Amos 3

Judgments upon Moab“ For three transgressions of MoabI will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. 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; and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah” (Amos 2:1-3). Moabites occupied the land east of the Dead Sea and north of Edom. Moab, father of the tribe, was also a son of Lot by his daughter. Though kin to Israel, there was an implacable hatred toward them and hostility that never burned out. Moab is cited for one of her many infamous crimes; the dead body of the king of Edom had been desecrated by burning it to ashes.

By burning them into lime, some supposed that they were then mixed with mortar and used in some building. Such a shocking and diabolic deed revealed an evil aspect of the nation’ s character. Judgment must come. Fires of war will devour her. Kerioth, chief city of Moab, would be destroyed. What nations sow they also reap (Galatians 6:7).

Moab was the subject of other prophets as well. (See Isaiah 15:1 to Isaiah 16:14; Jeremiah 48:1-47; Ezekiel 25:8-11; and Zephaniah 2:8-9). Judgments upon Judah“ For three transgressions of Judah…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. But I will send a fire upon Judah and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem” (Amos 2:4-5). Given the rivalry and hostility of the Northern Kingdom toward the South we can imagine the evident approval on the faces of Amos’ audience; the amens and perhaps even cheers as he lashed Judah for her sins. In a masterful way, he led them as a leader leads his animals to their fold.The charge laid against Judah is not atrocity or violence, it is religious apostasy. They rejected the law of Jehovah. The law or Torah says Keil, “ is the sum and substance of all the instructions and all the commandments which Jehovah had given to His people as the rule of life.” The statutes are the individual precepts.

The lies that caused them to err were their idols and the false religious system they had substituted for Jehovah’ s worship. The writer of Kings tells us that idolatry was wide spread in Judah during Uzziah’ s reign (2 Kings 15:1-4). The judgment of Judah for her transgressions was the same as for her heathen neighbors. Fiery judgments of war would sweep over her. This occurred when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587/586 (See 2 Kings 25:8-12). It is noteworthy that nations that sinned without having God’ s written revelation were no less guilty than Judah who had the Law. (Compare Paul’ s teaching on this subject in Romans 2:11-16).

Having thoroughly disarmed his hearers and having won their attention by his sound thrashing of their neighbors, Amos turns to the business at hand. Judgment Upon Israel“ For three transgressions of Israel…I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes— 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 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” (2:6-8). The ten northern tribes under the leadership of Jeroboam I, revolted against the house of David and established themselves as the Kingdom of Israel. (Compare 1 Kings 12:1-21). While rebelling against God politically, they also corrupted his worship by embracing the Baal worship of their heathen neighbors. Thus at Bethel Jeroboam I had set up one of his golden calves (1 Kings 12:26-33). That pagan religion soon reflected itself in the moral, ethical life of the nation. From their many transgressions, he chooses a few examples. They abused the poor, by selling them into servitude because of indebtedness. A poor man was allowed to sell himself into slavery in order to work out his debts (Leviticus 25:39), but he was to be treated as a brother. No authorization however was given for the forcible selling of the poor. The guilt of the oppressors is exposed when he notes that for a trifling amount, the price of a pair of sandals, they would enslave a brother! They were guilty of land grabbing. Micah also rebuked this sin; “ they covet fields and seize them” (Micah 2:2). Their greed is painted in hyperbolic strokes. They even demand the dust the poor farmer cast on his head in mourning, when he saw his fate. (Compare Lamenations 2:10). They turned aside the way of the meek. This refers to a corrupt legal system that allowed the wealthy and powerful to get unjust advantage over law-abiding citizens. (See Proverbs 17:23).They were guilty of blatant immorality. “ A son and his father go unto the same maiden” for sexual purposes. Such was considered incestuous under the law. (Compare Leviticus 18:7; Leviticus 18:15). This is an allusion to the ritual fornication of the Baal worship (See Hosea 4:14). Each shrine had its male and female prostitutes. Such immoral practices profaned God’ s holy name because the degenerate worshipers claimed they were doing so in the name of Jehovah.

It is important to note that the Hebrews did not renounce Jehovah in their apostasy. They simply embraced Baal practices and said that they were doing those things in service to Jehovah. This common practices is called syncretism which is the blending of two or more things together. Profanation of God’ s name was strictly forbidden (Leviticus 22:32) In their ritual fornication they laid down beside the altar on a poor man’ s cloak taken in pledge. If a man was so poor that all he had for collateral was his large outer cloak, it could be used but had to be returned to him at sundown (Deuteronomy 24:12-13). This was because the cloak was also his blanket under which he slept at night. These wicked people had kept the poor man’ s cloak overnight and used it for a pallet for their sinful indulgence lest their own cloak be soiled. Note that Amos says these things were done “ in the house of their God.” It was not Jehovah’ s house, but the Baal shrines where such took place. Such practices had nothing to do with the righteous God of heaven. Their Baal worship included indulgence in wine. Amos shames them for extracting unjust fines from their neighbors and then using the proceeds in worship. Such was an insult to God. “ 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. 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. 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. But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying Prophesy not” (Amos 2:9-12). In this section he stresses their utter ingratitude toward God who had done so much for them and their contempt toward his righteous servants. “ Yet I destroyed the Amorite” ties this paragraph with what had been previously noted. They had turned from Jehovah to embrace the religion of the local population whom he calls Amorites. Yet Jehovah had defeated the Amorites and shown their gods to be nothing but wood and stone. He was clearly superior to the legendary Baal gods. Amorite was technically the name of one group of the Canaanites. They were the mightiest of those tribes.

