“Be Careful What You Wish For!”
Text: Amos 5:18-24
11-12-2023
In the name of Him who brings us His righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, dear friends in Christ. As you might be aware, we are now entering the last Sundays of the Church Year. That ought to give you a heads-up about what’s coming in the Scripture Readings for the next couple of weeks. As the Church Year comes to a close those lessons are increasingly filled with language about the end of the world, Christ’s return, and Judgment Day.
So, do you spend much time thinking about that final day? Some people don’t because they find it depressing or scary. Some refuse to think about it at all. Others find it confusing. That isn’t helped by the multitude of books and movies based upon the misguided theology of the “Rapture.” We could spend the whole sermon looking at various Bible passages showing how wrong-headed it is, but the Epistle lesson alone will unravel the delusional myth that some Christians have created in their minds about Christ’s return.
Having said that though, it’s good for us to look at what God does say about Judgment Day. On the one hand we don’t want to be complacent about it, and on the other we don’t want to cower in fear of it. Instead, it’s better for us to have a healthy reverence for what it will bring and spur us on to make sure we’re prepared for it. All 3 of our lessons today focus on that. Our reading from the book of Amos, speaks of “the day of the Lord.” That phrase describes the ancient Jewish hope that one day God Himself would descend from heaven as both Judge and King. Wrapped up within those hopes and dreams was the arrival of the Messiah and a golden age that He would usher in. And so, they fervently wished for “the day of the Lord” to come. But as the old saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for! You just might get it!” You see, the problem was that they had a false understanding of what God would actually do on “the day of the Lord.” Since the people of God were not prepared for it, they had a rude awakening coming. And that’s what Amos was sent to warn them about.
Poor Amos didn’t have an easy job ahead of him. After the death of King Solomon, the nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms. Amos was from the southern kingdom when God called him to be a prophet. The strange thing is that the Lord sent him to the northern kingdom to deliver his message. That would be like a Pastor from Alabama going to Washington D.C. during the Civil War. What kind of reception would he receive if he tried to warn the President that the people of the Union had better change their immoral behavior or else God was going to punish them? I’m pretty sure he would be pointed in a southerly direction and given the boot. “Go tell that to your own people before you come up here trying to lecture us!” That’s the kind of reception Amos received. And his response was, “Look. I don’t like this anymore than you do. But who can say ‘no’ when God sends you?”
The cause of the arrogance and complacency of the people was this– over the previous years, there had been plenty of wars and turmoil. But now things were quite peaceful. The neighboring countries had quit their major assaults against them. The two kingdoms of Israel weren’t even fighting with each other. Now their time and energy could be spent improving their lives. The economy was booming and it really was beginning to look like they were on the verge of a golden era. Here’s the problem, though. They were misreading the signs of the time. It was assumed that all this prosperity meant that God’s favor was shining on them. They figured it was due to the fact that they were such good people. God had singled them out as His chosen nation and they figured that was because they were exceptional people. They had God’s Law and they worshiped Him as they were commanded. So naturally they were wishing for “the day of the Lord” to come because by their calculations, things could only get better. Amos was sent to warn them: “Be careful what you wish for!”
Yes, superficially things looked great. But underneath that veneer the people were rotten to the core. All their religious fervor was merely a ritual. In other words, they were just going through the motions of honoring God, as if that was good enough. Their thank offerings were not accompanied by sincere gratitude in their hearts. Their sin offerings were not accompanied by true sorrow and repentance. On the contrary, they were finding more and more ways to be evil and deviant. And their prosperity? It was gained by taking advantage of the poor and needy. The court system was corrupt and you could pay for whatever verdict you wanted if the bribe to the judge was large enough. God was watching and He despised it all! So, He closed His ears to their fake worship and empty prayers. They had a wrong concept of who God is and how He operates. The day of the Lord was certainly coming, but it wasn’t going to be what they expected.
