0:00

firm a foundation

0:03

ye saints

0:05

of the Lord

0:08

is laid

0:10

for your faith

0:12

in his

0:15

excellent work. Welcome

0:17

to Through the Bible. I'm your host Steve

0:19

Schwetz and I'm so glad that you're here

0:21

as our study in the Old Testament Book

0:23

of Amos continues. Before we

0:25

begin though, Dr. McGee has recorded

0:28

a quick introduction based on a

0:30

simple homespun quotation that seeks to

0:32

explain the very profound truth of

0:34

election. Let's listen now. And

0:37

it's one of the best that

0:39

I think I've seen on

0:41

this particular subject. And it's

0:43

a quotation that goes

0:45

back to Aunt Jane

0:48

of Kentucky by Eliza

0:50

Calvert Hall, written

0:52

in 1898.

0:55

and there's always been

0:57

and is today a great

1:00

discussion about predestination

1:02

and free will

1:04

and there's quite a group

1:06

that have centered on the

1:08

doctrine of election and they make

1:11

a great deal of that

1:13

today and the sovereignty of

1:15

God and that's fine if they wouldn't

1:17

hold it out of proportion to

1:19

other scripture and that's the reason I

1:21

want to share this with you

1:23

and it's very homely and ver down

1:25

to earth here we go

1:27

says how much peace in

1:30

a quilt is like living

1:32

a life many a

1:34

time i've sat and

1:36

listened to parson page

1:38

preaching about predestination and free

1:41

will and i've said to

1:43

myself if i could just get

1:45

up there in the pulpit

1:47

with one of my quilts i

1:49

could make life a heap planer

1:51

than parson's making it

1:53

with his big words. You

1:56

see, to make a quilt, you

1:59

start out with just so

2:01

much calico. You don't

2:03

go to the store and pick it out

2:05

and buy it, but the neighbors

2:07

give you a piece here and

2:09

a piece there, and you will

2:11

find you have a piece

2:13

left over every time you

2:15

cut out a dress and you

2:17

just take whatever happens

2:20

to come. That's

2:22

predestination. But

2:24

when it comes to cutting the

2:26

quilt, why, you're free to

2:28

choose your own pattern. You give

2:30

the same kind of pieces

2:32

to two persons, and one will

2:34

make a nine patch quilt, and

2:37

the other one will make

2:39

a wild goose chase. There'll

2:42

be two quilts made of the

2:44

same kind of pieces, but

2:46

just as different as can be.

2:48

That's the way of living. The

2:51

Lord sends us the pieces. we

2:54

can cut them out and put

2:56

them together pretty much

2:58

to suit ourselves. There's

3:00

a heap more in the cutting

3:02

out and the serving

3:04

than there is in

3:06

the calico. And

3:09

may I say to you, that's about

3:11

as nice way of explaining it as

3:13

I found recently. Well,

3:18

I'm certainly excited to get started in our

3:20

study. It's a wonderful section of scripture.

3:22

One that Dr. McGee tells us contains one

3:24

of the most majestic and awe -inspiring statements

3:26

about God that we'll find in the

3:29

Bible. So let's ask the Lord

3:31

to guide us. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thank

3:33

you for this time to gather and study

3:35

your word together. Quiet our hearts

3:37

as well as our minds so that we can focus

3:39

on the lessons that you have for us. In Jesus'

3:41

name we pray. Amen. Now

3:46

let's dive into Amos chapter 4 on Through

3:48

the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. My

3:50

friends, we come back today to

3:53

the fourth chapter of Amos. And

3:55

as we left off

3:57

last time here at the

3:59

tenth verse, we want to

4:01

pick up there today. And I'd

4:04

like to remind you that

4:06

God is telling them that in

4:08

the past He has sent

4:10

to them certain

4:12

judgments and these judgments

4:14

were actually a warning

4:16

to them of the more

4:18

severe judgment which was

4:21

to come and that as

4:23

we shall see was

4:25

the captivity, the final captivity

4:27

of the nation in

4:29

the north and they were

4:31

never to return as

4:34

a northern kingdom again. They

4:36

would drift back just as

4:38

the southern kingdom did. during

4:40

the time of the Babylonian

4:43

captivity after the 70 years

4:45

that expired, and

4:47

actually, percentage -wise, very few

4:49

really returned back to

4:51

the land. Now,

4:54

we are seeing here

4:56

some of these judgments that

4:58

God sent upon them, and

5:00

they did not turn to

5:02

Him at all. We might

5:04

just mention them again, beginning

5:07

with the first one, which

5:09

was back in verse 6.

