Amos 1

 

The LORD judges evil in nations

 

1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsman 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. 2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the dwellings of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.

 

  • The name ‘Amos’ means burden bearer.
  • Amos 2:13 applies the name’s meaning to this book. Our sin is a heavy burden to God.
  • The words of the prophets were words from God.
  • The Maker of all things knows how to say what He means.
  • 2Peter 1:21 For the prophecy did not come in ancient times by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as the Holy Ghost moved them.
  • Amos 2:13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
  • 1Peter 2:24 Who Himself self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed.

 

The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: 4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, that will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. 5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Avon, and him that holds the scepter from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria will go into captivity unto Kirk, says the LORD.

 

  • The Syrians mowed down Gilead, the Israelites east of the Jordan, like they were a field of wheat.
  • 2Samual 23:3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, He that rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

 

The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: 7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which will devour its palaces: 8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holds the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines will perish, says the Lord GOD. 9 The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and did not remember the brothers covenant: 10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which will devour its palaces.

 

  • Like Babylon the great in Revelation 18, Tyre, the center of commerce, delivered up Edom, Esau’s descendants, brothers, captives to be sold.
  • Revelation 18:12 The merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet, all thyine wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of most precious wood, of brass, iron, marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, ointments, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, animals, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and souls of men.

 

11  The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever: 12 But I will send a fire on Teman, which will devour the palaces of Bozrah. 13 The Lord says this; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead to enlarge their border: 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces with shouting in the day of battle, and with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: 15 And their king will go into captivity, he and his princes together, says the LORD.

 

  • The Sovereign ruler of the universe pronounced judgments from His heavenly throne on the nations of earth.
  • Notice that it was not just for one transgression but three or four transgressions including selling people into slavery and ripping open pregnant women to gain more property.
  • Psalm 93:1 The LORD reigns, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, with which he has girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne is established of old: You are from everlasting.
  • Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

 

                                               Amos 2

 

God is weighed down by our sins

 

1 The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2 But I will send a fire on Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet: 3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst of it, and will kill all their princes with him, says the LORD.

 

  • This chapter in Amos shows us God on the sovereign throne of the universe pronouncing just judgments on the nations.
  • Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 4 give us a vision of God on His throne.
  • Psalm 93:1 The LORD reigns, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, with which he has girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne is established of old: You are from everlasting.

 

The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away their punishment; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire on Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

 

  • Everyone follows something.
  • Following God by doing what He says leads to life.
  • All else is from evil and leads to death.
  • Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it dying you shall die.

 

The Lord says this; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away their punishment; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 These who eagerly devour the dust of the earth on the head of the helpless and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down on clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of those fined in the house of their god. 9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

 

  • The destruction of their roots meant total destruction: something that couldn’t be re-grown because the roots were gone.
  • Pledges, usually clothing, were to be returned before night (Deuteronomy 24:12). These men not only kept them but slept on them.

 

10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets, and some of your young men to be Nazarites. Is this not so, O children of Israel? says the LORD. 12 But you gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Do not prophesy.

 

  • Drinking wine caused the Nazarites to break their vow to God.
  • Prophesying was telling forth the words of God.
  • They wouldn’t let God’s words be spoken.
  • They didn’t just refuse to follow God themselves but also prevented God’s people from obeying their Maker.
  • This brought miserable suffering and terrifying judgments on their nation. when all God wanted was to bless them.

 

13  Behold, I am weighed down beneath you, as a cart full of sheaves is weighted down. 14 Therefore flight will perish from the swift, and the strong will not strengthen his force, neither will the mighty deliver himself: 15 Neither will he stand that handles the bow; and he that is swift of foot will not deliver himself: neither shall he that rides the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, says the LORD.

 

  • Their sin was so heavy that it was pressing God down like an overloaded cart.
  • Think of the weight the sin of the whole world that Christ bore punishment for at the cross.
  • Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
  • Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
  • Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
  • Ezekiel 33:11 As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

 

                                               Amos 3

 

God destroys the palaces built by oppressing the poor

 

1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 Only you I have known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walk together unless they agree? 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare on the earth, where no trap is for him? Does one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 6 Will a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid/assemble? Is evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it?

