Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective here is Gideon Levitan.

Gideon Levytam: The study of the book of Amos chapter 5. And he said to them, then God turned and he gave them up to worship the host of heaven. As it is written in the book of the prophets, who does he refer to? Amos. And he said, oh ye house of Israel, have you offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of 40 years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacles of Moloch and the star of your God figures which ye made to worship them. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon. You see Stephen is quoting what Amos had shared with the northern kingdom of Israel as a warning for the coming judgment.

And he's saying, look at your behavior or a people of Israel. You have offered unto me sacrifices in the wilderness, but it was not only that because you violated my word and you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Kiun, your images, the star of your God which ye have made to yourself or which ye made to yourself. And now notice in verse a 27 where he closed the first woe judgment because of hypocrisy. He says, here is what's going to happen, Israel. In verse 27 we read, therefore dispersion will come. In Hebrew we call it Galut mean that this the captivity, the dispersion is the diaspora Galut in Hebrew.

And it is Galut Ashur, the Galut of Assyria. And so he said in verse 27, therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus. Notice that Damascus is present day Assyria. He's saying that he is going to take them beyond the Damascus. Here is the Damascus, here is and he going to take them beyond the Damascus because Assyria in Hebrew Ashur is greater than Assyria. It's a it's a large space, one of the kingdom that existed in the in those years and the Assyrian came and they took the nation of Israel beyond the city of the Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

And so, beloved brothers and sisters, the first woe judgment is mentioned in Amos 5 verse 18 to 27. Now here is the second woe judgment is the 14 verses that following. Remember in biblical days we don't have a breakdown, Amos 1, Amos 2, Amos 3, Amos 4, Amos 5. The divisions are made by men. So he continues now and he's speaking about the second woe that is going to come upon northern kingdom. And the second woe that God is really, you might say unhappy to pronounce is the second reason is because of the fact that many in the northern kingdom have self security and self, you might say confidence.

They did not trust in the Lord. They thought that everything is fine with them. They are not they are pretty good, they are okay. They are the people of God, the chosen people of God. So they had self, you might say self security and self confidence. You know everything going to be fine. After all, God is not going to judge his own people. We are the chosen people. We are the people of Israel. And we learn here that because of self security, behold because of self confidence and lack in trusting Jehovah, here he is now bringing about the second woe judgment.

And so notice in verses 1 and 2 that Israel trusted in the security of living on the mountain of Samaria. It's a high mountain. If you go to the to the land of Israel, you will see this high mountain of Samaria just the same like the high mountain of of Jerusalem. And and here in verse 1 of Amos chapter 6 Amos is saying, woe unto them that are at ease in Zion. They trust in the mountain of Samaria which are named chief of the nations to whom the house of Israel came. So you see they have self confidence while we are living in Shomron in Samaria on the mountain.

And we are we going to be pretty well protected. No enemy can come against us and we are secure and we are in a good position. And the Lord said unto them, woe unto them that sit at ease. You know to have it ease, you know it's like the the believer today. Sometime we can live an easy and ease. You know we can say, you know I don't need to judge myself. I don't need to to save self control. I can continue in my own way. I can do my own thing. And surely slowly and surely we find out that after all the sin is so easily beset us.

And it doesn't take too long and we kind of shifting away from the presence of the Lord. We know it personally. We know it by experience. So he says to them, oh listen, you are sitting at ease in Zion is including also Jerusalem because later on Jerusalem going to be taken captive as well. You trust in a mountain of Samaria, Har Shomron in Hebrew. He says, you are not realizing that soon it will come. The judgment will come. So he says to them in verse 2, he says, just look around. God reminded Israel that greater and stronger city than them fell.

And now notice what he said in the past through Hamat. I should say the first one pass into Calah or Calena. And then he said and see. And from thence go ye to Hamat, the great. And then he said and go down to Gath of the Philistine. And then he said, be they better than this kingdom? Or their border greater than their border or than your border? He's saying to them, Israel, don't you realize that Calah and Hamat and Gath were already taken in judgment already earlier. Go and watch and you see. Do you think that your borders are greater?

You think you think that you are better than they? Nothing going to secure you, even the mountain of Shomron of Samaria in verses 1 and 2. He is giving them these warning. He says, don't be at ease. Don't think that the judgment will not catch up with you. It will surely come upon you. And then verses 3 to 6 Amos 6 verses 3 to 6 Israel really elect self control and careless about others of the nation. And you can see the list of the thing that he's mentioned in verse 3, verse 4, verse 5 and verse 6.

