PM December 15th Amos 1

December 15^th Amos 1

A. Judgment on the surrounding nations.

God will judge Israel’s enemies

1: The words of Amos, who was among the herdman 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. 2: And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. 3: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: 4: But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. 5: I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD. 6: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom: 7: But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: 8: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD. 9: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant: 10: But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. 11: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: 12: But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. 13: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: 14: But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: 15: And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

Amos 2

1: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and 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 the LORD. 4: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5: But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

B. Judgement on Judah and Israel But God will judge Israel as well

6: Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7: 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 will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8: And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. 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 from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through 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 Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. 12: But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13: Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14: Therefore the 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 the LORD.

Amos 3 God has spoken!

1: Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2: You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3: Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 4: 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? 5: Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? 6: Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? 7: Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 8: The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy? 9: Publish 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 the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. 10: For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 11: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 12: Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 13: Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, 14: That 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. 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 the LORD.

The book of the prophet Amos has nine chapters and he writes to warn of coming judgment on Israel – the northern kingdom. Israel were idolatrous and oppressed the poor. This book was written about 760 - 750 BC. Assyria did conquer Israel as Amos predicted.

In chapter 1 Amos describes the message from the Lord regarding the nations that surround Israel. It’s a message that the Lord will judge them according to how they treat Israel. Amos gives the exact date of his prophecy. Everyone in those days would know exactly when it was given. (It was two years before the earthquake.) The message is that the voice of the Lord will roar from Jerusalem. The Lord says that he numbers the sins of the people and he will not turn away their judgment. They have treated Gilead with great hardship. The Lord will break the authority of Damascus and destroy the people. The king will go into captivity. Next the lord turns his attention on Gaza. Again he numbers their sins nor their treachery to Israel selling them into slavery. The Lord will destroy them with fire. The Lord will kill their king and totally destroy the Philistines. Next he speaks of Tyre (Tyrus). The Lord will judge them because they sold Israel to Edom and didn’t keep brotherly faith. the Lord will destroy them completely. Next he speaks of Ammon. They have been exceedingly cruel and murdered women with child, simply to gain land. Fire will destroy them and their palaces. Their king and princes will be taken captive. Amos then speaks of Moab. they are judged because they destroyed the king of Edom destroying his bones with lime. Again fire will destroy them. They will die in battle. The judges will die with the princes. Then Amos says a very shocking thing!! He pronounces judgment on Judah. They will perish because they despise the law of the LORD and do not keep his commandments. They listen to lies like their Fathers. Fire will come on Judah and it will destroy the palaces of Judah. Then Amos spells out the judgment of God on Israel. So what could be their crime? They sell the righteous into slavery for cash. They sell the poor for a pair of shoes. They ignore the meek who will not retaliate. They commit horrendous sexual immorality. They use the clothes laid aside for a sacred trust. They drink the wine of those who they put in prison. Yet l destroyed the Amorites who were tall, strong and noble. I made your children prophets and your young men Nazarites. Yet to perverted the Nazarites and made the prophets silent. All the might men will become feeble. Then Amos raises to his full height declaring God has spoken! And what he says is against you. The Lord asks a series of questions to justify his actions. Can two walk together unless they are agreed? Will the lion roar if he has no kill? Will the young lion cry if he has no food? Can a bird fall into a trap if there is no snare? If a man take a snare if it is empty? Will the alarm be blow and the people not be afraid? Will there be calamity in the city and God has not caused it? The lord will reveal everything to his prophets. The Lion has roared – Who will not fear? The Lord has spoken – Who will not prophecy? Amos is told to proclaim the word of the Lord in Ashdod, Egypt to call on the heathen to witness Gods acts of discipline. They are unrighteous says God. They are full of violence and robbery. The Lord will bring swift and certain judgment on Israel.

• What is the book of Amos about?
• What does the Lord says about the sins of the nation?
• When God speaks what does he say?