Privileges and Responsibility

Introduction

Have you seen those signs on semi-trucks “How’s My Driving?” and then it gives a number to call? Research shows that trucking companies who use this method of keeping tabs on their drivers report fewer accidents and fewer citations. The drivers know that anyone could call and report them, so they are more likely to follow the rules of the road. There is a similar program for teen drivers—a safe-driving program that keeps track of teen driving while discouraging unsafe driving habits. When I got my driver’s license, my dad reminded me that for the privilege of driving came more responsibility. If I took the family car out, I was expected to put gas in. Once I got my own car, all the costs of the car were mine. Privilege brings responsibility.

Amos is God’s prophet who prophecies for about ten years during the reign of Jeroboam II around 760 B.C. God sends him to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to condemn all the nations who have sinned against Him and harmed His people. Amos also condemns Israel for their idolatry and oppression of the poor. So powerful was Amos’ preaching that Amaziah in chapter seven tried to stop his preaching. After all the words of condemnation, however, Amos ends with words of hope and restoration. God will provide a remnant and restore them to greatness. One of the messages Amos preaches is that with privilege there comes responsibility. In our text this morning, we will notice what God expected from His people and make the point that knowing God and being known by God brings with it a proper response.

Israel’s Sin

It was during Jeroboam’s reign that Israel experienced a great economic upturn. The kingdom expanded and profited during Jeroboam’s reign. Jeroboam had with military successes restored the boundaries of the Northern Kingdom to the limits which it had begun after Solomon’s death. The result had been a considerable influx of wealth from war and opening trade relations with kingdoms to the north. But the wealth remained with the wealthy. The poor were not allowed to share in this new wealth. The rich became greedy and desired to have more. To this end, the wealthy oppressed the poor disregarding their rights. For example in Amos 2:8, the poor would give their garments in pledge for a loan. But according to God’s law in Exodus 22:26 and Deuteronomy 24:12-13, this garment was to be returned at night for warmth. This was one of the many ways that the wealthy stole from the poor. God was not pleased. Additionally, Israel was turning their attention to other gods rather than the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Furthermore, the people became lazy and complacent. God was not pleased.

All of this together brings God’s rebuke through Amos. Let’s look at 2:6-12. Here God lists the sins of His people: greed, oppression, injustice, adultery, spiritual complacency. It is an ugly list. It demonstrates how far from God the Israelites have moved. It speaks of hidden motives and selfishness. It describes those who care only for their own advancement and nothing about the lives of others. God is not pleased. This precedes our text. Our text speaks of what God is going to do to Israel as a punishment for her sins. It is not a pleasant text. It highlights God’s righteous anger.

Verse 2 says God will punish them for all their sins. Verses 3-8 contain a series of warnings—really rhetorical questions which verify that God is going to punish and destroy. Verse 10 tells us the people have oppressed the poor for so long that they no longer know what is right. Verse 11 says an enemy will overtake the land. Verse 12 describes when the enemy is through there will be a remnant, but it will be a small one. Like a lion eats a sheep and the shepherd is able to retrieve only a piece of an ear and two leg bones, so will Israel be after the invasion. Verse 14 tells us the altars to the other gods will be torn down and when the people run to Bethel (the place where Jacob was called of God) to grab hold of the horns of God’s altar, they will find the horns are gone. The horns of the altar were stone projections at the four corners. According to 1 Kings 1:50, grabbing those corners meant asylum and refuge. The horns will be gone. There will be no place of refuge when the enemy comes. Verse 15 shows that the wealth they trusted will be of no value. It is a picture of destruction and ruin.

Lessons

Return to 3:1-2. Amos begins this text with words which remind Israel of one truth—privilege requires responsibility. “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth.” That statement speaks about the doctrine of election. God chose Israel because God wanted to. He could have chosen any nation. He could have chosen Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Moab, Edom, or any number of other obscure nations. But He chose Israel. What happened? Israel began to see God’s election as their privilege. They began to see themselves as better than all the other nations. They began to believe that God’s choice meant they were favored over all others. What they forgot is that God chooses for a reason and the privilege of being chosen means there are duties and responsibilities.

God chose Israel to reveal Himself. He didn’t choose Israel just so that they could take it easy. It was through Israel that God intended to make Himself known among the nations. Israel existed because God chose them. Election means being chosen for service, not predetermined eternal destiny. God is still choosing His people. Through Jesus, we have been chosen. For what purpose? So that God can reveal Himself through us. Look at 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. God wants to use the weak. Why? To reveal His own power. He chooses that which is opposite the world’s values. Why? To reveal His wisdom. There is no room to boast about what we have done. The only boasting which can take place is in what God has done. With privilege comes responsibilities.

Even Jesus gave this same principle in Luke 12:47-48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” If we have been privileged to know God, then our privilege means to serve, not to presume upon His kindness. We have been given much. Much is expected of us. We aren’t favored above all others. We aren’t better than others. We have been called to serve the Father and through that service to allow others to see Him through us. God chose us so that we could reveal Him to others, not so that we could become complacent and arrogant.

Maybe what we need is a sign that hangs on our backs which says “How’s my living?” Sometimes people can’t tell we are Christian by the way we act. And all the while we figure everything is okay with God since He chose us to be His child. With privilege comes responsibility. In verse 3:10, we can live such a complacent lifestyle that we don’t know how to do right. We get so accustomed to violating the rights of others that we assume it is okay with God. “How’s my living?” God called us to reveal Him to others. “How’s my living?” God called us to be servants, not to revel in privilege. “How’s my living?”

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