Kings and Prophets 08

[0:00] Father, this morning we just thank you for your love and for your grace and Father for the seasons. We thank you for that and Father, we just pray for those that we've talked about this morning.

[0:11] For Helen and her recuperation from her surgery and for Bruce and Marie and all the things that's going on there in his life. And we just pray for some of the good news that we've heard.

[0:21] And this morning for Tanya's son, Father, we just know that he has gone through all kinds of problems during his life. And this disease just keeps going and we just pray for him and those that are caring for him.

[0:37] And I'll be with Tanya and the family. It's a very hard thing to go through and we know that. And we just pray for your will in all these lives, Father. We pray for recovery and we just pray for your will in our lives.

[0:51] So we just thank you this morning for your word. Guide us as we study it this morning. And we ask these things in Christ's precious name. Amen. All right.

[1:05] Last week we talked about several kings from the northern tribe and also from Judah. We've been going through all the kings and most of them failed God's ideas and ideals and led their people to idolatry.

[1:17] And we've seen that as we're going through all these kings. One specifically that we talked about last week. She wanted to par so bad that she actually killed all of her grandkids.

[1:30] Now that's wanting par pretty bad. I mean her son who was a king died and she didn't want anybody else to have that kingdom.

[1:41] And she killed everybody on that bloodline. And so that's what Ophelia was all about. So she was a very nasty lady. But the good news out of that was that she did have a sister that kept, hid one of the grandkids.

[1:58] And for six years he was in hiding. And when he got to that age, then the priest and the one that was taking care of him decided, well, now is the time to bring him out from hiding and make him the king.

[2:17] And, of course, that made you ask one of the youngest kings. And we know what happened there. Then after that, his grandmother, Ophelia, got her due.

[2:29] And so. And Joaz did right in the sight of the Lord in all his days. And Joahedadah, the priest, instructed him. However, after his banner and guardian died, also Joaz became just like others and started the idol worship and all kinds of things.

[2:48] So that was also a core of their sin. They wanted to have a king like all the other nations. The nation of Israel. And we know it went back in the.

[3:00] Oh, it wasn't clear back in. Right. Where they said, give us a king. Judges. Not judges, but the next one.

[3:12] Samuel. Samuel. And that's where Samuel's. They told Samuel they wanted a king like all the other nations. Make us like everybody. Why are we just going to be different than everybody?

[3:25] Make us like everybody. And, of course, God told Samuel to tell them, okay. Have it your way. You can do that. And you can be like the other nations.

[3:37] And we'll give you kings. And now, through all these years. And it's going to be 300 years. That they're going to go through these kings and the prophets that we've been talking about here.

[3:51] So, as we go through this study, God allows them to have this. They're away for many years. Over 300 years. And I guess we've got to ask the question, why does God let that go on so long?

[4:05] But I guess we can take that to our time, too, can't we? Why is God letting us go for so long? And keeping the nation of Israel from his love and the kingdom that he's talked about for all these years.

[4:21] So, 300 years sounds like a long time. How many years has it been since Christ died on that cross? So, to question God on why it took for so long, I don't think we can do that.

[4:34] You know, God is God. And it's his time schedule. It's not our time schedule. Joe? God is a day as of a thousand minutes. Exactly. And we cannot put him on a clock.

[4:47] And we shouldn't even try to. So, that's the nature of the kings and all the stuff that they bring about. And we're going to continue that study this morning. Also, this morning, we're going to get into some of the prophets.

[5:01] Because in this timeline, we want to bring up the prophets that goes with these kings. And what they did at that point. And coming in and warning these nations, the nation of Israel.

[5:13] Not only the northern tribes, but also the southern tribes. That's what's going to happen if you don't follow God's commands. And that's all God wanted, wasn't it?

[5:25] Just follow. Just follow my commands. So, this morning, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 13. That's where we'll start this morning. We're going to be speaking of Joash's son.

[5:42] And that's Johezah. The son of... Well, we're not going to be talking about him. But we're going to be talking about Jehu.

[5:54] You mean the Chronicles? No, 2 Corinthians. No, 2 Kings chapter 13. What did I say?

