Amos 2

EXAMINATION

CONSIDERATIONS

Summarize in one paragraph, the philosophy of history as taught by the Old Testament prophets.

Describe in detail, the circumstances of the times in which Amos took God’s message to Israel.

What is generally accepted as the theme of the book of Amos?

ASSOCIATIONS

Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two.

1

2

Uzziah

a synonym for Israel

Carmel

the high priest of Israel

Tekoa

king of Judah

Gaza

center of worship in Israel

Damascus

capital of Syria

Amman

city of Philistia

Moab

Amos-’ home town

Amaziah

mountain in Israel

Tabernacle of David

city of Philistia

Bethel

Messianic prophecy

Nazirites

heathen nation east of Jordan

Ashdod

heathen nation east of Jordan

Jacob

Jewish sect

MEMORIZATIONS

… because I will do this unto thee, _____ to meet thy _____, O Israel. Seek _____, and not _____, that ye may live; and so _____, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say. But let _____ roll down as _____, and _____ as a mighty stream. Woe to them that are at _____ in Zion, and to them that are _____ in the mountain of Samaria. In that day I will rise up the _____ of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its _____ and I will _____ it as in the days of old;

CONTEMPLATIONS

What was Amos-’ occupation? What did he mean he was not the son of a prophet?

What was the birthplace of Amos and what type of life did he lead?

Why did God direct Amos to pronounce judgment upon the many heathen nations surrounding the chosen people? What is the lesson in this for today?

What kind of living were the people engaging in according to Amos-’ description?

Why is Amos called the prophet of social justice?

What was the religious condition of the northern kingdom in Amos-’ day?

What opposition did Amos meet in his preaching in Israel?

Does the book of Amos teach against the use of musical instruments in the worship of God?

Where is the Messianic prophecy recorded in the book of Amos? Where is it repeated in the New Testament?

What does the N.T. interpretation of Amos-’ prophecy teach concerning the Messianic kingdom?

That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches. (Amos 6:4). Ivory plaques, often inlaid with gold and precious stones, decorated with cherubs and religious motifs of foreign origin, have been found by the hundred at Megiddo and Samaria. They testify to the luxury and extravagance of the upper classes in Israel in the first half of the eighth century B. C., against which the Prophet Amos thundered in vain.

FROM: THE BIBLE AS HISTORY IN PICTUR

By Werner Keller - Wm. Morrow Co.

ALONE

It is human to stand with the crowd, it is divine to stand alone; it is man-like to follow the people, to drift with the tide; it is Godlike to follow a principle, to stem the tide. It is natural to compromise conscience and follow the social and religious fashion for the sake of gain or pleasure; it is divine to sacrifice both on the altar of truth and duty.

No man stood with me, but all men forsook me, wrote the battle-scared apostle in describing his first appearance before Nero to answer for his life for believing and teaching contrary to the Roman world. Truth has been out of fashion since man changed his robe of fadeless light for a garment of faded leaves. Noah built and voyaged alone. His neighbors laughed at his strangeness and perished in style, Abraham wandered and worshipped alone. Sodomites smiled at the simple shepherd, followed the fashion, and fed the flames. Daniel dined and prayed alone. Elijah sacrificed and witnessed alone. Jeremiah prophesied and wept alone. Jesus loved and died alone. And of the lonely way His disciples should walk, He said: Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Of their treatment by the many who walk in the broad way, He said: If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you. The church in the wilderness praised Abraham and persecuted Moses. The church of the kings praised Moses and persecuted the prophets. The church of Caiaphas praised the prophets and persecuted Jesus. The church of the Popes praised the Saviour and persecuted the saints. And the multitudes now, both in the church and the world, applaud the courage and fortitude of the patriarchs and prophets, the apostles and martyrs, but condemn as stubbornness or foolishness like faithfulness to truth today. Wanted, today, men and women, young and old, who will obey their convictions of truth and duty at the cost of fortune and friends and life itself.

Amos 2:1-3

PUNISHMENT PROMISED, THE HEATHEN NATIONSMOAB

TEXT: Amos 2:1-3

1

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

2

but I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet;

3

and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah.

QUERIES

a.

Who were the Moabites?

b.

Why is God concerned that the king of Edom’s bones were burned?

