Turn again in the word to Amos and chapter two, which we just read together. Amos and chapter two, and we'll read a few of these verses again, just verses six, seven, and eight, just the three verses before we come to consider God's word this morning. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes, that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek. And a man and his father will go in unto the same maid to profane my holy name. They lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge, By every altar, they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God. Amen. The reading there, let's ask the Lord's blessing upon us as we come to consider it this morning. Lord, we give thee thanks that we can come and consider thy word. What a privilege it is that you have given us your inspired truth. Lord, we would consider these things this morning. We would ask for your presence and your blessing So this morning we want to continue to consider Amos and in this book we've now come to verse 6 of chapter 2 as we've just read. Up until now, we've been considering the word of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel, that is, the northern part of the kingdom. Remember that they were divided into the northern and the southern. The southern called Judah, the northern called Israel. And it was to Israel, the northern kingdom, that Amos was sent. He was a herdman of Tekoa. Tekoa was in the southern kingdom in Judah, south even of Jerusalem. And he was a herdman, a shepherd, of that small town, Tekoa. He was sent then from Tekoa, this small village south in Judah, to the northern kingdom in Israel, to the city of Bethel. And we find in the book of Amos, in chapter 7, that Bethel was the king's sanctuary in the king's abiding place the place where he would dwell the place where he went for his Leisure that was the place that he was sent and we've considered then after that how the Lord has said he would utter his voice from Jerusalem that he would roar from Zion Zion being the name of the hill upon which the temple is was built, the place of God's authority, the place where he has said his name. It's from there the Lord will be uttering his judgment. The Lord will roar from Zion. And then we consider the seven nations which Amos mentions. He mentions Damascus, he mentions Gaza, he mentions Tyrus, he mentions Edom, he mentions Ammon, and he mentions Moab, and he mentions Judah itself, the southern kingdom. So we considered these and the Prophet has systematically moved through each and at least one of the reasons for doing so was in order to establish a base from which to continue into his main reason for coming to Israel. And that was to speak a prophetic oracle against that nation themselves, against this northern kingdom of Israel. That was the reason he had come. Had he come immediately and spoken of them straight away, he would no doubt have just been immediately dismissed. However, in speaking firstly against Israel's enemies, speaking against Gaza, that was of Damascus, which was Syria, and of Gaza, which was Philistia, Tyrus, and of Edom, and of Ammon and of Moab, these nations that were round about them, Judah, which was directly south of them, he would have drawn in an audience. They all wanted to hear what God would say in judgment against their enemies, against these nations who had in various different ways persecuted them or oppressed them or in some other way wronged them. They would no doubt have been drawn in. He engendered a kind of trust then. with his audience by speaking about these other seven nations. He would have at least had an acceptance between himself and his listeners. As I've mentioned previously, Amos comes here to Bethel, as we see from later portions in chapter 7 and in chapter 9. Bethel is described as being the king's chapel, or the king's sanctuary. The king's court, and that word court is actually the word Beth, which means house. The king's house is here in this city. This is where the king lives, this is where he resides. It is like Windsor Castle to us. It is as if the prophet has gone into Windsor in order to prophesy, because it is there that the king is residing. You maybe not know that Windsor is the queen's favourite place to reside. This was the favorite place of the king of Israel, Jeroboam, to reside. And it being then the place to which the king resorted for his own leisure, a place that he would relax in, his sanctuary it is called. It would, of course, also have been a city of wealth and of decadence. Any place where royalty dwells is a place of luxuriousness. And as such, it would have been a place where many of the wealthy and those with power would gathered, a place where royalty resides, a place where the ambitious and the wealthy and the powerful gravitate. And that's something we can observe throughout history. We can observe it in our own nation. We can think again of Windsor or some parts of London, to these luxurious hotels which are there. Royalty, where royalty might stay, where those who are rich and powerful might stay. And anyone with any amount of power, any amount of riches who requires or desires status will go there and be there because it is a place associated with high status. And so Bethel would have been similar. The fact that the king dwelt there meant that all of the rich and the powerful, those who had authority over the people, who had riches, would have been drawn to that place. And so that would have been the makeup, really, of the audience of Amos' words here. And so if Amos had come to this place with a rich and powerful gathered and had immediately begun with this oracle against Israel, he would have drawn no audience. Rather, he begins then by speaking of these seven nations that are around about them. And so he draws in a crowd. He speaks of the judgment that will come