[6:05] You said Corinthians. Okay. Yep, some were. I wasn't. And I got it right in front of me.

[6:15] I could have read it. And I did read it, but I said the wrong thing. What chapter? 2 Kings 13. 2 Kings 13. 2 Kings 13. So, we're going to be talking about Jehoaz.

[6:37] And 13.2. He did evil on the side of the Lord, and he followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat. And that goes all the way back to the first king and second kings.

[6:48] At which he made Israel sin, he did not turn from them. So, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazel, the king of Aram, Syria.

[7:03] And into the hand of Benhad, the son of Hazel. And you're going to start seeing now, we're going to see more about the nation of Syria and the battles that they have.

[7:14] And we're going to start seeing more and more of Israel is going to be taken, or northern tribes are going to be taken. And the nation of Assyria eventually, of course, will conquer them and lead them into captivity.

[7:28] Verse 6 says, Nonetheless, he did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, for which he had made Israel sin, but walked in them. And the Asher also remained standing in Samaria.

[7:40] Because Jeroboam has worshipped idols and caused Israel to continue in the idolatry of Jeroboam, God began to reduce the size of Israel, allowing Hazel and Benhad, the Syrian of Syria, to overpower them.

[7:55] You see that in 2 Kings 13.3. After experiencing Iranian oppression for a period of time, Joahaz finally repented and sought the Lord's favor.

[8:07] You see that in 13.4. God graciously raised up a deliverer who freed the Israelites from Iran. Hazel, king of Syria, oppressed Israel through the reign of Joahaz, but the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them, because his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob was just not over yet.

[8:28] His timing was not there. To this day, he has been unwilling to destroy them and banish them from their presence. See that in 13.22.23.

[8:39] So after God had delivered them from the Romanians, Joahaz left standing the wooden Asher pole in Samaria, the capital. Israel's army and chariots had been mostly destroyed by the end of Joahaz's reign, we see that in 13.7, leaving a nation vulnerable to attack.

[9:01] And Joahaz slept with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria, and Joahaz, his son, became his king in his place. So now we turn to 2 Kings 13.10.

[9:16] In the 30th year of Joahaz, king of Judah now, this Joahaz, the son of Joahaz, become the 12th king over Israel. So now we're talking about the 12th king in Israel.

[9:28] And in 13.11, what did he do? He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and he did not turn away from the sons of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, which has made Israel sin, but he walked in them.

[9:43] Now the rest of the acts of Joahaz is chronicled in 2 Chronicles, but we're not going to go there because it's pretty much, he did the same thing as the rest of the kings.

[9:55] He did everything against God. So Joahaz slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat at his throne, and Joahaz was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

[10:07] And during this time of Joahaz, we're going to see in 2 Kings 13.14, the death now, or the coming death, of Elisha. When Elisha became sick with the illness for which he was to die, Joahaz, the king of Israel, came down to him and wept over him.

[10:25] Even men of faith and miracles are not immune to the sickness and diseases. These great men become sick like others, and whom he had healed as a channel of power and the blessings of God.

[10:40] But even in his time, when his time was up, God gave him the sickness. Though God used Elisha on many occasions to heal others, God appointed this illness to be the means of taking Elisha from this world.

[10:56] Over the next several verses, Elisha tells King Joash how he could have some victories over Syria. Elisha became very angry because King Joash did not seize the strategic moments.

[11:10] Israel would enjoy only three victories over the Syrian army, instead of the many more that he could have enjoyed. When God invites us to take something by faith, we must receive it boldly and ask him, knowing that he is a great king, and let him take our lives and do with that.

[11:29] When he gives us the opportunity. But Joash didn't take the opportunity that Elisha was giving him. And it's kind of a complicated thing. He was telling him to shoot the arrows so many times or whatever.

[11:41] And he just didn't do it. And he did it how many times he wanted to do it. So Joash's lack of faith and his half-hearted smiting of the ground, what there was about three times, prevented him destroying the Syrians utterly.

[11:58] And he could have destroyed him if he had just obeyed what Elisha was telling him. Once, while some of his lights were burying a man, okay, Elisha died and was buried.