5:11

And you can identify them

5:13

because the same expression is

5:15

used. Yet have ye not

5:17

returned unto me, saith

5:20

the Lord. In other words, God

5:22

says, I sent this as a warning

5:24

so you'd turn back to me,

5:26

but it made no impression upon you

5:28

at all. Now, the first was,

5:30

of course, famine. And he said,

5:32

I've given you cleanness of teeth

5:34

in all your cities. Well,

5:37

that doesn't mean that the Lord

5:39

had caused some man to invent

5:41

a new mouthwash or a new

5:43

toothpaste. But actually, their

5:45

teeth were clean because they hadn't

5:47

been able to eat anything. In

5:49

other words, they were in a

5:51

famine. And that famine should

5:53

have turned them to God, but

5:56

it did not. And the second one

5:58

is mentioned in verse eight. where

6:00

there is the drought and it

6:02

only rained in certain places

6:04

and he speaks of the fact

6:07

that in three cities it

6:09

would only rain in one and

6:11

all citizens in one city would

6:13

go over to the city that

6:15

had rain in order to fill

6:17

up a gallon jug or a

6:19

wine skin and bring it home

6:22

because they didn't have any water. And

6:24

I have been in that same

6:27

predicament, and the people who listened

6:29

to us in Dallas, Texas,

6:31

will recall quite a few years

6:33

ago that there was a

6:35

drought in Texas, and that was what

6:37

caused my dad to leave. A

6:39

three -year drought came to West

6:41

Texas when I was a boy.

6:43

Well, this drought dried up the

6:45

water supply for Dallas, and

6:47

they had to draw from the

6:50

Red River into which the

6:52

oil had been placed. And I

6:54

want to tell you that

6:56

I have never tasted drinking water

6:58

that was as bad as

7:00

that. And many people that had

7:02

relatives and friends in little

7:04

towns round about would take a

7:06

five gallon jug over to

7:08

visit Aunt Sarah or Aunt

7:11

Kate or Uncle Will and

7:13

get the jug filled up and

7:15

then they would come home with

7:17

it. That was the way they

7:19

got water. Well, that wasn't new.

7:21

That's what they did back there.

7:23

Now, that was a warning from

7:25

God to these people, but they

7:27

paid no attention to it whatsoever. Then

7:30

the third statement that you

7:32

find repeated is in verse nine.

7:34

He says, I've smitten you

7:36

with blight and milled you when

7:39

your gardens and your vineyards,

7:41

your fig trees, your olive

7:43

trees increased. The Palmer

7:45

Worm devoured them. And

7:47

again, it refers to the locus,

7:49

there was a locus plague, yet

7:51

have ye not returned unto me

7:53

saith the Lord. Now,

7:56

since he was contemporary

7:58

with Hosea, this man here

8:00

may be referring back

8:02

to that plague of locus

8:05

that we saw at that

8:07

time. But that would be

8:09

speculation, of course, on my part.

8:11

But the Locust plague was

8:13

that. And he says, yet

8:15

have ye not returned unto me,

8:17

saith the Lord? Now again

8:19

in verse 10. I have

8:21

sent among you the pestilence after

8:23

the manner of Egypt. Your young

8:25

man, have I slain with the

8:28

sword, and have taken away your horses?

8:30

And I have made the stench

8:32

of your camps to come up

8:34

into your nostrils, yet have you not

8:36

returned unto me, saith the Lord?"

8:38

Now, what was the stench? Well, that

8:40

was the dead animals. They couldn't

8:43

haul them away fast enough because

8:45

they were dying of the

8:47

plague. and yet they

8:49

didn't return unto the Lord at

8:51

all. Now we

8:53

have the next plague given

8:55

here, and it's in verse 11.