By metonymy, Amos makes them stand for all the tribes that Jehovah had driven out (Deuteronomy 1:20; Deuteronomy 1:27). To emphasize how strong they were, he likens them to oaks and cedars. Their cedar trees were conifers growing 80-100 feet high. Moses tells us that the Canaanites were of unusually large stature. (Numbers 13:32-33). Their great strength meant nothing to Jehovah who easily destroyed them (Joshua 10:12-21). To destroy their roots and fruits simply meant total destruction.

Their tribe became extinct. It was Jehovah not the Baal gods or Jeroboam’ s calf that had brought their fathers out of Egypt and safely led them through the wilderness to their homeland (Exodus 20:2). They showed their ingratitude and contempt for God by seeking to corrupt his holy servants, Nazirites, and prophets. Nazirites lived plain and simple lives for God. They abstained from all products of the vine including wine (Num. l-12).Their abstinence was a constant reminder of the sins of indulgence of the people, hence they sought to corrupt the Nazirites. Heavy drinking was a problem Amos fared. (See Amos 2:8; Amos 4:1; Amos 6:6). They tried to silence the prophets that God sent to rebuke them. Isaiah rebuked the same sin (30:10). God sent the prophets to warn them lest they perish. They rejected God’ s merciful gift. “ Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; 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; and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah” (Amos 2:13-16). As a heavily loaded cart presses down the soft earth beneath its wheels so will God crush Israel. The KJV renders the lines “ Behold, I am pressed under you…” If this be the correct reading, God is saying that he is weary of dealing with the rebellious people. (See Isaiah 43:24). Israel under Jeroboam was strong militarily (2 Kings 14:23-28). They were confident that their mighty troops could deliver them from any enemy. With words describing their forces of war he predicts that all will perish. Kenneth Taylor captures the meaning of Amos’ prophesies: “ Your swiftest warriors will stumble in flight. The strong will all be weak and the great ones can no longer save themselves. The archers aim will fail the swiftest runners won’ t be fast enough to flee and even the best of horsemen can’ t outrun the danger then. The most courageous of your mighty men will drop their weapons and run for their lives in that day (Living Bible Amos 2:14-16). Amos Chapter ThreeVerse 1 The nature of Amos 3-6 has been disputed; but it appears that Keil’s analysis is correct: “The contents of these chapters show that they do not contain three separate addresses delivered to the people by Amos at different times, but that they group together the leading thoughts of appeals delivered by word of mouth, so as to form one long admonition to repentance."[1]Amos had just concluded the great prophecy looking to the utter destruction of eight nations; and, as regarded the six pagan nations included, the Israelites were indeed delighted to have it so; but much to their consternation and disappointment, the prophet had included them, both Judah and Israel, in the doom foretold; therefore, Amos dealt with the reasons why the favored and chosen people, “the whole family” which God brought up out of Egypt, would also be destroyed, and why that destruction was fully deserved. The children of Israel had long disregarded the words of comfort, instruction, and discipline which God, through many prophets, had spoken to them; “And now they shall be made to hear the word of reproof and threatening that the Lord has spoken against them; for he will act as he has spoken."[2] Beginning with Amos 3, this word of denunciation and warning continues through Amos 6. The divisions of this chapter usually noted are:

