosper, but all who follow Worldly Wiseman, will have to learn by bitter experience that they can not choose evil and have the God of hosts on their side. Let us remember, also, that morality does not make a Christian, yet no man is a Christian without it. The power to live the Christian life, comes only from having Christ within. ’TH E people to whom Amos spoke this message were in covenant relationship with God by virtue of the covenant which God made with Abraham; hence, one
can take this wrong ly, wresting it from its context, and jus tify the doctrine that a man may l i v e spiritually by his re jection of the evil and his doing of t h a t which is good. Though Israel did enjoy cov- e n a n t relationship
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with God on account of the Abrahamic covenant, they were saved by the grace of God. Two people, or two individuals, cannot walk together Unless they are agreed (Amos 3:3); neither will God walk with a man who is living an impure life. Enoch walked with God by faith, and was translated so that he should not see death (Gen. 5:24). His faith in God and constant fellowship and communion with Him taught him "to purify himself, even as He is pure” (1 Jno. 3:3). "As ye say." —The people were de pending upon the fact that t h e y were the chosen people and that the Tem ple of God was in their possession as a guarantee of His favor, regardless of the purity of their lives. Later on in the days
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