on Damascus. And no doubt the people would have been happy to hear it and perhaps applaud it and egged him on. And again with Gaza and Tyrus and Edom. Ammon, Moab, and even Judah. And then he, no doubt, was complete. He was finished, no doubt, these people would have thought. There were seven nations. Seven is the number in those times in their way of thinking of completion. Seven is the complete number. And so Amos finishes off his declaration against Judah, the seventh nation that is mentioned. And those who were listening to him, they would have thought that they had dodged a bullet. Let the Lord have nothing to say about them. He's finished now, surely he's going to conclude and we can all go back about our business. And you can perhaps envision the crowd as Amos completes his pronouncement against Judah. They're all turning to leave, thinking that Amos is done, his oration is over. But then as they turn away and seek to go about their business, Amos again launches into the same pattern of words. For three transgressions and for four, The crowd that were turning to leave turned again in surprise. This man has more to say. And it dawns on them that they are next. The rulers, the rich, who were about to turn and continue in their business in the hallways of power, are now brought into contact starkly with their own sin. Amos continues in the same vein. For three transgressions of Israel and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. because of three transgressions of Israel, and because of four, I will not revoke it. The literal translation of the words. Israel is now mentioned, and at this point, we have come to the heart of the matter, and to the reason for Amos being sent, and his speaking of this prophecy. Here is the commencement of these opening oracles of God against this nation. Oracles which would be extensive, that will call for self-evaluation, that would call for self-condemnation, for acceptance of the wrongs that they had committed. By experience, we should know that these two acts, self-evaluation, self-condemnation, are the most difficult things for anyone to engage in. Yes, the nations round about it seemed, but so had Israel. Israel's sins were numerous, and they were at least as deserving of judgment as the others. And as said last time in considering Judah, the people of God, the ones that bore his name, did not get a free pass when it comes to their sin. As we're told in the book of Hebrews, the Lord chastises every son whom he receives. So this morning, as we consider Israel here, we're going to, as to be expected, break away from the pattern that we have been using up to this point. Previously, the Lord has dealt through Amos succinctly with each of the seven nations mentioned. He has mentioned their transgression and their judgment. Transgression and judgment. Sin and punishment. Sin and punishment have been very succinctly expressed and declared. This has been the way in which we've considered the book so far. We've considered in each case their sin and the punishment that God brought upon them for their sin in each of these nations case. But now, however, since the rest of the book for some seven and a half chapters is taken up with the words of Amos against Israel alone, we'll consider them in a more measured and perhaps in places a more thorough way. This morning then, let's consider the heart of the matter, the sin of Israel. So we'll just be considering verses 6, 7, and 8 this morning, but before we break down this passage to any great degree, let's first of all read the verses again and then run through them by way of explanation. Please do so as we go through them consecutively rather than stopping and giving a point. Just run through them as they are, and then we'll break down in terms of points afterwards. So hear the words then. For three transgressions of Israel and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes, that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek. And a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name. And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge, by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God." And so again here we have the words which Amos has used in each of the previous declarations or pronouncements of judgment. For three transgressions and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. In each of the previous occurrences Amos has gone on to mention the crowning sin, so to speak, the final sin which has now brought about the judgment and the Lord's refusal to revoke the judgment. He has spoken of specific things in the case of Damascus, threshing those of Gilead with instruments of iron, showing of no mercy upon their enemies. Gaza in taking captive and taking slaves and stealing men and women and children from their homes and sending them into captivity. In the case of Tyrus, in their doing so by not remembering the brotherly covenant. In the case of Edom, because they pursued their brother, Edom was of course the nation which came from Esau, pursuing their brother with the sword and casting off all pity in doing so. In the case of Ammon, because they ripped up the women of child of Gilead and destroyed those unborn children within the womb. In the case of Judah because they turned, well in the case of Moab because of their unreasoning revenge that they should take the bones of a king and burn them to lime. And it is thought perhaps using the very powder to decorate the palaces and castles of their land. And then the case of Judah because they had despised and turned away from God's word, his law. have gone after their own thoughts and imaginations. But here in Israel's case there is not one sin that is mentioned. Here in fact four sins are listed. In this case the Prophet mentions this list of sins. As if to emphasise it really is for repeated transgression now that the Lord would pronounce judgement upon them. In the case of the other nations, they were not there to defend themselves. But Israel, they are here. They are the ones listening to the words of the Prophet. And so, perhaps they could say, what are these transgressions, these three transgressions and four transgressions that you're speaking of? And he can maybe appeal. And so the Lord deals very meticulously with them. He will not only show them what their transgressions are, but he will also show those circumstances which exacerbate and show their sin to be so much worse. And he begins to do so firstly then by listing the sins, or pronounce judgment upon them for these sins. I recently came across the discovery that there would have been further significance in the 3 and the 4. 