PARAPHRASE

This is the Lord’s word: For sin after sin of Moab, I will not leave her unpunished. Because these Moabites have in their proud arrogance burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime and have thus vented a depraved wrath upon one who at this time stands for Jehovah, I will consume Moab with the fire of My judgment and he shall die midst the shouting of warriors and blare of battle trumpets. I will slaughter Moab’s king and other royal princes with him, says the Lord.

SUMMARY

For her unnatural hate and arrogance toward God, Moab will die as a nation.

COMMENT

Amos 2:1-3. FOR THREE TRANSGRESSIONS OF MOAB. BECAUSE HE BURNED THE BONES OF THE KING OF EDOM INTO LIME. I WILL SEND A FIRE UPON MOAB. AND MOAB SHALL DIE WITH TUMULT. AND I WILL CUT OFF THE JUDGE. Moab was a son of Lot (as was Ammon) (cf. Genesis 19:38). Moses and the Israelites had a run-in with the Moabites in their journey to the land of Promise (cf. Numbers 22-24). Balaam advised Balak to seduce the men of Israel by sending the Moabite girls into the camp of Israel (cf. Numbers 31:16; Numbers 25:1-9). The Moabites oppressed Israel for 18 years (Judges 3:12-14). When Israel repented God sent Ehud to deliver them from Moabite oppression. Ruth, the Moabitess came to Israel with Naomi, married Boaz and became an ancestress of David and consequently an ancestress of Jesus Christ, the Son of David according to the flesh,

Along with Amos-’ death sentence upon Moab are those of Isaiah 15-16; Ezekiel 25:8-11; Jeremiah 48; Zephaniah 2:8-11. Isaiah 16:6 says, We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogancy, and his pride and his wrath. The death knell of Isaiah upon Moab is fulfilled by Shalmanezer of Assyria or by his successor Sargon. From then on a succession of world conquerors subdued and, in the process, annihilated Moab as a nation. The land of Moab was bounded on the west by the Dead Sea, on the east by the desert, on the north by the Arnon, and on the south by Edom. It is about 3200 feet above the level of the sea, and is chiefly rolling, mountainous country

In Ezekiel 28:8-11 we are told that Moab and Seir are to be punished for likening the house of Judah to the other nations. Amos localizes his accusation against her by telling of an incident not recorded anywhere else in the O.T. K & D say, … no doubt it was connected with the war referred to in 2Kings 3, which Joram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah waged against the Moabites in company with the king of Edom. Here the king of Edom was found on the side of the covenant people and when the king of Moab gained supremacy over Edom later, he burned the king of Edom’s body until the bones turned into lime. It illustrates the depths of depravity to which a highly cultured people can descend if they reject the revelation of God (cf. Romans 1:18 ff). Pusey says, The soul being, after death, beyond man’s reach, the hatred, vented upon his remains, is a sort of impotent grasping at eternal vengence. It wreaks on what it knows to be insensible, the hatred with which it would pursue, if it could, the living being who is beyond it. Hatred, which death cannot extinguish, is the beginning of the eternal hate in hell. With this hatred Moab hated the king of Edom, seemingly because he had been. on the side of the people of God. It was then sin against the love of God, and directed against God Himself. This reminds us of Wycliffe who was the first to translate the Bible into the English language. The Roman pope of that day excommunicated him and ordered that Wycliffe’s bones be dug up, burned, and cast into the river.

Kerioth is probably the capital city of Moab. It is not to be confused with the Kerioth in the south of Judah (Joshua 15:25) and otherwise known as Hazor. Some say the city lay in what is now Jebel Druz, nearly south of Damascus and in high country. Some have thought that Moab had no king at this time since Amos mentions a judge as the potentate. But there is no notice in the history of that time of any other type of potentate than a monarch. Judge is probably nothing more than a rhetorical expression applied to the king and used simply for the sake of poetic variety.

QUIZ

Who were the Moabites and where was their country?

What is evidenced of their character in the burning of the king of Edom’s bones?

Amos 2:4-5

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN PUNISHMENT PROMISED, THE COVENANT NATIONSJUDAH

TEXT: Amos 2:4-5

4

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk:

5

but I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

QUERIES

a.

To what extent had Judah rejected the law of Jehovah?

b.

What lies caused them to err?

PARAPHRASE

This is the Lord’s word: For sin after sin of Judah, I will not leave her unpunished. Because they have spurned the law of Jehovah and have refused to keep His commandments, and because they have walked after lying idols just as their fathers did, I will send down upon them the fires of My judgment and this judgment shall consume even the great buildings of Jerusalem.