1. An introductory justification of his message (Amos 3:1-8).
2. Samaria as an oppressor (Amos 3:9-10).
3. The Doom of Samaria foretold (Amos 3:11-12).
4. The Doom of Bethel foretold (Amos 3:13-15). Thus, it is evident that the particular subject of this chapter is the northern kingdom, especially the capital of Samaria, and also the center of the nation’s religious life at Bethel. Amo_3:1"Hear this word which Jehovah hath spoken against you. O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt.“Against the whole family …” The indictment is against the entire covenant people, both Judah and Israel. Judah had already been warned of impending doom (Amos 2:4); and, as the principal thrust of the whole prophecy is against Israel, the prophet turned immediately to the business in hand. “Which I brought up out of Egypt …” The thing which Amos was called to do lay totally beyond the thought-pattern of God’s “chosen people,” who had assumed that their unusual privileges endowed upon them a status of exemption from any unusual requirements. It was inconceivable to them that their God would punish them for wickedness, no matter how great it was; God was thought to be their tower of strength always, no matter what they did. It was surely a difficult task which Amos discharged in “getting through” to the people with that attitude. It was this difficulty which led him to authentication of his message in Amos 3:3-8. This is also probably the reason why, in these chapters, “The prophet shows in greater detail the depth to which Israel had fallen and the inevitability of God’s righteous judgment upon them as a result."[3]Verse 2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities.“You only have I known …” “The word known' in this context is a covenant word, used to describe a relationship instead of cognition."[4] It means, "Jehovah chose Israel alone to be his people."[5] To infer from this that God had no information of other nations, or that, in any sense, he was unaware of them, "would be a limitation upon God's nature,"[6] and also a notion utterly confounded by the stern judgments against other nations appearing in this very prophecy. In short, the doctrine of the election of Israel is the thing in view; but Amos revealed an altogether shocking corollary of it, responsibility and conformity to the will of God, a corollary that Israel had overlooked. Instead of reading their election as: Now that we are God's, he will help and bless us no matter what we do. Amos gave them the true version of it: Now that we are God's, he will surely punish us for all of our iniquities. It is amazing how this ancient delusion of Israel persists even today in millions of people who think they are "saved by faith alone." God's election, God's grace, God's covenant with his people has from the beginning, continually, and always rested upon the contingency that the recipients of his mercy would continue to love God, and to the best of their ability, obey him. Christians today should also read the true version of their salvation by the grace of God: We are God's, and therefore we are under the uttermost obligation to love him and obey him. Verse 3 "Shall two walk together except they have agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is set for him? shall a snare spring from the ground, and have taken nothing at all? Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it?These verses are the prelude to <a href="/bible/parallel/AMO/3/7" class="green-link">Amos 3:7-8</a>, below; and they consist of a series of questions, each of which demands a negative answer from the hearers, an answer that is not awaited, for it is considered obvious. "Shall two walk together ..." Israel's having forsaken God's way means that they are no longer "agreed" with God. "Can they continue together? The law of cause and effect operates to separate them."[7] As Butler noted, "This verse is often quoted in treatises on Unity,’ but Amos 3:3 has nothing to do with the subject of `Unity.’"[8] There is a sin and consequence relationship in all of the statements here. They all mean the same thing: “No calamities or judgments can fall upon any people, but by the express will of God, on account of their iniquities."[9] All of these sayings likewise have a cause and effect connection. “They illustrate the truth that all effects have causes, and that from the cause you can infer the effect."[10]GOD IN HISTORYOne of the big things in this whole passage is Amos’ view of history, not as the accidental and opportunistic deployment of peoples upon the earth, but as a “controlled” entity, subject, absolutely to the will of God. Nations rise and fall by God’s will only, wicked nations being used for a season to punish the righteous, but themselves being quickly liquidated when their sins have gone beyond that hidden boundary that separates God’s mercy from his wrath. No matter how men resent and oppose this view of history, it is nevertheless the truth. Nebuchadnezzar was compelled to eat grass with the beasts of the earth for seven years in order that he might know that, “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:25). Paul affirmed that, “God made of one every nation of men … and determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek God” (Acts 17:26-27). The reason that one nation is blessed is that they might seek God and lead others to know him; and the reason that another nation is oppressed is that they may be punished for their iniquities and know repentance. So-called “modern man” rejects a premise such as this, as effectively stated by McKeating: “They (the Israelites) did not think of themselves as wicked. Most modern men would deny the logic of the conclusion. It would be reassuring if history could be shown to exhibit a consistent moral purpose, but such a pattern is difficult to demonstrate convincingly."[11]Aside from the viewpoint of basic humanism regarding the oppression of the poor, most “modern men” find nothing at all wrong with the conduct of the Israelites. Such vices as drunkenness, adultery, fornication, idol-worship, neglect of religious duty, etc., are merely “doing what comes naturally.” Despite the unawareness of the terrible sinfulness of sin which characterizes our own generation to a degree rivaling, we fear, that of ancient Israel itself, God still rules in the kingdom of men; offenses against God will be severely punished; and nations that forget God shall be turned to destruction, regardless of whether or not “modern man” believes it. Ancient Israel did not believe, nor did any other of the eight nations confronted by the judgments of Amos’ prophecy; but where are any of those nations now? “Will a lion … will a young lion …” These two similies have the same meaning. Just as the roar of the lion, or the growl of the young lion, means that the prey is before them, the roaring of the prophet against Israel means that, “God not only has before him the nation that is ripe for judgment, but that he has it in his power."[12]“Can a bird fall into a snare … etc.” The two previous similes were from the standpoint of the predator; in these two (Amos 3:5) the standpoint is that of the prey. “The snare” which God has set for sinners is “the consequence” inevitably connected with evil doing. The very consequences of evil indicate that the Infinite Intelligence wills it so. He indeed has “set the snare.” The springing up of the trap is always the consequence of the trigger having been set off by the trespasser. None of the judgments, therefore, which have already been declared by Amos against Israel, and which he is here attempting to explain to the unbelieving people, are in any sense capricious or undeserved. Israel has tripped the trigger of the wrath of God; and the trap would not have sprung had this not been so.

