This week we
will begin the study of the Book of Amos
in the Old Testament.
Background
Amos was a contemporary of Hosea as a prophet to the Northern Kingdom, Israel, except that Amos was a resident of Judah. Being a shepherd and a sycamore-fig cultivator of Tekoa, a town twelve miles southeast of Bethlehem, his ministry was far shorter than that of Hosea, if we take 1:1 literally indicating the year he prophesied. Some even think that his ministry lasted only in terms of weeks. However, his message roared like a powerful lion, focusing on Israel’s sins in the social realm and their compromise with paganism, especially the sin of idol worship. As he served during the reigns of Jeroboam II (786-746 B.C.) and Uzziah (785-747 B.C.) with the latter bringing his son into co-regency in 750 B.C., Amos did not act as a prophet beyond 750 B.C. This suggests a prosperous time in the Northern Kingdom, with unprecedented military might (having subdued Israel’s most powerful nearby enemy, the Arameans as recorded in 2 Kings 14:25-28), international peace (including the absence of any Israelite-Judean war) and an economic boom.
1:1-2—Introduction
(1) According to 1:1, which two features about Amos make him least likely to be chosen by God as His prophet to speak words of judgment to the Northern Kingdom?
(2) Many scholars opine that 1:2 serves as the theme of the whole book. See if you agree:
a. Who is the real speaker of the message?
b. Why does Amos describe the Lord as roaring and thundering?
c. Why does he remind his hearers, the people of the Northern Kingdom, of where the Lord is (from Zion and Jerusalem)?
d. Why is the judgment pronounced on both the shepherds’ pastures — which would include his in the south, and the “head of the forest-crowned Carmel” (K&D, 164) — in the north?
1:3–2:5—Seven judgments against Israel’s surrounding nations:
- Damascus in the northeast (1:3-5)
- Gaza in the southwest (1:6-8)
- Tyre in the northwest (1:9-10)
- Edom in the far south (1:11-12)
- Ammon in the east (1:13-15)
- Moab in the southeast (2:1-3)
- Judah to its immediate south (2:4-5)
(3) These judgments follow an obvious pattern, with slight variations. Let’s consider the messages to the first five nations (i.e. 1:3-15).
a. How does each message begin and end?
b. What might be the emphasis of this pattern?
c. In pointing out the sins of each nation and that the Lord will not relent, what does the pattern of “For three sins…even four” mean?
(4) Damascus (1:3-5): It is the capital of Syria.
a. Their wickedness—Gilead to the north-eastern end of Israel, naturally bore the brunt of Syrian attack. What is the sin being highlighted by the Lord? Why is it considered so wicked? (See 2 Ki. 10:32-33; 13:7-8)
b. Their judgment—What, in essence, is the judgment pronounced? (Note that most of the names of cities or places are not certain, except that Kir is the place where the Syrians came from according to 9:7.)
(5) Gaza (1:6-8): Gaza together with Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gath are the five major capitals of the Philistines, with the latter probably destroyed by the time of Amos.
a. Their wickedness—What kind of sin is it, to take captive whole communities and sell them as slaves?
b. Their judgment—What is the judgment pronounced? How severe is it?
(6) Tyre (1:9-10): See Ezekiel 28:11-19 to get a sense of the prosperity and beauty of this eastern coastal city of the Mediterranean.
a. Their wickedness—In addition to the sin mentioned against Gaza, what is being highlighted here as Tyre’s particular wickedness?
b. Their judgment — What is the judgment pronounced?
(7) Edom (1:11-12): Edom differs from the above nations in that it is related to Israel (their ancestor, Esau, was the brother of Jacob)
a. Their wickedness—What sins are being pointed out? What particular wickedness is being portrayed by their sins?
b. Their judgment—Teman is the southernmost substantial city and Bozrah is Edom’s capital. What judgment is being pronounced on them? (Note: The judgment does not end with the words, “says the Lord”.)
(8) Ammon (1:13-15):
a. Their wickedness—What is the particular sin being pointed out and why is it such a wickedness to be judged harshly?
b. Their judgment—What is the judgment pronounced?