SUMMARY

Just as the heathen did not live up to their revelation, neither did Judah and although elected by God for a special mission they need not think God is a respecter of persons. They are to be judged for indifference to God’s commandments and for idolatry.

COMMENT

Amos 2:4-5. FOR THREE TRANSGRESSIONS OF JUDAH. BECAUSE THEY HAVE REJECTED THE LAW OF JEHOVAH. AND THEIR LIES HAVE CAUSED THEM TO ERR. Amos may have been a sheepherder and a farmer but he was a student of human nature and a master psychologist. His homiletical approach to the central application he made was excellent. In a series of concentric circles Amos denounced the sins of men against Jehovah. Beginning with a great encircling movement that included Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Amman, and Moab; he identified the rebellion against God with those outside God’s special covenant. Then, shrinking to a smaller circle, a similar rebellion was placed squarely upon the shoulders of Judah. One can almost hear the people of the northern kingdom, Israel, giving ready Amens to Amos-’ preaching against their neighbors! Yes, there were many in Israel who probably still held grudges against Judah and so when Amos pointed out the sins of Judah they were in full agreement. Then after this announcement, Amos immediately thrust into the very heart of Israel the sword of the Spirit, the word of God’s judgments against her! If it was true that the nations outside the covenant were accountable, if Judah, in the covenant were accountable, then it logically followed that Israel could not escape accountability.

We find Judah, not being judged for the wild excesses of the heathen, but for rejection of the law of God. Judah stood in greater responsibility than the heathen for she had been blessed to know the law of God, had been blessed with a succession of teachers and religious leaders to instruct her in the law and so her’s was an even more heinous sin against God! Greater privilege brings greater responsibility (Luke 12:48). Judah is not immune to judgment because they are God’s elect. Indeed, their judgment is greater because they are His; and being His they chose to rebel against His law.

Walking after is the standard expression for idolatry. Their fathers before them walked after false gods. These false gods were impotent, dumb, vain and deceitful. So their lies are their idols, (cf. Isaiah 44:9-20)! The law of God embraces far more than just a legal codification of certain statutes. It included the totality of all instruction, civil, religious, moralthe total revelation of God. Instead they followed falsehood, deception, immorality and rebellionan inevitable consequence of idolatry. Society is little better today, even in so-called Christian cultures. Men have deified science, philosophy, flesh, government and self. To worship any of these is hardly more intelligent than the idolatry of 2700 years ago. Rejection of divine revelation and substitution of any pantheon of godsancient or modernbrings the same inevitable consequences! Man without God becomes autonomous which leads inevitably to anarchy in societyboth political and ethical. This is exactly what it led to in Judah (read the book of Jeremiah and II Kings) just before the awful judgment of God fell by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

QUIZ

How was Amos-’ preaching of the judgments of God a homiletical masterpiece?

Why was Judah held accountable to a greater degree than the heathen?

What were the lies Judah was caused to err in?

What is the inevitable result of rejecting divine revelation?

Amos 2:6-8

PUNISHMENT PROMISED, THE COVENANT NATIONSISRAEL

TEXT: Amos 2:6-8

6

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;

7

they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name:

8

and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined.

QUERIES

a.

How sell the righteous for silver. needy for a pair of shoes?

b.

How pant after the dust of the earth. ?

c.

What was involved in father and son going to the same harlot?

PARAPHRASE

This is the Lord’s word; For sin after sin of Israel, I will not leave her unpunished, Because they have for mere trifles given debtors over to their creditors as slaves; because they long eagerly to bring the poor into a state of misery and destitution that they scatter dust upon their heads; because father and son shamelessly and intentionally profane the name of God by committing incest when they both go in unto the same maiden; because they take the garments of the poor for which they have loaned the poor money and use them as bedding before the very altar of God at His feasts; because in the places they where they worship Jehovah they carouse with the wine bought with the fines they have taken from the poor they have prosecutedbecause of all these sins I will not turn away from punishing Israel.

SUMMARY

Five specific charges Amos brings against Israel in this section. Every charge has to do with injustice against the poor.

