The Book of Amos Chapters 1-3
Introduction
This prophet and the book that bears his name is the only man in the Biblical record named “Amos” and his name means “to bear” or “place a load upon”. He was a sheepherder from the city of Tekoa which was located six miles south of Bethlehem and twelve miles south of Jerusalem. The territory surrounding this city was rugged, about eighteen miles east of Tekoa lay the Dead Sea. Besides being a sheepherder, Amos also says that he was “a grower of sycamore trees” (7:14). “The sycamore tree was found at a lower altitude than Tekoa, which suggests that Amos roamed from Tekoa eastward toward the wilderness and toward the Dead Sea. The fruit borne by this tree is described as fig-like, slightly sweet and watery. It was eaten by the poorer people and had to be pinched or bruised before it would ripen” (Hailey pp. 82-83). The word rendered “sheepherder” is not the usual Hebrew word for shepherd, but a rare word, suggesting possibly, “sheep breeder”. In the first verse we are given a precise time period for the work of this prophet. Uzziah, the king of Judah reigned from 790-739 B.C., and Jeroboam II reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel from 793-753 B.C. Since the reigns coincide between 767-753 this might well define the limits of the prophecy. The “earthquake” mentioned in verse 1 is also mentioned in Zechariah 14:5-7 and must have been an earthquake of serious magnitude.
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The Times in which Amos Lived “Under the strong leadership of Uzziah and Jeroboam II, the borders of each nation were enlarged; and through trade, agriculture, and conquest each king was able to bring prosperity to the people” (Hailey p. 84). Next to the reign of Solomon, this was probably the most prosperous period of Israelite history. But with this material prosperity came religious, moral, social, and political corruption (3:12,15; 5:12; 4:1-3; 2:6-8; 8:4-6). “Because of the control this gave Israel over the trade routes, wealth began to accumulate in her cities. Commerce thrived (8:5), an upper class emerged (4:1-3), and expensive homes were built (3:15; 5:11; 6:4,11). The rich enjoyed an indolent, indulgent lifestyle (6:1-6), while the poor became targets for legal and economic exploitation (2:6-7; 5:7-13; 6:12; 8:4-6). Slavery for debt was easily accepted (2:6; 8:6). Standards of morality had sunk to a low ebb (2:7). Meanwhile religion flourished. The people thronged to the shrines for the yearly festivals (4:4; 5:5; 8:3,10), enthusiastically offering their sacrifices (4:5; 5:21-23). They steadfastly maintained that their God was with them, and considered themselves immune to disaster (5:14,18-20; 6:1-3; 9:10)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1425).
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1:1-2 The theme here is that Israel, as well as other nations were about to be violently judged for their sins. God is pictured as a lion which has roared and begun His attack. “A lion’s terrifying roar paralyzes its victim with fear, making it helpless before the lion’s charge” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1427). God roars from Jerusalem, the city which contained His house, His dwelling place among His people. “In protest to the idolatrous sanctuaries of the Northern Kingdom, Amos at the very start calls attention to Israel to the fact that Jerusalem is the only rightful sanctuary (1 Kings 8:10-11)” (Laetsch p. 138). “Carmel” was the name for one of the most beautiful and park-like mountain ranges in Palestine. “If even Carmel dries up (which was watered by perennial springs), what will happen to the rest of the land?” (Laetsch p. 139). If Israel did not repent, the entire land would be affected by God’s judgment. Judgment upon the Surrounding Nations “Before pronouncing judgment upon Judah and Israel, the prophet scans the world of his day and selects six neighboring heathen nations upon whom he 2
declares God’s judgment” (Hailey p. 92). Again we are reminded that such judgments reveal that these nations, without the Law of Moses, were still accountable to God and to a definite moral standard. God begins by describing the wickedness of the surrounding nations and their consequent doom. “The masterly manner in which the judgment coming ever nearer to Israel is pictured has been very properly likened to a thunderstorm approaching from the distant horizon, rolling successively over Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, hitting Judah hard, but bursting with all its force and destructive fury upon unsuspecting Israel” (Laetsch p. 140). 1:3 “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four”: “These words express not four transgressions added to the three, but an additional transgression added to the former; the last sin, whereby the measure of sin, which before was full, overflows, and God’s wrath comes” (Laetsch p. 140). Compare with Genesis 15:16. This expression signifies a full and complete number. It indicated that the cup of their iniquity was filled to overflowing. Some suggest that the expression also suggests that their wickedness was growing from year to year. The city of Damascus, one of the oldest existing cities in the world (Genesis 15:2), was the capital city of Syria. God makes it clear that this judgment will not be revoked. 