The Danger of Finger-Pointing

Discussion Guide
6.6.21

ONE Message Series
Justice and Mercy: A Study of Amos and Hosea

The Danger of Finger-Pointing

“They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals…I brought you up out of Egypt….” – Amos 2:7, 10

OPEN

Where do you see the most finger-pointing these days? Social media? The school board meeting? The HOA meeting? American politics? Among church-people? Perhaps the better question is where do you see the least finger-pointing these days?

NEXT

What do you think is to blame for the prevalence of finger-pointing in our day? Leaders who openly and viciously model condemnation of their opponents? Social media platforms that essentially hand a microphone to anyone with internet connection? A general angst in society? Extremely complex and polarizing issues?

Do you recognize the irony of the question itself? Who or what is to blame for all the blaming going on in the world today?

What is it about us that seems to inherently incline us toward finger-pointing? Why does this seem to come so naturally for us?

Read the first 2 chapters of Amos.

Amos was a shepherd and a tree trimmer from the remote area of Tekoa, far removed from the aristocracy of the Israelite cities. Why didn’t he just keep to himself and leave well enough alone? What motivated his untrained prophetic voice? Why did he decide to pronounce judgment not only on Israel’s enemies but more shockingly toward Israel itself (2:6ff)?

It would seem Amos was himself a “finger-pointer.” How is that any different than the finger-pointing that we would warn against? What is the difference between speaking up for God and judgmentalism?

Amos speaks against six specific “foreign nations in 1:3-2:3. In a word his indictment of these nations has to do with cruelty. Then in 2:4, Amos shifts his attention closer to home by calling out Judah and then eventually Israel. What is different about the indictment of Judah and Israel in contrast to the foreign nations? Why might Judah and Israel’s shortcomings be even worse?

CLOSING

With whom do you identify most in the first two chapters of Amos? The foreign nations? Judah? Israel? Amos? What do you believe God would have you learn from this? Pray for that.