Amos’ Vision of Ripe Fruit --- 2019/11/18

Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 8:1-3.

After Amos’ confrontation with the apostate priest Amaziah, the prophet’s fourth vision continues to spell out the end of Israel. The LORD shows Amos a basket of summer fruit to convey the truth that the time is ripe for their judgment. God’s Word is full of positive imagery concerning fruit. Jesus is the true Vine, and Christians are the branches; we can only bear fruit in Him. When He makes us His own in Baptism, His Holy Spirit works His fruit in us and through us. Israel, however, had denied the one true God. Their idolatry at Dan and Bethel had severed them from Christ; they were only diseased trees that could only bear diseased fruit. By the time Amos saw his fourth vision, Israel had continued to refuse to repent. They were overripe and rotten; their end was at hand. The LORD would no longer pass by their sins in forgiveness; their joyful songs would be turned to wailing. The judgment that Amos sees is horrific. Corpses lie strewn across the landscape. These unburied bodies declare God’s curse against Israel and serve as a vivid picture of hell. By the end of this vision, there must be silence. There is nothing left for Israel or any sinner to say in defense. Silence is the only response to God’s Law, because only God’s Word can raise us from the dead. That is what God speaks to us in His Gospel through Jesus Christ, who has become the curse for us to redeem us from death and give us eternal life.