Keil quoted a passage from Jeremiah to explain what is said here: “Can destruction possibly overtake you, unless your sin draw you into it? (Jeremiah 2:35)."[13]“Gin …” as used in Amos 3:5, “is an old English contraction of `engine.’ referring to the mechanism that releases the trap."[14]“Shall the trumpet be blown in a city and the people not be afraid …” Here is “the application of the two sets of illustrations,"[15] namely, that the prey hear the voice of the predator and are afraid. Israel has heard the roar of the lion in the prophetic warnings of Amos, and they should be afraid. Motyer pointed out here that: “The only view of history that the Bible espouses is that the Lord is the Great Agent. Behind every event stands a cause; behind all history stands the Lord (Isaiah 45:5-7). Maybe thus they will prepare themselves for his future acts of judgment."[16]Keil likewise discerned this as the import of this passage: “As the trumpet when blown frightens the people out of their self-security, so will the voice of the prophet… The calamity which is bursting upon them comes from Jehovah, and is sent by him for punishment."[17]Verse 7 “Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken; who can but prophecy?The logic of this verse requires its placement exactly where it is. The foolish arguments of some to the effect that “this is a later insertion,"[18] are effectually denied and refuted by the sheer necessity of this thought in relation to what has preceded it. The whole passage gives the prophetic view of history as a drama in which sin is punished and righteousness rewarded; omitting Amos 3:7-8 would have been subject to the objection in Amos’ hearers that such calamities as those foretold would have been “unfair without adequate warning.” Very well, Amos here affirmed the validity of such a forensic objection, but set it aside by the fact that his great prophecy was itself the adequate warning, indicating also that thus it had ever been with God’s dealings with the human race. Howard commented on the unity and skillful arrangement of this passage thus: “The whole saying (Amos 3:1-8) is a very skillful linkage of cause and effect, developed as a series of questions leading up to the final statement (Amos 3:8), that in the same way as natural events are linked in such a causal chain, so too there is a causal relationship behind his own words to Israel."[19]Verse 9 “Publish ye in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults are therein, and what oppressions in the midst thereof.SAMARIA AS AN (Amos 3:9-10) “In the palaces of Ashdod …” The desire of some scholars to translate this “Assyria” instead of Ashdod should be rejected. There is no other mention of Assyria in this prophecy (although it is evident enough that Assyria was clearly the enemy Amos had in mind); but the proposition here seems geared to the ancient fear of Israel that their wickedness and calamities should be known to their traditional enemies. Following the death of Saul, the lament took this form: Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice

• 2 Samuel 1:20 There is definitely an echo of this in the verse before us. “Ashdod” also carries a more pointed meaning for Israel than would “Assyria” in this verse. “It is a more stinging implication that the Philistines (Ashdod) and the Egyptians, the two hated ancestral enemies were morally superior to Israel."[20] “It was to the eternal disgrace of Israel that there were doings in her cities which the very heathen would condemn."[21]“Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria …” The imagery is that of a court of world-judgment summoned to take places of advantage overlooking Samaria and to view the terrible wickedness that was perpetuated there. “The mountains are Ebal and Gerizim, from which one could look down upon Samaria."[22]Verse 10 “For they know not to do right, saith Jehovah, who store up robbery and violence in their palaces.“Know not to do right …” Butler paraphrased this, “Israel does not even know how to do right."[23] This charge is perhaps the worst of all: “It speaks of a state of depravity in which the conscience ceases to function properly and the sinner is unable to distinguish between right and wrong … When people do not do right, the time comes when they cannot do right."[24]“Store up robbery and violence …” The most of the commentators interpret this to mean that the gains of those who lived in palaces were stored in their strongholds; but it could very well mean that the people trusting in their wealth were merely storing up plunder for the forthcoming invader. Smith agreed that, “Society was only storing up or postponing the day of violence … a foreign invasion or internal disruption."[25] However interpreted, it simply means that the day of judgment upon their wickedness is promptly coming. Verse 11 “Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: an adversary there shall be, even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be plundered.DOOM OF SAMARIA (Amos 3:11-12) It will be noted that there are multiple references to: “saith Jehovah, thus saith the Lord Jehovah, etc.” in this section, and, in fact, throughout Amos; but the conclusion of critical scholars that, “The multiplicity of introductory formulae shows that here we have a collection of three or four fragmentary sayings,"[26] should be rejected as unfounded and unproved. The repetition of such expressions is merely characteristic of Amos’ style, a fact that cannot be denied. Look at the repeated questions that are propounded in Amos 3:3-6. Repetition was also a characteristic of the teachings of Jesus our Lord. “There shall be …” It will be noted that these words are italicized in the ASV and in the KJV, but they should nevertheless be retained. “The KJV here makes sense of the awkward Hebrew text by introducing there shall be."[27]“The three measures of the line (Amos 3:11) sketch in terse staccato sentences the stages of a military campaign: invasion, siege, and looting. The foe is not identified; but it is generally assumed that the Assyrians are in mind."[28]Verse 12 “Thus saith Jehovah: As the shepherd rescueth out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.This and the preceding verse relate the doom of Samaria; and this verse is addressed to the possible hope that they would be rescued. Rescued? Yes, but it will be like the gory remains when a shepherd picked up a part of the carcass which had been devoured by a lion, nothing worth rescuing! To the query of the present that might be expected today as to why the shepherd would pick up such worthless pieces of a carcass, it was due to the law of God (Exodus 22:13). “A shepherd was accountable to the sheep-owner for any animal lost, unless he could prove it was lost owing to circumstances beyond his control."[29] Note that this indirect reference to the Pentateuch together with the implied assumption that all of Israel knew it shows beyond question that the Pentateuch was not merely in existence, but that it had been known for a long, long time prior to the days of Amos. Thus, the rescue which is mentioned in this verse is a “rescue” of that which is worthless. Of Israel, “Nothing will be saved that is worth saving."[30] It implies that, the Divine Shepherd (Psalms 23), on whose protection they presumed, now only wanted the evidence of their death."[31]The translation of this verse, which is very difficult due to uncertainties in the text, is given thus in the New English Bible: “As a shepherd rescues out of the jaws of a lion two shin bones or the tip of an ear, “So shall the Israelites who live in Samaria be rescued like the corner of a couch or a chip from the leg of a bed.” This translation has the merit of rounding out the simile more perfectly. Furthermore, this rendition is known to have been fulfilled literally when excavations at Samaria uncovered broken pieces of furniture and remnants of the ivory house of Ahab. “These fragments must be what was left when the city was sacked by the Assyrians in 722 B.C."[32] Despite the attractiveness of the New English Bible rendition, however, Fosbroke defended the “silken cushions” of the ASVas being “satisfactory as any."[33] In that rendition, the meaning is the same, but not as dramatically stated, the focus shifting to the luxurious lives of the Samaritans. Verse 13 “Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts.DOOM OF BETHEL (Amos 3:13-15) This is a reference to the ten northern tribes, as indicated in the next verses by the mention of the altars of Bethel. “The Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts …” “This full title appears nowhere else in the book,"[34] indeed nowhere else in the entire Bible. “It emphasizes in a special way the omnipotence of God for the purpose of magnifying the effect of the predicted judgment."[35] “In Hebrew the name is [~‘Adonay] [Yahweh] [‘Elohiym] [~Tsba’owth]."[36] It is from the last member of this quadruple designation that our word “Sabaoth” is derived. The Lord of Sabaoth means “the Lord of Hosts” and is found some 300 times in the Old Testament. The imagery of “Lord of Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts” is that of the ruler over an organized host, such as a great army, or all of the angels of heaven. Verse 14 “For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.The singling out of the polluted shrine at Bethel is significant, as this was the seat of the religion of Israel. It will be recalled that when Jeroboam led the ten tribes in their secession from “the house of David,” he was alarmed that the people returning to Jerusalem to worship God might eventually defect from his authority; he perpetuated a most contemptible and daring perversion of the worship of God: “Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them (the people), `It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan’” (1 Kings 12:28-29). “It has commonly been assumed that the golden calves were direct representations of Yahweh as bull-god,"[37] and some commentators claim that the true God was thus worshipped in Israel; but the very making of those golden calves was a flagrant violation of the law of God as known for centuries prior to Jeroboam. Aaron, it will be remembered, had done such a thing in the wilderness of wanderings while Moses was absent to receive the tables of the law, an event quite early in Israel’s history; and that sinful episode had resulted in unqualified disaster for the Israelites. This action, therefore, on the part of Jeroboam was actually a repudiation of the worship of God, no matter how he had dressed it up and attempted to make it look like a “new form” of genuine worship. “The bull affiliations of Baal were too closely connected with the more degrading aspects of pagan cults to be safe, and there is every indication that the Northern Kingdom fell a prey to idolatrous pollution as a result."[38] The stinging words of this prophecy also indicate that the people were lying down upon pledged garments “beside every altar” (Amos 2:8), a plain reference to the fornication that was openly practiced in “the house of god!” Israel had forsaken the true God and had gone back to the gross idolatry of the old Canaanites, even adoring their filthy old “bull god.” It is no wonder that God promised to “visit” those altars in Bethel, with the purpose of their total destruction. “The punishment of these altars suggests that false religion is the root of social decadence."[39] In fact, false religion was the root of all Israel’s sorrow. Together with Amos 3:15, below, we have in this denunciation of Bethel God’s emphatic “cease and desist” in regard to all that Israel held dear. The word “house” as repeatedly used in the passage shows the completeness of this stop order which was hurled against them from heaven. Note the following from Mays: “House of Jacob, house of God (Beth-El), winter house, summer house, ivory house, and great house. What Israel had built stands as the manifestation of the nation’s rebellions. The devastation of these houses is the actualization of Yahweh’s “No” to Israel’s cult and culture."[40]The claim of the Israelites, of course, was that they were indeed worshipping the true God, a farce which they encouraged by observing many of the rituals and commandments of the law of Moses. Burnt offerings, thank offerings, and meal offerings were presented there (Amos 5:22); but as Dummelow wrote: “All this was vitiated by two faults: (1) The god whom the worshippers adored was not the Holy One, who alone is worthy, but a mere nature god, and (2) the worship was not of a kind to make men better; but it was closely associated with immorality and with luxurious eating and drinking."[41]Verse 15 “And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah.The heartless affluence, luxury and self-satisfied unconcern of the ruling classes in Israel were the sins of the people who owned and lived in the houses described in this passage; and their rich and easy lives had been made possible through all kinds of corruption and deceit as outlined in Amos’ prophecy. They would sell a man into slavery for a pair of shoes. God announced that he was putting an end to that kind of culture, an end which came within the lifetime of those who heard Amos’ words. We cannot highly regard the words of McKeating who criticized Amos as a nomad who was merely hostile to the refinements of city life, saying that his “was the uncomprehending indignation of what he sees as the vices of city life."[42] This is totally wrong. It was not Amos’ indignation that is poured out in Amos, but the indignation of the infinite God. Mays more clearly understood the words of this remarkable prophecy thus: “The judgment which Amos announces is no ascetic primitivism, growing out of simple hostility against a commercial culture and its influence. The houses were built beam by beam, and stone by stone, from a store of crimes."[43]“Houses of ivory …” The import of this is not likely to be that houses were built entirely out of this substance, but rather that they were extensively decorated with it. The Bible mentions the “ivory house which Ahab built” (1 Kings 22:39). “Winter houses and summer houses …” Plural houses were provided for some who could afford them with elevations that were designed to provide comfort in diverse seasons. That ancient culture, founded upon the heartless oppression of the poor, is not the only such society that God has destroyed, as a trip through the palaces of Europe will quickly demonstrate. Maria Theresa’s bedroom was decorated with over three million dollars worth of gold and precious stones. Wherever such selfishness is enshrined and honored, the wrath of God abides there forever. “The horns of the altar shall be cut off …” The horns of the altar were supposed to be its most sacred part; and, in pagan societies, a criminal could claim refuge by taking hold of the horns of the altar; but this was not allowed in Israel. Joab attempted to do this but was executed in spite of his doing so (1 Kings 2:28 ff). The meaning is simply that the whole religious apparatus at Bethel shall perish, along with the rest of Israel.

