And if you would, turn in your Bibles to the book of Amos. This morning we're going to be looking at the words of this prophet in a bit of a different light than we have so far. We found in our studies so far in Amos, the prophet who was really not a prophet at all, but rather a shepherd from the Tekoan wilderness in Judah, in the southern kingdom, called by God to prophesy to the prospering northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II around the time of 760 BC. Israel had by this time, remember the northern kingdom of Israel is separate from Judah. Israel by this time had adopted a new location of the worship of God in Dan and in Bethel. Bethel in the south of their kingdom and Dan in the north. They worshiped services that incorporated idolatry and non-Levitical priesthood, as well as their images. They used golden calves to worship Yahweh. Yet, they considered themselves fully orthodox. They would sing and sacrifice in their temple without any idea or any sense of truth, any sense of theology whatsoever. Their leaders failed to instruct people in truth, so their idolatrous practices were never called into question. They had no idea what truth was. So it required someone to come from outside of their own environment. Someone from outside of Dan and Bethel had to come so that they might hear the truth. They weren't going to hear the truth in Dan. They weren't going to hear it in Bethel. So God sends a prophet, Amos, And he comes from off the scene, from the south. He comes and he goes right into the heart of their abominations, right into Bethel, with a message from God. And it's a particularly unpopular message. In fact, it's not readily received. Theirs was a church that was so caught up into their prosperity, into their easy living, into their building projects, into their ritualistic parties and their moral decadence. So Amos' message comes like a rain on their parade. They did not wish to be wakened from their slumber. Amos' message could not be ignored, however, because Amos came with a roar. He came with a shout, a shout that God's patience had run out. He was sick of their songs. He was tired of their hypocrisy. Sin had mounted on top of sin and the cup was full and judgment was imminent. Now, I've been mentioning along the way, by way of reminder, something that I introduced in one of the first sermons that we did in the book of Amos, and something I asked you to keep in mind and we'll mention from time to time as we go through Amos, but something I want to particularly unpack today. And that is, in the forefront of Amos's prophecy, in the forefront of his mind, in the forefront of his words and thoughts, is the God of covenant. Yahweh, the very first words of the Book of Amos is the name Yahweh. Invoking that name of Yahweh immediately brings the mind of the one hearing these prophecies, particularly those in Israel, the Jewish mind, back to God's revelation of Himself as a covenant-keeping God, as the God who brought them out of the land of Egypt. That is how I want to look today at Amos. Amos as a prophet who is bringing a message of covenant, bringing a message from a God who keeps His covenant, a God who is slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but also a God who promises with the same covenant faithfulness It's amazing how people will readily embrace the covenant faithfulness of God when they hear He's slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity, but with the same covenant faithfulness by no means clearing the guilty. God is a God who keeps all of His covenants. So today, what we'll do after a brief examination of the text in Amos chapter 2, I want to take a cursory look at this matter of God's covenant with man. And I do this now because while we're in this text in Amos chapter 2, Before going ahead, because to understand judgment, much of the book of Amos is filled with judgment. To understand judgment and to understand what Amos' message is, we need to understand covenants. We need to know to whom Amos is prophesying to. And to know that, we have to be familiar with covenants. So I'm going to keep my comment on the text proper in Amos limited today for two reasons. First, because not much exposition is needed in the text. It's very straightforward. This is the first statement of a general judgment. And we're going to get into the specifics in weeks to come. But probably more than this, it's my desire for you today that we, together as a congregation, understand why judgment is coming. and upon whom it is coming. So that way we can then make the right application when we say, for example, judgment is coming upon the house of the Lord. What does that mean? Let's begin today, though, by going to our text, Amos chapter 2. We've seen again Amos coming to Israel, just to review, as a roaring lion. Think of today, I've kind of given different illustrations. We saw him as a roaring lion. We saw the cyclone today. I want you to see Amos coming as sent by God as a covenant lawsuit messenger. Arguably scarier than a lion, Amos is coming to us today as a lawyer. He's coming to us today with a lawsuit. Meaning that his message is taking on the form of a covenant lawsuit which God is charging against the nation of Israel. He's making this charge of rebellion and covenant breaking. If you would imagine, Israel is being put on trial as a nation. Yahweh is the judge and also the plaintiff. Amos is the prosecuting attorney. When you look into ancient covenant lawsuits, they traditionally included a number of things that we find in the Book of Amos. There was an introduction of the plaintiff, an introduction of the defendant, then the indictment on how the law was broken, then there was the summons of witnesses, then the questioning of the defendant, and finally, the judgment if the defendant was found guilty. And we've come now to our place in the middle or near the end of chapter 2. We've already been introduced to the plaintiff. That's the Lord. We've seen the defendant, Israel. The indictment for three transgressions and for four. The witnesses. Well, the witnesses are the very works of God, because God has already told them what He's done for them in the past, that witness against them, but also the prophets whom they disdained, as well as the Nazarites whom they've defiled. So the witnesses have been brought forth, and now as a covenant lawsuit messenger, Amos employs covenant language here. He often is going to invoke the law. We're going to see as we go through. He often invokes the law. In fact, there are a minimum of 50 references to the law in the book of Amos. And we've seen some