[12:09] But the passage goes on to talk about a Moabite raiders who came to Israel every spring. And there's not much about his death. It just says that he died.

[12:21] But once some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders. We see this in 2 Kings 13.21. So they knew the man's body, threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb.

[12:34] When a body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood on his feet. I didn't understand that very well. Why was the tomb open to begin with?

[12:47] I don't know. Why would it throw this man into his tomb? And maybe it was an open tomb. I don't know. A lot of the tombs that day could have been in a cave or whatever.

[12:58] But that's exactly what happened. And I looked for information, tried to get a better explanation for that. But I really couldn't find one. And so I guess we just got to leave it to the fact that God just used Elisha one more time to show Israel his power.

[13:16] And that's about all we can take from that. The reign of Amaziah, the son of Joash, the ninth king of Judah. We're going to be seeing that in 2 Kings 14.

[13:32] In the second year of Joash, son of Joash, king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Joash, king of Judah, became king. He was 25 years old when he became king, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem.

[13:46] Verse 3, he did right in the sight of the Lord, yet did not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done. One of Amaziah's failings was that while he led the people of Judah in worshiping the Lord, he failed to remove the high places where people continued to sacrifice and burn incense in violation of God's instruction to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem.

[14:15] We see that in 14.4. Only the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned high places, the altar. Amaziah later conquered the Edomites and foolishly brought back their gods, in fact, a sacrifice to them.

[14:34] This idolatry resulted in an unnamed prophet coming to Amaziah and revoking him. And Amaziah resisted the prophet's words, saying to him, Now, you're not going to see that in 2 Kings, but it is in 2 Chronicles.

[14:50] And you don't have to turn there. It's a very short passage. Since when I have made you king, this is what Joash said, made you the king's counselors. The prophet was not to be intimidated.

[15:02] However, he told King Amaziah, I know that God has determined to destroy you because you have done this and did not listen to my counsel. And that's 2 Chronicles 25, verse 16.

[15:18] He also went to war with Joash, king of Israel. So Joash, king of Israel, went up, and he and Amaziah, king of Judah, faced each other, which belonged to Judah.

[15:32] Judah was defeated, in verse 25-22, by Israel, and they fled each to his tent. From that time, Amaziah returned away from the falling of the Lord.

[15:43] They conspired against him in Jerusalem, and they fled, and they sent after him to Lancash, and killed him there. They brought him on horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah, verse 28.

[15:58] Now we've learned, in 2 Kings, we're going to, the reign of Jeroboam 2, the 13th king of Israel. Under his leadership, Israel will experience great military success and resounding prosperity.

[16:14] But his reign will see three prophets crying out against him, increase spiritually or moral declaim. It is increasingly clear that God's resistance is running, that patience is running out, and that captivity is in the sight for the people of Israel.

[16:32] On the surface, his reign was marked by prosperity and national security. In fact, Jeroboam's successful military campaigns against Syria recaptured some territory that had already been taken, and he brought that back to the northern tribes.

[16:50] However, like his predecessors, Jeroboam 2 did evil in the sight of the Lord. The outward prosperity of this nation could not conceal the people's spiritual apostasy, and the king's continued disobedience.

[17:03] God warned this behavior would lead to punishment. In verse 24, 1424, he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from his sins, all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat.

[17:17] You get that picture of how they always go back to that first king of the northern tribes and how he was. And it was the fact that this should never have happened, and those kings were just never going to get with the program.

[17:35] In verse 26, Verse 26, For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter, for there was never bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. Verse 27, The Lord did not say that he would not blow out the name of Israel from under heaven, but he saved him by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash.

[17:54] In many ways, the terry quarry recaptured by Jerusalem was crowning achievement of his tenure. However, since the people of Israel resisted their political and prosperity, and Jeroboam's leadership, God would send his prophets to remind the nation that true victory belonged to him alone.

[18:14] It was God who had seen the suffering of his people and had chosen to deliver them by the hand of Jeroboam. So, he alone would have the praise. In verse 29, And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with his kings of Israel, and Zechariah, his son, became the king in his place.

