Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In 1948 the United Nations drafted a universal document on human rights - yet there are still nations world wide that are notorious offenders in the areas of human rights

Iran - most notably the recent exposure of a mass exocution in 1988 involving 30,000 political dissidents

North Korea -

Pakistan - religious oppression of the masses leads to multiple human rights violations

Afghanistan - until the Taliban was defeated women couldn’t even think about getting an education

The list could go on

The one thing the United Nations failed to account for was the fundamentally flawed human nature that each of us possess

Tonight Amos is going to show us that this condition isn’t new

what is unforgivable is such misuse and abuse of helpless people for the profit of the mighty.

This theme is reflected in one way or another in all eight oracles in the present passage, and in Amos as a whole

If you walked out of here tonight and heard someone condemning North Korea what would you think?

You might have one of two reactions

What’s your point - we’re not really threatened by North Korea, things here are good so why are you prophecying their destruction

Or Yeah you tell them, it’s about time they get what’s coming to them

As Amos opened up his mouth to declare these oracles the reaction in Israel would have been much the same

The country was prosperous and peaceful

There were no imminient threats on the horizon so you could understand why some would wonder why Amos was attacking these nations now

Some others would have fallen into the second reaction of taking pleasure in the condemnations of the nations

The Setup

Amos delivers six oracles against various foreign nations

Syria

Syria and Israel were longstanding enemies

Located to the Northeast of Israel

Subdued by David

Broke free during Solomon’s reign and had troubled Israel ever since

There were multiple battles over the area of Gilead

Here Amos condemns the leadership of Syria for the atrocities committed

He says that they will be soundly defeated

Aram will not merely lose a war.

It will be crushed and conquered, its kingship killed, and its people deported—all by Yahweh, working through unspecified intermediary nations in fulfillment of the curses of his implicit international covenant.

All of these nations put their faith in their strong leadership and the walls and citadels their cities were built on

In every one of these oracles God will send fire on those areas where the people feel most comfortable

Threshing sleds drug over people - huge sleds with iron teeth that would be used to thresh grain - to seperate the chafe from the wheat were drug over people

Much like the atrocities committed by the Nazis in World War 2

'I used to shoot at everything,' he said laconically, 'certainly not just military targets.

We liked to go for women pushing prams, often with children at their sides.

It was a kind of sport really.....'

One Nazi airman was heard to brag

This wasn’t for a military conquest - this was an incursion into Israel to grab people which would then be sold on the slave market

It was for human atrocities that Amos was condemning Syria

And Syria was not the only target of his condemnation

Philistia

The Philistines had also been longstanding enemies of Israel

Philistia lay just to the southwest of Israel and they were in constant contact

But again this oracle is not about military conquests performed by the Philistines

This is for the deportation of an entire population

The Mosaic law required the death penalty for precisely this kind of kidnapping and selling into slavery (Exod 21:16), and it was surely recognized internationally as a cruelty, no matter how frequently it may have been practiced in biblical times

It would appear that the first three nations

Syria

Philistia

and next to be mentiond Tyre

were involved in traficking in persons

TCN’s in Kuwait

Trafficking in persons here in the United States - California is reported to be the number 1 state for human trafficking

Every major city state of the Philistines is mentioned denoting a total destruction of their population

Tyre

Lying to the northwest of Israel, This rich seaport city state in the region of Phonecia is one in the list that has no military history with Israel

However they are being punished for their human rights violations - using their ships to deport an entire population

No commentary I read could shed light on what exactly the covenant of brotherhood meant but suffice it to say that the Tyrinians failed to keep their word to someone

Jesus mentions Tyre in connection with judgement

Edom

Edom had withstood the Israelites during the Exodus

Edom as a nation was a decendent of line of Esau

From the first, even in the womb, Jacob and Esau were at odds and that would continue throughout history

The prophecy for this nation is that it would perish in fire from Terran to Bozrah (two cities at extreme ends of the Kings Highway that ran through the middle of Edom) denoting a judgement of the whole country

Ammon

Amos now moves north to the country of Ammon

Unike Edom, Ammon only had one major city

A rough arid land, they had often fought with Israel for control of the region of Gilead

But now was firmly under Israel’s thumb

No other oracle more closely ties the falling of fire with warfare - here notice there is a difference rather than sending fire, God will kindle the fire

Amos makes it very clear that this nation will be sent into military exile

This is for the ripping open of pregnant women in Gilead - a crime against the most innocent and vulnerable in society

This is one our society is guilty of as well

During the year 2016 Planned Parenthood accomplished more than 1 million aboritions worldwide

Moab

Moab’s crime is reported as burning the bones of the King of Edom

This nation lies to the east of Israel between Amon and Edom

There was a longstanding hostility between Edom and Moab that led to the building of fortifications along the border between Moab and Edom

To burn someone’s bones, i.e., desiccated bodily remains, was an attempt to prevent—at least symbolically—the opportunity for that person to participate in the resurrection, thus to wish for him or her eternal death

The desecration of conquered kings was a longstanding practice

However here Moab had gone too far and for this God would judge them

The mention of Kerioth is also a judgement on the religion of Moab as that was the cultic center of worship for the god Chemosh

Up until this point Amos had merely circled Israel - He has touched on every nation that borders the compass point around Israel

Now he hits a little closer to home

Judah

The shortest of the oracles - this prophetic utterance was against the brothers of Israel to the south

This is one that the people of Israel would have certainly enjoyed hearing

They were looked down upon by the people of Judah as those who had betrayed their true religion and rejected the law of God

Yet here Amos was calling them to account for their rejection of His laws as well

By now the people were feeling pretty good about themselves

Amos had denounced every nation that surrounded Israel and you can almost sense the frenzy that each denunciation could have developed in the people listening

But the tables are about to turn

The Knife

The crimes listed in vv 6–8 all relate to social justice within Israel, in distinction to the first six oracles, which cite international atrocities, and the penultimate Judah oracle, which mentions general covenant-breaking and idolatry.

Israel wasn’t committing these atrocities against foreigners - they were taking advantage of their own countrymen

They were selling the innocent - the righteous and the needy is synonymous here with innocent - into slavery

A man and his father would turn to the same girl

Whether in sharing a concubine - a violation of the Mosaic law