seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Amos 2:1 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Moab,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a]
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler
and kill all her officials with him,”
says the Lord.
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes
the bones of Edom’s king,
2 I will send fire on Moab
that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a]
Moab will go down in great tumult
amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
3 I will destroy her ruler
and kill all her officials with him,”
says the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Judah,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,[b]
the gods[c] their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
and have not kept his decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,[b]
the gods[c] their ancestors followed,
5 I will send fire on Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.
9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,
though they were tall as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.
though they were tall as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.
11 “I also raised up prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
a. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
b. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
c. Amos 2:4 Or lies
Bible .org makes the burning of bones and other matters a little clearer.
"because he burned the bones of the king of Moab to lime" These actions (1 opening the grave; 2) removing the remains; 3) burning them; 4) mixing them to make mortar [for buildings] or plaster [for whitewashing walls]) were seen as way to humiliate and to affect negatively one's place/rest in the afterlife. This purposeful violation of that which was culturally sacred and taboo shows the level of animosity. This does not refer to cremation as a way of disposing of a dead body, but to a later desecration!
"Because they sell the righteous for money" Because of the allusion to slavery by Edom, the Philistines, and the Phoenicians, this is probably a reference to selling their countrymen into slavery. The term "sell" is used in two senses: (1) persons kidnaped to be sold as slaves or (2) to sell oneself to a creditor for a period of time. It is certain that this is a reference against those who were wealthy, who abused the socially ostracized and needy (cf. Prov. 14:31; 17:5).
Because this context has a legal/judicial flavor, the term probably refers to the defendant in a legal trial who cannot afford to bribe the judge!
"And the needy for a pair of sandals" This may be interpreted literally as meaning (1) people bought and sold for a very small amount or (2) a court procedure (i.e., the exchanging of shoes, Ruth 4:7) to give some legality to these scandalous enslaving practices of the rich.
"Where western thinking stresses the economic aspect of poverty, the ANE understood poverty in the context of shame and honor. So the possession of land, power, economic security, and social states made a person rich, and the absence of these factors made a person poor."
"a man and his father resort to the same girl" The term for girl here is not the normal term for cult prostitute, although that may be what this is referring to (cf. Deut. 23:18; for historical setting see Hos. 4:12-14). It could also refer to the "selling" of a poor, young maiden, whereby she would be used as a concubine by all the men in one family . This would violate (1) Lev. 18:8; 20:11; Deut. 22:30; 27:20 and (2) Exod. 21:7-11. Since the context is the abuse of the poor and helpless, then the second option seems best.
"I raised up some of your sons to be prophets. . .Nazirites" God's special choice of these spiritual leaders showed His special care for Israel. But Israel caused these men (and possibly women, Num. 6:2) to sin They were God's gift, but His people perverted their giftedness!
"Nazirites" are described in Num. 6. They could be male or female. There were several unique guidelines for their calling to continue:
1. cannot eat any product from the grapevine, vv. 3-4
2. cannot cut his/her hair, v. 5
3. cannot touch a dead body (i.e., funerals of loved ones), vv. 6-7
This is from the easy English site.Israel will be glad to hear about the punishment of foreign nations. But soon they will have a shock. God does is not only the judge for foreign nations. He wants to punish Israel too. Israel’s people were selling innocent people as slaves. These innocent people had not broken any laws. Powerful people sold innocent people for very low prices – the price of shoes. It was legal to sell slaves. However, the courts helped the rich people. The courts made it easy for rich people to get slaves.
Rich people were robbing the poor people! God hates this. Poor people often needed money. They gave their clothes to rich people, who gave them a loan for the clothes. The rich people sat on these clothes while they worshipped God. God’s *aw did not allow a person to keep another person’s coat at night (Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 24:12-13). The night was cold in Israel. The poor people needed these clothes then. Amos also suggests that the rich people made the poor people pay large fines. A fine is a sum of money that a person must pay as a punishment. This was when they could not pay the debt. Then these rich people used the money to drink too much wine. Nehemiah later protected the poor people against these things (Nehemiah 5:1-12).
Samson and Samuel were Nazirites. The kings also told the prophets not to speak for God. The kings did not want to hear what God said.
Humans haven't changed much since Amos engraved his warning. The rich were taking advantage of the poor. There were fines imposed if a person couldn't pay their debts.... then fines were imposed on fines.... until a poor guy had to surrender to slavery. Even though we don't call it slavery.... the same thing is happening today.... humans are buried in debt..... their paying the "fine" because they can't afford to pay the principal because they are paying the fine.Hey.... I doubt seriously a rich guy or gal would be reading anything I have to say..... but if they were reading it.... I would say.... "hey.... forgive the debts!... God doesn't want the burden of paying or collecting the debt to get in the way. God wants us to be thinking about how to serve Him.... not how we are going to get out of trouble".
Take out a coin.... look at it.... does it have anything to do with God? "In God We Trust"...... seems to be a lie..... The picture of a human.... the picture of a building..... they are acceptable to humans everywhere.... put humans today are trying to take that phrase off the coin..... and then it'll look like what it really is.... a shiny little bauble..... an idol.... worshiped by the rich.
The rich were destroying the souls of those around them..... addiction.... debt..... exile.... rape.... just a few of the gifts from the rich to the poor..... the rich are stealing the souls of those around them.... while jingling their precious coins.....shiny little baubles.... idols.... in their pockets. The rich were addicted to those shiny little baubles.