COMMENT

Amos 2:6-8. FOR THREE TRANSGRESSIONS OF ISRAEL. SOLD. THE NEEDY FOR A PAIR OF SHOES. TURN ASIDE THE WAY OF THE MEEK. PROFANE MY HOLY NAME. IN THE HOUSE OF. GOD. DRINK. WINE. Now Amos lets loose all the stormy fury of God’s anger where it is needed most imperatively! Israel is on the brink of disaster. God has called them time and time again. He has sent prophet after prophetnatural calamity after natural calamity, but unable to see through the veneer of a superficial prosperity (much like people today), Israel is at ease in Bethel!

Selling the righteous for silver, refers to the judges who were bribed to pronounce a man guilty of some crime of which he was accused while in reality he was innocent of the accusation. Selling the needy for a pair of shoes does not mean that some slave was sold by someone else merely to obtain a pair of shoes; but some rich creditor would bribe a judge with a bribe as trifling as the price of a pair of shoes and the judge would then sentence the poor man in debt to become a slave to his creditor. This was done by perverting the statute in Leviticus 25:39 (cf. also 2 Kings 4:1). The word translated pant means to gasp, to long eagerly for. The greedy rich desired eagerly to bring the poor into such a state of poverty and misery as to cause the poor to scatter dust (a symbol of sorrow and distress, Joshua 7:6; Ezekiel 27:30; Job 2:12; Lamentations 2:10) upon their heads. To this end they seek to bend the way of the meek. They long to trap the poor and cast them headlong into destruction by placing stumbling-blocks in their path. For themselves the rich seek gold and silver and luxury; for others dust and ashes, poverty and sorrow!

Father and son seek the same maiden for fornication. Actually the law calls it incest (Leviticus 18:7; Leviticus 18:15; Leviticus 20:11), a crime punishable by death. This was done not so much out of passion as it was in deliberate revolt against God’s law. K & D put it, in daring contempt of the commandments of God. the profanation of the holy name of God is represented as intentional, to bring out the daring character of the sin, and to show that it did not arise from weakness or ignorance, but was practiced with studious contempt of the holy God. They literally defied God or man to punish them! Pusey says, Men, satiated with ordinary sin seek incitement to sin, in its very horrors. Oppression of the poor, wronging the righteous, perverting the way of the meek, laid the soul open for any abomination. The truth of this has been exemplified in every generation (cf. Romans 1:18 ff) and is no less true in our own generation!

The rich men were taking the poor men’s cloaks as collateral on loans, The cloak as a pledge was to be returned to the pledger before nightfall (Exodus 22:25) and a garment so taken was not to be slept upon(cf. Deuteronomy 24:12-13). But the godless rich money lenders kept the cloaks of the poor and used them as blankets upon which they lay to rest at the feasts; and this they did by every altar, at sacrificial meals, in contempt of God and His law! Then, in further contempt of God and their fellow man they debauched themselves in drunken revelry, drinking wine they purchased from the fines collected from the poor; and this in the place where they claimed to worship God. Pusey sums it all up: What hardheartedness to the willfully forgotten poor is compensated by a little churchgoing. They did all these things but they also went through certain religious rituals and so they eased their consciences. The nature of this conduct which is terrifying to anyone of moral conscience at all is its intentional, daring, studious contempt of the holy God! Most of it done in the name of religion and in the very buildings hallowed for worshiping the Deity! Is it any wonder that Amos was so vituperative and vitriolic in preaching the warnings of God to these indolent near-incorrigibles. There are centers of government and religion equally as corrupt today as in Amos-’ day. Let us know assuredly that God’s wrath upon such rebellion has not changed. Amos-’ preaching is as contemporary as today’s newspaper!

QUIZ

Why does Amos save Israel until last in announcing the warnings of God?

What is selling the righteous for silver?

What is selling the needy for a pair of shoes?

What is the meaning of dust of the earth on the head of the poor?

What is the nature of the sin in which father and son go into the same maiden?

What is wrong with some lying on clothes taken in pledge?

Could the preaching of Amos be used today? Where? How?

Amos 2:9-12

PUNISHMENT PROMISED, THE COVENANT NATIONSISRAEL

TEXT: Amos 2:9-12

9

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10

Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

11

And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah.

12

But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

QUERIES

a.

Who were the Amorites and why refer to their height?

b.

Why mention the prophets and Nazirites?