(9) List the particular wickedness of each of the above nations: Do you see the particular kinds of sin abhorred by the Lord?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
In each of the above wickednesses singled out for each nation, there lacks a direct event whether in Scriptures or in secular history to which we can clearly tie the sin.
“The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.” (Amos 1:1)
We have just studied the book of Hosea and read the rebukes and warnings from a prophet who was from Israel, the northern Kingdom itself. In spite of his dramatic and bold ministry, we know that the messages were ultimately not listened too. But now, when we read the book of Amos, we understand that Hosea was not serving alone, because God had raised another prophet in Amos to call Israel to repentance at about the same time, except that Amos was from Judah (Tekoa was a town twelve miles southeast of Bethlehem). He was of a humble background, being a shepherd and a sycamore-fig tree cultivator. Amos had to travel all the way north to “the very heart of Israel” (7:10) and delivered his message to a people who considered him a foreigner.
If I were Amos, I would have challenged the Lord, asking why, of all people He would have to send me. However, we did not find Amos doubting his call, but he made his way boldly to Samaria to deliver his prophecies. Yes, the result was expected; he was asked to pack up and go home by the priest at Bethel (7:12-13).
I think there are at least two things we can learn from Amos:
(1) We do not challenge the Lord, even if He calls someone who seemingly is not suitable in the eyes of the world; and if that someone happens to be us, we should obey without questioning the Lord.
(2) We do not measure success in terms of visible results. All God asks from us is obedience, and we should leave the result in His hand.
2:1-3—Moab:
(1) Their wickedness—What kind of wickedness is it to burn to ashes the bones of their enemy?
(2) Their judgment—What is the judgment, as a result?
2:4-5—Judah—Unlike the neighboring nations, Judah, the Southern Kingdom, is held accountable based on their relationship with the Lord:
(3) The wickedness—What are the sins being singled out here? Why are these sins so different from those of the other nations? Are their sins more wicked than the other nations? Why or why not?
(4) Their judgment—What is the judgment, as a result? How is their judgment compared to the rest of the nations above?
2:6-16—Israel—As Amos has been called to speak to Israel, although the pattern of rebuke is the same as those to the forgoing neighbors, the contents are necessarily in greater details:
(5) Their wickedness—How would you label the kind of wickedness that is represented by each of the sins being pointed out below?
a. Selling the innocent and the needy
b. Trampling on the head of the poor
c. Denying justice to the oppressed
d. Father and son having sex with the same girl
e. Laying on pledged garment beside every altar
f. Drinking wine for fun in idol’s temple
(6) What kind of a society is being depicted by the above accusations?
(7) What kind of a people should Israel become, because of the following?
a. God’s extermination of their most-feared enemy, the Amorites
b. God’s miraculous guidance, provision in the wilderness, ending with giving them a land not theirs
c. God’s raising prophets among them
d. God’s raising Nazirites among their youth (See Num. 6)
(8) What kind of wickedness is their sin concerning the prophets and the Nazirites?
(9) Their judgment—
a. What does the picture of the crushing by a loaded cart convey as their judgment?
b. In particular, who does the Lord cite as the people who will not escape?
c. What do these people represent?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king.” (Amos 2:1)
We know that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). In other words, the people of the neighboring nations of Israel were all pagans whose fate is death, even eternal death. However, the Lord, through Amos, is addressing the particular wickedness of these nations and pronouncing temporal retribution to them as nations. The judgment, therefore, is directed to their rulers and their kings who are being held responsible for their particular wickedness.
As much as all these neighboring nations mentioned by Amos did, at some point of time, oppress Israel, God’s people, the sins that are mentioned do not appear to be actions confined to their dealings with Israel, but reflect their general behavior that is particularly offensive to the Lord.