1:3 “Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron”: Threshing instruments were carts with sharp teeth attached to rolls which passed over the sheaves to thresh the grain and crush and shred the straw. “The threshing instrument was to drag heavy boards beneath with sharp stones or iron points with a driver who stood on it. Apparently the Arameans (Syrians) would arrange prisoners on the ground then drive this instrument over them. Such brutality demands condemnation” (Smith pp. 145-146). “Gilead” was Israelite territory east of the Jordan River, the homeland of the half-tribe of Manasseh. This Israelite territory had suffered greatly in battles with the Syrians, particularly during the reign of Hazael (841-801 B.C.). 1:4 “Hazael” and “Ben-hadad”, were both names of Syrian rulers. God would bring down these ruling houses and their fortresses. 1:5 The “Valley of Aven” and “Beth-eden”, may refer to other regions in Syria, or they may be derogatory references to the area and palace of Damascus, for these terms mean, “Valley of Wickedness” and “House of Pleasure”. “Kir” was apparently some place in Mesopotamia, the land of the Syrians origin. “In essence, this punishment would be a complete reversal of Aram’s proud history.
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This judgment was carried out by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 B.C. (2 Kings 16:7-9)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1429). 1:6 Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron, were four of the five major Philistine cities. The omission of the fifth, Gath, may be due to its ruined condition at the time of Amos because of the batterings of Hazael in 815 B.C., and Uzziah in 760 B.C.. “Because they deported an entire population”: The Philistines crime against God was that they captured whole communities in slave raids and sold them for commercial profit. As a result the entire Philistine nation would be destroyed (1:7-8). “Rulers and people of Philistia shall perish to the last man. National extinction!” (Laetsch p. 142). These verses offer hope to the humble heart, for honest people are bothered by the injustice they see in the world, especially injustices in other nations in which it seems that even the powerful USA cannot stop. Rest assured, God sees everything and justice will fall in His time. 1:9-10 Tyre represents the Phoenicians, which was guilty of the same sin as the Philistines. Both of them were heavy into the slave trade. Tyre not only sold whole communities into slavery, but they also attacked nations with whom they had made solemn treaties. Hiram king of Tyre had made treaties with Solomon (1 Kings 5). Alexander the Great would overrun Tyre in 332 B.C. and besieging it for seven months. Six thousand people were slain outright, 2,000 were crucified, and 30,000 were sold as slaves. 1:11 Edom is condemned for attacking his own brother (Israel) (see Obadiah 10). Without any natural feelings of compassion, Edom let his anger rage continually. He brooded over his fury, nourishing it so it flamed unchecked. God accused Edom of perpetual anger and wrath. God doesn’t tolerate racial or ethnic hatred. “Teman” and “Bozrah”, were major cities in Edom. “’Maintained his fury forever’, guarded, watched over his wrath lest it cease to burn, constantly adding fuel, deliberately seeking cause to feed his wrath” (Laetsch p. 143). Continual anger takes effort on the part of the person who is angry one cannot remain angry if one refuses to feed their anger. 1:13 The Ammonites, descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:30-38), were a seminomadic people who occupied the low hills east of Gilead. They were guilty of killing pregnant women and their unborn children, not for self-preservation, but simply in order to extend their borders. We tend to think that such things as the above no longer happen. But venture out of the United States or countries founded upon definite moral and eternal principles and you will find another 4
world. Slavery still exists in our world and so do many other horrible things. “Here is raw ambition trampling on the rights of the helpless—women and the unborn. God expects all nations to respect basic human rights, including the right of the unborn” (Smith p. 147). 