PARAPHRASE

I remind you that it was I who cleared the promised land of the giant Amorites for you would not have been able to possess the land had I not done so. These Amorites, by your own admission, were too strong for you to overcome by yourself, yet I utterly exterminated this nation for you. I remind you that it was I who delivered you from your slavery in Egypt and sustained you forty years in the wilderness and gave you the land of the Amorite as your possession. I remind you that it was I who raised up some of your sons as My special messengers, prophets, who were empowered by My Spirit to reveal My word to you; and I raised up some of your sons to become Nazirites, especially holy men, to set before your eyes an example of your holy calling and to show you that I am able to give men the power to live holy lives. Is this not true, You children of the covenant? says the Lord. But instead of giving heed to these manifestations and examples of My holy will you held my word in contempt and caused the Nazirites to sin by tempting them to drink wine and you commanded My prophets to refrain from declaring My word!

SUMMARY

Amos makes a vivid contrast between the faithfulness of God toward Israel and Israel’s unfaithful contempt of God’s grace toward them,

COMMENT

Amos 2:9. DESTROYED I THE AMORITE BEFORE THEM. LIKE THE HEIGHT OF THE CEDARS. God delivered, led, sustained and fought for Israel. When Israel came to the borders of the Promised Land and sent men in to spy out the land the report came back that the people were as giants and the Israelites were like grasshoppers in comparison (cf. Numbers 13:32-33) but God gave Israel victory and so completely overthrew the Amorites that they were eradicated. God removed them so thoroughly that they never were a nation again.

Amos 2:10 ALSO I BROUGHT YOU UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND LED YOU FORTY YEARS. God nurtured Israel like a father and mother nurtures a child (cf. Hosea 11:1-4; Ezekiel 16:4-8). When Israel was an unpitied, disorganized, unloved, nomadic tribe of slaves in Egypt, Jehovah God took them and pitied them, delivered them from their slavery, fed them, clothed them, protected them, gave them a Land, blessed them, and still they held Him in contempt. They forgot what they were before He blessed them! They took Him for granted! They became ungrateful, exactly as Moses warned them not to do (be sure to read the entire 8th chapter of Deuteronomy in this connection)! Ingratitude is, like its sister pride, one of the worst of sins!

Amos 2:11-12. I RAISED UP. PROPHETS. AND NAZIRITES. BUT YE GAVE THE NAZIRITES WINE TO DRINK. AND COMMANDED THE PROPHETS. PROPHESY NOT. Nothing demonstrated the grace of God so well as the fact that God raised up some men from among the covenant people to be His prophets, to deliver to the people the Light of Life, the Bread of Life, the Word of God. The patience and longsuffering of God waited upon the people through the prophets as He sent them to turn the prodigal nation from its rebellion, but the people would not! They commanded the prophets to cease their preaching (cf. Amos 7:12; 1 Kings 18:17; 1 Kings 19:1-3).

The verb nazar is used to dedicate, consecrate, separate. The word nazir, translated Nazirite, is literally one consecrated, devoted. This was the primary mission of the Naziriteconsecrationand to that end he dedicated himself either for life or for a brief period of time. Samson is an example of a man used by God in such a life. The primary concern of the Nazirite was to manifest his consecration to God by a particular manner of life, (cf. Numbers 6:1-21). This life consisted of: (a) totally abstaining from products of the vine and all intoxicants; (b) refusing to cut their hair lest a man-made tool profane this god-given growth; (c) avoiding contact with the dead; and (d) declining unclean. food. So the Nazirite was given to the people to demonstrate by holy living what the prophet taught in precept. This does not mean, however, that the prophets themselves did not live godly livesfor they did. The Nazirite was to set before the eyes of the people the object of their divine calling. to show them how the Lord wants them to be a holy people. also to show them how the Lord bestowed the power to carry out this object (K & D). It was in the contempt and abuse of these gifts of grace that the ingratitude of Israel was shown in its worst light. Instead of listening to the prophets and living like the Nazirites and becoming the holy people God desired them to be, they tempted the Nazirites to break their vows and drink wine and they forbade the prophets to preach! Open, flagrant, impudent rebellion, this is sinning against knowledge, sinning with a high hand, (cf. Numbers 15:30-31); this is shaking the first against the Heavenly throne.

QUIZ

Why does Amos speak of the Amorites being as tall as cedars?

What should the people of Israel remember about their former condition?

What great sin were they guilty of?

What is a Nazirite? What purpose did he serve in the O.T. dispensation?

When one sins against the knowledge of God’s will he has what kind of sin is it?

Amos 2:13-16

PUNISHMENT PROMISED, THE COVENANT NATIONSISRAEL

TEXT: Amos 2:13-16

13

Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.