The wickedness of the Syrians is their extreme brutality to their prisoners (1:3); the wickedness of the Philistines is their robbing of their captives’ dignity by selling the whole community as slaves to a foreign country (1:6); the wickedness of Tyre is also similar, except that they are doing it to another nation with whom they have a treaty (1:9); the sin of Edom is their killing of the defenseless and their unchecked rage to their enemies (1:11); the wickedness of Ammon is their extreme brutality in ripping open the wombs of women (1:13); while the wickedness of Moab lies in their desecration of dead man’s bones (2:1). Sure, all these crimes are committed during wars with their enemies, but God’s wrath is expressed not so much toward their war-waging, but the inhumane treatment of their captives and their dead. It shows that God is not disinterested in the lives of those outside of His kingdom and He will act, even as a temporal retribution, if their wickedness reaches the level of these nations. However, ultimately His temporal retribution is meant to draw them to repentance, hence the inclusion of these nations in His prophetic messages through Amos.
After the pronouncement of the seven judgments that follow the “three sins…even four” pattern, now the message is focused back on Israel:
3:1-2—Entrusted with much, much more is demanded of all Israel.
(1) How special is Israel to the Lord?
(2) What are the implications of being the only family chosen on earth? (Read Exod. 19:5-6 to see their privilege and mission.)
(3) Should their punishment be more severe? (Lk. 12:48)
3:3-8—Israel cannot play dumb — when faced with questions that leave them without any excuse:
(4) V. 3: Israel was not forced into the covenant: What has led to their rescue from Egypt? (Exod. 2:23-25)
(5) Vv. 4-5: Cause and effect—What do the metaphors of the lion and the bird serve to illustrate?
(6) V. 6: Disasters come from God—How might they explain away all the calamities that befell and will befall them?
(7) V. 7: But they have been forewarned—How have they treated the prophets and their messages? (See 2:12) Why?
(8) V. 8 Amos is compelled to speak—How does the Lord affirm the role of Amos?
3:9-15—Their judgment
(9) V. 9: Why does the Lord call on Ashdod (the Philistines) and Egypt (addressed to their fortresses) to come to Samaria to bear witness to God’s judgment on His people?
(10) V. 10: In their presence, what does the Lord announce (perhaps, as a warning to these witnesses as well) as their sins? In particular, consider these questions:
a. What is meant by “they do not know how to do right?”
b. What is the sin of “storing up”?
c. What is the sin of “plundering and looting”?
d. What is the sin of “oppression”? (v. 9)
(11) V.11: What is the appropriate judgment of these sins?
(12) V.12: What will be the extent of their punishment? Is it too severe? Why or why not?
(13) Vv. 13-15: The Lord calls upon these pagan witnesses to see beyond Samaria's sins of greed, injustice and violence (of vv. 9-10), but as sins committed as “the descendants of Jacob”:
a. What is the significance of referring them as Jacob’s descendants?
b. What are the two sins mentioned by the Lord?
c. The sin at Bethel has often been mentioned: Read 1 Kings 12:25-29 and see how wicked is this sin which goes beyond simply idol-worship.
d. While we understand God’s hatred of their sin at Bethel, why is their sin of luxury and comfort being singled out by the Lord?
(14) Pause and reflect on the way the Lord presents His judgment in this chapter. What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
“You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (KJV) (Amos 3:2)
In explaining to Israel why He would punish them so harshly, the Lord reminds them of the special favor He has bestowed on them in 3:2. Many English versions (including NIV and NASB/1995) translate the original word “known” into “chosen”, and Keil and Delitzsch share with us their insight concerning the translation of this special favor bestowed upon Israel as follows:
“To whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. The greater the measure of grace, the greater also is the punishment if it is neglected or despised. This is the fundamental law of the kingdom of God. (יָדַ֔עְתִּי) does not mean (I have known, become acquainted with, or taken) knowledge of a person…but acknowledge. Acknowledgement on the part of God is not merely taking notice, but is energetic, embracing man in his inmost being, embracing and penetrating with divine love; so that (it) not only includes the idea of love and care, as in Hosea 13:5, but expresses generally the gracious fellowship of the Lord with Israel, as in Genesis 18:19, and is practically equivalent to electing, including both the motive and the result of election. And because Jehovah had acknowledged, i.e. had singled out and chosen Israel as the nation best fitted to be the vehicle of His salvation, He must of necessity punish all its misdeeds, in order to purify it from the dross of sin, and make it a holy vessel of His saving grace."
