seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Amos 3:1 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 “You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses
what they have plundered and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
with only the head of a bed
13 “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,”
declares the Lord.
a. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
b. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.
This, to me.... sounds like God is saying.... "you knew very well you had no business worshiping a gold calf and now you are going to get it!"..... or that what I see..... now to the commentaries.
This is from the easy English site.
Amos continues with the same idea. God has known Israel and Judah in the past. Only God has looked after them in a special way (Exodus 33.12, 13, 17). He loves them in a special way. But now God has to be true to himself. He has no more patience. They are not living as God has told them to. So he is going to punish Israel’s people for their sins. But they do not want to hear this message. Christians, too, are responsible for what they do. They cannot blame their sins on their families or on the places where they live.
Strangers will not usually travel together. They must want to walk together. Amos now gives several pictures. Lions hunt in a quiet way. They will only roar when they catch something. Birds need food. This is the only reason that they will fly into a trap. These are simple facts. They are clear to everyone.
But now Amos begins to make his message clear. God has given Israel a warning. There is no escape, and Israel should feel frightened. If Israel suffers, this is not an accident. It is part of the judgement of God. God uses all events for his purposes (Isaiah 45:7; Philippians 1:12; 2:13; Romans 8:28-30). Sometimes Christians suffer. Perhaps they need to ask if there is a reason for their suffering. If there is a reason, they should repent.
Sensible people need to notice the roar of a lion. In the same way, prophets need to notice God’s message and tell it to other people. They have no choice.
Ashdod was a Philistine city. Amos asked the people from Ashdod and Egypt to look at themselves. Their leaders were not fair to their own people. So they would hear a message from God. He would speak to them as a judge. They should also look at God’s judgement on Israel. The Philistines were used to the power of rich people. They knew about the bad things that rich people did to poor people. But even they would be surprised at the terrible actions in Israel.
Amos now explains his message. The Israelites did not know what was ‘right’. They had forgotten the covenant with God. They had started to live like the people who lived near them. The Israelites wanted to enjoy themselves and to have an easy life. They only thought about this. The rich people took things from the poor people. They then stored these things in their palaces. They did not care about innocent people.
The people in Israel thought that they were safe. The rich Israelites were proud of all their possessions. But their enemies would defeat them.
Amos repeats his picture of the lion. The Israelites will try to defend themselves. But they will only keep a few of their possessions, those of little value. Their enemies will enjoy the possessions of those rich people. They had good pieces of furniture. Most people could not afford furniture like this.
Amos speaks against the particular sins of the northern nation. Bethel was the important place for the false worship. The horns came up from the four corners of the altars. Perhaps the horns showed that there was special strength there. They were also a place where someone could be safe. Adonijah used the place to be safe from Solomon. He was in fear of death (1 Kings 1:50; 2:28; Exodus 21:14). But all this would finish.
The houses of the rich people would fall down. Ahab had two houses (I Kings 21:1, 18), a warm one for the winter and a cool one for the summer. But there would be no more luxuries like this.
Blueletterbible.org popped up this morning.Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt: The city of Ashdod was a leading city of the Philistines. God invites the nations - represented here by Philista and Egypt - to come to Samaria (the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel) and see their sin (great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her).
Hubbard on the choice of the Egyptians and Philistines as witnesses: "Their reputations for injustice and brutality would be resented by the Israelites, who would consider themselves in every way morally superior to those whom God had summoned as witnesses." It will also "show that covenant law is not the only criterion for testing Israel's behaviour but that by any standards of international decency they have become culprits."
Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces: The rich and powerful of Israel used their wealth and power to oppress and steal from others. God invites the nations to see the sin of Israel, so they can understand the judgment He will bring upon Israel.
An adversary shall be all around the land: This was fulfilled in the Assyrian invasion of Israel, less than 30 years after Amos made this prophecy. For ten years, Israel was a subject state in the Assyrian Empire.
As a shepherd takes from the mouth of the lion: Exodus 22:10-13 says that if an animal dies in the care of another man - such as a shepherd - that the shepherd must make restitution to the owner of the animal, unless he can bring remains that demonstrate the animal was attacked by a predator. "Amos' comparison, then, makes the sarcastic point that when invasion strikes Israel's devastation will be so complete that all that will be rescued is proof of death in the form of scraps of furniture." (Hubbard)
So shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria: This was fulfilled in the Assyrian exile of Israel, less than 40 years after Amos made this prophecy. After a little more than ten years as a subject state in the Assyrian Empire, Israel was completely conquered by Assyria and the people of Israel were taken from their land and scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire.
They should have known better. God warned them. It says that Amos told them what was going to happen and where.... forty years in advance. Let me see.... forty years ago.... That would be 1980. If someone told me forty years ago that I would be sitting at a computer posting a Bible study.... I would have believed them. If they told me that Pluto would have it's planet status taken from it..... or if they told me that there would be a rocket headed to the sun.... I would have taken that with a grain of salt. If they told me that there would be an attack on our soil..... 9/11..... I would not have believed at all. Today.... all that is true.
The people had stepped away from God. They had forgotten all the stuff they were supposed to remember. They didn't have a clue about the Ten Commandments.... or the covenant..... or the temple for that matter. They had fake temples in Israel..... with golden calves..... sure their altars had horns, just like the real altar located in the Temple in Jerusalem, Judah...... but when God took a look at them in judgement.... the horns fell right off their fake altars.
I tell you.... that "church" in Prince Frederick comes to mind. I have shared this story before.... while campaigning for Commissioner.... I was invited to a meeting at a church in Prince Frederick. The preacher [ a woman as it happened] was saying that the church was suffering from poor coffers. They needed to increase the membership so that the income would increase...... and she had the answer. She said people didn't want to hear the Jesus was the only way to the cross. She said more people would attend if they changed that "story". They would say that everyone was welcome..... they would become totally inclusive. She would no longer preach "Christ Crucified" because the people with the money didn't want to hear it anymore.
I wonder.... did the people who worshiped in the fake temples in Israel think the Temple in Jerusalem was too exclusive for them?
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