Background
Amos prophesied to/about the northern house of Israel – the 10 tribes around 753 B.C.
He was from Tekoa in Judah, 10 miles south of Jerusalem (Amos 1:1) and was a “sheepbreeder”— the only other place this word is found in the Bible:
2 Kings 3:4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.
Amos 7:14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit.
Amos 7:15 Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
Amos was likely not well off. It appears that he alone could take care of and manage the flock because it was not too large. Also, it appears that he had side job of tending to sycamore fruit. Not a very illustrious resume but this is who God chose:
1 Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
EASTONS: Jeroboam II, the fourteenth king of Israel, ruled over Israel for forty-one years, 825-784 B.C. (2Ki_14:23). He followed the example of the first Jeroboam in keeping up the worship of the golden calves (2Ki_14:24).
His reign was contemporary with those of Amaziah (2Ki_14:23) and Uzziah (2Ki_15:1), kings of Judah.
He was victorious over the Syrians (2Ki_13:4; 2Ki_14:26, 2Ki_14:27), and extended Israel to its former limits, from “the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain” (2Ki_14:25; Amo_6:14).
His reign of forty-one years was the most prosperous that Israel had ever known as yet.
With all this outward prosperity, however, iniquity widely prevailed in the land (Amo_2:6-8; Amo_4:1; Amo_6:6; Hos_4:12-14).
The prophets Hosea (Hos_1:1), Joel (Joe_3:16; Amo_1:1, Amo_1:2), Amos (Amo_1:1), and Jonah (2Ki_14:25) lived during his reign.
Chapter 1
Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders 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.
Amos’s prophecy is dated to a time “two years before the earthquake” of c. 751 B.C.
Zechariah 14:5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.
Amos went to Bethel from Tekoa to give God’s message and then promptly returned home. He probably stayed in Bethel only a few days.
Very soon after the prophet’s appearance at Bethel, Jeroboam II died, beginning Israel’s rapid decline.
The earthquake being used as dating, “along with Amos’s dialogue with Amaziah, the priest of Jeroboam’s temple at Bethel (Amos 7:10-17), reveals that the period of Amos’s prophetic activity was very short, unlike many of the other prophets.
Amos 1:2 And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
Damascus (:3-5)
Amos 1:3 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
For three transgressions … and for four… this is an idiomatic phrase that means if it had been once or twice then perhaps it could have been dealt with, but the reality is that it has been not just three or four but MANY sins, iniquities and wickedness to justify the impending correction from God!
I will not turn away … I will no longer stop Myself from doing what needs to be done; I will not reverse their punishment.
Damascus… the capital of Syria one of Israel’s long time enemies and were unusually cruel at times:
2 Kings 8:12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
2 Kings 8:13 So Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”
Gilead… the region east of the Jordan river roughly between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Originally it encompassed part of modern-day Jordan
threshed Gilead with implements of iron… This may be referring to:
2 Kings 13:7 For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
This being the case, they nearly obliterated Israel and were no doubt inhumane and subjected them to cruel and unusual punishment.
Amos 1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
Hazael… killed Ben-Hadad (2 Kings 8:15)
send a fire… happens to all of them; seems to be the same one (hence has to be end-time) as a theme throughout first two chapters especially (7, 10, 12, 14, and 2:2, 5) [could be a seven trumpets fire during the Day of the Lord, but we will address this interpretation later in the chapter].
palaces… seat of power and authority.
Amos 1:5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.
Gill: or, “of an idol”, as the Vulgate Latin version. It is thought to be some place where idols were worshipped by the Syrians; their gods were the gods of the valleys, which they denied the God of Israel to be
1 Kings 20:23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.
Hosea 4:15 “Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend. Do not come up to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the LORD lives’—
Let not Judah offend… Israel went into captivity way before Judah. A warning to Judah not to follow Israels ways, but eventually Judah had to go into captivity as well
Gilgal… was a place of worship/sacrifices
Beth Aven – house of vanity or iniquity is the literal translation. This appears to be a sarcastic reference to Bethel which means “house of God”
Hosea 10:8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria fear Because of the calf of Beth Aven. For its people mourn for it, And its priests shriek for it— Because its glory has departed from it.
People of Syria…
2 Kings 16:7 So Ahaz [king of Judah] sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
2 Kings 16:8 And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 16:9 So the king of Assyria heeded him; for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus and took it, carried its people captive to Kir, and killed Rezin. [c. 740 BC]
Kir… Moab is parts of Jordan and Western Iraq; Josephus puts it as far as Upper Media (NW Iran / Azerbaijan Armenia; Iran was the land of the Medes and Persians).
Isaiah 15:1 The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed,
Tiglath-pileser who was the Assyrian ruler at the time, fulfilled this prophecy when Ahaz [king of Judah] applied for help to him against Rezin king of Syria, and carried away the Syrian people captive in 732 B.C.
Near the end of the book of Amos shows God delivering the Syrians from Kir.
Amos 9:7 “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the LORD. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, The Philistines from Caphtor, And the Syrians from Kir?
Gaza (:6-8)
Amos 1:6 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom.
Gaza… one of the five cities that make up the pentapolis of Philistia (three of the other ones are mentioned in :8). This region of the Philistines is located in SW Israel where several of them still can be found today. I believe that Gaza is the only one that is found in the Gaza strip.
they took captive the whole captivity… everyone went into captivity.
2 Chronicles 21:16 Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians.
2 Chronicles 21:17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
2 Chronicles 28:18 The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the South of Judah, and had taken Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Sochoh with its villages, Timnah with its villages, and Gimzo with its villages; and they dwelt there.
2 Chronicles 28:19 For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD.
Amos 1:7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
fire… see notes on Amos 1:4
Amos 1:8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” Says the Lord GOD.
Fulfilled, at least in part (more than likely dual):
2 Kings 18:7 The LORD was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
2 Kings 18:8 He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
Tyre (:9-10)
Tyre was a major port city back in the day – located just north of Israel in modern day Lebanon, right on the water.
Ezekiel 27:4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.
Revelation 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
Revelation 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
“in the midst of the seas.” Italy, with its capital of Rome, is located between, and surrounded by numerous seas or oceans—the Ligurian Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic Sea.
Babylon, Medes and Persians conquer in 539BC; Alexander the Great made it his capital of that region; Seleucid kept it for a while before moving it to Seleucis after which it was never a city of great influence again. The peoples moved to Seleucis and then Antioch near the modern-day Turkey/Syria border (just north of Syria [Israel, Tyre, Lebanon]. While the Greeks were the victors and rulers of the empire, it was still largely made up of Babylonians.
Eventually these people and those of the region of Tyre, were taken into slavery into Italy as many of the Italians, repatriated into other parts of the Roman empire. Many of the slaves were freed and remained in the area and were later joined by other Tyreneans who populated the area.