(K&D, 174-175)
And this special “acknowledgement” by God has also been extended to us, as the Apostle Paul assures us, “But whoever loves God is known by God” (1 Cor. 8:3).
How blessed we are, who are in Christ Jesus; and how awesome a responsibility we have as well.
After calling the Philistine and Egyptian rulers to be His witnesses against Israel’s sins of greed, injustice, violence, idol worship and luxury, the Lord now addresses the wealthy women among them:
4:1-3—The sins of the wealthy women
(1) We read earlier in 3:15 the charge against luxury, and here the wealthy women are being rebuked:
a. Is living in luxury necessarily a sin?
b. What, in particular, are the sins of these women? (See Ps. 22:12 to get a sense of the meaning of cows of Bashan.)
(2) Why does the Lord use fishhooks to describe their fate of captivity (apart from prophesying the breakdown of the walls of their fortresses and their being carried away to a faraway place, denoted likely by the name Harmon)?
(3) Why does the Lord pronounce such a judgment in a sworn statement and by His holiness?
4:4-5—False piety exposed
(4) What religious practices have they maintained? In what ways might they be commendable?
(5) Do you think it is the boasting that the Lord abhors, or their basic sins of worshipping in Bethel and in Gilgal or both? Why?
(6) What might be the present-day application?
4:6-11—Restrained judgments ignored: In their affluence and prosperity, the Lord in fact has begun His chastisement in the following ways:
(7) V. 6: Famine—Whom do you think such famine had affected most?
(8) Vv. 7-8: Drought—Why did the Lord choose to withhold rain in one town and not in the other? Did the people see this as God’s reminder of their sins?
(9) V. 9: Vegetation and plantation—In what ways can we see that this represents a more severe judgment than those previously mentioned? Why didn’t the people repent?
(10) V. 10: Pestilence and wars—How do these calamities differ from those mentioned before? Why would they not repent, especially if they cared to read Leviticus 26:25 and Deuteronomy 28:49-57?
(11) V. 11: In spite of their superficial prosperity, what does the Lord say they are really like?
(12) All these disasters did not likely happen at the same time, and some had subsided, but collectively they should have served as a very important warning to Israel. What might be the core problem with not returning to God in spite of these disasters?
4:12-13—The warning to prepare to meet their God
(13) Now, God is ready to pronounce judgment that will be far more serious than anything they have seen:
a. How does God remind them of who He is?
b. What do all these, together with the reiteration of His name, have to do with asking them to prepare to meet Him?
c. What is meant by meeting God in this context?
d. How should they prepare?
(14) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“(P)repare to meet your God. He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth — the Lord God Almighty is His name.” (Amos 4:12-13)
The message that the Lord gives Israel in this chapter of Amos is certainly fitting for the whole world to hear today, because the world has rejected Him as has Israel:
- The world has rejected Him as their creator: While Israel only honored the Lord with false piety, at least they worshipped Him as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, but not the world today. Some have declared God as dead while even more consider that He does not exist in the first place —that all creation came into existence by the Big Bang and through evolution. But God maintains clearly and firmly that He is the one who forms the mountains and creates the wind. Since He is the Creator, all creatures will have to be held accountable for their actions when they meet Him.
- The world is without excuse, because God has not hidden Himself from them. While the Apostle Paul asserts that God has revealed Himself to the world, in both His eternal power and divine nature through the created world (Rom. 1:20), Amos says He has even revealed His thoughts, i.e. His plan to us, obviously referring to the prophets in the Scriptures. Of course, these days, He has also revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:2).