already. The charge leveled against Judah. You do not keep the statutes. That's a quotation from Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 4. The charge to Israel. You pervert justice. A quotation from Exodus chapter 23. We're going to hear many of these things from Amos. We're going to hear about tithes. We're going to hear about leavened bread, false measures, burning sacrifices, free will offerings, Yahweh as the consuming fire, the fashioning of images, plagues, curses on houses and vineyards, locusts, desolation, exile, famine. All of these come right out of Torah. And Amos is bringing all of this forth in covenant language. Amos will frequently draw his charges from the Law of Moses just in the same way that an attorney who wanted to find a person or defendant guilty would get the law book out and say, okay, you violated this law. That's what Amos is doing with the Law of Moses. So now, so far, we've been introduced to the plaintiff and the defendant, the indictment has been made, and now we come to the first general pronouncement of judgment in verse 13. Behold, I am weighed down by you as a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. Now, here Amos is not talking about himself, but he is speaking as from the Lord. Therefore, flight shall perish from the swift, the strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver himself. He shall not stand who handles the bow, the swift of foot shall not escape, nor shall he who rides on a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day, says the Lord." Beginning in chapter 3, hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt saying, you only have I known of all the families of the earth. Therefore, I will punish you with your iniquities." As we look at this text, if you hear it read, one question that might come to your mind is, is this the same God that we heard about last week? Is this God who is coming in clear judgment, in clear terms of judgment, is this the same God who loves His people? Who has a particular care for His people? Is this the same God who is for us so that we need not fear who would be against us? Is this the God who loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us? Can a God of grace be weighed down with sin of those who are called by His name? If Christ is born, the entire sin burden for the whole human race. What sins are burdening God here? Is this the God who elects and sets His love upon and determines to save men from their sin? And the answer, of course, is yes. But you can see how people, when they read it on a surface, a very surface reading of Scripture, when they read Scriptures about judgment, they draw wrong conclusions. Some will say God is schizophrenic. or an equally dreadful conclusion. That's the God of the Old Testament you're talking about. We have a God of the Old Testament and a God of the New Testament. And what I'm talking about here is typified. Just look at verse 2 of Amos 3. You could see it. First he says, you only have I known of all the families of the earth. Then the next sentence, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. First, an expression of particular love, followed by a word of punishment of what apparently seems to be the same people. So I want you to understand who is Amos talking to. The same I, remember last week, I brought you out of the land of Egypt, I delivered you, I raised up prophets among you, in verse 10. That same I is the I who, in verse 13, is weighed down by their sin. How do we understand this without sinfully dividing God? How He's got good days and He's got bad days. I've heard it all. Now, before I address that question, that's going to be the main question we're going to deal with today. But before, I want to deal with first a matter of translation that should be addressed, because maybe some of you already are confused as you're reading verse 13, which in the New King James Version says, Behold, I am weighed down by you as a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. You'll find this similar translation in the King James Version, the New American Standard, and the New King James. Other versions that you might have are translating this, Behold, I will press you down in your place as a cart full of sheaves presses down. And in fact, this translation exists in the King James Version as a marginal note. Because of the uncertainty that exists over the Hebrew word pressed, It's hard, it's been historically difficult for translators to know for sure who is the subject pressing and who is the object being pressed here. So you'll have some versions that say put it one way, or some that put it both, or some will have marginal notes. But both ideas make theological sense. Commentators throughout the ages have fallen on both sides on this one. Both make theological sense. So the translation difference shouldn't trouble us too much. We've already seen how God is weighed down because this is the fourth transgression. God's patience has been exhausted. We find Him exhausted by the hypocrisy of Israel. He's weighed down. That's certainly accurate to say that God is weighed down. But it's also equally accurate here as God is introducing judgment that He would be pressing down in wrath on His professing people. Either way, the picture that Amos paints here is of a threshing cart that is filled, that is weighted down, the burden being weighted down, whether those be the sins of the people of God upon God or the judgment of God upon His people, it is an immense weight. That's the point that's being made here. It's clear from the text also that God is going to afflict Israel. And this will come from a nation that is outside of them that's too strong. Look in verse 14 with me. Therefore, flight shall perish from the swift. The strong shall not strengthen his power, nor shall the mighty deliver himself." In other words, they're not going to have any native ability to fight against this. When this judgment comes, no native ability. Verse 15 continues by telling us that neither can they have any acquired skill. In other words, none of your weapons are going to fight off this judgment that's coming either at the hands of another nation. Verse 15. He shall not stand who handles the bow, the swift of foot shall not escape, nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. So we see no acquired skill, no native ability, no acquired skill, and no outstanding qualities. Verse 16, the most courageous of men of might shall flee naked in that day. The more that Israel thinks about this God that they see here, the one who they've already been reminded, He destroyed the Amorite. He delivered us from the iron grip of Egypt. He's judging the surrounding nation. The more they see the power of this God, the more Israel becomes aware of what He can do to them should He become their enemy. So Israel here is basically without hope. It stands against God. Israel is standing against God, even with all of the prosperity, even with all the horses and chariots, they will not save the nation. As the psalmist writes in Psalm 33, The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. As it turns out, Israel was finished as a nation. And that's what Amos has come to say. Because just 20 years later, 20 short years, and apply this to our nation, when we look at the prosperity today and the prosperity from the 80s on to today, 20 short years after all this prosperity and success, how the mighty have fallen. 