Amos warned them in the opening verses that in reality the day of the Lord would be like a man fleeing from a lion only to turn the corner and run into a bear. He ducks into his house, slams the door shut, and locks it thinking he’s safe. However, as he leans against the wall catching his breath, a poisonous snake slithers up and bites him. The point was this: when the day of the Lord came it would be for judgment against their wickedness and there was no escaping it. The more they ran from it the worse it would get. They wished for the day of the Lord to come and before long it would. But it wouldn’t be what they expected. Soon, God would send the Assyrians to totally obliterate the northern kingdom. Then they would see what God’s justice really looked like. Instead of arrogantly sitting back and thinking they were safe living in their sins, it was time to repent. It was time for them to act justly as God had commanded them. It was time to humble themselves and beg for His mercy before that great and awful day of the Lord arrived.
Sad to say, it took the destruction of both the northern and the southern kingdoms for Israel to learn this lesson. But even sadder is the fact that when God’s Messiah appeared on the scene, Israel’s false concepts of God and the way He operates still existed. At the time of Jesus, the day of the Lord was anxiously looked forward to. But Jesus, the Messiah, had to warn them like Amos, “Be careful what you wish for!” The Jews had come to believe that when the Messiah arrived, He would be a warrior king who would reestablish Israel and usher in a golden era here on earth. Jesus repeatedly had to correct this thinking. When the day of the Lord came it would be a day of inescapable judgment against all wickedness. So now was the time to prepare for it by repenting and letting the Lord fill up their lamp of faith so that they would be ready for the Messiah when He arrived. Instead of relying on their own self-righteousness and empty religious rituals they needed to humbly trust in God’s real Messiah, Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, would they be able to look forward to the day of the Lord without dread. For on that day, true believers will be welcomed into God’s banquet hall to enjoy an eternal “golden era” of peace and unending bliss.
Now, obviously there is a lesson for us in all this. The day of the Lord is certainly coming. And there are people who are anxiously awaiting it. Hopefully you’re among them. But the question is, are you truly prepared for it? If you’re not then the message of Amos is also for you: “Be careful what you wish for!” Just as it was in ancient Israel, so it is today. People have all kinds of false, misleading beliefs about God and His plan of salvation. If you get wrapped up in them deep enough you may find that you’re like those 5 foolish virgins who allowed their lamp of faith to go out. Then, as Amos says, the day of the Lord will be one of doom and darkness, not light and joy.
So, what are some examples of those false, misleading beliefs? Well, there are plenty to choose from. How about one I hear over and over again? It goes like this: “God is a God of love. He would NEVER send anyone to hell.” It’s true that God loves everyone and wants them all to be saved. However, if people reject God’s mercy, then they only have His wrath to look forward to. Why else would Amos’ warning sound so dreadful? The 5 foolish virgins in Jesus’ parable are locked out of heaven and hear the awful words from the Lord, “I don’t know you.” Elsewhere Jesus speaks of that outer darkness as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a distortion of God’s justice to say no one will be punished for rejecting His gracious offer of salvation.
But even if you don’t believe the lie that nobody will go to hell, don’t be complacent about your faith. Like the Jews we can fall into the trap of our worship becoming empty rituals. In the Lutheran church it usually manifests itself this way: “I’m Baptized and Confirmed. I’ve got all my bases covered. If I show up for church now and then and take Communion, I’m good to go. Actually, I’m a pretty good person. That ought to count for something with God. Confess my sins? Ah, they’re really no big deal. Hey, at least I’m not as bad as that sinner over there! As long as my name appears on the church roster then I’m safe. Yeah, I look forward to the day of the Lord because then He’ll come and punish all those other rotten sinners.” Be careful what you wish for! God’s justice is going to bite you like a venomous snake just when you think you’re safe in your own self-righteousness. You will be judged like all the rest of those “rotten sinners” out there. God’s wrath and eternal punishment is all that awaits those who are not washed in His ever-flowing stream of righteousness.
Does that alarm you? Good. We all need to stop and examine our faith. God wants to lead you to repentance and a change of heart. Through His Means of Grace, He removes your sins and the gloomy darkness of eternal death. Actually, though, God’s Judgment Day has already happened for us believers. It took place as Jesus hung on the cross for your sins. God’s wrath, that you deserved, was poured out on Christ. By His innocent suffering and death you were made righteous before God. Now, you no longer need to dread the coming of the day of the Lord. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus a new golden era of God’s grace has dawned. We live in that era now by faith. And without fear, we fervently wish for the day of the Lord to come. We look forward to it with joyous anticipation. Because then, we will enjoy the unending golden era of eternal life in heaven, thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!