Amos - The Equal Opportunity Prophet.
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1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders 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 roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
Introduction:
Amos prophesies around 752 BC. He is contemporary with Micah and Hosea respectively.
This period of the eighth century BC is when the Assyrian empire was dominating the scene in the ancient near east.
As we go through each of these next three prophets, we will also see their connection to the previous group during the Pre-Assyrian period.
As with all the prophets, symbiotic relationships exist between many of them for the sake of the validity of the prophecies, and to continue the warnings of God.
Background:
Amos was amongst the sheep breeders (Hebrew No-ked) of Tekoa.
It is quite interesting that some versions say sheep herders or Shepherds, and yet the Hebrew represents both.
However, the term “sheep breeder” as is in the NKJV which departs from the Authorized version, is more accurate as Amos later differentiates the two terms, himself, by using a different Hebrew word in chapter 7 verse fourteen.
Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit.
Although the NKJV retains the English Sheepbreeder, the Hebrew (Bo-keer) is usually always translated “Sheep Herder”.
Tekoa, was just south of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. (See Map)
Carmel, as you might know was the place where Nabal, husband of Abigail, who later became David’s wife, was shearing sheep. It is also the place where King Saul set up a monument for himself after the battle with the Amalekites. It is in Palestine.
Prophecies Concerning:
Amos is sent to the Israelites representing both northern and southern kingdoms.
His prophecy is extremely precise in timing, as it was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Breakdown:
The first two chapters are express warnings and judgments upon the nations and then at the last, upon Israel.
I. Judgment upon the Nations.
I. Judgment upon the Nations.
What the Lord says here may be explained by what he says
A. Upon Damascus.
A. Upon Damascus.
3 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements 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 also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the Lord.
Gilead - A region east of the Jordan River, occupied by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
B. Upon Gaza.
B. Upon Gaza.
6 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom. 7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces. 8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” Says the Lord God.
C. Upon Tyre.
C. Upon Tyre.
9 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. 10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”
D. Upon Edom.
D. Upon Edom.
11 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he pursued his brother with the sword, And cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, And he kept his wrath forever. 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
E. Upon Ammon.
E. Upon Ammon.
13 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory. 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. 15 Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together,” Says the Lord.
F. Upon Moab.
F. Upon Moab.
1 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime. 2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound. 3 And I will cut off the judge from its midst, And slay all its princes with him,” Says the Lord.
The violation is not recorded in the Bible, as it has nothing to do with the passage from 2 Kings 3:27.
Now notice, that the punishment is equally the same for all; that is - “I will send fire”.
II. Judgment upon the people of God.
II. Judgment upon the people of God.
A. The sin of Judah
A. The sin of Judah
4 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed. 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
Now notice that Judah also will receive the same punishment. but God reserves something else for Israel and takes the rest of the book to reveal it.
B. The sin of Israel.
B. The sin of Israel.
6 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. 7 They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. 8 They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. 9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath. 10 Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite. 11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the Lord. 12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’ 13 “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. 14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; 15 He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. 16 The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the Lord.
III. Observations on the theme.
III. Observations on the theme.
God never vacates judgment.
God never vacates judgment.
A. Every person will be judged.
A. Every person will be judged.
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
When we consider the world around us and the facts of this verse, what is our attitude?
Are we of those that would say, “well good! it’s about time they get what they’ve got coming?”
Please consider what I say here.
It is far too easy to have this kind of attitude.
I know this first hand, because when someone has wronged me I find pleasure in knowing that they get caught and are punished.
I’m not proud of this, but I cannot deny that the flesh is still present and rears its ugly head now and then.
I would like to quote you two different perspectives of an event that you are probably familiar with.
As you listen to both, please be honest about your own feelings regarding the statements.
“If you can’t get the death penalty for killing 17 in a school, I don’t know what you can get the death penalty for.”
Ryan Petty, father of Alaina Petty, one of the victims of the 2018 Parkland Shooting in Florida. Many victims’ family members were in support of the death penalty for Nikolas Cruz
In opposition to the execution of Nikolas Cruz: “But I would say that I have been trying to see him more as a human rather than the typical narrative that he’s a horrible person who is completely, irrecoverably bad and evil and that we must purge him from the Earth.”
Robert Schentrup, brother of Carmen, who was among those killed in the 2018 Parkland Shooting
I’m not trying to make you feel guilty, I just want you to think through this from an emotional perspective in light of our Christian faith, not from a lawful perspective.
When you hear these two opposing statements from victims families, do you not also find yourself leaning toward the first statement of condemnation and perhaps a bit miffed by the second?
You see, regardless of whether or not the death penalty should be imposed (a decision for government to make and not based on emotion or personal reasons, but for civil justice), every single person will be judged by God!
But, if you and I have the proper Christian perspective, then we can see the reason and motive for reaching not only the offender, but the entire world for Christ.
Why?
B. Every believer has already been judged.
B. Every believer has already been judged.
I do not mince words here, because we must come to an understanding and account for the sacrifice of Christ as the purging of sin and the payment for all sin, past, present, and future.
This we say is the doctrinal position of our faith.
That Christ paid the price for sin and we could not add anything to it.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
I take it that these words from the Apostle Paul are well known and not up for debate.
We are either saved by grace without works or we are not.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
And I take it that the keeping of our present condition is by the power of God unconditionally through faith.
In neither of the two passages, is there any conditional requirement other than faith, which changes the state of the individual and is only the vehicle by which we arrive in said state, not the vehicle we must power or continue to upkeep by our own volition.
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
You see then that the keeping of this blissful condition is the work of God and not us.
So then, what must be our attitude toward the world around us?
I believe it is clear, we must fulfill Jesus’ mandate to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10)
Why?
Because God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9)