8:58

He says, I have overthrown some

9:00

of you as God overthrew

9:02

Sodom and Gomorrah, and you

9:04

were like a firebrand plucked out of the

9:06

burning, yet have ye not

9:08

returned unto me, saith the Lord.

9:11

Now, actually, there are those

9:13

that think this here is

9:15

sort of a summation of the

9:17

other plagues. Well, frankly, I

9:19

rather doubt that. What I think

9:21

was taking place at this time,

9:23

in fact, I know was taking

9:26

place, and you'll find that gives

9:28

a background to the book of

9:30

Jonah, because he was a prophet

9:32

in the north, yet he was

9:34

sent up to Nineveh. And at

9:36

this time, the Assyrian was

9:38

making forays down in the

9:41

kingdom of the north and

9:43

would strike here and there

9:45

and the other place and

9:47

would take the entire community

9:49

wherever it was into captivity. Now

9:52

God was just permitting the

9:54

Assyrian like a bird to

9:56

peck here and there. and

9:59

then they didn't get the warning,

10:01

they at least didn't accept

10:03

it, and they continued on in

10:05

their evil way. Now in verse

10:07

12, we read, therefore thus

10:09

will I do unto thee, O

10:11

Israel, and because I

10:13

will do this unto thee, prepare

10:15

to meet thy God, O Israel.

10:17

Now he doesn't tell him here

10:20

what he's going to do. He

10:22

says, here I'm going to do

10:24

this unto you. And because I

10:26

will do this under thee, well,

10:28

of all things, it's going to

10:31

be a surprise. And it

10:33

was the Assyrian captivity. That

10:36

is, Assyria came down upon

10:38

them suddenly and took them away

10:40

into captivity. In other

10:42

words, they just did not

10:44

believe God. And the interesting

10:46

thing is here, though, that

10:48

he goes beyond these judgments

10:50

and says, prepare to meet

10:52

thy God, O Israel. Because

10:54

when Assyria came down, they

10:57

didn't take all the people

10:59

into captivity. They left

11:01

a few, as we shall see

11:03

in the next chapter, but many

11:05

of them were slain. And

11:07

that means that they were

11:09

to meet God in death.

11:12

And that is something that every

11:14

individual will have to do

11:16

is to meet God in death.

11:19

Prepare to meet thy God,

11:21

O Israel. And that is

11:23

something that is a message

11:25

to every individual today. A

11:27

friend of mine that God

11:29

had dealt with very definitely because

11:31

of the sin that was

11:33

in his life. He told me

11:35

the story and how God

11:37

had dealt with him. And

11:40

the judgment that had come upon him

11:42

was rather severe. It was

11:44

something that a man can

11:46

bear, but it certainly was severe.

11:48

And I was sympathizing with

11:50

him about it, naturally. And

11:52

he said to me, he

11:54

says, McGee, that's not the thing

11:57

that disturbs me, the judgment

11:59

that has come upon me. He

12:01

said, I yet have to

12:03

stand before God. And

12:05

he says, I tremble. Well, I

12:07

said, you know, Vernon

12:09

McGee is going to have to

12:11

stand before God. And I

12:13

said, if I stood there as

12:16

I am, I'd be frightened

12:18

to death, but I'm not going

12:20

to stand there as Vernon

12:22

McGee. I'm in Christ, and God

12:24

is going to see Christ.

12:26

And I've been made acceptable in

12:28

the beloved. And he said

12:30

to me, he said, yes, that's

12:33

the only comfort that I have

12:35

today for the life that I've

12:37

lived. My friend, that's a message

12:39

for many of you listening in

12:41

today. Prepare to meet

12:43

thy God. Suppose right this moment.

12:45

You went into the presence of

12:48

God and some of you will

12:50

be going there shortly, including the

12:52

speaker. We may not be around

12:54

too much longer. We do hope

12:56

to finish this program. That is

12:58

the five -year program and we finish

13:00

this year. And after that, I'm

13:02

not asking the Lord for more

13:05

time. All I'd like to have

13:07

it, but I did want to

13:09

finish the five -year program. But

13:11

suppose that In the next few

13:13

minutes, you were to be in

13:15

God's presence. What about it, friend?