So now when we see why Tyre, Babylon and Rome are so closely related in the Bible and are often used interchangeably.
Amos 1:9 Thus says the LORD: “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 covenant of brotherhood.
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom… Edom was more than willing to take them as they did from Gaza in previous verses and would take for themselves in the following verses.
did not remember the covenant of brotherhood…. there is nothing mentioned specifically about this in the Bible, but we do know that David and Solomon had a particularly good relationship with King Hiram of Tyre; no recorded wars between the two, in fact they were pretty much the only people that bordered Israel that did not have a fight with them.
There is no evidence to show that this has been fulfilled.
I take this to mean the brotherhood between Esau and Jacob and not Tyre and Israel [Hiram, king of Tyre, was one of the few if only relationships that remained amicable with Israel]. See :11 also where it speaks of the brotherhood between Esau and Jacob
Amos 1:10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”
There is no verifiable account of this having happened in the past. Ancient Tyre was eventually destroyed in 333 B.C. by Alexander the Great when he built a causeway from the mainland to the island stronghold. From all accounts it was not destroyed by fire and never became a force to be reckoned with since then and up to recent history.
Tyre was a major center of commerce in the ancient world and will be again in the future as Babylon in the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire.
Edom (:11-12)
Amos 1:11 Thus says the LORD: “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; His anger tore perpetually, And he kept his wrath forever.
» Verses 10-14: The WHY (Edom will be annihilated.)
Obadiah 1:10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.
From the womb, their enmity began and it was to last between their respective descendants.
And the Edomites continued to escalate this all the way to the end time
Obadiah 1:11 In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them.
The time setting of Obadiah is the future Day of the Lord (Oba_1:15). When this was translated it is a future event spoken of as though it has already happened. [Prophetic past]
It was the same as if you had been there alongside the invading army.
They will stand by while their brother was being taken into slavery, but worse yet they rejoiced:
Obadiah 1:12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress.
“He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished” (Pro_17:5).
Not only will they stand by and rejoice, they also will take advantage of the situation and help themselves to some of the spoils:
Obadiah 1:13 You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity.
Verses 15 The WHEN (Day of the Lord)
Obadiah 1:15 “For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
For the day of the LORD
So now we finally see the time setting for this prophecy.
upon all the nations is near… This is a warning not only to Edom but all the nations that would
As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
Amos 1:12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
Ottoman = Teman; grandson of Esau; they were a force to be reckoned with
Obadiah 1:18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” For the LORD has spoken.
» Verses 17-21: The WHAT (Israel’s complete triumph over Edom.)
The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame;
In these prophecies, it’s interesting to note that God is “sending a fire” as opposed to “setting on fire.” Here is it is the house of Jacob that is being sent to punish Edom/Esau.
When God delivers them in the end-time, remember the this section of Obadiah is dealing with the Day of the Lord, the people of Esau will be as stubble or straw as many translations have it.
Just as straw against fire or a flame Edom will have no chance and there will be no survivors of this nation.
What does no survivors mean? shall be as though they had never been; be cut off by slaughter; you shall be cut off forever;
All will have a chance later in second resurrection
Ammon (Amos 1:13-15)
Amos 1:13 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.
Ammon… modern day Jordan
they ripped open the women with child… much too common practice to control the population of the enemy.
2 Kings 8:12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
Enlarge their territory… Gilead… the area east of the Jordan river that originally encompassed part of modern-day Jordan
Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
Rabbah… the city of Amman is in the same location today as ancient Rabbah used to be.
shouting in the day of battle… teruah: the name for the day of Trumpets
Judgment on Rabbah/Ammon:
Jeremiah 49:2 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “That I will cause to be heard an alarm [teruah] of war In Rabbah of the Ammonites; It shall be a desolate mound, And her villages shall be burned with fire. Then Israel shall take possession of his inheritance,” says the LORD.
Could be a double meaning!
Amos 1:15 Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together,” Says the LORD.
KJV: Jeremiah 49:3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together.
Chapter 2
Moab (2:1-3)
Today Moab would be located in modern day Jordan. In ancient times it was positioned just south of Ammon who we addressed in the previous chapter. This would of course make them neighboring land that was also their enemy and the targe of the next prophecy.
Amos 2:1 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four [Same terminology since Amos 1:3], I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
Moab and Ammon are the sons of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. But eventhough they are kin to the Israelites, they too like many of their other relatives, had an acrimonious relationship with the Israelites to say the least.
Point and case is:
Deuteronomy 23:3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever,
Deuteronomy 23:4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
Also they fought against one another and were subjugated at times.
But here they are specifically being called out for this one thing like all the prophecies in chapter 1:
burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime… even though Edom is being punished as well, this crime deserved a special calling out. Apparently they crushed the bones up and made them into a plaster for the walls, either that or to whitewash them. The Bible does not record this happening – so either we take God’s word that it did happen or it is yet to happen in the future – especially since according to history they and the Edomites were conquered by the Babylonians around the same time that Judah went into captivity.
When you understand the symbolism of burial/broken bones combined with the fact that God sets up kings to do His bidding, this was considered a most egregious sin.
Amos 2:2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.
Fire… continues with the same form of destruction that has been common to all in the preceding chapter. Seems to be an ancient fulfillment by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Zephaniah 2:8 “I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the insults of the people of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people, And made arrogant threats against their borders.
Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore, as I live,” Says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, And the people of Ammon like Gomorrah— Overrun with weeds and saltpits, And a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”
Genesis 19:24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens.
Genesis 19:25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
palaces of Kerioth… one of the strongholds and seats of power in the Moabite kingdom. Jer_48:41
shouting…trumpet… teruah and shofar, very emblematic of the Day of Trumpets and its meaning:
Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand:
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.
Amos 2:3 And I will cut off the judge from its midst, And slay all its princes with him,” Says the LORD.
cut off the judge … slay all its princes… The judges did not mete out proper judgment and the princes did not lead and rule the nation in the right way. The point being made here that everyone should take special note of, is that God is holding this Gentile nation accountable for its sins. God still has an expectation that all the Gentile people will be held responsible to one degree or another for going against Him or breaking His law.
Romans 2:14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law by nature, do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves,
They obeyed some things in the law as most do: kill steal etc, some more than others, because there is a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There are some things that the entire world by and large should see, but there will continue to be some things that God has to reveal.
Romans 2:15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
Conscience: comes from a word that means to see our self; to understand or become aware, and to be conscious or informed of
Because of this even they were able to judge to a degree what was right and what was wrong.
Zephaniah 2, Isaiah 15–16, and 34, Jeremiah 48–49 also write of the destruction of Ammon, Moab and Edom at the time of Christ’s return
Judah (2:4-5)
So now we turn to God’s chosen people, the ones that He gave His divine way to – so it should go without saying that God has even higher expectations for them. But here as often is the case in the prophets, He does not spend too much time on one set of tribes when it is mostly directed at the other kingdom. There time would come later though.