- The world has to face His awesome judgment: It is in this sense that Amos calls upon Israel to “prepare to meet your God”, because He is the one “who turns dawn to darkness” (4:13). Israel thought that they were still enjoying the dawn of their wealth and prosperity, not knowing that darkness was just around the corner — they would have to face the most severe judgment soon, and they did. But the ultimate judgment, if they would not turn to God, would be the one they would have to face together with the entire unbelieving world — the Day of the Lord (5:18) — and it is one that no one can bear.
- He is in total control as the one who treads on the heights of the earth where no one has even trodden and His name is the Lord of Hosts (referring to the heavenly armies). He is incomparable, the Almighty God and the final judge of all.
The only way Israel, and for that matter the whole world, can prepare to meet Him is through repentance and belief in His Son, Jesus Christ.
After the warning to Israel to prepare to meet their God, the Lord now speaks of that “day” when they will meet their God — the Day of the Lord, but He frames it in the form of “a lamentation or dirge for one who is dead” (K&D, 187):
5:1-2—The opening word of the lament:
(1) Who is the lamenter? Who is the one being lamented?
(2) Why does the Lord call Israel, “virgin”?
a. Is it because she has been keeping herself as pure as a virgin? Or
b. Does the Lord mourn for her as one mourns for his precious daughter who has yet to be given to marriage?
c. Have you ever mourned for someone who was still a child or a teenager?
d. Can you identify with the sorrow of the Lord, even though He is the one who would exact the punishment?
5:3—The first of the formula: “This is what the Lord says to Israel”.
(3) Since this, in essence, is a funeral lament, it deals with death:
a. What is the extent of their death toll?
b. What would you call such an extent of death? (Genocide?)
c. How real has it been in the history of Israel even up until today?
5:4-15—The
second of the formula is helpfully divided by the NIV into three segments with
the same idea, each beginning with “There are those”:
(4) 5:4-6—Call to repentance
a. As “final” as the judgment appears to be, why does the Lord still call them to repentance?
b. How should they repent?
c. What is meant by “live”?
d. What if they still would not repent?
(5) 5:7-9—The first “There are those”
a. Who is this charge directed to? the average folks or the leaders?
b. What is the charge? How serious is it?
c. What will be the consequence of their sin?
d. How does the Lord describe who He is and why?
(6) 5:10-12a—the second “There are those”
a. Who is this charge directed to?
b. While the charge appears to be similar to the previous one, it is in greater detail and more direct:
- What are the verbs used to describe their sin against justice and truth?
- The poor likely do not even own their land, but lease it to plant to derive a meager income. What will the additional tax do to them? Why would the rulers do so?
c. What will be the consequence of their sin?
d. How does God look upon those who oppress the poor in similar ways today?
(7) 5:12b-15—The third “There are those”
a. Who is this charge directed to?
b. How do such sins affect the society in general?
c. How should they repent?
d. What will be the consequence, should they repent?
However, v. 15 ends with saying that it does not mean they will not face the temporal punishment of their sins as signified by the term, “the remnant of Joseph". See 5:27.
5:16-17—The third formula of “this is what the Lord says to Israel” :
(8) Why does this lament end with the Lord calling Himself “the Lord God Almighty”?
(9) Where will they be wailing?
(10) Who will be summoned to weep?
(11) Who will cause all these to happen?
(12) How does this chapter echo the call to “prepare to meet your God” in 4:12?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: ‘Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up'.” (Amos 5:1)
In calling Israel to prepare to meet their God, the Lord frames the impending judgment in the form of a lament. This lament is not just any lament, but “a lamentation or dirge for one who is dead’ (K&D, 187). But the amazing things about this lament are:
(1) The one who sings this mournful song is none other than the Lord Himself: One would think that the Lord is writing this song of lament for Israel to sing, but it is the death of Israel that the Lord is lamenting over. But the amazing thing is He is the one who puts Israel to death, He is the one who would be bringing judgment against Israel, as He says, “for I will pass through your midst” (5:17). Of course, strictly speaking, it is Israel who has brought death upon themselves, because even as late as this stage of their fate is, they would still live should they seek God, seek good, not evil (5:4, 14);
(2) God laments Israel as a virgin: No, it does not mean that Israel has kept themselves pure as a virgin. In fact, it is exactly their adultery that leads to their death. But the Lord refers to Israel as a virgin not in the sense of their purity, but as an analogy of the mourning by a father over the premature death of his beloved, precious teenage daughter, before she has been given in marriage to another man. Those who have lost a child can fully identify with the sorrow that the Lord has over the fate of Israel. How amazing is the love of God for Israel, and for that matter, for the lost world as well!