13:18

This life has passed. Things down here

13:20

that were important are no longer important.

13:22

I can tell you that. This

13:24

life down here has

13:26

now become meaningless as to

13:28

any purpose because you're

13:30

out of it. You're through,

13:32

you've finished, and

13:34

you're in God's presence now.

13:37

You maybe lived to please people,

13:39

tried to keep up with

13:41

the Joneses. But that's ended now.

13:43

You're in his presence. How

13:45

are you going to stand before

13:47

him? Don't you know that

13:49

you can't stand in your own

13:51

strength, your own life, your

13:53

own character? You and I

13:56

haven't anything to offer to him

13:58

at all. We are bankrupt

14:00

back. We were dead in trespasses

14:02

and sin. And now

14:04

we stand before him. The only

14:06

way that you and I can

14:08

stand that is in Christ. He

14:11

was delivered. for our

14:13

offenses, raised for our justification

14:15

that you and I

14:17

might stand before him justified.

14:19

Why? Because we are such nice,

14:22

good little folk. We are

14:24

not. We are sinners. We

14:26

stand before him because he

14:28

was delivered for our offenses.

14:30

He paid the penalty. Now,

14:32

we stand before him in

14:34

the righteousness of Christ. And

14:37

that, my friends, the only basis

14:39

that we can stand before him. This

14:41

is a tremendous passage. Say

14:43

again, do you mind me saying

14:45

that Amos is one of the great

14:48

preachers? I can't think of a

14:50

greater preacher than this man. And

14:52

he was from the country, he

14:54

was a country boy. Now listen to

14:56

him in verse 13. For

14:58

lo, he that formeth

15:01

the mountains, and created the

15:03

wind, and declareeth unto man,

15:05

what is his thought? who

15:07

maketh the morning darkness and

15:09

treadeth upon the high places

15:11

of the earth. The Lord,

15:13

the God of hosts, is

15:15

his name. This is one

15:17

of the most majestic, one

15:19

of the most awe

15:21

-inspiring statements that you

15:23

will find anywhere. And

15:25

it presents him here

15:28

as the omnipotent, the

15:30

omniscient, and the omnipresent

15:32

God. He is the

15:34

Creator. He is the omnipotent

15:36

God. He has all

15:38

power. He formed the mountains

15:41

and created the wind

15:43

and declared unto man what

15:45

is his thought. He

15:47

is omniscient. He knows your

15:49

thought far off. And

15:52

then he is omnipresent. It

15:54

says he treadeth upon the

15:56

high places of the earth,

15:58

no matter where you go,

16:01

even if you go to the

16:03

moon. You didn't get away from

16:05

him, friends, and you cannot escape

16:07

him. He knows

16:09

you today. He is

16:12

the omniscient, the omnipotent

16:14

God, and he knows all

16:16

about you. You and I have

16:18

been able to keep up a

16:20

pretty good front, haven't we? We've

16:22

made our neighbors think we're pretty

16:24

nice folk. We've made the church

16:26

members think that we're decent. We've

16:29

made everybody Around us with

16:31

whom we work think that

16:33

we are all right We

16:35

may even make our wives

16:37

think that we're verifying fellas

16:39

But you know up yonder

16:41

and heaven how the thing

16:43

is the psalmist you'll recall

16:45

when we were in the

16:47

Psalms and Psalm 90 verse

16:49

8 thou has set our

16:51

Iniquities before thee our secret

16:53

sins in the light of

16:55

thy countenance may I say

16:57

to you that God knows

16:59

you and he knows me

17:01

today. There's no use

17:03

playing church anymore. There's

17:06

no use keeping up the

17:08

front, my friend. You just

17:10

well go to him and turn

17:12

yourself in. The FBI may not

17:14

be on to you, and the

17:16

police may not yet have caught

17:18

up with you, but God already

17:20

knows. I remember, and

17:22

I can still hear Dr.

17:25

Schaffer saying in class, relative

17:27

to this verse, Thou hast

17:29

set our iniquities before thee,

17:31

our secret sins in the

17:33

light of thy countenance. He

17:36

said, secret sin on earth

17:38

is open scandal in heaven.