3 and 4 of course gives us a total of 7 and so the further implication in the years of those who are familiar with the significance of the number 7, which of course the Israelites would have been, is that this is a complete number. The number seven indicates completeness to the ears of those who listen to prophecy. This is the pattern that is used. Completeness, fullness. And so it is with that in mind that the judgment of God comes. And just in saying that reminds me of the verse in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 16, where Paul says that those who had sinned against the church would continue to sin and would fill up their sin all the way. until the measure is full and the wrath of God would come upon them to the uttermost. Here again, this number of seven indicates fullness and completeness. Their sin has now filled up the measure, so to speak, and so the Lord now will bring judgment upon them. And so we have this then in context of Israel, that because, that is what the word for means, for, three transgressions, because, of three transgressions and because of four, I will not revoke the punishment. Because of the fullness of their sin, there will now be no mercy. There will now be no revoking of this punishment. There will be no turning away of my wrath upon them. We continue into verse six. Because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes. This verse here is so this part of this verse here is really a literal translation of the words in the Hebrew. I say that to emphasize the fact that it is for a literal pair of shoes or sandals that this exchange is made. The word for shoes or sandals there is in what is called in the Hebrew dual. We have plural and we have singular. In Hebrew they have dual. And so when he says a pair of sandals, that is what he's actually saying, for two, for two sandals, dual. For a pair of sandals they will sell. The verb sold is carries the idea of an exchange. And so the indictment here, the accusation that the Lord is bringing upon them, is that the poor are being exchanged for a pair of sandals. Likewise, the righteous, or those who have been, what the word means here, legally acquitted, those who have been proven as innocent in the eyes of the law, are exchanged for silver. And so the idea here then is that the judge or the arbitrator has taken a bribe so his verdict has in essence been purchased. There is corruption of justice here then. Verse 7 begins, that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor. That sentence is problematic for us in reading the English. It doesn't make much sense to us, that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor. Literally we would read the original language as the ones who sniff or pant after the dust upon the earth, after the head of the poor ones. So the word translated here, pant, is a word which signifies the sniffing of a predator who is on the scent of prey of some kind. So it indicates a desire and even a pursuit. There are two possible meanings to this verse and possibly both nuances are intended It could mean, first of all, the ones who pant or desire that their head of the poor ones be pushed into the dust of the earth. They be trodden down. Or, possibly, the ones who treat the head of the poor as if it was the dust of the earth. The heads of the poor ones are treated as if they are the dust of the earth. Perhaps both are considered or both are included here in this idea. The basic idea behind both is a complete lack of consideration of the poor so that they are trodden down, they are pursued until they cannot be distinguished from the very dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the meat. This is more self-explanatory. It indicates that that by their actions, by their merciless pursuit of the poor, panting after them, that their heads should be in the dust, that their heads should be treated as if it were dust. In this merciless pursuit of the poor, the meek, which parallels here with the poor, are turned out of their way. The way that this should be understood is that by their ruthlessness, by their merciless pursuit that those who were meek were turned out of the way of meekness, turned out of the way of lowliness. They were of contrite hearts, they were of lowly heart, they were humble and had been humbled, and yet they are oppressed. And so they are turned the way out of their meekness into bitterness. They were oppressed and opposed even in their way of lowliness. Then the second part of verse seven and the first part of verse eight, we have, and the man and his father will go in unto the same maid to profane my holy name. And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar. The understanding here is that men were going in with their fathers to the same woman. And we have here then, first of all, the exploitation of women, on top of the exploitation of the righteous, the legally justified, and the poor and the meek. We have exploitation of each of these kinds of people. The word true indicates purpose and so we