1 Chronicles 5, verse 25 and 26 records the beginning of the destruction of Israel, which is then concluded 20 years after that. 1 Chronicles 5, 25 and 26 records, because they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land. The God of Israel stirred up the spirit of the king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites and the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Hala, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day." And that's just 20 years after Amos. Now 20 years after that, so only 40 years within one generation of all of this success 2 Kings 17 verses 3-6 tell of another king of Assyria who uncovered a conspiracy that the king of Israel had done and therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison and went through all the land and went up to Samaria and besieged it in the ninth year of Hoshea. The king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria. That was it. The ten tribes marched into exile and out of history to the place never to return to this day. The ten tribes in exile, out of history, done. Forty years after Amos. Let's go on, Amos 3, verse 1. Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt. Take note here. To whom is the judgment pronounced? Look at the wording carefully. Who is he speaking to? The children of Israel, and then specifically he says, the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt. Now, keep this in mind. This prophecy goes to the whole nation of Israel. Keep it in mind. Amos is doing something very specific here. Amos also is once again recalling the covenant, isn't he? Specifically, the covenant with the Mosaic covenant. He says, the children, I brought you up out of the land of Egypt. He's calling to mind the covenant. God is speaking through Amos here to the entire nation, recalling to mind the covenant. Then he says in verse 2, and he reminds them again of their place of privilege, "...you only have I known of all the families in the earth, Israel, you only have I known, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." It is very important that we consider the population to whom God is speaking here. Who is Israel? Who is Israel? Is God speaking to Israel here as a picture of the elect of God, the Christian, and therefore His elect people in the New Covenant? Is He? Or is God speaking to an elect nation? A nation that, as the New Testament clearly reveals in the book of Romans, includes in a nation, in one nation, a remnant saved by grace as well as mixed with an unbelieving people that are just part of an external covenant. And this is key because how you answer this question is vital to your understanding of the covenant, of what is covenant. It's vital to your understanding of how God saves men and whether redemption is a permanent covenant or whether you could lose your salvation. See, it's very important to understand this. You see, if by Israel here, you believe that God is speaking to His elect, In other words, the elect Christian today, and that the elect are under a conditional covenant that requires their obedience, then yes, by extension of that, you too, as a covenant person, can lose your salvation when you fail to keep up your part of the covenant. But, if you see Israel here, as is stated, the whole family, the whole family which was brought out of the land of Egypt. Who's the whole family? Well, yes, it includes the Moses', the Aaron's', the Joshua's', they're part of the whole family, but so are the Korah's', and the Dathan's', and the Abiram's', the whole family of Israel. Those whom Paul calls a remnant, chosen by grace, as well as those to whom Paul says God gave a spirit of stupor. Quite clearly, Paul says in Romans chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children, because they are the natural seed of Abraham. So Amos, it's important, is addressing all the families of Israel, you understand? So, what I want to do from this point on to the end is take you through the Scriptures that deal with the covenants of God with man in order to try to prove to you that all Israel includes two kinds of people under two different covenants. that God's covenant of grace, on the one hand, is an unconditional covenant, on the one hand, but also that by external acts of profession, external acts, people can artificially join themselves to a covenant people outwardly because they fulfill the outward condition without actually being included in the covenant of grace. Two separate covenants, one people. And we're going to do this by going through, looking at the covenants. But first, you should know what a covenant is. The Hebrew word Brit, in Greek, it's diatheke. Together, these words appear over 300 times in the scriptures. In Hebrew, covenant is linked to the word between. So a covenant is an inviolable bond between two individuals. It's a life and death bond. Very different from a contract where you're at work and on your job you're committed to being there and working and then the employer is committed by contract to pay you. If you stop working, You're not going to be paid anymore. And if you're not paid for too long, likely you're not going to continue to work there. That's a contract. A covenant is different. A covenant commits people together. Turn with me to the book of Genesis, chapter 15. Now, listen, to understand everything about covenants is way beyond the scope of my intention here. It's complicated, and there are people that disagree on varying aspects. But what I hope to do today is to give you a bare bones of God's covenant of grace, just enough so that you can make a proper application to our text and future texts concerning judgment in the book of Amos, so that when you see judgment in the book of Amos, you know to whom this is coming. So let me