17:40

He knows all about you.

17:42

And he knew all about

17:44

this nation and about these

17:47

people. Now we come to

17:49

chapter five here. And in

17:51

chapter five, Israel will be

17:53

punished in the future for

17:55

her iniquity. Now, when you

17:58

listen to this as we

18:00

begin in these first verses

18:02

here, God pleads with

18:04

them to seek him so that

18:06

judgment could be averted. Now,

18:08

it is true that there seemed

18:10

to be a finality at

18:12

the end of the last chapter,

18:15

but that was what God

18:17

had done in the past. They

18:19

were warning. And as long

18:21

as he did not bring that

18:24

final stroke of judgment, which

18:26

was their captivity, then there

18:28

was hope for them. Now, will

18:30

you listen to him in verse

18:32

one of chapter five? Hear

18:34

this word, which I

18:36

take up against you, even

18:38

a lamentation, O house

18:40

of Israel. Now, this is

18:43

a dirge that he's

18:45

taking up. It's as it

18:47

were, he's singing. a

18:49

funeral song. It's a very

18:51

sad one now. And

18:53

he speaks like this, and

18:55

now it's with tenderness. The

18:58

virgin of Israel is

19:00

fallen. She shall no

19:02

more rise. She is

19:04

forsaken upon her land. There

19:07

is none to raise her

19:09

up. Now, you remember that when

19:11

Hosea began his prophecy, he

19:13

had an experience in the home.

19:16

He'd married a harlot. And now

19:18

God sent him out to

19:20

speak to the nation, and he's

19:22

saying to the northern kingdom,

19:24

you're a harlot, but God still

19:27

loves you. Now here, Amos

19:29

says, you were a

19:31

virgin. God espoused you to

19:33

himself. That's the picture of

19:35

every believer today. Paul said

19:37

to the Corinthians, he says,

19:39

I espoused you as a

19:41

chaste virgin to Christ. And

19:43

when we came to

19:46

him, our sins are... and

19:48

we start new with him. But

19:50

how about it, friend? How has

19:52

it been going the past few

19:55

years? Have you done what

19:57

Israel did? Have you played

19:59

the harlot, turned away from him, and

20:02

have been led astray into

20:04

the world and into the things

20:06

of the flesh? And

20:08

as the devil put a ring

20:10

in your nose and leading you

20:12

around like a pig that has

20:14

a ring and his snout that's

20:17

being led around. A

20:19

great man, even Christians are like that

20:21

today. This is a

20:23

sad, funeral dirge, you see. The

20:25

Virgin of Israel is fallen. She

20:28

shall no more rise. She

20:30

is forsaken upon her land. There's

20:32

none to raise her up for

20:34

thus saith the Lord God. The

20:37

city that went out by a

20:39

thousand shall leave a hundred. You see

20:41

why he said, prepare to meet

20:43

your God. Look at the number

20:45

that are to be slain. And

20:47

that which went forth by a hundred

20:50

shall leave ten to the house of

20:52

Israel. And those are the ones that

20:54

will be left back in the land.

20:56

And then the great company, a

20:59

percentage of them were slain.

21:01

Now listen to him. This is

21:03

as it were a last

21:05

call to the nation. Verse four,

21:07

for thus saith the Lord.

21:09

unto the house of Israel, seek

21:12

ye me, and ye

21:14

shall live. The invitation

21:16

is still open. The word

21:18

had gone out. Seek ye me,

21:20

and ye shall live. But

21:22

seek not Bethel, nor enter

21:24

into Gilgal, and pass

21:26

not to bear Sheba, for

21:28

Gilgal shall surely go

21:31

into captivity, and Bethel

21:33

shall come to nothing. And by

21:35

the way, you can't find Bethel

21:37

today. I've had two different spots

21:39

pointed out to me by guides

21:41

back there, and I'm not sure

21:43

just where it is. The location,

21:45

you can pretty well know that

21:47

is the area, but to be

21:50

able to pinpoint it seems to

21:52

be a problem. And did you

21:54

notice? He told him not to

21:56

even go as far south as

21:58

Bersheba, but when he talks about

22:00

The two Gilgal and Bethel are

22:02

coming to nothing. He doesn't mention

22:05

Baroshiba. Why? Because Baroshiba will go

22:07

into captivity over a hundred years

22:09

later when the southern kingdom goes

22:11

into captivity. But now Gilgal

22:13

and Bethel will come to

22:15

nothing. They go into captivity. Now

22:18

we have to leave off there today.