[18:35] Before we do that, during Jeroboam's reign, there was three prophets that came on board, and they prophesied during this time.

[18:46] They prophesied during the time of Joahaz, king of Joash, and king Jeroboam too. The minor prophets, Jonah, Amos, and Hosea prophesied and wrote.

[19:01] So, we're going to talk a little bit about Jonah. What comes to mind, the first thing, when you talk about Jonah? The fish, right?

[19:15] Being honest, most people think that Jonah is just about the whale, the big fish. We stop there and think of it as a funny story, especially for children's church, or a good story for children's church, or for even teaching your kids.

[19:30] But there must be more to it, and I believe there is. You know, God had a purpose for this, and we're going to see that now. In 2 Kings 14.25, King Jeroboam restored the order of Israel from the entrance of Hamath, as far as the Sea of Ereba, according to the word of the Lord of God, and as he spoke through his servant, Jonah.

[19:54] So, we see that Jonah was there during this time that Jeroboam too was reigning. So, here are some facts about Jonah. Jonah is the only biblical prophet who only prophesied once.

[20:09] That was it. He had a job to do. He was the only Old Testament prophet basically commissioned to witness to Gentiles, as was Paul in the New Testament.

[20:21] Jonah was the only biblical prophet to run from his call by God. Most of the prophets, when they were called, they just jumped right in, because they knew they were getting a call from God.

[20:37] So, Jonah is the central figure of the book of Jonah, which details his reluctance in delivering God's judgment on the city of Nineveh. He was angry with God's mercy and compassion for Nineveh.

[20:53] And we'll see that as we start going through now with Jonah. Jonah was, and you might want to turn to the book of Jonah. It's one of the minor prophets. It's not in the Bible, but it's interesting to think about the story of Jonah.

[21:08] Nineveh, of course, where he went to, that was the capital city of Assyria. Assyria. I was doing a book, a study, a read on the walls around the cities. They always put walls around their cities for protection.

[21:20] Correct. And they were just very penitentiary. The walls of Nineveh, which was the capital of Assyria, were 100 feet tall. Oh, wow. 100 feet tall.

[21:30] And it was impregnable. And it was, except eventually what defeated it was a flood washed away the basement or the foundation of the wall, and it collapsed.

[21:43] And the enemy could get in there. That was the only way it could get in. I just thought that was an interesting fact about Nineveh. Okay, very good. Yeah, it was the capital of Assyria.

[21:53] And we're going to see, as we go on, keep going on, how Assyria is going to be taking them captive. But one of the things that Jonah was comfortable in the fact that the country was now had good things going on.

[22:09] Jeroboam, too, brought in good prosperity and all these type things. He was a prophet in a nation he was proud of. Then all of a sudden, God decided to come between Jonah and his patriotism.

[22:19] And he asked him to go somewhere Jonah would never want to go. And Jonah had good earthly reasons. Why? But God looks beyond the earthly and looks through his spiritual eyes.

[22:32] And probably what was one of the great reasons why Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh? They were the enemy.

[22:43] The enemy? And they were Gentiles. He said specifically, I didn't want to come here because I knew you'd be gracious. Yeah.

[22:55] He said, I knew what you were going to do. So God will move us out of our comfort zone for greater levels if we just listen and do what God asks us to do.

[23:07] So Jonah, chapter 1, verse 1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry against it.

[23:19] For their wickedness has come upon me. Now Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. These people were extremely cruel towards Israel and caused a lot of the problems in the past.

[23:30] And God wanted Jonah to go and preach repentance to these people. To top it off, Nineveh was several hundred miles away and it would take months to get there. Jonah, of course, tells God, I ain't going.

[23:46] And he runs away in the opposite direction of Nineveh. 1, 3. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarnish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarnish to escape the presence of the Lord.

[24:03] Jonah flat out doesn't want to go to Nineveh. He decides the best thing to do is just to leave Israel and go in the polar opposite direction of Nineveh.

[24:17] You can try to hide, which this is something he was trying to do. Move, go away, either physically or even internally with your emotions.

