Prohibited Prophet and Condemned Priest

Introduction

In the last Bible study, which covered Amos 7:1-9, we learned God showed three visions to Amos about His judgment of Israel. The first vision showed God allowing locusts to consume everything above the ground. It would affect the food supply for the Israelites. Amos intervened for Israel and asked God to pardon them. He recognized their sin and interceded for God’s mercy. The second vision showed God sending a fire that consumed everything above ground and below such as underground water sources and the roots of the plants. Again, Amos interceded for Israel asking for God’s mercy upon Israel because they were too small to withstand such devastation.

The third vision the LORD showed Amos was of a plumb line and a bulging wall. GOD would stand upon the wall-Israel-and let His plumb line fall beside it. The bulge in the wall that showed when the plumb line lay against it revealed the wall was not up to standards, was not “true”. God would destroy the wall down to below the bulge and rebuild it. He and His righteous laws are the standard and Israel did not meet those standards. They rejected the LORD. With this vision, God showed even the leaders of Israel were not straight and Jeroboam’s house would fall by the sword because of it. In this vision, too, the LORD said He would bring judgment on even Israel’s high places, the places of idol worship. With this vision, Amos realized the LORD’s judgment was just, and he did not intercede for the Israelites this time.

With the rest of this chapter, verses ten through seventeen, Amaziah, the high priest of Bethel, reacted to Amos’ prophetic statement of God’s revealed visions to him. In these final eight verses, Amaziah reported to King Jeroboam about Amos. Next, he forbade Amos to prophesy in Israel. Amaziah tried to persuade him to leave Israel. In the end, Amos spoke a prophecy against Amaziah and the priesthood of Israel.

Amaziah’s Report to Jeroboam

After hearing of the third vision God gave to Amos, Amaziah, the chief priest at Bethel, realized God threatened the king and himself. Out of fear, he had to do something to save himself and his means of income. Remember, God did not appoint the priests of Israel and provide for them through His laws. The kings appointed priests and paid them from their treasury. These priests worked for their living instead of serving the LORD. Amaziah owed his allegiance to the king since he appointed him. Earlier prophets’ words in Israel and surrounding nations brought conspiracy against rulers and helped destroy dynasties while starting new dynasties. Because the king of Israel controlled the religion, Amos’ words threatened Amaziah’s income. Amaziah sought to protect the king’s reign. He did two things: 1. Report to the king and 2. Persuade Amos to leave Israel.

Verses ten and eleven contain Amaziah’s report to King Jeroboam. In these verses, Amos said,

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words. For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’” [NASB]

Interestingly, Amaziah’s name means “Jehovah is mighty,” yet his life and service refuse to recognize Jehovah. To understand this passage, we must remember Amaziah was the chief priest of the priesthood in Israel, whom the king appoints and pays. This rule of the king over the nation’s religion began with Jeroboam I and the founding the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12:31-32 and 1 Kings 13:33). Jeroboam II charged Amaziah with obeying his rules of religion and leading the other priests and citizens to obey him as the sovereign ruler of the land. Amaziah’s devotion should be to the king first. From this understanding, we can recognize his reactions to Amos’ visions as being self-serving and kingdom-keeping.

In verse ten, Amos recorded Amaziah sent word to Jeroboam about him. What did Amaziah tell the king? He told him Amos conspired against him in their own borders. The word “conspired” comes from the Hebrew word qashar and means to bind together or be in league together with others. Amaziah told Jeroboam Amos conspired to remove his family’s reign from Israel and install new rulers. He tried alarming the king so he would come and put an end to Amos and his prophesying. Amaziah accused Amos of treason against Israel. He sought to bring alarm and fear in Jeroboam’s heart to excite him into action.

Should that statement of Amos conspiring against Jeroboam not excite the king, Amaziah added more. In verse eleven, he said Amos said Jeroboam would die by the sword and Israel would go into exile. We must recognize what Amaziah told Jeroboam was a lie. In verse nine, Amos said, “Then I [God] will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” In the Bible and other writings when a person spoke of rising against a house with the sword, it meant an army or a person would kill another person and his family. Still, Amos did not say explicitly that Jeroboam would die by the sword as Amaziah reported. When Amaziah told the king that Amos said Israel would go into exile, he reported correctly. He said they would go into exile from their specific plot of land given to them by their tribal leader from the Promised Land Yehovah gave the Israelites. Amaziah exaggerated so it would incite the king to act against Amos who threatened the king, Israel, and himself.

·         Have you ever exaggerated to get someone to sympathize with you and join you in your anger or vengeance? Maybe your boss reprimanded you then you spoke to your coworkers to get them to agree the boss wrongly charged you. From that, people would talk about the boss and disrespect him.

·         Have you ever spoken against someone so you could steal their friends or position in the community or in an organization?

·         Have you ever told someone something bad about your sibling or parents to get people to side with you and agree you were right when you chose not to talk to that person?

Amaziah’s Persuasion of Amos

In verses twelve and thirteen, Amos recorded Amaziah’s attempt to persuade him to stop prophesying against Israel, the king, and him. In verses twelve and thirteen, Amos said,

Then Amaziah said to Amos, 

“Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.” [NASB]

When giving a persuasive speech, the speaker speaks to logic and emotion. In these two verses, Amaziah touched on both. He called Amos a seer. This comes from the Hebrew word chozeh. This word was not the most commonly used word for prophet, but when the message of the chozeh was spiritual, the people recognized this person as a prophet. Typically, chozeh denoted someone who saw or perceived and then advised like a king’s paid counselors or advisors.