Amos 2:4 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.
As God’s people, they made agreements with God (in the form of a covenant); God’s part their part; blessings and cursings; all of which they agreed to. As we are familiar with the story, they strayed from the path and went after foreign gods, which are not Gods. Here we have God calling them out once again.
Their lies lead them astray… Anything that is not of the truth, took them further away God and also begins to dismantle the whole way of God. They could not take away from any part of the law of God and still have it stand. It was not just in one way that they did this it was “For three transgressions and for four” – meaning that they had failed in many ways just like their forefathers had.
Lies which their fathers followed…. that had repeated history. The Old Testament tends to be this ebb and flow of God’s chosen nation pursuing Him and doing well followed by them erring and them reaping the punishments that came about because of it. This cycle is then repeated…
Amos 2:5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
This happened in the past, but in the future this will come about first upon the house of Judah (and Israel) at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (5th seal) and then two and half years later on the rest of the world during the Day of the Lord. (7th seal).
Now we come to the main subject of the book: The words of Amos… which he saw concerning Israel
Israel
Imagine now what the Northern 10 Tribes were thinking as Amos went around and made pronouncements against everyone around them.
He begins to tell them just how far off track they have gotten in their thinking and ways. They have forsaken God and gone after foreign religions.
Amos 2:6 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.
Because they sell the righteous for silver… It does not matter what the facts are, but who is in power (very similar to what is going on today) their judgment is unrighteous and unmerciful.
And the poor for a pair of sandals…. sell them out for the least amount of debt or a bribe.
Amos 2:7 They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name.
pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor… they even wanted the dust from the land that may have been on their head
A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name…. temple prostitute
Amos 2:8 They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge… items pledged were supposed to be given back by evening and they did not care to do this Ex 22:25
drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god…. they steal the wine from the disenfranchised.
Amos 2:9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks… seemingly unassailable
Numbers 13:32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath…. not only did God take away all that they had built up and produced, but took away their ability to be a force to be reckoned with in the land.
Amos 2:10 Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
I who brought you up from the land of Egypt… you did not do it – I did this for you [what did you actually do?].
led you forty years through the wilderness… I took care of you miraculously during that time.
To possess the land of the Amorite…. I gave you this land
Amos 2:11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD.
Amos 2:12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’
I gave you these as a help and blessing and what did you do with it? You corrupted the Nazirite and kept the prophets from preaching and stopped up their ears.
Numbers 6:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 6:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
Numbers 6:3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.
Numbers 6:4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
It is reminiscent of:
Isaiah 30:9 That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD;
Isaiah 30:10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
Amos 2:13 “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
I am weighed down by you… wearied by their constant and multitudinous infractions.
Now because of your sins and iniquities you will not be able to save yourselves in the future:
Amos 2:14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;
Amos 2:15 He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
Amos 2:16 The most courageous men of might [the greatest among you] Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the LORD.
No matter how prosperous or great that you thing you are, you will not be able to save yourselves – no man can deliver himself. To rely on anything besides God is simply sheer and utter foolishness.
Chapter 3
Israels Judgment and what that entails.
Amos 3:1 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:
God begins by Recounting the events that led up to this point
brought up from the land of Egypt… approximately 700 years before
against the whole family… we see why He emphasizes this in the next verse:
Amos 3:2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
only… God could have chosen any one that He wanted as His people;
known: close and special relationship
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
Exodus 19:6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
Exodus 19:7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exodus 19:8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
NO, they cannot!
Other applications can apply to relationships; Speaking about God and them; They and God did do this at one time – at the very beginning of the covenant and sporadically afterwards, but now, it was more of a one way street, God had fulfilled His role and responsibilities but Israel had not reciprocated and been faithful to God.
Amos 3:4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
No, is the obvious answer to these rhetorically asked questions.
God is the lion, Israel the prey in His sight.
Amos 1:2 And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
The roaring message is to Israel who will succumb to Him if they do not heed His message. The lion was perhaps the most feared animal in the land of Israel – the Israelites should in likewise manner fear the Lord if they are to escape the things to come.
There are consequences that were built into the agreements between Israel and God: blessings that went along with obedience to God’s laws and curses for disobedience. This is point God is making in these verses.
Amos 3:5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
God is warning them that the object of their demise is already in place and they will be captured if they stay the current course.
This cause and effect is the point that God is trying to get across to His people. His judgment will be captivity for Israel for going astray
Amos 3:6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
Yes, yes. God has always blessed and protected them in the past and met their needs. Shouldn’t all these things make you sit up and take notice. The question that they need to ask themselves, is this coming upon us for a reason? …and Amos is giving them those reasons:
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
This is what God is doing through Amos; they have not listened historically to the prophets.
Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
This is still true to this day.
But understand this and it is true regarding all such prophecies:
Jeremiah 18:7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,
Jeremiah 18:8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
We saw this with Jonah and Nineveh; this remains true to this day.
Amos 3:8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
Continuing with the lion metaphor from the beginning of the book and this chapter as well. God is the lion roaring, shouldn’t you fear.
Who can but prophesy?… when they are faced with the fact that God is doing what He said that He would do, they cannot help be moved to speak.
Amos 3:9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her.
Palaces… [seat of power and authority] but now the Gentiles are called upon to witness the problems of northern tribes of Israel [why? Is it because they are doing better than Israel, especially in their internal dealings with their own people, especially considering that the Israelites had received God’s law governing behavior and relationships?]
Notice all the wickedness going on everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel:
Amos 3:10 For they do not know to do right,’ Says the LORD, ‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ “
Continuation from the previous verse of all the wrong going on.
they do not know to do right … Is this how far they had strayed? Proverbs 14:12
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
palaces… This is what is going on in their palaces in contrast to the previously mentioned Gentiles.
Amos 3:11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.”
3 year siege by the Assyrians before they were conquered by them. Palaces were indeed plundered.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Amos 3:12 Thus says the LORD: “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria— In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!
As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear… shows them that it wasn’t just negligence: wandering away or being stolen. Only an insignificant portion of Israel will be saved.
This is how Jeremiah describes it: Jeremiah 50:17 “Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria… the few who escape will be like those snatched out of the jaws of the lion.
In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!… the connotation seems to be they were existing at the extremities and were “fortunate” in that way.
Amos 3:13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,” Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
house of Jacob… all Israel
Amos 3:14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground.
Bethel… false worship now taking hold
1 Kings 12:25-33 Jereboam makes places of sacrifice in Bethel and Dan so his people would not go back to Jerusalem and return to God in Judah
the horns of the altar… were there to grasp for mercy; so in effect He is saying here that there will be no mercy; Josiah did this in type in Judah
2 Kings 23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image.
Amos 3:15 I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; The houses of ivory shall perish, And the great houses shall have an end,” Says the LORD.
