Amos 2:4-16
Notes
Transcript
We continue in our list of nations and their transgressions
We continue in our list of nations and their transgressions
Now we’ve gotten closer to home though we look to Judah in verses four and five. We’ve got the pattern of three and for for again. The the offense that they have rejected the law of the Lord, or the law of Yahweh, so it will be war or fire for Judah. Let’s actually read it.
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
So I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Who is they? Well, I think we see evidence of this happening in Jer 23:30-32 and I don’t think it’s an isolated event.
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord.
Was is false prophets, or false teachers, the failure of leadership has been on display in all of the minor prophets to some extent, so was it them? It might have just been everyone, even the people lying to themselves about God’s promises. Either way they have evidenced their rejection by not keeping the law.
Now, how does the punishment to Judah stand up to the punishments we saw last week? They seem the same they’re all sent a fire, or to be overthrown in war. How is it that we’re comparing the atrocities these other nations commited to Judah not obeying the law of God? What do you think?
It seems there is first a higher standard for the people chosen by God. The equal punishment seems to tell us the offense was similar. In one human atrocity which all mankind should know and the other breaking the law of Yahweh which every Jew should know. Their failure here puts them at no better than the other nations who commit atrocities!
Again we don’t have an ending and just move on but this is part of our pattern of 2 with 2 without 2 with 1 without and lastly 1 with.
Now we move to our primary audience Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Amos 2:6-8
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
Okay… a bit to unpack here. wow.
We have our three then four - the punishment will definitely happen.
The list of faults comes next interestingly we expand this section. In the nations only one sin was listed and it dealt with the atrocity against humanity. When we get to Judah it’s the violation of the covenant but still only one sin listed. We guessed maybe this one sin listed was the one that went too far. They certainly sinned much more that one was the one that put it over the top. Now we get to Israel and many are listed. These get counted in different ways by different people. My original thought was to divide this into four. But we could also divide them into seven with an eighth coming in on verse 12. That pattern feels so much more right to me with seven being a completion and eight being over. They’ve filled the cup of sin to the brim then went further. This list of 7 can fall into the oppression category like the nations and the 8th would be covenant violation like Judah. I like it even better for that parallel.
The first two are with slavery - both the silver and the sandals are low prices. The righteous likely means the innocent that may have been accused of a debt and subsequently got sold into slavery. This would be done through the courts and bribes of judges.
Sell the righteous for silver
Sell the needy for a pair of sandals
The third and fourth puts the powerful over the week. People are treated poorly
Trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
Turn aside the way of the afflicted
This could be just denying them justice by pushing them to the back of the line for judgment at the gate so that they are never heard
The fifth is exploitation and so terrible it gets it’s own note that this profanes the Holy Name.
A man and his father go in to the same girl
This afront shows the design for a sexual relationship to be a sacred one.
Six and seven deal again with a perverted justice. Garments taken in pledge are collected collateral after default on a pledge or loan. The wine taken in fine would likely be unjust fines measured out then offered to God, especially offensive as it’s not something earned or gained from their own work.
They lay themselves down on garments taken by pledge beside every altar
Drink the spoils of oppression in the house of their god.
Now we take a brief move into some history of Israel. Should these lists of offenses be commited by a people who has experienced the following?
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
Also it was I who 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 some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
No of course a list like this shouldn’t describe a nation with those sins...
Now the eighth sin which is over the top and a covenant breaking is
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
The Nazirites take a vow to among several things not consume anything of the fruit of the vine and obviously the oppression of the people who speak the Word of God is not good.
Their punishment follows in the next four verses. Amos 2:13-16
“Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain his strength,
nor shall the mighty save his life;
he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,
nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.
Then in finality to conclude we have a Declares the Lord.