God called Israel (Amos 3:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/1/2015 10:38 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  God Called Israel

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Amos 3:1-2

            Message of the verses:  “1 Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: 2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.’”

            As we look at the first verse we must understand that since Amos speaks to the entire family that he has to be speaking to both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel, as both are guilty of what the Lord will be accusing them, which is disobeying the Law of the Lord that was only given to Israel when they came out of Egypt.  Since this Law was only given to Israel they were responsible to obey it, and as we have said before with knowledge comes great responsibility.  In verse two we see that Amos reminds the children of Israel that God is the One who both chose and called them. 

            Dr. Wiersbe explains what kind of calling that God gave to Israel:  “To begin with, it was a gracious call; for the Lord had chosen them and no other nation to be the special recipients of His bountiful gifts.  ‘For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord you God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.  The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers’ (Deut. 7:6-6 NKJV; see Ex. 19:1-5).”

            This gracious election also applies to the church as we can see in the book of John and chapter 15:16 “"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”  We also see in from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;”  “so that no man may boast before God” (1 Cor. 1:26 and 29).  We must not forget Ephesians 1:4 which says “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love.”

            Next Dr. Wiersbe explains “God’s call was also an exclusive call (Amos 3:2a).  ‘You only have I chosen [known], of all the families of the earth’ (NIV).  The word ‘known’ indicates an intimate relationship, such as that of a husband and a wife (Gen. 4:1).  ‘To know’ means ‘to choose’ (see 18:19; Jer. 1:5; 2:2-3) a term Paul applies to Christians believers (Rom. 8:29).  Because they were exclusively the Lord’s, God did for Israel what He did for no other nation (9:4-5).”

            The last call that God gave to Israel was a call that involved responsibility as seen in Amos 3:2b. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Because He had chosen them, called them, and blessed them, the people of Israel and Judah were responsible to love God and obey Him. If they didn’t, God was responsible to chasten them in love and seek to bring them back to Himself.”

            No here is a very important quote from Dr. Wiersbe that we all need to pay attention too.  “The doctrine of divine election is not an excuse for sin; rather it is intended to motivate us to holy living.  We should be so humbled by His grace and so amazed at His love (1 John 3:1-2) that our hearts would want to do nothing other than worship and serve Him.  Privilege always brings with it responsibility (Eph. 1:3-5; John 15:16; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9).  ‘For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48).”

            When we become a believer in Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for salvation then we are to live worthy of our calling as seen in Ephesians 4:1 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”  We are not to follow the practices of the unsaved world as seen in verse 17:  “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind.”  We are to live in love (Eph. 5:2) “and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”  We are to walk in wisdom “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise (Eph. 5:15).”  Verse eighteen tells us to “be filled with the Spirit.”  If we do these things we will be walking in our high calling.

9/1/2015 11:09 PM