Shows that their wealth will disappear
Chapter 4
Why They Deserved the Judgment They Would Get
Fat Cows
Amos 4:1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!”
Bashan… east of Jordan river, between Mt Hermon and Mountains of Gilead; lush region
cows… women of means and luxury who are insisting that their husband bring them more of the lifestyle that they had become accustomed to – even if it is at the expense of the disenfranchised (…oppress the poor…crush the needy…)
Amos 4:2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks.
sworn by His holiness… cannot swear by any thing greater; He can swear because He can make it happen
posterity… your kids; descendants; the last of you;
fishhooks… you will be taken away out of your environment, just like fish out of water, unwillingly; may even be literal:
2 Kings 19:28 Because your rage against Me and your tumult Have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came.
Amos 4:3 You will go out through broken walls, Each one straight ahead of her, And you will be cast into Harmon,” Says the LORD.
You will go out through broken walls… meaning the walls will have been breached by the invading army.
Amos 4:4 “Come to Bethel and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression; Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days.
Bethel… became a place of false worship
Your tithes every three days [years]… 3rd tithe; or diligent about first tithe; even if you are doing it to this extent I will not accept it
Amos 4:5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; For this you love, You children of Israel!” Says the Lord GOD.
thanksgiving with leaven… not following God the way that He wants to be worshipped
Exodus 34:25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.
Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; For this you love… to be seen or doing this in a wrong and false way. It’s kind of like Christmas
How Judgment Will be Manifested
Amos 4:6 “Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.
cleanness of teeth… it is this way for lack of food;
lack of bread... famine
Yet you have not returned to Me… it is understood that there is cause and effect and they should have seen and known this. The word for returned is shûb and means repent.
Amos 4:7 “I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered.
withheld rain… no rain in due season; He withheld the blessing which should have made them sit up and take notice.
Amos 4:8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.
wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied… drought
Amos 4:9 “I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.
blight and mildew… connotation is a scorching that dries up the crops or excessive moisture that leads to fungal type problems; too much water or not enough.
locust devoured… plagues – so if you actually do manage to grow some food it will be taken away as a punishment to get them to repent.
Amos 4:10 “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.
Your young men I killed with a sword… war
stench of your camps… death
Yet you have not returned to Me… after all these events happened to you, how is it that you don’t get it; you surely should have returned to me by now.
Amos 4:11 “I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the LORD.
I overthrew… God as is clarified in the next clause:
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah… divine retribution; not just events that could be happening by chance to anyone.
This is another indicator that this is for the last days – because it did not take place when the Assyrians conquered them and has yet to happen.
Epilogue
Amos 4:12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
Prepare to meet your God… this is inevitable; Speaking of the return of God and it is a foreboding warning of these and more end-time events that will occur.
Amos 4:13 For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The LORD God of hosts is His name.
The creator God, the sustainer and orchestrator is omnipotent can and will bring all of these consequences about!
Chapter 5
Amos 5:1 Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
Hear this word… this is the third and final time that Amos uses this phrase (Amos 3:1, 4:1).
lamentation… This has the connotation of a dirge or a somber song expressing mourning or grief.
Amos 5:2 The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; There is no one to raise her up.
The virgin of Israel has fallen… Israel had committed spiritual harlotry by going after false gods and engaging in false worship. She has fallen away from her God and Husband.
She will rise no more…forsaken…no one to raise her up…. God will no longer be there to protect and bolster, nor will anyone else.
Ezekiel 16:5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.
Ezekiel 16:6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
Ezekiel 16:7 I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.
Ezekiel 16:8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 16:9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.
Ezekiel 16:10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
Ezekiel 16:11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.
Ezekiel 16:12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
Ezekiel 16:13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.
Ezekiel 16:14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD.
God had raised Israel up, but He nor any one else was going to do it now:
Ezekiel 16:15 “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.
Ezekiel 16:32 You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband.
Ezekiel 16:33 Men make payment to all harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, and hired them to come to you from all around for your harlotry.
Ezekiel 16:34 You are the opposite of other women in your harlotry, because no one solicited you to be a harlot. In that you gave payment but no payment was given you, therefore you are the opposite.”
It was a marital covenant and this is what they did.
Amos 5:3 For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
This is the effect of Amos 5:2 – 90% of those that go out will be killed.
Curse for disobedience; they knew this was a potential consequence:
Deuteronomy 28:62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Ezekiel’s message is to Israel:
Ezekiel 5:1 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair.
Ezekiel 5:2 You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.
Ezekiel 5:3 You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment.
Ezekiel 5:4 Then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.
Ezekiel 5:12 One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
If we combine the two, the effect could be as little as 1/30th will survive.
Isaiah 10:20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isaiah 10:21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God.
Isaiah 10:22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
Isaiah 10:23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.
Isaiah 10:24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt.
Isaiah 10:25 For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction.”
In that day refers to the end-time; Jacob is all of Israel, including Judah of which a remnant has never returned – especially collectively. Sand of the sea is more than the 600K numbered in the Bible; never again depend on him who defeated them (this signifies turning to God forever); indignation and anger are terms related to the Day of the Lord.
Amos 5:4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live;
Seek Me and live… God gave them the key … short and to the point! This was not the first time – they knew what they needed to do:
Deuteronomy 30:11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.
Deuteronomy 30:12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
Deuteronomy 30:13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
Deuteronomy 30:14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,
Deuteronomy 30:16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
Deuteronomy 30:17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
Deuteronomy 30:18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Deuteronomy 30:20 that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Amos 5:5 But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal … They would not find God at these places like they should have. Bethel literally means house of God, but now it and other places had become focal points of false worship.
Beersheba… this is located in the southern kingdom of Judah, meaning that they would not ultimately be safe down there either. They may retreat to the city, but they to would eventually go into captivity as well – so the result would be the same.
captivity… this was going to be the punishment for their sins and is going to be it in the future as well (because of the dual nature of this prophecy).
Amos 5:6 Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, And devour it, With no one to quench it in Bethel—
Seek the LORD and live… He is saying that there is a time soon coming that He cannot be found
Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph…
Amos 1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael (Syria), Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
Amos 1:7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
Amos 1:10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”
Amos 1:12 But I will send a fire upon Teman (Edom), Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
Amos 2:2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.
Amos 2:5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
in the house of Joseph…
Genesis 48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him.
Genesis 48:14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Genesis 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
Genesis 48:16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
Amos 5:7 You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
This is repeated in Amos 6:12 – when God this, it is usually for emphasis and it also can serve as a two-fold witness against them.
You who turn justice… the leadership who were in a position to adjudicate it.
wormwood… bitterness/poison
lay righteousness to rest in the earth… they had let it fall to the ground or even cast it there, where it was not given all due regard and could be trampled underfoot in neglect or outright defiance.