22:20

We'll pick right up there next time.

22:22

Verse 6 of chapter 5. Until then,

22:24

may God richly bless you, my beloved.

22:33

Well, Bethel and Gilgal paid no attention

22:36

to God's invitation and they perished.

22:38

So let's not make the same mistake.

22:40

God is still saying, seek me

22:42

and live. The question is,

22:44

how will you answer? Well, for

22:46

more information about what it means to live

22:48

for God, just click on How Can I

22:50

Know God in our app or at ttb

22:52

.org. There you're going to find some

22:54

free resources to help you understand why this

22:56

is the most important decision that you'll ever

22:58

make and why you shouldn't put it off

23:00

another day. or call us at

23:03

1 -800 -65 -BIBLE and we'll send you

23:05

a couple by mail. And if

23:07

you're enjoying our study in Amos and you want

23:09

to go deeper or expand your personal study of

23:11

the Bible, we've got an

23:13

entire online library of resources over

23:15

at ttb .org, including Dr. McGee's

23:17

popular booklet, One Hour in

23:19

Romans. You want to know more about your

23:21

faith or you want to be able

23:23

to explain it better to someone else? Well,

23:25

One Hour in Romans is your answer.

23:27

Dr. McGee teaches us about our relationship with

23:29

God and then answers tough questions like, how

23:32

come I keep sinning even when I don't

23:34

want to? Or, how does the Holy Spirit help

23:36

me live a life that pleases God? What

23:39

does it mean to live by faith? So, if

23:41

you're serious about your faith, why

23:43

don't you download your free copy today?

23:45

Again, download One Hour in Romans

23:47

at ttb .org, and if we can

23:49

help you find it or any other

23:51

resource by Dr. McGee, call us

23:53

at 1 -800 -65 -Bible. Again, that's 1 -800

23:56

-65 Bible. Are you growing

23:58

in your relationship with the Lord because of our

24:00

time together in His Word? Why don't you

24:02

tell us about it? Notes like this one from

24:04

a young listener in Maryland encourage all of

24:06

us at Through the Bible to not only keep

24:08

going in our work, but also in our

24:10

own personal study of the Bible. I

24:12

just want you all to know

24:14

that I love your program. I'm 17

24:17

years old, graduating from high school.

24:19

I've been homeschooled my whole life and

24:21

my seven brothers and sisters along

24:23

with me. I've actually been going through

24:25

a really hard time recently where

24:27

I've had many different doubts concerning God

24:29

and his existence. But in

24:31

many ways, God has turned me around. And

24:33

one way he did this was by

24:35

leading me to Dr. McGee's study in Daniel.

24:38

Thank you for sharing God's truth with me

24:40

and the world. It is really making

24:42

a difference in my life. Well, isn't that

24:44

great? A whole new generation, remember she's

24:46

17, is hearing God's Word and responding. Do

24:48

you have a story maybe to

24:50

share about what God is doing

24:53

in your life through our time

24:55

together? You know we'd love to

24:57

hear about it. Just click on

24:59

feedback in our app. You can

25:01

also email us at BibleBus at

25:03

ttb .org or send a note

25:05

to box 7100, Pasadena, California, 911 -09

25:07

or in Canada box 25325, London,

25:10

Ontario, N6C 6B1. You can even

25:12

call and leave a message at

25:14

1 -800 -65 -BIBLE. Our study in

25:16

Amos continues. I'm Steve Schwetz and

25:18

I'll meet you back here as the Bible bus

25:20

rolls along. Our

25:45

story on the Bible bus today

25:47

is just one step in a five

25:49

-year journey through the entire Word of

25:51

God. Come along for the ride

25:53

and you'll study both the Old Testament

25:55

and New Testament, discovering God's great

25:57

redemption story. Is this your story too?