could read it as in order to profane my holy name. They go in unto the same maid in order to profane my holy name. And in the original language what is implied here of course is a sexual intercourse. word to indicate purpose and so in this act they were seeking to profane the name of the Lord. The thought is that the fertility cults of the surrounding nations were adopted in Israel and so they purposed to worship God through such an act as this. That was how the fertility cults would have worshipped their gods and so they thought they could bring in these acts, these methods, to the worship of the one true God of heaven. But in their act and their purpose to do so, the Lord here brings this indictment that far from blessing his name with such an act, they in fact profaned it. That thought is further added to in the next verse. We find that it is by every altar that they lay down. The fact that fathers and sons would carry out such acts beside every altar definitely implies that acts in line with a fertility cult, in which those acts were carried out as a method of worship, the pagan nations round about would have engaged in these things. Their gods were such gods that they would worship through these acts. Thus, it may have been that the perpetrators of such acts, as well as this obvious exploitation of women, perpetrated them with the idea that they were carrying out a religious ceremony that worshipped God. In fact, they were profaning God's holy name with such acts. The phrase, they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge, is an interesting, and to those of us in the West, confusing phrase. But the explanation is that those who carried out this act of sexual impurity did so upon clothes that were given as a pledge of obligation. When men were brought before a judge or an arbitrator having a debt to pay, they would give the cloaks off their backs as a pledge that the debt would be paid. It was a symbolic act. Lots of what happened in Israel in those days was symbolic. When you were purchasing land, you would give the person to whom you were purchasing the land your sandal, your shoe. It was a pledge to say that you had agreed this deal. And in this case, they would give the cloaks from their backs as a pledge to say they would repay the debt. And the custom was that those cloaks should then be returned to the person before night fell, so that if they were very poor, they had something to keep themselves warm with during the night. So what is being said here is that the very cloaks that were taken by these arbitrators and judges, those who had power, as pledges were being used to lay down next to the altars so that they would not soil their own clothes in this act of sexual impurity. Rather than returning them to the poor debtor who could perhaps be freezing during the night, they would use them in this act. So the charge the board is bringing here then is that these judges or rulers who are arbitrating in such proceedings or even those to whom the debt was owed, perhaps, who had lended money, had a man in debt to them, would take the cloak, but rather than returning it in mercy, would keep it and use it, rather than soil his own clothes. Even as they carried out these acts of sexual wantonness. In the end of the verse eight, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God, These words close this first stanza or section of the judgment of God, and so they complete the accusation that the Lord brings against them. The word condemned could be literally read, the one who has been fined. If the implication is not already obvious, let me explain. They drink the wine of the one who has been fined. It is then that the wine that has been taken as a fine, or even perhaps as a bribe, is then drunk in the house of their God. The lewd behavior has already been described and it is here capped off with this accusation that it was their habit, because the grammar indicates that it was a continual thing, it was their habit to drink the wine that they had taken as a fine upon the debtor or as a bribe from one who was trying to get off free from whatever accusation was leveled against them. Rather than purchasing their own wine, they would take these bribes and drink them in the house of their God. and the word God there in the verse 8 is in fact the word Elohim, the word that is used for the name of our God. So it could be taken actually in either way, perhaps intentionally, perhaps it's being left vague that way on purpose. The shrines and the altars had been ostensibly, this was what was said, had been set up for the worship of Jehovah. This is what Jeroboam said when he set up these golden calves, Dan and Bethel, that you people of the northern kingdom, you don't need to go down to the south of Jerusalem to worship God, you can go to Bethel, or you can go to Dan and worship the true God of heaven in those places. So that was why they were being set up. They were supposedly for worshiping the true God of heaven. And here they were being used carrying out this behaviour which we've had described to us. Though their intention was to worship Jehovah in these places, they were in fact worshipping the false gods of the nations round about, and so it was perhaps left intentionally vague to press home this ironic point. That though you think you're worshipping God in these places with these acts, you're not. You're worshipping the idols of the nations round about, the idols of your own heart. Though they thought they were worshiping the Lord, they were in fact carrying out these acts in the house of their false god, which they had erected in their hearts. As I said, these words then close this first stanza, this first section of the pronouncement of judgment against Israel. And since this is the heart of the message, the message of God to Israel is extensively