Amos 5:8 He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name.
Amos 5:9 He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
Pleiades… this refers to one of the nearest and most recognizable clusters of stars in the night sky. It consists of seven stars (KJV) that are relatively close to one another. This constellation is mentioned in conjunction with Orion in two other places in scripture (Job 9:9, 38:31).
These two verses are meant to convey a glimpse of omnipotence of God that shows how we pale in comparison.
Amos 5:10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
They hate the one who rebukes… they hate the one that judges righteously
in the gates… where judgment is administered. Amos 5:12
speaks uprightly… like the prophets.
They hate the ones that are telling them to do what is right – like Amos which will see this in Amos 7:10-13. Of course this is the story of the prophets through history.
Amos 5:11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
Amos 5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just and taking bribes; Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
They were abusing their positions of leadership and taking advantage of the poor. God is saying that all their ill-gotten gain will be taken away from them as a punishment for their evil ways.
Amos 5:13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it is an evil time.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
Because of the rampant evil, this was one of the times to keep quiet.
Amos 5:14 Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.
Seek good and not evil, That you may live… Even though you are quiet, it does not mean that you should stop doing good.
Psalms 97:10 You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Hate evil, love good… Hate the sin and not the sinner; we were all once sons of disobedience and by the mercy of God we were called out of the world of sin. Others will get their chance in due time, but until then: Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Establish justice in the gate… This is now the third time that this has been pointed out or addressed in this chapter. God is big on justice and they were not judging righteously.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’s anger.
There is cause and effect for obedience and disobedience.
Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing.
skillful lamenters to wailing… the chapter began with Amos telling this is a lamentation, a funereal song, and sure enough the people will begin to take up the cause begin writing their own dirges about all that God is bringing upon them.
Amos 5:17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing, For I will pass through you,” Says the LORD.
Amos 5:11 because of God the land will not be productive
Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
Woe… first one of three. We have heard the phrase “hear this word” three times now and
Ezekiel 16:23 “Then it was so, after all your wickedness—’Woe, woe to you!’ says the Lord GOD—
day of the LORD… This is obviously another end time indicator.
For those that are sinning, this will not be a time to look forward to.
Amos 5:19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!
there is no getting away from God’s retribution
Amos 5:20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
It is a day of God’s wrath and indignation – it is nothing to look forward to
Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
I hate, I despise your feast days… During the time of this prophecy and back to the days of Jeroboam I Israel had her own feast days, which God utterly despised.
1 Kings 12:32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
1 Kings 12:33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.
Because this was such an affront to Him, God would put an end to this false worship.
Deuteronomy 12:29 “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land,
Deuteronomy 12:30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’
Deuteronomy 12:31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
Deuteronomy 12:32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Hosea 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days, Her New Moons, Her Sabbaths— All her appointed feasts.
I do not savor your sacred assemblies….
Leviticus 26:31 I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet aromas.
In other words, God is not going to be among them when they congregate.
Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 4:18
Amos 5:22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
Standing on religious ceremony without the right attitude and approach was never going to be acceptable to God – He wants substance over image.
We should take note that the sin offering specifically is not mentioned. This is not a surprise as they moved away from the law of God.
Amos 5:23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
Noise… it is not regarded as melodic. Also, this may be a reference to temple songs and if so God was particular about the peaceful nature and environment of the temple:
1 Kings 6:7 And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
Amos 5:24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
The way that God wants to see justice in land is in an overflowing and abundant manner like water rolling in superfluity upon everyone before it.
Amos 5:25 “Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Amos 5:26 You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.
Sikkuth… KJV: Amos 5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
Chiun… according to BDB, an image or pillar; probably a statue of the Assyrian-Babylonian god of the planet Saturn and used to symbolise Israelite apostasy
the star of your god… referring to Chiun / Saturn; the star of Israel; worshipping the creation; perhaps a form of astrology
1 Corinthians 10:20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
They had done it in the past even though they had been warned about this, they did it again.
Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods they did not know, To new gods, new arrivals That your fathers did not fear.
The Israelites had been warned many times not to do this. (Deuteronomy 12:29-32)
Amos 5:27 Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,” Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.
Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus… Assyria
Chapter 6
As we go through this imagine how this message would be received today. Also, note how these same conditions exist today in the United States and British Commonwealth.
Amos 6:1 Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, And trust in Mount Samaria, Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes!
Woe to you who are at ease… they believe that nothing is wrong and they are complacent when they shouldn’t be; addiction of comfort running rampant now
Zechariah 1:15 I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.“
Zion [representing Jerusalem]… Samaria… the capitals of Judah and Israel – the leadership of the kingdoms are both being spoken to here.
And trust in Mount Samaria… counterfeit and counterpart to Jerusalem as the central point of their kingdom.
Notable persons in the chief nation, To whom the house of Israel comes… as leaders of the great nation that God had made them, they had a responsibility to those that relied upon them and looked to them for leadership.
Amos 6:2 Go over to Calneh and see; And from there go to Hamath the great; Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory?
At the time that Amos prophesied this c. 753 BC these were all major cities in the region.
Calneh … Hamath… these were both significant cities in Syria that fell in 738bc and 720bc respectively to the Assyrians; they were centers of religious corruption;
Eventually, they would see these cities fall some 15-25 years later and the expectation here is that these words in this verse should cause them to sit up and take notice that they did receive a judgment and Israel would receive a similar and just retribution in the future from the Assyrians as well.
Gath… According to current archaeological evidence, they did not fall until 711bc. This would put this event after the fall of Israel to the Assyrians in 721-718bc
Are you better than these kingdoms… Even though the Israelites thought that they were, they were not, God is not a respecter of persons.
Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.
Acts 10:35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
Amos 6:3 Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
Woe to… This is not in the original text nor the KJV, it is not a good place to put a “woe” one due to the significance of this phrase and how it has been used to naturally offset the message in this and other books.
you who put far off the day of doom… because of apathy or lack of discernment or acknowledgment, they do not recognize the imminent danger that has been prophesied to happen.
the day of doom… their impending captivity then and as well as in the future.
Who cause the seat of violence to come near… the consequences come for a reason – it is because of their actions and sinful ways that this will come upon them sooner rather than later.
Amos 6:4 Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall;
Amos 6:5 Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;
They were fat and happy; they had it very good and had an ungodly attitude and hedonistic lifestyle.
Amos 6:6 Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Who drink wine from bowls… not simply out of a cup
But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph….
Ezekiel 9:4 and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
They are apathetic and do not realize that they are one of the major reasons for what would eventually befall the house of Israel.
Amos 6:7 Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.
Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives…
2 Kings 24:12 Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.
This is exactly what happened!
Amos 6:8 The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.”
The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself… He can bring to fruition and there is nothing greater that He can swear by. (Heb_6:13)
I abhor the pride of Jacob… we get to the root of one of their problems.