The Lion Has Roared (Amos 3:1-15)One of the problems with being the chosen people of God is that we think we are the chosen people of God. We lose humility and begin to think of ourselves as important before God. God repeatedly challenges the arrogant thinking that we are special. Israel believed that because they were the chosen people of God that they were special because of their obedience to God and therefore would avoid judgment. Judgment would happen to the world, but the chosen people of God would be spared. God tried from the beginning to warn the people against this kind of foolish thinking.

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘ My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18 ESV) “ Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘ It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. “ Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. (Deuteronomy 9:4-6 ESV) The events of the Exodus were not for them. The people were not to witness the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of the Egyptians, and the miraculous provisions of the wilderness and think that they were something special. These things were to draw the people to God in awe and proclaim his glory and goodness. Unfortunately the people thought their chosen status would protect them from harm.

With Privilege Comes Accountability (Amos 3:1-2)Notice the privileges that God expresses to the people. “ I brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Amos 3:1). “ You only have I know of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2). You were the chosen people of God. You saw God work to redeem you and deliver you. You were the only people to have this covenant relationship with God. “ Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” The result is not that God is going to overlook their sins. Rather, God will punish them for every sin. Their chosen status does not mean they are protected from judgment.

Their chosen status meant they had greater accountability to God. They knew what God required. They were to be to the Lord a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). With the privilege of knowing God came the responsibility of acting like the people of God.

The same accountability is described to us. Consider the message found in the parable of the talents. Everyone was given a degree of wealth from the master and each were accountability for what they were given. Israel was the one talent man who had taken the blessings and privileges of God and did nothing with them. Listen to the words of the apostle Peter:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV) You are the chosen people of God, a holy nation. The purpose is not to think that we are special because of ourselves. Our status before God is not because of ourselves, that we can boast in our works. Seeing what God has done for us is to cause us to proclaim the excellencies of Christ. He called us out of darkness. Christ is the light who is shining in the darkness. We proclaim him because we were blind and without the light of Christ we would continue to be blind.

The Lion Has Roared (Amos 3:3-8)Amos now introduces a serious of rhetorical questions to lead the people to grasp two important conclusions. The first message is that the judgment of God is coming with cause. Notice the rhetorical questions in verses 4-6 to see God making this point. Does a lion roar when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare if there is no trap?