first give you a map. What we're going to do is we're going to look at the covenant of Abraham. We're going to look at the covenant with Moses at Sinai, the giving of the law. And from this, we're going to find that within Israel, there are two populations within one nation. that though God elected the nation of Israel, He did not elect everyone within that nation unto salvation. And from this, we're going to be able to better understand the purpose of judgment, and most importantly, to whom God's wrath is directed in judgment verses like this in the book of Amos and throughout the Old Testament. This will give us a correct basis then which we can extend to the church as we understand, help us to understand verses like 1 Peter 4.17. What, Peter, did you mean when you said judgment is going to begin in the house of God? What does that mean? I hope by the end of today it will be clear. Genesis 15, we find the inauguration of God's covenant with Abraham. It is a representative covenant of God's covenant of grace. God made a covenant of grace with Adam immediately after the fall. When Adam fell, though God had the right to strike him, at that time to strike him dead, He did not, right? He didn't, but rather He made a promise with Adam. He made a covenant with Adam that one day He was going to send a Redeemer. This covenant of grace then was manifested at specific moments throughout history of Israel. God made a covenant with Noah, with Abraham, with Moses, and with David, and then we reach a fulfillment of all covenants in the new covenant in Christ. The covenant of grace is most beautifully illustrated in Genesis 15 when God makes a covenant with Abraham. When the Lord comes to Abraham in a vision, He says, in verse 1, "'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'" And then he promises Abraham after that that one from his own body is going to become an heir. Then he tells him in verse 5, verse 5, "'Look now toward heaven. Count the stars, if you are able to number them, so shall your descendants be.'" And then in verse 6, we have the key statement of the Gospel repeated twice by the Apostle Paul in his epistles, and he, Abraham, believed in the Lord and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Then God says in verse 7, He continues, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur, out of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. To which Abram responds, Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? at which point God inaugurates the covenant, or He seals the covenant. He's already made the covenant, but He seals the covenant. In verse 9, he says, Abraham asks, how do I know? This is God's response. Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. Abraham then goes, he takes the animals, he divides the heifer, the goat, and the ram, and he cuts it into two pieces. This was the practice of two people entering into a covenant. They divided the carcasses of the animal, they separated, and then what would happen is both parties would pass through the cut covenant. And what they'd be saying is, let this, happened to me if I break this covenant. Let this, pointing to the, what happened to this poor animal, let it happen to me. May I become a dead carcass if I break this covenant. That's what they're saying as each of them walk through. But look what happens, this is striking in verse 12. But now, when the sun went down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then God makes some promises to Abraham. He explains some things. And then, in a vision of an amazing phenomenon, a visible manifestation of the Godhead passes between these divided, severed animals. Verse 17. And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that, behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces on the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram." See, Abram and God are covenant partners. But God demonstrates that His covenant is unconditional. God alone walks through the pieces. Abraham can't because he's asleep. God demonstrates His covenant faithfulness here, that it is unconditional. God alone walks through the pieces. You know what he's saying by this? He's saying God is striking here. He's swearing Himself to death. that if either he or man, he which would never have because God cannot lie, but man who certainly will, either one, if they break the covenant, that God would be slaughtered like those animals. And that ended up happening, didn't it? In the person of Christ. Abraham is asleep. He is totally unable to pass through the cut pieces. God is telling Abraham in this mysterious vision in Genesis 15, may judgment fall upon Me if this covenant is broken. The Lord here appearing in the smoking fire pot, this blazing torch, walks alone and He places on His own head all of the sanctions. He assumes it all upon His shoulders, all of the curses of either party. And this reveals to us the covenant of grace, how it is unconditional, or better stated, better stated, any condition for which the covenant requires is the sole responsibility of God alone to meet. He is the only one that passes through the animals. So when Christ our God died, it was because God made a self-maledictory oath with Abraham and his seed. So Christ on the cross is the fulfillment of this. And that summarizes the meaning of grace, doesn't it? What God commands, He supplies. God is commanding it and He supplies it. That is the covenant of grace. Now let's turn to the next manifestation of God's covenant in Exodus chapter 19. This is again a manifestation, remember, this is a manifestation of the covenant of grace. There was a covenant of grace that God made with Adam from the beginning. Before the beginning was the covenant of works. Adam broke that. When God did not immediately hold Adam to account by killing him, he brought mankind into a covenant of grace, and this is manifested out through Abraham, and now we're going to see in the Mosaic covenant of Sinai. And I emphasize this because there's so much confusion. People believe, well, the law came and the giving of the law is against the covenant of grace. Many consider the law a temporary reinstatement of the covenant of works. But law is not equal to works. Man broke the covenant of works and that was it. The primary purpose of the law, as is revealed in the New Testament, is to what? Point the sinner to Christ. That's the purpose of the law. The law then is subject to the covenant of grace because it points people to Christ. But this hyper-dispensational idea that, well, Israel was saved by keeping the law in the Old Testament, no, never was the case. That