I will deliver up the city… part of the punishment that goes hand in hand with the impending enslavement.
2 Kings 24:14 Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.
Notice, who was left after the invasion and pillaging – it was the poor who had been oppressed by the leadership and the rich.
Amos 6:9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
2 Kings 17:5 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
2 Kings 17:7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods,
2 Kings 17:8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
2 Kings 17:9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the LORD their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.
2 Kings 17:10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.
2 Kings 17:11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger,
2 Kings 17:12 for they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”
2 Kings 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.”
2 Kings 17:14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God.
2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do like them.
2 Kings 17:16 So they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
2 Kings 17:17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
It appears that there will be no escape from punishment one way or the other – by either captivity or hiding from the invaders.
Amos 6:10 And when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “Are there any more with you?” Then someone will say, “None.” And he will say, “Hold your tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the LORD.”
burn… if they did what they were supposed to do in this situation, this would not be a cremation that is being referred to here.
1 Samuel 31:11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
1 Samuel 31:12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
1 Samuel 31:13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
But Israel is so far removed from God and His ways at this point that they may have been setting up illicit funeral pyres to expedite the handling of the dead.
And when a relative of the dead, … families destroyed
Hold your tongue! For we dare not mention… the connotation here may be that they did not remember Him and His ways from before when they were warned, so it is too late now to invoke God’s name when this punishment was set in motion.
Amos 6:11 For behold, the LORD gives a command: He will break the great house into bits, And the little house into pieces.
the great house into bits, And the little house… God will not be a respecter of persons – all from great to small will reap what they have sown. (Heb_6:13)
Amos 6:12 Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen… no,which should be very obvious, to both rhetorical questions. An Israelite, would never consider doing either one of these things:
Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood… they were manifestly aware of the fact that they were to act justly and righteously and now they have made these things bitter which should have been sweet. (Amos 5:7)
Amos 6:13 You who rejoice over Lo Debar, Who say, “Have we not taken Karnaim for ourselves By our own strength?”
rejoice over… Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. This would be the kingdom of Israel’s undoing – believing that it was by their own strength and might that had taken Lo Debar and Karnaim. They were two cities that Israel was able to conquer because Assyria had weakened the country of Syria as a whole.
KJV: Amos 6:13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought [nothing], which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
horns… figuratively strength and power; in effect they are saying that they are so strong and mighty that they have overcome and defeated the strong and mighty, but in reality they rejoice in nothing
Amos 6:14 “But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel,” Says the LORD God of hosts; “And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah.”
I will raise up a nation against you… Assyria
Isaiah 10:5 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah… from North to South
Chapter 7
3rd of 5 visions
Amos 7:1 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings.
the Lord GOD showed me… the first of five visions, three of which are in this chapter.
locust swarms… Famine was the result
after the king’s mowings… The king and his government got their cut first, so this meant that the people would not get theirs since:
He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop… once this is eaten up by the grasshoppers, there would be nothing leftover for the people.
Amos 7:2 And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: “O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”
O Lord GOD, forgive, I pray… We see a change in Amos’ posture – he had been giving the message as he was instructed – but now he is overcome with empathy for his brothers. He now pleads to not take it the food crops from the people and burden their current estate further.
that Jacob may stand… who will be able to stand or endure [this plague/punishment]
for he is small…. Amos has the correct perspective – he realizes that all of Israel is weak and as nothing without God, which of course is in line with the message that he is delivering to the people (who believe that they have great strength but are in reality as nothing Amos 6:13).
Amos 7:3 So the LORD relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” said the LORD.
relented… He was moved by compassion to [KJV:repent] change His mind because of Amos’ intercessory prayer. (Example of Moses: Exodus 32:9-14; Numbers 14:11-20).
Amos 7:4 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, the Lord GOD called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory.
the Lord GOD showed unto me… the second of five visions, three of which are in this chapter.
fire… drought caused by drying up the waters
Amos 7:5 Then I said: “O Lord GOD, cease, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, For he is small!”
see notes above
Amos 7:6 So the LORD relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD.
See notes above.
Once again the effect fervent prayer of a righteous Amos persuades God to not go through with His plans. (James 5:16)
Amos 7:7 Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.
plumb line… to see if Israel was morally upright and true; since the “building” did not measure up to the standards that God had outlined for them, it needed to be torn down. (see Amos 7:9)
Isaiah 28:16-17; Zechariah 4:10
Amos 7:8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.
I will not pass by them anymore… God will not hear Amos’ pleas and relent any more
Amos 7:9 The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
Isaac… his name comes from the word of laughter, so here it appears that two points are being made: 1. the places that used to be used correctly for worship and are no longer being used in that way will become desolate for that reason and 2. is that God is calling these spots of false worship “high places of laughter” in the sense that it is absurd in the eyes of God that they are doing what they are doing.
:10-17 inset and response to Amos in order to counter it
Amos 7:10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.
Amaziah the priest of Bethel… he was and important and influential man at one of the main centers of false worship in the northern kingdom of Israel. He is no doubt trying to damage control after Amos’s message is in direct contravention to the pagan practices he espouses and oversees.
Amaziah’s accusations against Amos: Treason (conspiring against King Jeroboam) and land cannot stand you any more
bear all his words … Amaziah is positing that the people are not able to endure all that Amos has to tell them. This is interesting in light of the fact that Amos means burden / burdensome. Naturally, or carnally speaking, they would rather hear smooth words. Isaiah 30:10 Jeremiah 6:13,14 ,17
Amos 7:11 For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.’ “
Think about this today – how preposterous it would sound and be received. Yet it is as true today as it was back then!
Amos 7:12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy.
Amos 7:13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.”
In essence, go home and do not sully the king, his name or his estate with your message. Amaziah was therefore saying that this was not God’s message that Amos was delivering and is trying to get rid of him before his message begins to sink in more.
Amos 7:14 Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit.
Amos 7:15 Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
God did this and Amos was just doing what he was told to do – I am sure he was happy doing what he was doing as opposed to the “thankless” job (Insert Jonah’s POV here!) that he had been given by God to do.
Amos 7:16 Now therefore, hear the word of the LORD: You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’
Because of what you have said in :10-15 here is what is going to happen:
Amos 7:17 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’ “
The wife of the priest, the prominent leaders will turn to prostitution; your family will be killed in war; the land will be taken from you and divvied up to others; and the rest of you will become slaves in a foreign land. Imagine that then, because it did happen – now imagine in the near future, because it will happen again.
Through all of this we see God’s expectations of us and the degree that He will go to and orchestrate an outcome for our eventual good.
These messages from God are meant to stir us to action so that we do not have to go through it.
He has done it in the past and will do it again in the future to/for His people.
Chapter 8
Amos recapitulates Israel sins and introduces another one.
Amos 8:1 Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit.
Fourth of the Five Visions
basket of summer fruit… this is the last of the fruit and it is ripe and soon there will be no more (in the land)
Amos 8:2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore.
Summer fruit… the fruit that is soon to perish; ripe for being picked off.
A play on words is used here, which ties the meaning of the vision to its interpretation.
הַ קֵּ ץ e·qtz “the end”
קָ יִ ץ qitz “summer fruit”
I will not pass by them anymore… God is saying that He has given them ample time and it is up. He will do what He said that He will do and execute judgment.
Amos 8:3 And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord GOD— “Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence.”
songs… God warned them before:
Amos 5:23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
the temple… this would the false temples of worship to Baal.
dead bodies … thrown out in silence…. from the invading army; also this may very well tie into:
Amos 6:9 Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
Amos 6:10 And when a relative of the dead, with one who will burn the bodies, picks up the bodies to take them out of the house, he will say to one inside the house, “Are there any more with you?” Then someone will say, “None.” And he will say, “Hold your tongue! For we dare not mention the name of the LORD.”
:4-6 Why God Will Act in This Way
Amos 8:4 Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail,
They did not look after the poor and needy like they were supposed to, instead they continued to oppress the disenfranchised – we will see to what extent they do this in Amos 8:6
Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
Amos 8:5 Saying: “When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, That we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large, Falsifying the scales by deceit,
When will the New Moon be past, That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath… This may very well be referring to the only holy day on a new moon because of the fact that it falls in the harvest season and is a holy convocation in which no servile work should be done. Similarly, the sabbath was to be a day of ceasing from:
- Our work (Leviticus 23:7; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
- Our ways (Isaiah 58:13)
- Our pleasures (Isaiah 58:13)
- Our words (Isaiah 58:13)
- Our burdens (Exodus 6:6-7; Nehemiah 13:15-22)
A day for engaging in:
- God’s work ( John 6:29, Mark 16:16, Philippians 2:12)
- God’s ways (Jeremiah 6:16)
- God’s pleasures (Philippians 2:13; Luke 12:32; Ephesians 1:5)
- God’s words (Luke 4:4, 16-21; Acts 17:2-3)
- Worshiping and honoring God (Exodus 20:8-10; Isaiah 58:13)
- Fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25; Leviticus 23:3; Nehemiah 8:8; Acts 18:4, 11; Acts 2:1, 42)
- Coming before God (Leviticus 19:30; Leviticus 16:1-4; Exodus 28:1-3; 1 Peter 2:5, 9)
- Doing good within the other guidelines (Matthew 12:9-14)
- Healing and rejuvenation (Mark 3:4; Luke 13:16)
- Freedom and liberation (Deuteronomy 5:15, 1 John 5:3)
This is why we make the effort to prepare to keep the Sabbath day holy. (Exodus 16:5, 29-30). But instead of doing this, they plotted and planned how make money by taking advantage of their brethren.
God adds this to the litany of other sins that they will be going into slavery for.
Making the ephah small and the shekel large… they were not honest about their weights and measures, given less than what was purchased and devaluing their currency with heavier than advertised weights. In other words using a smaller basket while saying it is the full ephah and a counterweight that is heavier than advertised so the buyer would pay more for a lesser amount of a bad quality product (see next verse Amos 8:6).
Deuteronomy 25:13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light.
Deuteronomy 25:14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
Deuteronomy 25:15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 25:16 For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the LORD your God.
Amos 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell the bad wheat?”
These vendors took so much from those that did not have much that they were forced into slavery for the sake of a small price.
bad wheat… in addition to the deceptive weights and measures (Amos 8:4) it was a below average product.
:7-14 Now God begins to tell them what He will do
Amos 8:7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works.
The LORD has sworn… this is now the third time that He has done this in this book, the first was by His holiness (Amos 4:2) and then by Himself (Amos 6:8). This was not enough to motivate the Israelites to change.
pride of Jacob… now perhaps this was more meaningful to them than God and would get them to change their ways.
their works… they were proud of what they had accomplished and the wealth and power that they had built – when in reality it was God that had blessed them and had facilitated all of it. Because of their hubris God targeted the materialism that meant so much to them that it was a source of their pride.
Amos 6:8 The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself, The LORD God of hosts says: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, And hate his palaces; Therefore I will deliver up the city And all that is in it.”
Which God brought to fruition!
Amos 8:8 Shall the land not tremble for this, And everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it shall swell like the River, Heave and subside Like the River of Egypt.
Shall the land not tremble for this… He was asking this rhetorically like this type of event was to be expected. They actually had a warning notice two years after this prophecy was given:
Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders 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.
swell like the River, Heave and subside Like the River of Egypt… Speaking of the annual flooding of the Nile, this an allusion to the Assyrian army that would invade them because they refused to repent.
Jeremiah 46:7 “Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers?
Jeremiah 46:8 Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, ‘I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.’ [Isaiah 59:19; Jeremiah 46:7-8; 47:2; Psalm 18:16-17; 69:1-2].
Isaiah 8:7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them The waters of the River, strong and mighty— The king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels And go over all his banks.
Amos 8:9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
it shall come to pass in that day… another clear indicator that we are talking about the end-time as well.
sun go down at noon…darken the earth in broad daylight… heavenly signs that will accompany events in the latter days.
Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Joel 2:2, 10, 31; 3:14-15
Amos 8:10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.
your feasts… this was part of the problem, they had replaced God’s commanded feasts days (Leviticus 23) with their own.
into mourning… this goes hand in hand with the lamenting songs at the beginning of this chapter Amos 8:3
sackcloth on every waist… baldness on every head… outward signs of repentance.
mourning for an only son… when your namesake and heir apparent is taken, there is not much worse that can be take from you.
Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.
Amos 8:12 They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.
“Behold, the days are coming,”… speaking of the end-time.
I will send a famine on the land… God will allow this to come about before He brings a Feast of His word by contrast at His second coming.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
But of hearing the words of the LORD… the truth will be in short supply. Do not confuse this with churches with a different spirit preaching another Jesus or another gospel that Paul warned us about in 2 Corinthians 11:4. The truth is that there will be many false christs and false prophets deceiving most people with their lies and great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24).
Now if we tie this back in with Amos 8:9 we see the physical pointing to the spiritual (Romans 1:20). The conditions of darkness and no light that come upon the Israelites in the end-time will parallel their spiritual condition because they refuse to obey/hear the word of God. (Isaiah 55:6)
Curses for disobedience:
Deuteronomy 28:28 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.
Deuteronomy 28:29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.
They did not seek Him while He could be found (Isaiah 55:6) and now it is too late and He is hidden from them because of their sins (Isaiah 59:1-2). So, now they have lost the truth and grasp for whatever they can and hold on to falsehood (Psalm 4:2).