14

And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

15

neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;

16

and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.

QUERIES

a.

How will God press them in their place, like a cart. full of sheaves?

b.

What is the prophet telling the nation in Amos 2:14-16?

PARAPHRASE

Look, I am going to stop you in your tracks like a cart that is loaded too full of grain sheaves to move. The fastest runners will not have time to escape; the strength of the strong men will not avail; the great and influential will not escape; the long line of bowmen will give way; even the warriors mounted on horses shall be overcome! The bravest of the brave will only be able to make an ignominious escape by shedding his clothing by which the enemy might seize him!

SUMMARY

Israel will be paralyzed! None shall escape the judgment that is about to come.

COMMENT

Amos 2:13. PRESS YOU IN YOUR PLACE, AS A CART PRESSETH. FULL OF SHEAVES. Conjecture as to how this verse is to be interpreted is varied. Pusey says, God bore His people, as the wain (cart) bears the sheaves. His longsuffering was, as it were, worn out by them. He was straitened under them, as the wain groans under the sheaves with which it is over-full. Laetsch says, The threshing cart consisted of three or more rollers set in a heavy wooden frame surmounted by the driver’s seat. These rollers were attached to wheels on the outside of the framework, and if either the wheels or the rollers were clogged by the sheaves of grain over which the sledge was drawn by oxen, the sledge was stopped from further progress until the obstructing sheaves had been removed. Lange says, A more appropriate comparison is found in the pressure by which a threshing cart threshes the sheaves. K & D, say, The comparison instituted here to the pressure of a cart filled with sheaves. the object of press is wanting, but may easily be supplied from the thought, namely, the ground over which the cart is driven. We have chosen our own interpretation which we feel is warranted from the context. It would seem as if Amos is using the figure of a cart stopped in its tracks by being too full to pictorialize how God is going to stop Israel in its tracks. Israel’s military machinery, running smoothly under Jeroboam II (permitted by God), rolling on to victory, would suddenly be stopped by the Lord. Her facade of prosperity would be ripped from her. Disorder, confusion, panic, defeat, ruin, disaster was coming ever closer! Now she is flying highsoon she will be plunged into destruction!

Amos 2:14-16 AND FLIGHT SHALL PERISH FROM THE SWIFT;. AND HE THAT IS COURAGEOUS AMONG THE MIGHTY SHALL FLEE AWAY NAKED IN THAT DAY. Now the prophet individualizes this national paralysis. The swiftest, strongest, bravest, ablest warriors will not be able to stand against God’s judgment. The most courageous among the mighty will throw off his armor and his clothing and run for his life like a coward.

Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 B.C.), one of the greatest monarchs of antiquity, after capturing Samaria (capital of Israel), put on the throne as his vassal Hoshea, who had slain Pekah, king of Israel. With the death of Tiglath-pileser III, Hoshea decided to strike a blow for independence. Help was promised by the king of Egypt, but it did not come. Hoshea was made a prisoner, and the capital doomed to destruction, as the prophets foretold (Hosea 10:7-8; Isaiah 28:1; Micah 1:5-6). It was, however, only after a three years-’ siege that the city was captured. Before it fell, Shalmaneser had abdicated or died, and Sargon, who succeeded him, completed the conquest of the city and deported the inhabitants to Assyria (cf. 2 Kings 17-18). Not all of the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom were taken into captivity. The very poor, who would cause no trouble in the future, were left (2 Kings 25:12). Intermarriage with the imported peoples resulted in the hybrid stock later known as the Samaritans. The Ten Tribes taken into captivity, sometimes called the Lost Tribes of Israel, must not be thought of as being absorbed by the peoples among whom they settled. Some undoubtedly were, but many others retained their Israelitish religion and traditions. Some became part of the Jewish dispersion, and others very likely returned with the exiles of Judah in 536 B.C. who were previously carried off into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar in 606-586 B.C.

Israel, as a distinct nation, ceased to be, just as Amos and his prophet-successors warned. Any nation, no matter how blessed and privileged in the past, who contemptuously defies the laws of God and shakes its fist at the throne of heaven must suffer the same annihilation! Let all the nations of the earth take heed!

QUIZ

What does Amos intend Israel to see in the cart pressed down?

Would there not be some who would escape?

When did Israel’s captivity come? Whom did God use to accomplish it? (cf. Isaiah 10:5-19)

Is there a lesson to be learned by nations today from Israel?