Amos: Jesus Is Our Burden Bearer
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Amos: Jesus Is Our Burden Bearer
Amos 1:1 (ESV)
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amos 7:14-15 (ESV)
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
In the past, one of the traditions in the church that hindered many evangelical churches from growing was the practice that only ordained ministers should preach the Word of God during the Sunday worship services. Though many lay people were involved in teaching the Bible, they were only allowed to teach in-home Bible studies and Sunday school. This practice became more prominent after churches have required formal seminary education for ordained ministers.
However, when we carefully examine the Bible, the doctrine that contradicts this tradition is the New Testament teaching of the priesthood of the believers. The apostle Peter establishes this doctrine when he wrote these words in 1 Peter 2:5, 9 (ESV):
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
If you notice, Peter in both verses addresses all believers in general, and he calls them “holy priesthood” in verse 5, and then “royal priesthood” in verse 9. Evidently, as the apostle Peter acknowledges the exalted positions of believers in these verses, one of the privileges he mentions is their priesthood that would allow them to offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the Word of God.
This truth is what we uphold in BCI when we allow some of our laypeople to preach God’s Word during our worship services. But, of course, we don’t just give this responsibility to anyone. These people have gone through some equipping training here in our church to fulfill their preaching responsibility effectively. So let me say that whenever we have our laymen take the responsibility of preaching here, let’s all be more encouraging by paying attention to what they are sharing. We all know that it is never easy to stand here in share God’s Word.
This reminder is quite relevant to the next book we will be covering this morning, which is the Book of Amos. So we are now in our third minor prophet book. And the representation of Jesus we need to highlight here is that He is our Burden-Bearer.
In this book, the Prophet himself is the type of Jesus Christ. His name, “Amos,” comes from the Hebrew name, which literally means “Burden-bearer.” When you go back to the key verses we read earlier, what is so significant about him was that he was not the typical Prophet who grew up as a Prophet’s kid or someone who has attended the Prophet’s school. He was simply a shepherd and a farmer called by the Lord from Tekoa, a village about 10 to 12 miles south of Jerusalem (Southern Kingdom). And the Lord called him to go to the Northern Kingdom to warn them about God’s judgments that were coming if they would not repent of their sins. The question is: Why would he leave his day job in the South and follow God’s calling to preach in the North? The obvious answer is his deep “burden” for God’s people who were about to be judged because of their sins. Let’s examine this book and consider three significant discussions from it:
I THE BURDEN OF SIN AND SUFFERING
The ministry of Amos as a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel took place a little bit earlier than the Prophet Hosea, sometime around 790 – 760 BC. If you can still remember when we studied the Book of Hosea, the nation of Israel was experiencing unprecedented times of prosperity during the reign of Jeroboam II. As a result, they were able to expand their Kingdom’s territory back to the borders when King David and King Solomon were the kings of Israel.
Unfortunately, instead of being grateful to God for the military strength and economic affluence, they abandoned Him and fell into many immoral activities. In Amos 6:7, we find one good example of spiritual and moral decline.
7 Therefore, they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
The example of sin in this verse is found in the word “revelry.” The Hebrew word used here is “Mirzah.” This word is used consistently to refer to pagan religious banquets that included drunken partying and sexual immorality. Life has become one big party for Israel, and God was about to stop it by sending them to exile.
You know, just like in the past, sin has often been associated with pleasures. The appeal of sin is that we will enjoy it while doing it. But the reality is that once God begins to hold people accountable for their sins and begins to judge, people will have to suffer because of their sins.
If you go back to our key passage in Amos 1:1, the last part of the verse says, “two years before the earthquake.” In other words, the ministry of the Prophet, Amos, started two years before the Lord sent an earthquake to Israel to demonstrate His displeasure towards their sins. Many Bible scholars believe that this earthquake was so strong that the Prophet Zechariah 200 remembered it years later (Zech. 14:5).
To show the severity of their sufferings, added to this earthquake, let me also refer you to Amos 4:6-11 (ESV):
6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
7 “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
9 “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
10 “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
11 “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
If we break down this passage, we will see the following judgments:
Lack of food (v. 6)
Drought (vs. 7-8)
Blight and mildew on their crops (v. 9)
Locust invasions (v. 9)
Pestilence and disease (v. 10)
Military defeat and exile (vs. 10-11)
Can you imagine all these disasters coming to God’s people because of their sins? Is it worth it to enjoy sin for a short time and suffer its terrible consequences in the end? Before moving to the second point, I would like to also highlight these verses in Amos 6:1-2 (ESV):
1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,
If you read these two verses, you would realize that the main reason Israel was so complacent and continuing in sin is their false sense of security, which was coming from their assumption that they were much better off morally than their neighboring countries. However, it is important to emphasize God’s justice did not come because they were better than others, but because they have transgressed and rebelled against God’s holiness. As God’s people who knew God’s laws, they should have known better regarding the consequences of their transgressions. Their indictment was justified based on their knowledge of God. The truth is the more you know God; the higher accountability is placed upon you.