[24:28] But I think as Jonah found out, it's just futile if God has assigned you to do something. Jonah 1, 5. Then the sailors, let's go to 1, 4.

[24:39] The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to sink. And 1, 5. The sailors became afraid and every mind cried to God and they threw the cargo which was in the ship out of the ship.

[24:56] But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, laid down and fallen asleep. Verse 8 of Jonah. Then they said to him, tell us now, who has account has this calamity struck us?

[25:12] What is your occupation and where do you come from? What is your country? What from what people are you? And 1, verse 9, he said to Jonah, I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.

[25:27] Verse 10. Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, how could you do this? For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord because he had told them.

[25:40] So Jonah, in verse 11, so they said to him, what should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us? For the sea was becoming increasingly storming. And in verse 12, he says to them, pick me up, throw me into the sea.

[25:55] Then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that on account of me, this great storm has come upon you. So Jonah is finally starting to realize, you know, maybe I was wrong.

[26:09] And I think God is going to show me some lessons here. So they did just that. They picked him up and they threw him into the sea. And when they did, the sea calmed.

[26:21] Verse 17. And the Lord appointed a great feast to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the stomach for the fish for three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the Lord in chapter 2, verse 1.

[26:35] His God from the stomach of the fish. And he said, I called upon my distress to the Lord. And he answered me. I cried for help from the depths of Shul.

[26:45] You heard my voice. Now, when we read these verses, a lot of people is going to go, oh, yeah, boo-hoo, yeah, yeah, yeah. What kind of a story are you trying to tell me?

[26:57] But we as Christians, those that believe in God's word, and we know what was going on at these times, God did miracles in those days.

[27:10] And I don't know what kind of a fish that they were talking about. I have no idea whether it was a whale or the water was or how he was there.

[27:22] I mean, a lot of times you see the stories of Jonah and he was down in the belly and he had a candle and all this stuff. I don't believe in any of that stuff. But he was in a fish.

[27:34] And how that happened, we don't know because the Bible does not tell us. All we know is what the word says. So, where did I end?

[27:48] 2-2, chapter 2, verse 2, and he said, I called out of my distress to the Lord and he answered me. I cried for help from the depths of Shul. You heard me.

[28:00] Now, disobedience is a big deal when it comes to God. It's spiritual ramifications that affect both our spiritual and our daily life. And that's what exactly is going to happen to Jonah.

[28:12] In chapter 3, now convinced of God's limitless power, Jonah then goes to Nineveh. Hey, he learned his lesson. Tells them to repent and the whole city believed Jonah.

[28:26] He proceeds to deliver the message that Nineveh is about to be destroyed and that repentance is in order. To his surprise and even disappointment. That seems kind of crazy, doesn't it?

[28:39] To his surprise and even disappointment. He didn't like them. No, he didn't. None of his inhabitants repent and are saved from the threatened destruction.

[28:49] The first Gentile revival just took place. And that doesn't happen very often. We're going to see it again in the New Testament with Paul when he starts going to the Gentiles.

[29:04] But the nation of Israel and the effects with the Gentile population was just not a thing that happened very often. So this account is a demonstration of God's universal grace at a time when a rather exclusive Israel is in great need of a reminder of that.

[29:21] Despite being God's chosen, their failure to repent actually lowers them to a level of spirituality beneath even a pagan nation.

[29:34] Now that's saying a lot, isn't it? That's how far the nation of Israel has gone. Turn to Jonah chapter 4, verse 1.

[29:46] But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. Oddly enough, Jonah was not too happy about that. He's actually angry at God. He was hoping God was going to call down fire on everyone.

[30:00] But it was just the opposite. So Jonah was having a pity party and God tries to show and teach him his compassion towards mankind with a plant giving him shelter and a worm.

[30:12] This, even this does not work. And that's the story of the plant that grew up and then God sent the worm and the worm took the shade away. And we say, oh, Jonah, give me death.

[30:26] Things are so bad. Just give me death. We see a man who is angry because God decided to have mercy. We all have opinions and ideas how things should happen or be.