Does a trap snap shut if there is nothing to spring the trap? The answer to all of these questions is no. These things only happen with a purpose. The victim has been trapped. Look at the questions in verse 6. Are people to be afraid when the trumpet sounds in the city?

Yes, they are because that is the alarm to the people warning of invasion. Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord does it? The cities of Israel only fell when the people were in rebellion. God would cause their defeat because of their sins. Think about the success of the conquest of Jericho and the failure of the attack at Ai. Disaster comes when you are not faithful to him.

What is the point? The beginning of verse 8 is the answer. “ The lion has roared; who will not fear?” The Lord has spoken. Judgment is coming. Amos is calling for the people to make a decision to respond appropriately to the revealing of God’ s plan. God’ s plan will be revealed in verses 11-15. But before revealing God’ s plan, Amos is preparing the hearts of the people to listen to the message of God.

The trumpet has sounded. The trap has shut. The lion has roared. You need to listen to the alarm and hear the message of the Lord.

The second point is that Amos is carrying the message of the Lord. Amos needs to validate that he indeed is God’ s messenger. Look at verse 3. “ Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” Amos’ message is not a coincidence or an accident. Amos has been called by God to make this declaration. Verse 7 continues this point. “ For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.” Amos declares that his message is from God. Amos proves his relationship with God because God has revealed his plan for the nation of Israel to him.

Notice the end of verse 8 for the second conclusion to be drawn from these questions. “ The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?” The Lord has spoken. Who can refuse to proclaim God’ s message? God has called me to walk with him and revealed his plan to me. I must speak God’ s plan to you. God is the lion and his prophecy is roar.

God calls for us to pay attention to the declaration of his word. When God speaks, his voice roars through the earth. It is easy to lack intensity when listening to God’ s word. We can pay attention to everything else and get distracted when trying to read God’ s word or listen to its proclamation. The voice of the Lord must grab our attention. The voice of the Lord must cause us to respond in attention, like the blowing of the trumpet sounding the alarm. God has spoken. Be at attention and focus on what God has to say.

The Downfall and Devouring of Israel (Amos 3:9-15)In Amos 3:9 God through his prophet Amos calls Egypt and Philistine to be witnesses to the wickedness in Israel. These two nations were past oppressors of Israel. Yet these immoral heathens are called to judge the morality of Samaria. See how wicked God’ s people are! The nations are called to be a witness against the people of God. Verse 10 defines the problem.

They are morally warped. They do not even know how to do what is right. Their storehouse is not full of mercy and grace, but violence, robbery, and oppression. This is an accurate description about the nature of sin. We look at sin is a harmless act. The problem is that sin warps our thinking, our hearts, and our consciences.

We lose our innocence and develop depraved hearts and minds. Sinful act after sinful act leads us to a point that we can no longer even do what is right because we have lost all sensitivity to the will of God. We look at people and perhaps ourselves and wonder how people can get so steep in sexual sin. The path is very simple: dabble in it a little and lose sensitivity to the sinfulness of what you are doing. Soon you need a little more to satisfy the desire you have awakened. Before long you will get so far down the path that you will be consumed by these sins.

What began as a hobby or an occasional act now has become a vice. You have become imprisoned to the sin and it feels like you cannot stop. You engage in it even when you do not want to and even if you know better. Finally you will be at the point where it can be said that you do not even know what is right. This is why it is so important to guard our hearts. The danger of allowing our hearts to stray from the right paths of the Lord are very serious.

The final verses of this chapter describe the coming doom against the nation. All of their defenses will not help and their strongholds will be plundered. Amos 3:12 pictures the ferocity of their doom. Like a shepherd rescuing a sheep from the mouth of a lion with only two legs or a piece of an ear, so will be the people of Israel. There will be nothing left of their former lifestyle. There will only be fragments left, just enough to prove who the victim was.

Their lavish living will suddenly perish. All that will be left is part of a bed. Your comforts and conveniences will all be taken away. Your wealth will be gone. You will have nothing left but a fragment. Life apart from God may yield temporary material gain, but will surely result in eternal loss.

Their houses of ivory and summer and winter homes will be taken away (Amos 3:15). Your pleasures in comfort and wealth will come to an end. How foolish to plunge ourselves into what makes us comfortable when God will destroy all these things!

Amos 3:1

Amos 3:1. The chief part of the nation to which this book is directed is the 10-tribe kingdom, but a part of it is so composed that it may he properly addressed to the whole family of Israel.

Amos 3:2

2 Amo 3:2. You. only have I known means that God had not recognized or accepted any other family. It is forcefully expressed in Deuteronomy 7:6 as follows: “The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people upon the face of the earth.1’ This favor placed them under greater obligation to eonduct themselves in a manner pleasing to Him. They did not do so, therefore it was divinely decreed to punish you for all your iniquities.