Let me just point them to you. Ye in verse 3, number one, that put far away the evil day and cause the seat of violence to come near. You put away, you think though you know later on we are not to worry about preparing for the future day. Or you put away evil then what you do? You allow violence to come near. You carry on with things that are dishonoring to the Lord. He says, what's the point? You will see that the judgment will come upon you because of the fact that you are blindly put away the coming day of judgment.

Secondly in verse 4, that lay upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the meats of the stall. Israel lived in ease and in carelessness. Imagine they were living in beds of ivory and they were stretching themselves on the couches and they having good time while the others are suffering and they did not recognize that the rest of their brethren have suffered while they abused and used the remaining of the nation. Though they sit at ease and they lay upon beds of ivory.

In verse 5 is the third reason. He says, they chant and invent instrument of music. You see it's so nice if you sit down on a couch and on on a bed of ivory, now you can develop some music so you'll have it nicer for yourself, right? So that chant to the sound of the vile and invent to themselves instruments of music like David. It is amazing that he take them to the time of David when David was playing the harp. And you remember who he was playing the harp for? For King Saul. And King Saul eventually took a javelin and he wanted to kill him.

And so they were sitting at ease. They were inventing musical instrument. And they were not realizing that the judgment of God is coming. They needed to straighten matters with the Lord and they didn't do so. Oh yes, later on they push away further and further the day of judgment. And it will surely come. God is saying to them in the next verses. Verse 6 is the fourth thing. They drink wine, but they don't drink it from a little cup. They drink it from a big bowl. Notice that verse 6 they drink wine in bowls. So we don't need this little cup or small cup but we'll drink with a big bowl.

So we going to be drunk and and forget about what is ahead of us in the coming days. Drink in wine in bowls and listen, anoint themselves with the chief ointments. And then he said at the end of verse 6, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph of Joseph. In other words, they living a life carelessly without to pause and recognize, wait a minute. Amos is already telling us what is going to come, the judgment of God that is going to come. So they did not care at all. They were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Now why does he mention Joseph? Again to remind you. Joseph we learned that Joseph according to Genesis chapter 48 was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. There were those two tribes that were part of the northern kingdom, the kingdom of Israel. If we look at the at the map once again, they were part. You see here's Manasseh. And you notice that that Ephraim in the center here and Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph. And listen, the first Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, the king of Israel, he came from the tribe of Ephraim who was a son of Joseph.

So whenever you say Joseph or whenever you say Ephraim, you really mean all the 10 northern tribes of Israel because the first king of the northern tribe was a descendant of Ephraim by the name of Jeroboam. Jeroboam in Hebrew. So what did they do? They did not pause and grieve for the affliction of the rest of the poor people in the northern kingdom and so on. They did not care for them and they pushed off the day that is coming, the day of judgment. They have laid in beds of ivory. They have drunk from a bowls of wine.

They have they created for themselves musical instrument. They live in ease. And they didn't realize the judgment is coming. When I read this passage I was immediately directed to Revelation chapter 3 to the seventh church called the Laodicean church that Yeshua the Messiah wrote about when he was speaking to the apostle Yohanan John on the island of Patmos. He said to the listen to this to the Laodicean church in which you and I live in today, the last days of the church age. Revelation 3 and verse 14 and unto the angel of the church of the Laodicean write.

These things says the Amen, the faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because, listen to that, because that thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. He continued, because thou sayest I'm rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And you knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. You don't realize your spiritual state. I need nothing.

I'm okay. But you don't realize that you are and they give him the list here, wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. And he said a little bit later on, he says, behold I stand at the door and I knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and in unto him and will sup with him and he with me. To him that overcometh, I will grant to sit with me in my throne. The Yeshua the Messiahs speak to the assemblies like God through Amos is speaking to the nation of Israel.

The Lord Jesus the Messiah used a man by the name of Yohanan John to give us the message of the revelation. While God used Amos to give the northern kingdom the message that we have in the book of Amos. And so now let's just draw towards the end of the second woe judgment in verses 7 to the end. Verse 7 to 14 God promised that he will send Israel to captivity. Eventually it will bring about the captivity of 70 721 722 BC. And so notice just these remarks in verse 7, Israel will go captive and he said all the feasting will come to an end.

I'm reading verse 7. Therefore, notice the word therefore. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive. And the banquet of them that stretch themselves shall be removed. In other words, they going to be going captive and all the banquet that they have drinking from a big bold wine, sitting in an ivory beds, putting far away the evil day. And then if he says we are getting musical instrument to kind of play, put them at ease, they will have to have an end to this banquet. They will be taken captive. Then notice verses 8 and 9, 10 and 11.

Many in Israel will die sadly, brothers and sisters. It happened in 722 721 BC. Look at at verse 8. The Lord God has sworn by himself, says the Lord the God of hosts, I will uphold the excellency of Jacob and hate the palaces, his palaces. Therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. The city is the city of Shomron, Har Shomron, the city of Samaria. God said, I'm going to deliver Samaria to captivity. Verse 9, look what going to happen. In verse 9 he gives us like a language as if those who remain they are speaking to each other.