1:14-15 The capital city of Ammon was “Rabbah”. This judgment was fulfilled through the Assyrian conquest in 734 B.C. Chapter 2 2:1-3 The Moabites were also the descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:30ff), and occupied the territory east of the southern half of the Dead Sea, from the river Arnon to the south, to the border of Edom. In a war against the Edomites, they had opened the royal tombs of the Edomite kings and burned the remains. “This sacrilege was so thorough that bones ashes became as fine and white as powdered chalk” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1430). Apparently, being unable to take the Edomite king alive, they had taken their vengeance upon his corpse. God says that such hatred is inexcusable. “Kerioth”, is perhaps an alternative name for the capital city of Ar. As with Amos 1:14, we are given a vivid picture of the upheaval and confusion of battle, with war cries and the blast of the trumpet. Moab would go down with all her rulers, judges, and people. 2:4 Yet the covenant people are not exempt from God’s examination. Judah is accused of rejecting the law of God given through Moses and the prophets. 2:5 “Their lies also have led them astray”: Instead of holding to His objective truth, they let themselves to led astray by lies. The church also faces the same danger (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Judah had believed such lies as God would never punish His chosen people (a kind of once-saved-always-saved). In addition, they also believed the lies perpetuated by idolatry. “The popular error of one generation becomes the axiom (maxim, proclaimed self-evident truth) of the next. The children canonize the errors of their fathers” (Smith p. 148). “They alone were in possession of God’s truth. Yet their whole history was the record of their disobedience and despising of God’s Law and their following the lies, the falsehoods, the deceptions of lying prophets” (Laetsch p. 144). As a result God would destroy Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by the hand of the Babylonians. The reason that Judah is given so little space is because Amos was sent to cry out against the sins of the northern tribes (Israel). Other prophets had been sent too and would be sent to cry out against the sins of Judah, particularly, Isaiah and Jeremiah.
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2:6 “They sell the righteous for money”: Here we start with a list of the sins committed by the ten northern tribes. First, there was a hatred toward the righteous people left in Israel. “The special hatred of the people and their social and civic leaders was directed against the righteous still remaining in the country, whose very righteousness, expressed in their lives, their words, their practices, was a constant thorn in the flesh of the wicked” (Laetsch pp. 145-146). Honest people were being sold into slavery by their greedy brothers. The righteous may also be innocent people accused of crimes, who were being unjustly convicted by corrupt judges who were accepting bribes. According to the law, a Hebrew could sell himself to another of his people, but he was not to be considered a slave, he was to be treated as a hired servant (Lev. 25:39-46). When God’s law is ignored, human life becomes very cheap. Poor people were being sold for such trivial things as a pair of sandals. 2:7 “These who pant after the very dust”: Amos says that these people are so greedy that they even begrudged the dust that was on the heads of the poor. The lust for land was so great that Amos depicts the wealthy of panting like an excited dog after the dust that a poor man might sprinkle on his head as a sign of mourning. Here we find the “survival of the slickest”. Father and son were having sexual intercourse with the same woman. This probably included visiting prostitutes at the local shrine. “In order to profane My name”: And God says that far from being ignorant, this was deliberate rebellion, that these men were deliberating flaunting God’s moral principles and virtually challenging God to do something about it. Of course, such behavior discredited Israel’s claim to be a holy people and moved the peoples in the surrounding cultures to ridicule her religion and her God. 2:8 In the Law, God had placed restrictions on the items which could be taken as collateral. The cloak of a poor man was not to be kept as a pledge overnight (Exodus 22:26-27; Deut. 24:10-13). Yet the people openly and flagrantly were lying down with the forbidden garments, going so far in their contempt for the Law as to spread them at the sacrificial feasts by every altar. Fines unjustly charged to the poor were used to buy wine to drink at either pagan temples or temples supposedly dedicated to God. 2:9 Their sins are even darker and more inexcusable when we realize what God had done for them. Alongside the shameful acts of Israel, Amos places the glorious acts of God on behalf of His people. When Israel entered the Promise land, God had destroyed the Amorites, which included various giants (Numbers 13:32; Deut. 1:28). Clearly, God is reminding Israel and she hadn’t taken this 6