II THE BEARER OF OUR BURDENS
Besides the pronouncement of judgments against the sins of His people, the Book of Amos also addresses the sins of injustices and oppressions of the six other neighboring countries of Israel in chapters 1-2. Eight times (8X), the Prophet Amos used in these two chapters the phrase, “For three transgressions and for four.” This phrase is a Jewish idiom that meant that they had committed so many sins, and now, they came to an end. Dr. Warren Wiersbe commented on this truth, saying, “God is long-suffering with sinners (2 Peter 3:9), but He marks what they do, and His patience eventually runs out. To try God’s patience is to tempt the Lord, and when we tempt the Lord, we invite judgment.
I also wanted to highlight the condemnation of other nations aside from Israel and Judah because it is essential for us to see that the burdens of sin and suffering are universal. It affects all human beings. Indeed, this truth is emphasized by the apostle Paul in Romans 3:23 (ESV):
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
As you can see from this verse, sin extends to “all” people, and everyone fell short from the glory of God. This condition is the main reason why the work of Jesus Christ on the cross as the burden-bearer of sin is so important. Here are two significant passages from the writings of the apostle Peter:
1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV)
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
First, we have a direct statement that Jesus went to the cross bearing our sins in his body. Then, as a result of His work, there are two immediate blessings mentioned to those who trust in Him:
His work will result in our healing – the direct results of sin on our physical bodies have resulted in so many physical complications. We suffer sicknesses and diseases because of the curse of sin on our bodies. The death of Christ brings healing to us.
We are restored back into intimate relationships with Him. Jesus becomes our Shepherd and the Overseer of our souls – For Jesus to fulfill these two significant roles in our lives is such an amazing blessing. These roles speak of His sufficient provisions and protection to us both physically and spiritually. He will always be more than enough for us.
After He has taken cared of our biggest problem, which is sin, He never stopped carrying our day-to-day burdens. So I hope you will take these two verses to heart:
Psalm 55:22 (ESV)
22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
In one of the Daily Bread articles, Marvin Willaims wrote, “Jesus carried the burden of our sin so He could give us the blessing of life.” I love this statement because it reminds me that Jesus carried my biggest problem so that I can have His joy and peace daily. But this type of disposition will never happen unless I learn to cast the many burdens or worries I have in my life today. So revisit these two verses again, He cares for us so much as His child, and He doesn’t want us to be moved or shaken with the situations we have in our lives right now.
I am often surprised how Christians can talk to everyone about their troubles, but they would hesitate to tell God about their troubles. Let me remind you again that no one can help us in our troubles as God can. Tell Him your problems because He is the only One who can truly solve them.
III THE BLESSING OF BURDEN-BEARERS
Lastly, I would like to highlight the direct application of Jesus being the burden-bearer to us as believers in the church of the Lord Jesus. The Prophet Amos was the type of Jesus because he was burdened over the sins of God’s people. In the New Testament, believers are also tasked to be burden-bearers to one another within the church because this would demonstrate the image of Jesus to the world. This mandate is plainly stated by the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:1-2 (ESV)
1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
The command that we “bear one another’s burden” was given in the context of another believer falling into a known sin. While it is quite common to see immature Christians respond by being critical and judgmental, spiritual Christians must be willing to show compassion and gentleness by providing restoration to a sinning brother or sister in the Lord. It is important to emphasize that the word “restore” in verse 1 suggests “setting broken bones.” In other words, the restoration process is painful, and it will always take some time for healing to take place. So, spiritual Christians who would take this responsibility should be very gentle and patient.
Time and again, we need to be reminded of this responsibility because the church has been designed not to be a sanctuary of perfect saints but as a hospital for sinners. As long as the church is still on earth, we need to come alongside sinners, not for judgment but encouragement. As the author of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 3:13 (ESV)
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Are you sensitive to encouraging those who are being deceived by sin? We need to be faithful in encouraging others because our failure to do so can result in them being hardened by sin. Once they become hardened by sin, then God’s discipline will be inevitable.
In closing, we should be grateful this morning for the willingness of Jesus to be our burden-bearer. Because of His work, we are healed today and had been restored back into having intimate relationships with Him. However, we should not stop in having received so many blessings from Him. He wants to use us as channels of His blessings to others; He wants us also to be burden-bearers of other people. When we fulfill this command, it is the very image of Christ that will be exalted amongst us.
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana