009. II. The Opening Address At Bethel (1:2 to 2:16)
II THE OPENING ADDRESS AT BETHEL (Amos 1:2toAmos 2:16) 1. The Text (Amos 1:2)
Jehovah, justly indignant because of the crimes of the nations, is about to send upon the earth a destructive judgment, so severe that the most fertile spots shall become utterly barren and desolate.
2. Introduction. The Sins and Condemnation of Israel’s Neighbors (Amos 1:3 to Amos 2:5)
Guilt of the Arameans and the doom which awaits them (Amos 1:3-5). Are you enraged, O Israelites, at the suggestion, contained in my text, that upon you judgment is soon to be visited? Listen a moment before you turn your backs upon me. I come to declare that, although Jehovah has repeatedly overlooked the offenses of your hated enemies, the Arameans, their cup of transgression is at last filled to overflowing. No longer will he withhold well-merited punishment. An utter disregard of the obligations, recognized by heathen nations even in time of war, such as appeared, for example, in their inhuman treatment of the conquered Gileadites, your brethren, is a crime which cannot be condoned. Jehovah, whose sway is not limited to the land of Canaan (as some of you in your ignorance still suppose), will avenge those awful deeds of cruelty. The family of the merciless conqueror Hazael shall be hurled from the throne of Damascus; the defenses of that proud city shall be broken down, and the inhabitants of the land shall be slain. Those of the condemned race who survive shall be carried away into distant captivity.
Retribution for the Philistines (Amos 1:6-8). Not the Arameans only, but those uncircumcised Philistines, whom you hate so intensely, have sinned until Jehovah cannot forgive. Heathen though they were, they knew that it was a crime to sell remorselessly into galling slavery old men, women, children,—all, whether friends or foes, who fell into their hands. Jehovah, who rules the nations, will visit their guilt upon their heads. Destroyed shall be their great cities, slain shall be king and people.
Retribution for the Tyrians (Amos 1:9-10). For similar acts of cruelty the Tyrians shall receive like recompense at the hands of Jehovah. Remorseless fire shall consume their proud city with its palaces.
Retribution for the Edomites (Amos 1:11-12). Naturally, in the same connection you think of the Edomites. Their hour of retribution likewise is at hand. These unnatural kinsmen of yours lost no opportunity in your time of weakness to give you a mortal thrust. They showed no mercy; neither will Jehovah spare them.
Retribution for the Ammonites (Amos 1:13-15). The Ammonites also belong to that accursed circle of cruel, implacable foes who have tried to drag you down and drink your life-blood. No longer will Jehovah overlook the deeds of brutality to which their thirst for conquest has led them. At his command their cities and palaces shall fall before a tempest of war and destruction, and their rulers shall be carried into captivity.
Retribution for the Moabites (Amos 2:1-3). Moreover, Jehovah declares that the Moabites have transgressed beyond the possibility of forgiveness. True, you have succeeded in subduing them, and therefore their most atrocious sins are not those of cruelty. You all recall how, prompted by bitter hatred for their treacherous southern foes, disregarding the sanctity of the dead,—held inviolable even by savages,—they dragged forth the bones of an Edomite king, and burned them. Upon their cities and rulers, therefore, shall be visited the same bitter woes of war and conquest.
Retribution for the Judeans (Amos 2:4-5). I can see by your approval, O Israelites, that you welcome the news of the judgment which Jehovah is about to execute upon these heathen peoples. In so doing you accept the great truth that he rules, not only over Israel, but also over these nations, and that, although he is long-suffering, there comes a time when he must punish unchecked evils. You also acknowledge the principle that, as responsibility is proportionate to enlightenment, so likewise is the punishment, if the responsibility is rejected. Hence, you will agree that Jehovah is just in sending retribution upon the Judeans, who, knowing his will far better than those other nations, have treacherously failed to comply with his laws. They, like their heathen neighbors, shall experience the horrors of conquest.
3. The Sins and Condemnation of Israel (Amos 2:6-16).
Crimes which preclude pardon (Amos 2:6-8). Hear now, O Israelites, the painful message that Jehovah has sent me to declare. Your cup of transgression also is full to overflowing, so that just punishment can no longer be withheld. Like the royal culprit David, you stand condemned in accordance with the same principles which you have so readily accepted in the case of others. The only difference between you and your barbarian neighbors is that your sins are more heinous. If you question this, behold the injustice and the inhuman cruelty of your rulers. They do not hesitate to sacrifice an honest man, if they think that they can themselves gain a farthing thereby. Their insatiable greed has exhausted every spark of mercy in their hearts. The most shameless immorality is openly practised. Worst of all, like the Canaanites, they gratify their lust under the guise of religion; and, to make their guilt complete, in sating their unholy appetites, they use, as accessories, the possessions which they have unjustly extorted from their needy dependents.
What Jehovah has done for this people (Amos 2:9-11). Compare with their base ingratitude all that Jehovah has done for them. When they were a disorganized nation of serfs, he delivered them from bondage in Egypt; he led them through the perils of the wilderness; he enabled them to subdue this land of Canaan, possessed though it was by powerful peoples. For their spiritual nurture, he sent to them prophets to teach, by word of mouth, his will, and Nazirites to illustrate, by their lives, the ideals of purity and of consecration. Their base return (Amos 2:12). Instead of learning the lesson which Jehovah sought to inculcate, they silenced his prophets and induced the Nazirites to break their holy vows of abstinence.
Dire retribution for Israel (Amos 2:13-16). National annihilation awaits them at the hand of Jehovah. In the coming day of judgment, neither the strongest, nor the swiftest, nor the best equipped, nor the most courageous, shall escape the overwhelming destruction.