After the song of lament, the Lord now addresses the Day of the Lord — the ultimate judgment day for Israel:
5:18-20—A day to be dreaded
(1) In depicting it as a day of darkness, what two analogies does the Lord use?
(2) What is the common theme of the two analogies?
(3) Read Matthew 24:15-22 to get a sense of the urgency and inescapability.
(4) Why
then do they long for such a day?
5:21-24—Israel has aroused the hatred and scorn of the Lord
(5) What does the Lord hate and despise?
(6) What has Israel done to arouse such hatred by the Lord?
(7) What are justice and righteousness? Should they not be the marks of all who belong to the Lord?
a. What has happened in Israel that has led to such a pitiful situation in society? (5:10-13)
b. In our rightful emphasis on the gospel and its proclamation, we seem to downplay the importance of justice and righteousness in the society: Do you think it is in tune with the gospel? Why or why not?
5:25-27—It is in the g _ _ _ _?
(8) I have not put a complete heading to these final verses: what might be an appropriate heading to this section?
(9) If I say the heading should be “It is in Israel’s genes.”, what would you think?
(10) What is their judgment?
(11) Hengstenberg says, “All this [the acts of worship enumerated in vv. 21-23] can no more be called a true worship, [any more] than the open idolatry in the wilderness. Therefore (v. 27) as in that instance the outwardly idolatrous people did not tread the holy land, so will the inwardly idolatrous people be driven out of the holy land” (K&D 194). Do you agree with his comment? Why or why not?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light.” (Amos 5:18)
When we read of all the charges against Israel by the Lord against their injustice, bribery and oppression of the poor (5:7, 10, 11), we would assume that Israel had degenerated into almost like their neighboring pagan nations, outwardly worshipping all kinds of idols and had completely abandoned the worship of the Lord. However, such was not the case.
On the contrary, they observed all their religious festivals to a tee; they not only offered burnt offerings and grain offerings, but they brought “choice” fellowship offerings before the Lord (5:21-22). Not only that, their worship was marked by vibrancy, with songs and music of the harps. Further, they were so spiritual that they liked to say that they longed for the Day of the Lord (5:18), as if they were not afraid to meet their God. They thought it would be a day of judgment only to the pagan nations, but a day of celebration for them. After all, they were the Chosen People, with the Law of Moses on their side, and the lineage of Abraham in their genes!
However, God now tells them that nothing is further from the truth in that He hates such hypocrisy and the Day of the Lord is the judgment day reserved for them!
This leads me to think of many believers today who like to flock to End-times prophetic conferences, as if they too, long for the Day of the Lord. If the truth be known, they are hungering and thirsting not for the Word of God, but for curiosity and sensationalism, and whatever they hear has no impact on their lives.
- If they were not faithful in their work, they will continue to be so;
- If they had a broken relationship with their family, they will not seek to mend it;
- If they had harbored some secret sin in their lives, they will not seek to repent and cut their tie with sin;
- If they did not maintain a consistent quiet time to pray, reflect and study the Word of God daily, they will continue to live an undisciplined spiritual life; and
- If they did not care about the poor, they will continue to live a life without compassion.
In other words, such believers live a life of self-delusion, just like the Israelites in the time of Amos; and the return of the Lord is a time not of celebration to them, but of shame and regrets!
The last message in chapter 5 deals with the hypocrisy of Israel and their erroneous view of the Day of the Lord. Here, the sins of injustice and unrighteousness are mentioned again, adding complacency as the theme, and are aimed at the rulers and the wealthy:
6:1-3—The rulers of Zion (Judah) and Samaria (Israel) rebuked
(1) To whom in the two nations is this message addressed?