Verses 9 and 10. I read earlier verse 8, but now verses 9 and 10. And it shall come to pass if there remain 10 men in one house that they shall die. And a man's uncle shall take him up and he that burneth him to bring out the bones out of the house and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, is there yet any with thee? And he shall say, no. Then shall he say, hold thy tongue for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord. In other words, so many will die when the Assyrian will come and take the people, the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria.

Those that will remain, you remember we said that there will be in earlier passage there will be 10% to remain. Some of those will die during the judgment of the 722 721 BC. And notice those that will remain it will come to pass verse 9 and 10 that some will come out of the house to bring the bones to burn them, not to bury them, to burn them. Notice that it says in verse 9, he that burneth him. In other words, they will do things that they will never do, cremation you might say. In the scripture we are taught the burial instruction, but the time was so bad that they would just wanted to put the body away by burning them, get them out of the way.

And then someone, his uncle will ask him as it says here in in verse 10, he will ask him and he will say, is there yet anybody remain alive? And when he says, no, no, no then he going to say, shh, don't hold your peace. Don't say don't say anything. Don't that we may not mention the name of the Lord because they understood by now that Jehovah came in judgment. He says, don't mention the name of Jehovah because you going to hear and the judgment will fall upon even those that remain. And notice verse 11 give us the answer.

For behold the Lord commandeth that he will smite the great house with the breaches and the little house with clefts. It is the Lord that brought judgment upon his own people. The great house and the small house, the rich and the poor. The judgment of God came doing that day. Don't mention the name of the Lord lest he hear you. And he will know that you alive as if God doesn't know. And he will bring the judgment upon you as well. How sad, beloved brothers and sisters, what we hear hear in this passage. And notice now verse 12 and 13 the Lord shows Israel that sin cannot go unpunished.

Leviticus tells us, be sure your sins will find you out. Galatians 6 tells us, whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap. Sin has to be judged. Yeshua was judged on our behalf. And he paid the price for our sins. But notice what he says here in verse 12 and 13, shall horses run upon the rock? It's not possible. Horses don't run upon rocks. Horses if they run upon rocks they will slide and fall. Then he continue at 12 and he said, will one, this is a horse, will a horse plow there with an ox?

And the answer, of course is no, it's not possible. Horse does not plow with an ox. They don't fit. And then he continue in verse 12, for ye have turned justice into goal and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock. In other words, you have turned judgment or correctly justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness. You have twisted everything around. In other words, what he said earlier in the previous chapter 5 and verse 14 he says, seek good and not evil. Verse 15, hate evil and love good. But what they do, they reversed it.

And what he is really saying because you reversed it, because you have chosen, you turned justice into poison and righteousness into bitterness, sin has to come because it is not possible that God will not judge sin because like it's not possible that the horse will ride on rocks or a horse and an ox will plow together. It's not possible that sin will not be judged. It will ultimately be judged. And so verse 13, ye which rejoice in a thing of not which say, have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? They trusted in themselves and not in the Lord.

And he said to them, sin will have to come at against sin judgment will have to come against you because of the sin that you have continuously carried on in your life. And surely the judgment will come. And that's how he conclude the third hear this word judgment in verse 14 of chapter 6 by saying the Lord promise a judgment against the house of Israel will surely come to pass. And I'm reading verse 14. But behold, I will raise up against you a nation. That was the Assyrian. Oh house of Israel, says the Lord the God of hosts.

And they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamat. This is in the north of Israel because they are the northern a kingdom. Unto the river of the wilderness, this is the southern part of Israel. They going to come from the north and they going to as it says here, they will afflict you from the north to the south. The whole land will be devastated when the Assyrian will come. And beloved brothers and sisters, by God using twice in chapter 5 and verse 18 and chapter 6 and verse 1 the word woe it must have grieved his heart when he had to punish his beloved nation of Israel.

God's strange work is judgment. He loved to show grace. But judgment must come. And surely judgment did come in 722 721 BC because God is holy and sin had to be punished. And as we continuously refer to that verse in first Peter chapter 4 and verse 17 for the time is come, the judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first began at us what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God. May the Lord speak to us, remind us of that and help us continuously to turn to him, to recognize our weakness, to recognize that we need his help.

We need his grace all the time because otherwise God will have to discipline even the people whom he had chosen and brought unto himself. May the Lord bless his word. Can we say Amen to that?

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitan. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, box 1411 Niagara on the Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0 or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com.

God bless you. Shalom Shalom.