multifaceted. Whereas with the other nations, including Judea, the word was of condemnation of sin and then pronouncement of judgment, very simply. With Israel here, the Lord is actually going to reason with them. He is going to bring forth his case in completion. He is going to go into further detail, showing how their sin is exacerbated and aggravated by various points. A way of unpacking this section and categorizing, we can see that Amos here has detailed four specific sins. That alone is interesting in that he states that it is for four sins that the punishment will not be revoked. Whereas with the other nations, only one sin is mentioned, as I've said, with Israel, it all goes into further detail. We can break down these three verses into four specific sins and show this as God's summation of their wickedness. We see perversion of justice, of course, in verse six. Then in the first part of verse 7 we see oppression of the poor. Then in the second part of verse 7 we see sexual impurity. And then in verse 8 we see flagrant idolatry. And so in summary then we can say that Israel's sin is, in short, an abuse of power and an abuse of privilege. Each of these sins is in some way an abuse of power or privilege. In the case of the perversion of justice, it is obvious how the judge or arbitrator or the one to whom the debt is owed, perhaps in a personal dispute, in a case of law, would take bribes in exchange for a specific verdict so that the righteousness or the unrighteousness of a person meant nothing. As long as you had the coin to pay, you could get whatever you wanted from the justice system. This doesn't just go for judges and court magistrates, but for the general public. The whole spirit of the people there was that as long as they could get ahead, the well-being of another did not matter. One might owe a debt to another, even a debt as small as a pair of shoes, yet the one owed would have the debtor sold into slavery, even to pay off such a small debt as that. Perversion of the spirit of the law, and thus it was condemned. And hand in hand with that, of course, comes the oppression of the poor. There pervaded in society this mindset of mercilessness. It was a dog-eat-dog world. Those who had money and power, they were the bigger dogs. They panted after the dust of the earth upon the head of the poor. The poor were relentlessly pursued and it meant nothing to the pursuers of wealth and riches that the poor and lowly should be pressed into the very dust that they might have as much as possible. Thus they turned the lowly and the humble out of their way. Those with power who should have been merciful, who should have led in a spirit of mercy, been an example for those who had not as much power. They, in fact, did the opposite. In Isaiah 66 and in many other parts of Scripture, the Lord says, And words to the same effect in other parts of Scripture where we read, of the Lord giving grace unto the humble, and lifting the beggar out of the dunghill to set him with princes. The Lord looks with mercy and grace to the meek and lowly, and indeed the meek shall inherit the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ says. Yet here the meek, the lowly, the ones who are held in high esteem by Jehovah, are trodden down and oppressed. Those who trembled at God's word were turned out of that way. Then the sexual impurity is apparent of course, the exploitation of women in this implied fertility sect which has infected the people of Israel with the acts which go with it and in so doing we see also the flagrant idolatry of such acts as they worship not the God of heaven as they perhaps pretended but the gods of the pagan and the false religion. those gods of religions which found their source of man. And so, of course, entailed these things that pleased the flesh of man. In summary, then, we can see here a denial of human rights, an unrestricted promotion of self-advantage, a preoccupation with the material, and a cultivation of a lustful spirit. These are the things which the Lord has against the people of Israel. He will go into further detail as he continues through the prophet to speak to them of all of their wickedness. He will show how that he had been merciful to them in times past, how he has given them chances again and again to repent, to turn away, but how he has seen this wickedness and this evil pervade from the very top of society down to the very bottom. These are the things the Lord will speak against them. This then is the heart of the matter, the sin of Israel. So we've considered the verses in some depth. We spent a good deal of time ensuring that we understand what the condemnation is here that the Lord is bringing. It's important that we do understand. These verses need to be understood. So in order, as we continue, the following words of judgment and the punishments that we see make sense in the light of the accusations that the Lord brings against them. Let us very briefly apply these things and I mean briefly as I think many of them will be applied themselves already in your minds if you have been paying good attention. But very quickly let's consider first of all that riches and power corrupt. These I believe we can say without much need for clarification are things that we see rampant in the world and in this nation today. corruption in government, corruption in business, corruption in the media. Those that have the power will do anything and everything they can to keep it, and if possible, to increase it. It is undoubtedly true, and the word of God confirms it, that it is most difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. For all of their riches, for all of their power, do not doubt the power of the rich in this world, They rest upon the strength of their own arm. To a lesser but perhaps more visible extent, that cupidity, that avarice, that