land due to her own strength, for the Canaanites were a very powerful people. Yet, the Canaanites had been completely destroyed (from fruit to root). 2:10 God had brought them out of Egyptian bondage, another “impossibility” in the eyes of man. How could an unarmed and unorganized slave nation defeat Egypt, the superpower of the world at the time? In addition, in a barren and harsh wilderness, God fed millions of people for forty years. There He provided for them literally every day. 2:11 God even had raised up spiritual leaders to lead them. The prophets brought them God’s revelation and the Nazirites (Numbers 6), were an example of the type of dedication God expected of His people. “Is this not so”: When man departs from God, typically man tries to “rewrite” the past. But God doesn’t allow any “revisionist history”. 2:12 The Israelites instead of being grateful, sought to intimidate the prophets and tempted the Nazirites to compromise their faith. This verse reminds me of what is happening in many apostate churches of Christ. Sound doctrine is resented, and those who are trying to be moral are the object of ridicule. How about you and me? Do we try to get preachers or elders to tone down God’s truth and are we supporting or trying to undermine those who are truly dedicated to God? Do we resent dedicated people or do we support them? 2:13 “I am weighed down beneath you”: Translations vary on this verse, but it appears God is saying that He will press down Israel like the cart presses which is filled with sheaves. The picture here is of a heavily loaded cart which smashes the earth under its wheels. 2:14-16 All human attempts, even by the bravest and strongest will be in vain. Man, even the most talented of men, cannot stop God’s judgment by the sheer determination of their will and strength. “In the face of the divine discipline native ability would avail nothing. In that day outstanding qualities would avail nothing” (Smith pp. 152-153). Chapter 3
3:1 Here is a clear claim to Divine inspiration. This claim also would answer any criticism, that he, a man from Judah, had no right to condemn the society in Israel. 7
3:2 Israel had been given a special relationship with God, which brought added responsibilities “to whom much is given, much is required”. Notice, God does punish “chosen” people (Romans 9). Because God had chosen them, they should have wanted to know, please, and serve Him. Because of His special treatment, their sins were even more terrible. Grace brings responsibilities! 3:3-6 In the following verses, through a series of seven rhetorical questions (vv. 3-6), Amos demonstrated that certain events are inseparable. The second event does not happen unless it has been preceded by the first. 3:7 In like manner to the preceding, so God does nothing regarding the history of Israel without first revealing His plan through His servants the prophets. But once the revelation is given, what is revealed will happen. Amos has revealed God’s judgment against Israel and that judgment is sure to happen. 3:8 Since the Lord has already roared His judgment, who could but fear the outcome? And since He had revealed His intentions to Amos, what could he do but prophesy God’s message? This warning should cause every person in Israel to repent. But if people won’t fear, Amos is still compelled to preach the truth (1 Corinthians 9:16). 3:9-10 Amos makes the point that God can become the enemy of those who once were His people. The same thing can happen in the New Testament (James 4:4). Dignitaries from Ashdod (Philistia) and Egypt to assemble on the mountains above Samaria (the Israelite capital) and see what the city was like. “These dignitaries, from countries where the art of injustice was well developed would ironically, be astonished at what they observed in Israel’s capital. God says that great “tumults” and “oppressions” existed in this city. “The word refers to the turbulent life of the nobles which included oppression, confusion, overturning of justice, arbitrary deeds of might..”(Smith p. 158). 3:10 “Terrorizing had become so much a part of their lives that they no longer knew how to do what was right (honest, straightforward, and just)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 1434). 3:11-12 Here is very graphic language. Any “saving” of Israel would be like a shepherd saving a couple of leg bones or part of an ear from the jaws of a wild animal. Any hope of rescue was a false hope.
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3:12 “With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!”: This last phrase indicates the spiritual condition of the nation. “Amos again employs humor to depict those being taken away by the great lion as clinging for dear life to that which they most prized. They would be taken away ‘with the corner of a couch and part of a bed’. A sensual and worldly people cannot part with their material possessions even in the judgment. They would cling to broken beds and couches, symbols of their luxury and idleness” (Smith p. 159). 3:13-14 The idolatrous altar established at Bethel by Jeroboam in 931 B.C. would finally be destroyed. 3:15 Private residence of the wealthy would also be destroyed, including both winter and summer homes. “Houses of ivory”, were homes in which walls and furniture had been inlaid with pieces of ivory. The wicked king Ahab had a summer home in Jezreel (1 Kings 21:1; 22:29).
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