was never said by God. Nowhere does the Decalogue, nowhere does the Ten Commandments tell the Israelites, obey this law sinlessly and you will inherit eternal life. Much less does it give any merit to life by their obedience. It never was the case. The purpose of the giving of the law of Moses was in the end to instruct Israel in the way of justification by faith. There's an essential unity in the ongoing revelation of the covenant of grace and how that was administered. So in the giving of the Ten Commandments here, God is not interrupting the covenant of grace by injecting law back in. He is still dealing with mankind by grace. Now it's true the Mosaic Covenant does include a positive reminder of the strict demands of the covenant of works, do this and you'll die, or you'll die. But Sinai was not a renewal of the Covenant of Works. Israel could not be saved by their obedience to that law. But in fact, we find the Mosaic Covenant, in the words of John Murray, to be a sovereign administration of grace. I hope you'll see that as we go through it. Because something does happen here. Something happens. In a way, the law, which was meant to be the means that God would use to draw his people to himself by grace, becomes a covenant of works in the eyes of the people. In Exodus chapter 19, God invites the whole congregation of Israel to come to Mount Sinai. He hasn't given the law yet. And he tells Moses in Exodus 19, verse 11, he says, to a certain point, let him come around the mountain, and he says in Exodus 19, verse 11, that he shall come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. God is calling His people to be there when He is about to give them the Law. And then comes one of the grandest displays of the holiness of God in all of human history. In verse 18, we see He descends on the mountain with fire. The mountain is filled with smoke. The earth is trembling. There's trumpets being blown. There's thunder from heaven. It is a frightening scene. so frightening that the congregation of Israel retreats. They all run away. Look in Exodus 20, verse 18, right after he gives the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20, verse 18. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountains smoking. And when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. See, they're an hour away. They stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we'll hear, but let not God speak to us, lest we die. And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that His fear may be before you, that you may not sin. See, that's the purpose of the law there. Moses is telling them this is the purpose of the law. But then what happens? So the people stood afar off. But Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. The people hear the thunders of the law and they retreat. Moses knows where his hiding place is. God was demonstrating His grace by inviting the whole congregation to come to the mountain. so near to one of the most awesome events in human history, the giving of the law. But the people feared. And after that, what did they do? They feared. So what did they do? They set up a religion. They were satisfied no longer with seeing God and meeting God face to face, but then they said, alright Moses, you do that for us. We'll be happy just to hear from you. That's religion. That is religion. They had the opportunity to be near God. To have His fear before them, Moses said, so that you might not sin. They could have discovered what the Apostle Paul knew in Romans chapter 7. The commandment which was to bring life, I found to bring death. But they feared that. They had the opportunity to come face to face with the law, to have their sin exposed in the light of the holiness of God, and to repent, which was the purpose of the law, and they said, no. We're willing from now on for this relationship with God to have a mediator, a human mediator in between. They became satisfied with religion and a said faith that was not a true faith indeed. Now, we find this further exhibited in Exodus 24, which providentially was our reading this morning. Now he said to Moses, come up to the Lord, you, and Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship from afar. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people go up with him. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgment, and all the people answered, here's key, all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has said we will do. Now I find it very interesting that God comes with this command and He never ever asks or commands the people of Israel to respond. He never asked this. It's almost like they did this out of religious obligation. Here's the law. How do we respond? Okay, well, I just heard a law. I'll obey it, God. I'll keep it all. It's like a child who doesn't want to get in trouble when his parents say, do you understand me? And they say, yes, it'll never happen again. They're just trying to appease the parent. Here they are. God never asked for a response. But we'll keep it all, Lord. We'll keep it all. But, Little did they realize that they were making an oath to God. And they were binding themselves now into a conditional covenant. Read on in verse 4 and you'll see this. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses built an altar. Then he sent the young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood Remember the sign of the covenant, the splitting, the half and half, half the blood and put it in basins and took the blood and sprinkled the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant, read it in the hearing of the people and they said again, they really seal it, all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and he sprinkled it on the people. and said, This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you, Israel, according to all these words. Again, a covenant was cut, only this time God does not alone pass through, but God and the people do. God, represented in the altar, is sprinkled with half the blood, and then Moses takes the other half the blood, and he sprinkles the people. thus keeping them both to their word." Under what? Consequence of death. Consequence of slaughter. If either of them break the covenant, they say now, let this blood be on us. Then it goes on in verse 9 of Exodus 24. God selects a remnant to come into His true presence, leaving those who've just vowed themselves into a covenant separated. Look at verse 9. Then Moses went up, and also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy of the elders of Israel." Okay, there's the remnant, a picture of the remnant