1-2 Introduction
- Amos, a shepherd of Tekoa, which is in Judah (2 Chronicles 11:5-6)
- Prophesies during the reigns of King Uzziah of Judah (Azariah - 2 Kings 15:1) and King Jeroboam (II) son of Joash of Israel (2 Kings 14:23). He's from Judah, but he prophesies against the 10 northern tribes.
- Announces the power of God's Word: "The LORD roars from Zion...the pastures of the shepherds wither."
- Damascus (Syria, or Aram) - Because they threshed Gilead...I will send fire, break the gate bars, and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir.
- Gaza (Philistia) - Because they carried into exile entire communities...I will send fire, cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, turn my hand against Ekron
- Tyre - Because they delivered entire communities over to Edom, I will send a fire
- Edom (Descendants of Esau) - Because he pursued his brother (Jacob), cast off all pity, and maintained his anger perpetually, I will send a fire
- Ammon - Because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, I will kindle a fire, with shouting and with a storm, and their king and his officials will go into exile.
1-3 Moab and Judah
- Moab - Because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom, I will send a fire, and Moab shall die
- Judah - Because they have rejected the law of the LORD, I will send a fire. God pronounces the same judgment on his "favorite son" Judah as he does on Gentile nations.
- Because they trample the head of the poor, commit fornication, lay themselves down before every altar, I will not revoke the punishment
- For them, I destroyed the Amorites, brought them out of the land of Egypt, raised up prophets
- But they commanded the prophets not to prophesy
- So - I will press them down, take away their strength
Israel's Guilt and Punishment
- Hear the Word of the LORD against you, my family, that I brought up from Egypt.
- Every effect has a cause - God has sent his prophets to warn you of things to come (caused by your disobedience).
- Because you don't seem to know right from wrong, your enemy will destroy you.
- When the destruction is ended, there won't be much left of you.
1-5 Guilt & Punishment (continued)
- Hear this, "cows of Bashan" - you who are cruel and demanding -- they will carry you away with hooks.
- Come on! Multiply your sins by sacrificing in Bethel, "for so you love to do, people of Israel!" Do I detect sarcasm?
- You did not return to me when I blessed you.
- You did not return to me when I punished you:
- Withheld rain, sometimes raining on one city and not on another
- Struck your crops with blight and mildew
- Sent pestilence, killed your young men and carried away your horses
- Overthrew you like I did Sodom and Gomorrah
- Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.
- I form the mountains, create the wind, reveal my thoughts to mortals, make the morning darkness and tread on the heights of the earth. God demonstrates all kinds of power - creative, revelatory, destructive, sovereign
1-17 Lament for Israel's Sin
- Maiden Israel is fallen, no more to rise
- Seek me and live
- Not Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba -- they'll be nothing
- I will break out against Joseph's house
- This is to you, you who turn justice to wormword
- The creative God who turns darkness into morning also turns morning into night.
- You hate the truth, you trample on the poor -- but I'll see to it you don't prosper, because I know how great your sins are.
- If you want to live, seek good and not evil -- then the LORD will be gracious unto you.
- There will be great sorrow in your city squares, your farms, and your vineyards.
- You who cry out for the day of the LORD don't know what you're asking, because it will be darkness, not light - like someone who thinks he is escaping from a lion and bear and gets bit by a snake.
- I despise your festivals, your sacrifices, your songs -- they mean nothing to me.
- Let justice and righteousness prevail -- that is what is really important.
- Because you have preferred your idols to me, I will take you into exile beyond Damascus.
Complacent Self-Indulgence Will Be Punished
- Alas for those who are at ease in Zion -- are you any better than the nations around you?
- Alas for those who live in luxury, who are not grieved over the ruin of your nation -- you'll be the first to go into exile.
- The LORD abhors the pride of Jacob.
- Example of 10 people in a house dying -- those who are left dare not mention the name of the LORD.
- More destruction is to come, because you have turned justice into poison, you have given yourself credit for your victories.
1-9 Locusts, Fire, and a Plumb Line
- When God was about to send locusts on the late harvest, Amos begged for mercy on Israel's behalf, and God relented.
- When God was about to call down a shower of fire, Amos begged for mercy on Israel's behalf, and God relented.
- God showed Amos a plumb line -- a rule of justice -- and told him he would no longer be there for Israel; he would rise against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.
- Amaziah, priest of Bethel, tells Jeroboam of Israel that Amos is conspiring against him.
- Then Amaziah tells Amos to leave Israel and to prophesy in Judah.
- Amos: I'm no prophet nor the son of a prophet, I'm just a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees. I'm here by the LORD's command.
- Furthermore, because you've told me not to prophesy, your children will die by the sword, and your wife will become a prostitute, you will lose your land and will die in an unclean land.
The Basket of Fruit
- God shows Amos a basket of fruit, and tells him the end has come for Israel.
- Hear this, you who are greedy, who abuse the sabbath, who take advantage of the poor -- I will not forget your deeds, you'll rise and sink again like the Nile River.
- Your day will darken, your feasts will turn to mourning.
- You'll experience famine and thirst -- not for bread and water, but for the words of the LORD. You'll search for it everywhere, but you will not find it.
- Your young men and women will fall and never rise again.
1-10 The Destruction of Jerusalem
- Amos sees the LORD standing beside the altar, threatening to kill the people -- who can't escape into the earth, in heaven, in the sea, even in captivity.
- The LORD God of hosts is in control.
- Israel has become like Ethiopia to God; he will destroy it from the face of the earth, but he will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.
- The LORD will raise up the "booth" of David that is fallen, and the nations around will know it is his work.
- He will restore the fortunes of his people, and they shall never again be plucked out of their land.
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