Amos 3:3

3 Amo 3:3. Two men might unexpectedly come together while each is out walking and that would not require any previous understanding, but they would not continue their walk together without it. Together is from yachad, which Strong defines, “ Properly a unit, i. e. (adverbially) unitedly.” This means not only that the two might, happen to walk in the same general direction, but that they were doing so as a unit of action. The statement (in question form) is that the men will not do so except they be agreed. That word is the key to the whole passage. It is from yaap and Strong’ s definition is, “ A primitive root; to fix upon (by agreement or appointment); by implication lo meet (at a stated time), to summon (to trial), to direct (in a certain quarter or position), to engage (for marriage).” Moffatt renders the word “ have planned It.” I have gone into much detail here because of the fundamental importance of the subject being considered.

The principle is clearly set forth that in matters of right and wrong it is not enough that the parties be “ all striving for the same place,” and that they be a united in their activities. Not only so, but that unity must have been agreed upon by tbe parties proposing to walk together. Since the actual case at hand is that of “walking with God,” it is a foregone conclusion that He is the one to do all the planning, and that man is expected and should be glad to agree to the plan.

Amos 3:4-6

6 Amos 3:4-6. I have grouped these verses into one paragraph because they are all written for one purpose, and that may well be expressed by the phrase, “ no effect without a cause.’’ For instance, a lion does not roar if there is no prey; a bird cannot be entrapped unless there is a trap; a snare cannot be taken up if there is no snare to take; a trumpet would not be blown unless there was some danger to be announced. Evil is used in the sense of some chastisement, and its presence is proof that there is some cause for It in the mind of the Lord.

Amos 3:7

7 Amos 3:7. God will not cause any false alarm, and when He instructs the prophets to sound a warning, there is a cause for it.

Amos 3:8

8 Amos 3:8. In view of the foregoing logical conclusions, how foolish it would be were the people not to fear since the lion (God) has roared; and what neglect of duty it would be for the prophets not to utter the predictions of warning since the Lord has spoken of them through the channel of inspiration.

Amos 3:9

9 Amos 3:9. This and the next two verses are a prediction of the Assyrian siege. Ashdod was a city of the Philistines and Egypt was another of the heathen countries. In a figuralive manner these foreign people were Invited to come and witness what was going to happen to Samaria, the capital of the 10-tribe kingdom of the .Jews. The tumults and oppression would be the natural result of a siege.

Amos 3:10

0 Amos 3:10. They refers to t.he people of the kingdom of Samaria. Know not to do right is said in the same sense as Isaiah 1:3; they knew’ not because they did not consider what the Lord had told them in his word. Instead of dealing justly with their brethren, they increased their own store of wealth by means of violence and robbery.

Amos 3:11

1 Amo 3:11; Amos 3:4 n adversary even round about the land is a direct prediction of the Assyrian siege, and the fulfiIment is recorded in 2 Kings 17:5. Spoiled is from bazaz, which Strong defines, “A primitive root; to plunder.” While the Assyrians were conducting the siege of Samaria, they entered the houses of the city and took possession of their valuables.

Amos 3:12

2 Amo 3:12. From this verse through the close of the chapter the passage is a prediction of the Assyrian captivity of Israel. If the shepherd could rescue only the legs and piece of an ear of his sheep from the mouth of the lion, it would be because the sheep was almost wholly devoured. The figure is used to indicate the “close call” that Israel was to make to being entirely destroyed. But the great Shepherd would not let his dock (the 10-tribe kingdom) be entirely ruined, and so He will take out a part of it even though at the time the members of the flock will be lounging on beds and couches. Damascus is from demesiieq, which Strong defines, “Damask (as a fabric of Damascus).” The idea is that the people of Israel (especially the leaders in the capital city of Sa-maria) will be taking it easy, lolling their time away on beds and couches adorned with the luxurious fabrics of Damascus.

Amos 3:13

3 Amo 3:13. The Lord bids the prophet call upon the house of Jacob (from whom came the name Israel) to hear what the God of hosts has to say.

Amos 3:14

4 Amos 3:14. Visit the transgressions means to bring judgment upon them for their transgressions, Those sins consisted in their sacrifices to idol gods, and Bethel is named because one of the idol calves was erected there (1 Kings 12:29). Horns of the altar shall he cut off is a prediction of the destruction of idolatrous worship, which was to be accomplished by the captivity.

Amos 3:15

5 Amos 3:15. Winter house and, summer house. The luxury-loving leaders had the two separate houses erected in sucli a manner and in such places as to give them eomfort at the various seasons. Houses of ivory were a part of the extravagancies indulged in by the pleasure-mad princes of Israel. Smith’ s Bible Dictionary says the following about this subject: “The ivory house of Ahab. 1 Kings 22:39, was probably a patace, the walls of which were panelled with ivory, like the paiace of Menelaus, described by Homer’s Odyssy 4, 73. Beds inlaid or veneered with ivory were in use by (he Hebrews.”