within Israel. Who's left behind? All the rest. What would this remnant shown? Look on. And they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet, as it were, paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. You get the picture here? A perfect illustration of what Paul wrote in Romans. That though God had a gracious intent in giving this perfect law, the law became weak because of sinful flesh. God's intent in giving the law was all of grace, but that intent was misunderstood by most of the congregation. We will obey Lord, we will obey Lord, we will obey Lord. So rather than drawing near to God in holy fear, which was the thing that God commanded them to do, they turn away from God and instead place a buffer between them and God's law, namely Moses. And everything, every religion today does the same exact thing. Whether there be a priest up there who stands in between God and man, or a rabbi, or a statue, or some idol, or something between man and God, now they are separated. Man can appease his conscience by going to a rabbi, or going to a priest, and pay lip service. And that's all it is. Well, his heart is far from God. Now, what does all this have to do with Amos? Well, this is the covenant which Amos comes accusing the people of breaking. God cannot hold Israel accountable for breaking the Abrahamic covenant. Why? Because he already said, I'm going to take everything on myself if this is broken. So who, what covenant is Israel breaking? The one that was secured by God, yeah, they broke, but God already promised that he was going to take that penalty on himself. All the consequences for breaking that covenant would fall upon God and ultimately did in the person of Christ on the cross. But because of the confession of the people at Sinai and the subsequent sprinkling of the blood to seal that covenant, Because of their participation now in this Mosaic covenant, where they vowed, we will do all that is commanded, the moment they break that, the blood for their covenant breaking is on their own head. And that is the judgment that Amos is bringing before the nation of Israel. Judgment upon the covenant people can only be understood in this light in terms of this pledge of obedience at Sinai. They disobeyed, they broke the covenant, so God had every right to pour out His wrath upon them. In fact, if He doesn't, He's breaking the covenant. He's not just if He does not judge those who've entered into covenant with Him. Death was required. That was what the slaughtered animals meant. Death was required. So we see in the subsequent history of Israel how it displays most vividly the consequences of their covenant breaking. And that's what Amos 2.13-3.2 is all about. Covenantal justice. Covenantal justice. We find this same type thing when you read about the curses of the law in the second half of Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26, verses 14 to 45, and this text in Amos, all speak of curses and judgments associated with breaking of the covenant. Leviticus 26.25 calls this the vengeance of the covenant. It speaks of God sending judgment upon His people, all of His people, the entire family which He has brought out of Egypt. So Amos comes announcing judgment to Israel. Who is Israel? Let's go back to your first question. Who is he announcing judgment to? All the families of Israel. Who is within Israel? There is the professing Jew, the one who was born of Jewish family, who outwardly conforms to rituals and traditions, who believe that he plays a part in choosing his own destiny by keeping the law. That's one group. And then those who have had their hearts circumcised. Those who are not circumcised of heart, but circumcised of flesh, and those who are circumcised of heart. Those who are Jewish in name, who are joined to the people of faith outwardly, they may look on the outside like good people, looking like the elect of God, considered a part by the group, in the words of 1 John, with them, but not in essence by virtue of the new birth of them. And then a second group, circumcised of heart, children of promise, the remnant, the heirs, those who are so according to Romans 4.13, not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. You see the two groups in one external covenant. So as Amos roars forth this covenant lawsuit against Israel, he has a twofold purpose. One roar. but two kinds of people and two purposes. It is a call, first on the first hand, for the professor, the one who just professes faith, to follow God and therefore face the consequences of His covenant breaking. And at the same time, a call to true Israel, to nearness to God in the covenant of grace. Isn't that exactly what the thundering of the law did at Sinai? What did it do to two different people? One, it drove away, and the other one, the remnant drew near. When Amos announces judgment in Amos 3, verses 1 and 2, upon the whole family of Israel, when he says, you only have I known among all the families of the earth, but for this reason I will punish you for your iniquity, that's not a schizophrenic statement. That is a warning to a group of people, a warning to Israel. Not all Israel is Israel. Don't rely on your covenant status, Israel. Your position of privilege, Israel, will only get you so far. Yeah, it'll bring you out of physical Egypt, but it's not going to bring you into the promised land in eternity. And ultimately, the people of Israel do fall into exile in the hands of Assyria. And as God exercises the covenantal justice on the basis of that, Israel is found guilty in this covenant lawsuit that Amos is bringing before the people. Now, while disobedience must be punished, We must also not forget that divine faithfulness will never break God's covenant, never break God's covenant with Abraham. God's judgment comes based upon the conditional aspects of the covenant of God that the Israelites made with Sinai. That's Sinai. You see the distinction? And that judgment has two aspects to it in that it affects two kinds of people. Listen to the commentary of J.A. Mottier. He writes this. A covenant theologian like Amos could never have been guilty of proclaiming the end of the covenant relation between the Lord and His people. Passages such as Leviticus 26, 31 to 38, Deuteronomy 28, 58 to 68, and Amos 2, verses 13 to 16, and others may appear to destroy the entire covenant relationship between the Lord and His people. If they are held within their own context, as well as in the context of the whole Bible teaching on covenant, it becomes clear that these fearful destructions are to be counted among the covenant-keeping, not