lust after riches and greed is seen in the world in general. But it is present in the very rich and almost filters down to the others. I would surmise that there are few, if any, the very richest of this world who have come across their riches or retained their riches without some form of corruption. Those that begin to wrong their consciences for silver will in the end do so even for the price of a pair of shoes. The love of money is the root of all evil, as the word of God tells us. By observation and experience we can see that money buys power and power corrupts. The heart of man corrupts very easily, corrupts very quickly. As it was in the days of Amos where the law could be bent, could be broken by the way of a bribe or a blackmail, so today there is no difference. The word of God should be preached against such things. This book of Amos applies very directly and simply to the day in which we are living. These things need to be spoken of today. They were not merely for that time. They continue to be something which angers the Lord and brings down his judgment. So therefore, on this point, let me exhort you to be wary of the increase of riches. We must all beware of these things. They're also very easily taken up with the material. The need to increase our goods, to increase our standing, to increase our reputation, to have that nest feathered, ready for our retirement. These things very easily take our hearts. We're taken up with the things of this world. That was what one of the issues was in Israel. So we must be very careful as Christians that we are not carried away by these things. Guard your heart this morning, as the book of Proverbs says, if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. There will never be enough in this world to satisfy your heart. A man can spend all of his time chasing one desire, Yet, when he's last obtained it, there'll be another to take its place. Man is never satisfied. And so it is that riches and power corrupt his heart. Be wary. And secondly, we must consider that we must self-evaluate and self-condemn. We cannot condemn the sins of the world if we are in a position of scrutiny because of our own arrogance, because of our own rebellion, and the love of the material. We must, in humility, open our hearts to the Lord's correction before we can go forth with the message of judgment upon the world. Those of Israel here were no doubt happy to hear God's judgment upon the nations round about, but now the judgment comes to them, and we'll see shortly how they reacted to the words of Amos. I said at the commencement this morning that this is one of the most difficult things for our flesh to do, to self-evaluate, to self-condemn. Oh, it is easy to evaluate others. It is easy for our minds to quickly go to another. It is easy for us to condemn others. We like to think of ourselves as perfect. We hate to be corrected or for someone to think badly of us. The thought of someone judging us for something, it grates against us. And the people here were of this mind, the rulers, the rich of Israel, dwelling in the luxurious city of Bethel, were happy to hear Amos pronounce God's judgment upon all the nations round about, yes, even Judah. But as we shall see, when they are condemned, they immediately arise to have Amos silenced. And this ought not to be so amongst us. It ought not to be the case amongst the children of God. We are to be open to the correction of God's word. The Lord has said that he, that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. This morning, evaluate your own heart and action, and see if there is this spirit of avarice and of greed and of lust after the things of this world. The New Testament tells us the same. We must beware of the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, the lust of the eyes. We must check upon the condition of our hearts and see where the desires of our souls really lie. Is it in improving your reputation? Is it in advancing in your career? Is it in improving your salary? Enlarging your house? Crease in your standing. Do not come to meet with the Church of Christ under false pretenses. Come with this desire that the word of God would find you out and that the Holy Spirit himself would convict you and convince you of the truth as he shows it to us from his word. Lastly, let us consider that we must repent if we have such a spirit within us. is very necessary that we do not continue in arrogance of heart. We do not become hardened to the examination of the word. James says that he that is a hearer of the word but not a doer is like a man who looks in a mirror, sees himself for what he is, but then he goes away and forgets. that is willful disobedience or at the very least a careless disregard for God's Word that it should have no effect upon us that we should come and sit in church and hear the Word of God and make no use of it. This morning we've considered the sins of Israel and yes they are largely on a national scale might more directly apply to those who abuse power, because that is who Amos is speaking to, really. But if after examining ourselves we find the same spirit within us, even to a lesser scale and degree, we still have the responsibility to repent and to seek the Lord's face in sorrow for sin. Would we be any different if we were in the place of power? If we were in the place of decadence and of riches? That is the examination we must make of our own hearts. Do that this morning. And may the Lord give you peace. Consider the sin of Israel today then. Let's keep these things in mind as we continue in this book to consider Israel's further and exacerbating sin as we observe continuing in the chapter, their disdain for the mercy of God. And we'll consider that next time, next month. May the Lord bless His word richly to each of our hearts this morning. Amen.