[30:38] We must realize we don't see it all. We don't understand it all. We must keep our hearts open. And that's the message for us today. Before bitterness comes in.

[30:49] It's easy to be triggered when things don't go the way we planned. But we need to surrender our will in our life to Christ in all ways. Another thing about Jonah is he's in the New Testament a lot, isn't he?

[31:09] A lot of the prophets you don't see in the New Testament, but here we see Jonah. And in Matthew 12, 39 and 40.

[31:22] 39 says the only sign it will be given. This is when Jesus there was talking to the Pharisees. They was having trouble there. And he said the only sign I will give is a sign of the prophet Jonah.

[31:35] Verse 40. For Jonah remained in the belly of the sea of the monster for three days and three nights. So the Son of Man will be the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

[31:50] So we kind of see there that Jonah was kind of like a thing of what Jesus Christ would be. And the sign that he gave, he gave to Nineveh.

[32:02] And what was that sign? Repent. Repent. Destruction is here. And we see that. We see this in the Matthew, the Gospels of Matthew.

[32:14] Matthew 12, 41. One judgment day the men of Nineveh will appear against a generation. And they will be its condemnation. Because when Jonah preached, they repented.

[32:25] And look, there is something greater than Jonah here. And of course he was talking about himself. 16, 4. It is an evil and unfaithful generation.

[32:37] And the only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. 16, 7 in Matthew. Jesus replied, Simon, son of Jonah.

[32:48] You are a blessed man because it was no human agency who revealed this to you, but from my Father from heaven. And we also see some things about Jonah in the Matthew, in the book of Luke.

[33:01] Luke, in chapter 11, verses 29 and 30. The crowds even got bigger. And he addressed them. This is evil generation.

[33:13] It is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. And this whole time that Jesus was teaching, he was having troubles with the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

[33:25] And what was the thing that nation of Israel, they were looking for? They were looking for signs. And Jesus was telling them, hey, you're looking for signs?

[33:37] Go back. The only sign you're going to get is that is the sign of Jonah. So Jonah had played a very important part in the book, in God's word.

[33:50] Because it uses it all the way up into a son of Jesus Christ. Just as Jonah brought truth of God regarding repentance and salvation to the Nidovites, Jesus also brought the same message of salvation through God and him alone.

[34:09] And we see that in Romans, chapter 11, 13, 6. So another prophet that was being prophesied during that time was Amos.

[34:20] Amos fiercely rebuked corruption and social injustice among Israel. If you want to turn to the book of Amos, the minor prophets. Amos fiercely rebuked corruption and social injustice among Israel's pagan neighbors, Israel itself, and Judah.

[34:45] You see here he's prophesying to the whole bunch. He's just not saying that he is a prophet for the northern tribes. But he's also, the message is going to Judah and also to all the nations around him.

[35:02] Amos. He predicted the intimate destruction of Israel and Judah. After preaching at Bethel, a famous shrine under the special protection of Jeroboam, Amos was ordered to leave the country by Jeroboam's priest, Amazah.

[35:18] Therefore, his fate is unknown. He prophesied during the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel and Uzziah of Judah around 760 BC.

[35:28] He was from the southern kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern kingdom of Israel. He was a farmer tending sycamore trees and a shepherd.

[35:40] And this is amazing because a lot of the prophets, how does God get them? They're just regular guys. This guy was a farmer. Remember the story about Elijah?

[35:52] He was on a farm and doing the farming in his land. And God just chooses people, ordinary people, and he gives them this thing to do in life.

[36:05] And that's to go out and present his word to all the nations. And that's exactly what happens here with the prophet of Amos. He was called by God through a vision and he felt strong compassion to prophesize.

[36:18] He foretold destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and denounced the social and religious corruption of that time that we saw. All this good things that was going on from Jeroboam, there was also corruption because of the wealth and those things that was going on.

[36:35] And it seems like, you know, even our nation, the more we get, the more violence and all kinds of destruction we see. And that's the same thing that was happening back here.

[36:48] Amos was fed up with it. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against it, prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted most of his time except for the final five verses of his prophecy, which told about the restoration.