covenant-breaking acts of God. They, and this is the key point, they purge out pretended members and purify true members. I'll repeat that last line. There's the two-fold purpose of the judgment that Amos is announcing. They purge out pretended members and purify true members. When the law roars, the unbeliever flees, the pretender keeps his distance, but the true believer knows where to go. He draws near where his hope lies, in the grace of God, in his covenant faithfulness. So when Amos comes and says, Israel, you are guilty, he pronounces the judgment against them. The professing Israelite then comes under condemnation because his sin, his conscience roars against him because of his sin. The law is roaring against him. Even love is roaring against him. But then the second population who are within that group, to them there is now therefore no condemnation. And when they hear the law, even when it comes in fury, they know where to flee. They know to run to Christ. They know that God will never reverse His choice or revoke His gifts. Amos is not at variance with the rest of Scripture when he announces judgment on the people of God. The vengeance of this covenant lawsuit that he brings does not nullify a covenant of grace whereby the elect of God are eternally secure. It will never forego the purposes of God. But within the covenant community, the vengeance of covenant purges. It removes people who claim to be covenant members but are not, and then it refines, disciplining the true covenant child, the true son, the one who needs the loving, chastening hand of a loving father. So it purges and purifies. Lastly, let's consider this now in our application to the church. What does this mean today? First of all, I'll say I believe that there is continuity in the covenant community of Israel and the church, that there's a continuity here. That is to say that the same subgroups that existed in the nation of Israel exist in the visible church today, the same subgroups, the visible nation of Israel and the visible church. It's become the practice of most churches today to separate true believers from the heathen by mere profession. They say, I'm a Christian, okay, you're invited in, you're one of us. Though their life may scream otherwise, oh yeah, you're a Christian. But Jesus says, and Amos says as well in not so many words, there is no saving significance to saying, Lord, Lord, and not obeying God. It's important to keep this in mind, particularly when we talk about judgment upon the house of God. What does that mean? And I think some things perhaps need to be clarified by some questions that some brethren had brought to me last week, some things that need to be clarified. Lest one think, when I talk about apostasy, Or when we talk about judgment in the book of Amos, that God has in any capacity reserved any wrath for His elect. To imply such would be a sin against grace, a sin against the finished work of the cross. God's wrath has been fully propitiated, completely satisfied. There is no more wrath to the true child of God. And I don't want you to be confused in how judgment applies to the church. Again, remember, not all Israel is Israel, okay? As we considered Israel, not all Israel is Israel. There was the remnant within Israel to whom the promise of faith came, not as a result of circumcision, they thought. We enter into this covenant by circumcision. No, not by circumcision, not by keeping of ordinance. The promise, according to Galatians 3, comes to those who are in Christ. Abraham's seed, not seeds. The promise is to Christ and all to those who are joined to him by faith. Galatians 3.29, if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Not if you are in the church. If you are Christ's, you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. What brings you into this unconditional covenant? Christ brings you in. And I submit to you today that these same populations that existed in Israel, in visible Israel, exist in the visible church. When we sit here on Sunday morning, when we hear the Word, when we sing our praises, that is an outward manifestation of the people of God. But our coming to church makes us no more a Christian. Then does being born Jewish make one a true Israelite? So within the visible church, there are both truly born again Christians, as well as those who have not been born again, but like Israel, join themselves to the church. How? By profession, an outward association. It's a mistake when the church assumes that everyone who makes a profession, everyone who steps forth, even in baptism, because baptism ultimately is an outward sign, is truly in Christ. And you may ask me, well, what evidence is there? You know, I accept it with Israel, that's clear. But what evidence is there that this is true with the church? Doesn't a professing Christian automatically be part of a New Covenant community? Yes, a New Covenant community. Maybe you can accept that this is true with Israel, but not with the New Covenant community. You say, one is only brought into the New Covenant community by grace through faith. And I would say that's not completely true. While one is brought into the New Covenant by grace through faith, one can be joined to the New Covenant community through outward profession or through baptism. What evidence is there of this in the New Testament? Well, for one, the practice of church discipline. The need at times to hand one over to Satan, deliver one over to Satan. Another is 1 John 2.19 where it clearly says, they went out from us, but they were not of us. If they were of us, they would have no doubt continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. So not all that are of us are with us or of us. John says it clearly, not every member of the visible community are in Christ. In Acts chapter 20 verse 30, Paul warns, he says, from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Those are not, those are not, who are the others that are coming from yourselves? not part of a New Covenant, part of a New Covenant community, see? Obviously not in Christ, or they wouldn't be drawing disciples after themselves. 