Amos: For Three or for Four
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We Are going through the minor Prophets,
These are the prophets who wrote less than some of the other prophet, but were no less important.
Each of the Minor Prophets usually only has One main message with one or two points to it
And Each one has a unique way of Sharing their message
Jonah experienced God’s judgement and Forgiveness when he tried to run from God, and Learned that God extends that same forgiveness to all who repent.
Hosea became a living metaphore when God called him to marry a prostitute, so that he would learn about How God sees ISrael, who has been unfaithful to Him, yet Good still loves ISrael
TOday we are looking at Amos, who has a pattern to the first half of his prophecies.
Amos was a Shepherd, who lived near Jerusalem around the same time as Hosea and Jonah.
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds 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. 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.”
So note that whoever added this opening sentence heard Amos’s words and then saw part of their fulfillment in and Earthquake that happened soon after.
Amos is pictured as watching his sheep near Jerusalem and Hearing the Lord Shout Judgements from the Temple
and the Judgments come one right after the other.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. I will break the gate-bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,” says the Lord.
God Is bringing judgement on Damascus and Syria, because they attacked parts of ISrael.
But it Continues
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds. I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him 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.
THe philistines have not been much of a problem at this time, but God is going to bring judgement on them as well
It is interesting that Gaza is singled out as the chief of the Philistine cities
and it is condemned for human trafficking.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour her strongholds.”
Tyre in Lebanon, Like Gaza betrayed Israel to Edom
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever. So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.”
And then God Judges Edom
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting on the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together,” says the Lord.
The Ammonites, modern day Jordan, becuase they were wicked and cruel.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its princes with him,” says the Lord.
With the Moabites God has brought judgment to all of the enemies of ISrael and judah, everyone surrounding them.
Now before we move on I would like to point out the Repeated Phrase, for Three transgressions or four four I will not revoke Judgement.
The idea here is sort of a three strikes your out sort of feel. God has given them chances to repent, but all of these nations have again and again refused to repent of their sinful deeds, in fact even after their three strikes they continue to do what is wrong, and God lists the most recent and heinous misdeeds.
Its not a litteral this is their 3rd or fourth mistake so now i must bring judgement
It is they have tested my restraint and now have gone much too far.
Betraying of treaties, stealing crops, butchering women, killing unborn children.
And So God brings Judgement on all of ISrael and Judah neighbors, and look what happens next
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.”
God turns and Judges Judah for walking away from the Lord, and teaching false teachings.
But that is Just the Beginning
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.
God then Speaks against Israel, and while everyone else had one or two reasons why God was judging them, Here God breaks the pattern and lists several thing that Israel is doing wrong, far more than any of the other nations
Selling out people for money, ignoring the plight of the poor, incest and prositution, worshiping of other gods, and drunkeness in the House of God.
“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. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
So now comes the part where God would say somting about burning down the gates, but instead he reminds ISrael of everything he did for them, giving them prophets and Nazirites like Elijah and Samuel and Samson - holy men, but they told the prophets to be silent, and forced the Nazirites to break their vows.
“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.
Now God speaks his judgement, He isnt just going to set fire to the gates of the cities of Israel and consume them like all the other nations, he is going to utterly humiliate them, force them to become humble - til even the men of courage run away in terror.
Why is God so harsh on Israel? his chosen people?
Becuase they are his Chosen People!
God judges the nations for doing wrong becuase it is wrong, but he does not hold them to the same standard as Hhis people Israel
But When Israel rejects the God who saved them time and time again, then their punishment is more severe.
Church: If you call yourself a christian, you are held to a higher standard.
Now From Here Amos goes on and on in similar veins about is judgement upon Israel,
Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
God reveals that his judgement is always preceeded with signs, and that they need to start paying attention, nothing happens without a reason
and then we get to what is one of my favorite verses in the Bible
THe Lion has roared, who is not afraid, God has Spoken who can but prophecy?
Church when you hear a lion roar it sets off a primal desire to run away.
Just so When You hear God speak there is an inborn need to speak what God is saying.
And so God has spoken, disaster is coming, you should be prepared.
And its not like this is there first warning! God gave them warnings time and time again in hope that they would repent
“I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
God sent them smaller judgements time and time again, first hunger, then drought and downpour, mildew and blight, locusts, sickness, failure in warfare. Since none of those things were enough to get Israel to repent, now God will punish them more than ever, and it culminates in israel being scattered among the nations
“For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’
But as we have seen time and time again, even after all the punishment and destruction, God always plans on restoring Israel to Himself
“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
I will say church we are seeing this bit fulfilled in real time, People are returning to the land of Israel and even though the nations around them try to destroy them - some things never change, they are here to stay.
But what all can we learn from Amos?
Nothing happens without a reason. In recnet years church we have experienced plague and sickness, fires and earthquakes, storms and tornados.
Maybe this is God giving us a warning, maybe we as a people have had 3 transgressions or even four,
But God promised a restoration - the booth of David being rebuilt
that word booth is the word Sukkah, and it is the word they use for the feast to booths, sometimes called the feast of tabernacles,
Why do i point this out?
Becuase in the New testament we see that God himself steps down from heaven and sets up his booth/tabernacle
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promise to redeem Israel even after utter destruction, we mentioned this before and this is a common theme throughout the minor prophets.
Church repenting before the Lord means coming to Jesus.