 

  • God allows man to reap the consequences of his actions (Jeremiah 2:19), so that man will learn to do what is right.
  • In Genesis God made everything good, good, and very good.
  • Man brought judgment on earth by choosing evil rather than God.
  • However, God’s loving-kindness is so great that He allows corrective discipline for man’s good rather than just destroying man.
  • Jeremiah 2:19 Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backslidings will reprove you: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that you have forsaken the LORD your God, and that my fear is not in you, says the Lord GOD of hosts.

 

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. 8 The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken, who can but prophesy?

 

  • This verse shows prophecy is speaking forth the words of God.
  • The presence of God was so terrifying on Mt. Sinai that the people asked Moses to tell them what God said rather than letting God tell them.
  • God tells His people what He is doing.
  • Exodus 20:19 And they said to Moses, you speak with us, and we will hear: but do not let God speak with us, lest we die.

 

Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great uproars in its midst, and the oppressions in its midst.

 

  • Oppression is part of the reason for God’s judgment in these passages.
  • The leaders took what God gave the people for themselves by violence, high taxes, high prices, and outright confiscation.

 

10  For they do not know to do right, says the LORD, who store up violence and plunder in their palaces. 11 Therefore the Lord God says this; An enemy! And he will be all round the land; and he will bring down your strength from you, and your palaces will be spoiled. 12 The LORD says this; As the shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so will the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 13 You listen! And testify in the house of Jacob, says the Lord GOD, the God of armies, 14 That in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. 15 And I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end, says the LORD.

 

  • More reasons for judgment are shown here.
  • The altars were for false gods and the summer houses, winter houses, great houses, and ivory houses show what the extorted money was being spent on—opulent dwellings at the expense of the people.
  • When God came to earth, the greatest King of all, He walked among men with just the clothes on His back and had no home.
  • False gods lead people to eternal death!
  • God rescues His people from violent leaders that oppress the people.
  • Luke 9:58 And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.
  • Psalm 96:5 all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
  • Philippians 4:19 my God will supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

                                               Amos 4

 

God swore judgment on women who oppressed the poor

 

1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. 2 The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness, that, behold, the days will come upon you, that he will take you away with meat hooks, and your children with fishhooks.  3 And you will go out at the breaks in the wall, every cow at the place that is before her; and you will throw down the high place, says the LORD.

 

  • God wants women to be a blessing to others (Proverbs 31:10-31). These women were terrors to others.
  • 1Timothy 5:6 But she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.

 

Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for you love this, O children of Israel, says the Lord GOD.

 

  • The people loved the ceremony of worship to God but their hearts were not right with Him.
  • They did what God desired outwardly, and only in part, like the Pharisees, but their hearts were toward evil.
  • The leaven was the puffing up of pride that does things its own way.

 

I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of food in all your places: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD. 7 And I have withheld the rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city: one piece was rained on, and the piece where it did not rain withered. 8 So two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water; but they were not satisfied: but still, you did not return to me, says the LORD.

 

  • God tried to get their attention by famine and drought but they refused to return to Him.
  • God gives life; evil leads to eternal death. It was crucial to their eternal futures that they return to Him.

 

I have struck you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet you have not returned to me, says the LORD. 10 I have sent among you the plague like Egypt: I killed your young men with the sword, and took away your horses; and I made the stink of your camps to come up into your nostrils: still you have not returned to me, says the LORD.

 

  • When things go wrong in our lives, do we return to God or become stiff-necked and stubborn thinking we can fix it ourselves?

 

11  I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: still you have not returned to me, says the LORD. 12 Therefore I will do this to you, O Israel: and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. 13 For, behold, he that formed the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, that makes the morning darkness, and treads on the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts/armies, is his name.

 

  • Whenever you see God’s title, Lord, it means the self-existent controller of all things…all things.
  • God is the only being that exists without being sustained by another.
  • He sustains all.
  • He needs nothing to continue existing forever.
  • All other beings need energy, food, air, water etc. from Him to continue existing.
  • When you see the word ‘God’ it means all powerful. When you see God of ‘hosts’ it means God of the ‘armies’, the countless armies of angels of the universe.

 

 

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SUMMARY: Amos 1-4

 

  • The LORD judges evil in nations
  • God is weighed down by our sins
  • God destroys the palaces built by oppressing the poor
  • God swore judgment on alcoholic women who oppressed the poor