(2) How does the Lord remind them of the blessings He has bestowed upon them? (Note: Kalneh is in the land of Babylon, Hamath is the capital of Syria and Gath is one of the major cities in Philistia.)
(3) Surely, Judah and Israel could not put off their days of disaster. What then does v. 3 mean?
(4) What does the contrast between “put off” and “bring near” serve to highlight?
6:4-6—The sin of complacency exposed
(5) What kind of lifestyle of the elites is being depicted in vv. 4-6a? (See note below.)
(6) What makes such debauchery an even greater sin? (For the meaning of "the ruin of Joseph", see reflective questions of Year 3 Week 41 Day 284 on Amos 4:6-11.)
(7) While v. 1 highlights their sin as one of complacency, based on vv. 4-6, what might you call this kind of wickedness?
6:7-11—Severe judgment awaits them, solemnly declared by the “Sovereign Lord” and the “Lord God Almighty”: While their particular sin of complacency (and pride) invites the judgment of being the first to go into exile (before Judah), the horror of their destruction is detailed in vv. 9-11.
(8) How does v. 9 adds to the severity of the judgment declared in 5:3?
(9) Normally, the Israelites do not burn their dead, so what will cause them to burn the bodies of their dead?
(10) Why would the sole survivor in the house ask not to mention the name of the Lord?
6:12-14—The end of Israel
(11) In pronouncing their destruction as a nation, the Lord uses two similes to depict their wickedness:
a. What do horses depict and how does this simile fit their sin of turning justice into poison?
b. What does the plowing by oxen either along the sea or rocky crags (depending on the manuscripts used) fit their sin of turning the fruit of righteousness into bitterness as a simile?
(12) Apart from the sin of injustice, the Lord rebukes their sin of pride (in their military might). Read 2 Kings 14:25, 28 for the conquest of Jeroboam referred to in v. 13:
a. What does the Lord try to show them by “deliberately misspelling the first town as Lo Debar to mean ‘nothing' "? (TOTC, 199)
b. And what about the choosing of the remote north eastern town of Karnaim (meaning double-horned) to mock their strength?
c. What is the result of their pride, self-reliance and injustice?
(13) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
“The lavish use of wine and oil (i.e. unbridled pleasure) condemned by Amos, is documented in a set of inscriptions on potsherds discovered at Samaria in the Harvard Expeditions of 1908-10. These potsherds…contain records of the delivery of jugs of old wine and purified olive oil…they provide clear evidence of the wasteful opulence of Samaria’s ruling class; both the old wine, having been stored for long periods of time, and the oil, described as purified by repeated and careful straining, would be especially expensive goods, a fact that Amos recognized in the phrase ‘the first-fruit of the olive oils’ (the finest oils) with which the wealthy smeared themselves for refreshment and fragrance.”
(TOTC, Joel & Amos, 194)
“Do horses run on rocks? Or does one plow them with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood.” (NASB) (Amos 6:12)
The similes used by the Lord to rebuke the sins of injustice and unrighteousness of Israel lend themselves to various interpretations. Allow me to share with you my thoughts based on the context of the similes.
As God’s chosen people, Israel should be a model of justice and righteousness to their neighboring nations. Had they truly worshipped the Lord as their God and followed His law, they would have reflected the just and righteous character of the Lord.
As it is, they have turned justice into poison (or gall), in that they have misused their power as rulers to administer justice; instead they have oppressed the poor and have thus created a society bitter to the people and harmful to themselves. Their pride has caused them to think that they could scale even rocky crags, completely oblivious to the danger and harm they have created.
As God’s choice vine, they should produce the fruit of righteousness, but their idolatry and apostasy have alienated themselves from the Lord who can only taste their fruit of wickedness with abhorrence and detestation (6:8). Since the fate of total destruction awaits them, God has given up on using them as oxen to plow the field, because no fruit of righteousness can be expected.
The similes therefore reflect both
the harm and danger they have inflicted upon themselves, and the disappointment
they have brought to the Lord.