This very aptly describes what is going on today in this present evil age! Do we see how applicable this and all the other prophecies are for the time that we are living in and will soon be upon us.
Amos 8:13 “In that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from thirst.
This is how bad it’s going to be and if it is that way for them, it will be really bad for the old and weak then.
Amos 8:14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, Who say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan!’ And, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.”
sin of Samaria… idolatry
Dan…Beersheba… terminology meaning the whole land from North to South
As your god lives…As the way … lives… they chose the pagan gods, which are not Gods, and their ways over God and His ways – this is why they will be taken into captivity.
They shall fall and never rise again… this being a prophecy for the end-time, points to the Kingdom of God on Earth which will usher in the rule of Christ and time where this will never again be allowed to take hold and flourish.
Chapter 9
Fifth and final vision:
Amos 9:1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, And break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
I saw the Lord standing by the altar… no longer Jereboam standing there and overseeing the rituals, but now it is God and He is doing just opposite and dismantling the whole system.
1 Kings 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
1 Kings 12:27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
1 Kings 12:28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
1 Kings 12:29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
1 Kings 12:30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
1 Kings 12:31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
1 Kings 12:32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
1 Kings 12:33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.
1 Kings 13:1 And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
This represents the destruction of the temple in Bethel and along with it the idolatrous pagan ways.
I will slay the last of them… there are some though that He sets aside, a remnant that have gone into captivity that will survive. (Amos 9:8-9)
he who escapes from them shall not be delivered… now God elaborates just how unfruitful it will be to resist the plan of God in motion.
Amos 9:2 “Though they dig into hell, From there My hand shall take them; Though they climb up to heaven, From there I will bring them down;
They will not escape the reach and grasp of God from the lowest to highest points
hell… the grave
heaven… whether the first or second this does not refer to the third heaven where God resides.
Amos 9:3 And though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, From there I will search and take them; Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
God sees them even in the darkness:
Carmel… thousands of caves there to hide in
bottom of the sea… where the light does not reach
Amos 9:4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword, And it shall slay them. I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”
Death and enslavement from the invading armies as a punishment from God
Amos 9:5 The Lord GOD of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, And all who dwell there mourn; All of it shall swell like the River, And subside like the River of Egypt.
The Lord GOD of hosts, He … This is the main difference between this verse and Amos 8:8; it is made very clear here that it is God that will be sending the Assyrian army as a punishment on His people for their continued sins.
Amos 9:6 He who builds His layers in the sky, And has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth— The LORD is His name.
God’s ability and the fact that He is in control is illustrated by the command that He has over all the facets of our world.
calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth… He has the ability to bring rain in due season or flood the Earth as in the time of Noah or send an army out to completely cover a land.
Amos 9:7 “Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?” says the LORD. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, The Philistines from Caphtor, And the Syrians from Kir?
The point that God is making is that they are not entirely special and He illustrates this in two ways:
- You are acting sinfully like the Ethiopians who are idolatrous and worldly.
- You are not the only ones that I have saved from captivity.
Even though they were set apart for a special reason and purpose this does not make them beyond reproach, especially considering all that Amos has been bringing up.
Syrians from Kir… this was prophesied to happen at the beginning of this book
Amos 1:5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.
In the next two verses, we see some events that have yet to be fulfilled:
Amos 9:8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” Says the LORD.
He can and will do this to the nations and othes in the previous verse
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
Amos 9:9 “For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.
sift the house of Israel among all nations … This has not happened in the past – they went to Assyria and after their release they did go to some relative unpopulated areas of Europe, but that does not carry the intensity of sifting. This has not bee fulfilled yet – it is still to happen in the future. We
[Coming Captivity of the Houses of Israel and Judah]
Isaiah 11:11–12 It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros [either a part of Egypt, and/or India] and Cush [North Africa, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and India], From Elam [Iran] and Shinar [that is the former Babylon, now Iraq], From Hamath [either a region in ancient Babylon, or a designation for Ham, whose descendants are now among the Egyptians, Arabs, Ethiopians, North Africans, the Palestinians and the Libyans] and the islands of the sea.” He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth….
Isaiah 27:12-13
not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground… this is poor translation and can be very misleading. The word translated grain is only found here but is better translated pouch full, bundle or pebble. When a grain is sifted, it is the impurities that are left behind in the sieve and this verse is saying that not a single bad thing will get through the sieve or accidentally bounce off of the top and make it to the ground with all the shaking and jerking back-and-forth that is going on.
Amos 9:10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’
All the sinners of My people… they believe that they are not bad when in actuality they just do not see how glaring their wrong ways are.
The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us…. They are saying, “This can/will not happen to us.” [so true today – it is what most people in the US/UK would say and believe!].
Jeremiah 6:14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.
They lack situational awareness
Revelation 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
Here they lack the spirit self-awareness
Restoration of Israel – God Ends it on a Positive Note
Amos 9:11 “On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old;
On that day… the end-time; the latter days
tabernacle of David… the house of David, which is all of Israel who were united as one under him. It cannot refer to the actual tabernacle in the wilderness – this never fell, but rather was replaced by the temple that Solomon was allowed to build.
Repair … raise up … rebuild… figuratively speaking of the restoration of Israel which can be seen in the rest of the verses in this chapter.
Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the LORD who does this thing.
Edom… this represents the Gentiles, the rest of mankind as they are equated here. Esau the twin brother of Jacob/Israel became the enemy of God’s people which the descendants of Israel are.
Acts 15:13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me:
Acts 15:14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
Acts 15:15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
Acts 15:16 ‘AFTER THIS I WILL RETURN AND WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, WHICH HAS FALLEN DOWN; I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL SET IT UP;
Acts 15:17 SO THAT THE REST [remnant] OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, EVEN ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SAYS THE LORD WHO DOES ALL THESE THINGS.’
Acts 15:18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works.
the Gentiles who are called by My name…
Acts 15:19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,
Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
Romans 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
In light of this it is interesting that David was the only king that ruled over Edom. During the 1000 year reign of God on Earth, David will be king over Israel and once Edom / Gentiles become spiritual Jews, he would then in effect be king over all of them once again.
Amos 9:13 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.
The yield will be so tremendous that it appears that it will take over half of the year to reap what they have sown.
Amos 9:14 I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
bring back the captives of My people Israel… in this future scenario, God will have to free His people. This is still yet to happen.
Isaiah 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will thresh, From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.
Isaiah 27:13 So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Isaiah 11:11-12
shall build the waste cities…
Ezekiel 36:10 I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
Ezekiel 36:11 I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
Amos 9:15 I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.
I will plant them in their land… In much the same way that they planted in the previous verse; Also, it should be made clear that this was not fulfilled in 1948 as many believe – mainly for two reasons: it is only the house of Judah that returned and not the northern kingdom of Israel; and the Jews will be removed from their land in the near future.