2 Timothy 2 speaks of Hymenaeus and Philetus who have strayed concerning the truth, even to overthrow the faith of some. But Paul says, you know what, in the end it doesn't matter. He says, the solid foundation of God stands. Men can do what they want, but the solid foundation of God stands having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His. And let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Understanding this is vital to understanding covenantal justice when we face it in the Scripture. This enables us to understand those judgment verses of the New Testament. Constantly hearing, what about Hebrews 6? What about Hebrews 10? Hebrews 6 verses 4 through 6. Hebrews 10, 26 to 29. You know what? Turn to Hebrews 10. Someone asked me this last week. I mentioned the word apostasy and they jumped on Hebrews 10. People have questions, what does Hebrews 10 mean? Hopefully now in light of covenants you can understand this. Hebrews 10 verse 26, For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. That is meant to be scary to the covenant community. What does it mean, Pastor? It means just what it says. That is the law thundering from Sinai. And it will either condemn and drive away, or it will convict and draw near. Look at the language of Paul here, Hebrews 10 verse 29. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will be thought worthy who have trampled the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the Spirit of grace. For we know him who said, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. Who is that? That's Amos' words. That's Amos. That's the covenant lawsuit. God coming with fury in a covenant lawsuit, laying it out to whom? His covenant community. This is a clear warning against falling away using covenant language. but it doesn't deny the rest of Scripture which teaches that the child of God is eternally secure. Rather, it describes someone who, though not a true saint, is yet considering himself in by the basis of an outward profession. Someone who is sanctified, made holy by what? The blood of the covenant. You say, that's got to be a Christian. How is someone sanctified and made holy by the blood of the covenant? That's a Christian, isn't it? Well, what about the people in Exodus 24 who were sanctified and made holy by the blood of the covenant? The whole family of Israel was sanctified and made holy by the blood of the covenant. So how are we to understand that when we hear the roar of covenantal justice as we've seen in our own day? Judgment coming upon the house of the Lord in the form of famine of the word, plagues in our land. We find in the midst of this judgment, God is, one, calling His people out of dead evangelicalism and out of dead orthodoxy, and then within the framework of God's true church, calling His people to examine themselves, to be sure that they be in the faith, to make their calling and election sure. At the same time that God is announcing judgment on the professing church, He's purging and chastening. Purging and chastening. He's purging His people, separating people from people, but also chastening those who are being conformed to His image. Those who are being conformed to the image of His beloved Son. That's the purpose of God when judgment is proclaimed, when judgment is seen. The cleansing of the people of God occurs both externally and internally. Externally, that is to say, the judgment separates the wheat from the chaff. We all know that. But that is understood both externally in separating people from people, but also wheat from chaff in the life of the true believer. Well, what chaff is there in the life of the true believer, Pastor? Well, before Christ came into our lives, sin reigned. We revolted against the commandment of God. Sin reigned. But when Christ came, sin no longer reigned. But there is remaining sin in what is our body of death. And that remaining sin is no different in kind. It is different in power and different in authority. It no longer has dominion over us. But it's no different in kind. Remaining sin still is a closed fist against the commandment and it must be mortified. And one way that remaining sin is mortified is through the fire of affliction. So when you see affliction coming into your life, you can count it all joy because you know you have a loving Father who is mortifying remaining sin. So when we see judgment, Again, whether it be in the world around us, in the church, the government sanctioning evil, the wicked walking on every side, the vilest men exalted, people loving darkness, the church corrupt in doctrine, corrupt in practice, corrupt in immorality. We see it all around us to the point where you wonder, you say, isn't this nation asking for it? Jeremiah said of the church today, he said, this well, I believe, speaks of the church today, because from the least of them to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness. From the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the hurt of my people slightly, saying, peace, peace, but there's no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abominations? No, they were not ashamed, nor did they know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall. At the time I will punish them, they shall be cast down, says the Lord." What can the people of God, what can the saint of God do under such circumstances but cry out to God and say, Lord, turn us again. Turn us again, Lord, and we shall be turned. When we see judgment, it's no accident. It's not haphazard. We've seen this already. It's no accident, no mistake, like our brother Jimmy was bringing out in the creation of a formless void earth. God had a purpose in it. He wasn't going to leave it like that. So when we see a formless void church, we can trust that God is going to raise up a people who will be conformed to His image. So keep all this in mind, brethren. I can't repeat all of this every time that we talk about judgment, but I may reflect back on this from time to time. Realize that when we find the church, the visible church, under the torrent of God's wrath, when we see God's wrath come upon a nation, as one day it most surely will if it has not happened already, that God has a gracious purpose for His elect within it. Don't count it lightly, but rather reflect upon it, how richly you deserve that judgment, and far more. But look upon the cross. Fall upon your knees in worship, because Christ has borne all on the cross for you. On the cross, Christ bore all wrath. He bore the righteous anger against a sinful that God has against the sinful humanity. When you remember, when you hear covenantal justice, brethren, call to mind the dead carcasses that you did not have to walk through, the curse which Christ took upon Himself. When covenantal justice calls to mind your sin, come to the mountain. Draw near to the mountain. Look to Calvary. Do not turn yourself away. But look upon the one whom you have pierced. For in Christ is found the fulfillment of God's covenant of grace. And there is an ever-flowing stream of mercy in which if you will plunge into, you will find rest for your souls. Amen.