[37:07] So most of the book of Jonah is about, hey, you guys, you're going to suffer. And more than almost any other book of prophecy, the book of Amos holds God's people accountable for their ill treatment of others.

[37:24] It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God's idea of justice. In chapters 1 and 2, Amos fiercely rebuked a corruption and social injustice among Israel's pagan neighbors, Israel itself and Judah.

[37:41] He asserted God's assorted sovereignty and righteous judgment over the man, and he predicted the intimate destruction of Israel and Judah. Amos 1-2, and he said, Verses 3-15 he preaches, Thus says Jehovah for their three transgressions, Yea, for I will not turn away the punishment of their sins for the nations of Israel's neighbors, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon.

[38:25] And verses, chapter 2, verse 4, Thus says Jehovah for three transgressions of Judah, Yea, for I will not turn away my punishment, Therefore, they have rejected the law of Jehovah.

[38:39] Verse 5, But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 2-6, Thus saith Jehovah for three transgressions of Israel, Yes, for four I will not turn away the punishment, Therefore, Because they have sold the righteousness for silver, And the needy for a pair of shoes.

[39:02] So we see the warnings in Ephesians, Ephesians, Amos 7-9, In the high places of Isaac, Shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, And it will rise against the house of Jeroboam, And the sword.

[39:21] So we get to Amos chapter 7, verse 10, And then Amazah, The priest of Bethel, Sent to Jeroboam, King of Israel, Saying, Amos has conspired against thee In the midst of the house of Israel.

[39:34] The land is not able to bear all his words. Verse 11, For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away In captivity, Out of the land.

[39:48] Verse 17, Therefore says Jehovah, Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, And thy sons and thy daughters Shall fall by the sword, And the land shall be delivered by line, And thou myself shall die In the hand of this unclean, And Israel shall surely be led away Into captivity.

[40:11] The coming of the Lord, Verses, Step, Let's go to chapter 9, Verse 4, And this talks about the destruction of Israel.

[40:26] And though they go into captivity Before their enemies, Thence I will command the sword, And shall slay them, And I will set mine eyes upon them From evil and not good.

[40:37] But in chapter, Verse 11, In that day, I will rise up in the tabernacle of David That is fallen, And close up the breaches thereof, And I will raise up its ruins, And I will build it as the days of old.

[40:52] Verse 12, That they may possess the remnant of Eden And all the nations that are called upon my name, Saith Jehovah, That does us this. And verse 13, Behold, The days cometh, Said Jehovah, That the plowmen shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes, Him that soweth seed, And the mountains shall drop sweet wine, And the hills shall melt.

[41:16] And this is talking about future blessings Of the nation of Israel. So, The book of Amos, He pretty much is, The whole book is Telling Not only Israel, But Israel and Judah, And their neighbors, Of the punishment That's going to come From all the things that's been going on.

[41:37] But He does say at the end, That you will be restored. So, Any, I guess we've already gone. Is there any, Any other questions or, Comments about what we've gone through today?

[41:54] Yes, Pam? I found it interesting that Gemini was in the valley for three days, He needed a drink Before he was sent to the Gentiles. Paul, Unblinded for three days, He didn't even drink before he went to the Gentiles.

[42:08] Oh, Yeah, Good point. Yeah, He had to suffer. Because, Well, The Apostle Paul wasn't much different than, Than Jonah, Was he?

[42:22] Because he had this thing that, He had a, He had a job to do, And that was to go out and kill, All, That, All the, Gentiles, Or those who believed.

[42:36] Yeah. That was his job. And, God had to set him aside. Okay, I got a job for you to do, And the only way I see it is going to happen is, If you're blind and you commit yourself to me, And that's exactly what happened in those three days.

[42:55] And we don't know what happened, Evidently the same type thing to Jonah, Wherever he was at, For three days. So, It's amazing how God uses his word, And what he does with the people that, He interacts with, Especially with all the prophets, And, How he does that, And how he uses just common people, To do his job.

[43:18] So, Okay, If nothing else, We'll see you next week. Okay. Okay. Thanks again. Thank you.