In verse twelve, Amaziah alluded to both interpretations of chozeh. Firstly, Amaziah recognized Amos’ message was a spiritual message, one that affected the spiritual part of a person. He wanted Amos to leave so as not to persuade Israelites to follow Yehovah instead of Jeroboam’s instituted gods. As to persuading because of logic and emotion, Amaziah appealed to his logic and said Amos would not receive payment in Israel for his services as a prophet because no one followed His God. He would starve to death in Israel. Amaziah appealed to Amos’ emotion and told him to return to his own country where people accept him and want to hear of their God. He feigned concern for Amos’ income and sustenance. Food/income and acceptance are big inducers for jobs. They were Amaziah’s own concerns in being a priest. In this verse, we recognize a dichotomy and a misunderstanding by Amaziah. Amaziah assumed Amos prophesied for payment. He erred in this understanding because in Israel prophets and priests received payment for their services. This understanding showed the dichotomy of the offices of priests and prophets in the two kingdoms. Amos did not prophesy for Yehovah because of promised payment. He prophesied because the LORD called him to do it.

With verse thirteen, Amaziah gave the real reason he wanted Amos out of Israel. He prohibited Amos from prophesying in Israel. Amaziah tried to prevent him speaking for Yehovah not recognizing the greater purpose for the prophecy-repentance, forgiveness, and mercy. Just like the Israelites caused the Nazirites to drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy in Amos 2:12, Amaziah commanded Amos not to prophesy. Had Amaziah not heard Amos earlier? Did it only then and not earlier in Amos 2:12 affect his understanding of his sin and cause him to forbid Amos to speak? Possibly. Still, Amaziah’s reason for prohibiting Amos to prophesy testifies to his lack of understanding. He told Amos Bethel was a sanctuary for the king so do not prophesy there. To Amaziah, Bethel was the high holy place of Israel and the place where their king worshiped. Amaziah’s reason for prohibiting Amos to prophesy at Bethel was political. It was the king’s sanctuary, sacred because of the king, not because of Yehovah’s residence there.

 Amaziah tried persuasion to get Amos to flee Israel. Whether he cared about Amos’ welfare or not, he wanted Amos out of his country. Amaziah thought Amos’ removal would solve his problems. He did not consider his and his peoples’ sins as the real problem, just Amos’ meddling. His solution to Amos’ prophecy against the high places of Isaac as stated in Amos 7:9 was to forbid his prophesying in Bethel. Amaziah’s futile attempt to stifle the LORD’s called prophet and His own judgment against the religious and political powers of Israel would not occur by banishing Amos.

·         Have you ever dealt with a problem and thought, it would go away if you don’t think about it? Did your problem go away?

·         Did anyone ever confront you about your character and you jump and lash out at him for “attacking” you? Was what the person said accurate? Did you grow from the way you reacted to the person’s positive critique?

·         Have you ever noted a message a teacher wrote on your paper and changed your style or content for a subsequent paper then noticed your grade improved? This shows growth and respect for the experienced teacher or leader.

Amos’ Reply to Amaziah

Amaziah spoke to the king and to Amos in verses ten through thirteen of chapter seven. With verses fourteen through seventeen, Amos replied to Amaziah’s misunderstanding of his “job” and the LORD’s unequivocal judgment of Amaziah. Amos 7:14-17 says,  

Then Amos replied, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet, for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ Now hear the word of the LORD: you are saying, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’ Therefore, thus says the LORD, ‘Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.” [NASB]

God’s Calling of Amos

In verses fourteen and fifteen, Amos told Amaziah who he was, what his job was, and by whose will he prophesied. Forthrightly in verse fourteen, Amos said he was not a prophet. The Hebrew word used here in nabiy and means a spokesman or prophet, one who “bubbles up” with declarations from God. It is the most common Hebrew word used to speak of a prophet in the Old Testament. Notice Amos did not use the word chozeh like Amaziah did. He differentiated between a paid advisor and a true prophet of God who bubbles forth with the words of the LORD. Still, Amos said he was not a prophet. Amos meant he was not of the tribe of Levi and thus a priest/prophet in that way, nor was he a prophet called by God to prophesy exclusively during his life like Isaiah or Elijah. Amos explained this further for Amaziah. He said he was not the son of a prophet and did not go to a prophet school to learn how to be a prophet. Amos received no payment to be a prophet like the students in the school of prophets written about in 1 Samuel 19:18-24, 2 Kings 2, and 2 Kings 4:38-34. His title at that point came not from an inherited position from his own father. Instead, Amos explained his job in Judah before God called him to go to Israel and speak for Him. He was a herdsman of sheep, goats, and small cattle, and a grower and tender of sycamore figs. Amos’ job was not as a paid prophet upon which he lived, but instead as a manual laborer.

Through verse fifteen, Amos explained how he came to speak as a prophet for God to Israel. Even though he was a manual laborer, God chose him. Amos recognized his calling came from Yehovah, the existing One-I AM. He said GOD took him from tending the flock and fig trees. The word “took” comes from the same Hebrew word, laqach, that Bible writers used when GOD took Elijah and Enoch to heaven in Genesis 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11. Amos did nothing purposely to get God’s attention and get the job as prophet. GOD saw him and took him; He chose him. Amos came from a similar background as David, a shepherd, and became the man GOD called to speak to and lead His people (2 Samuel 7:8). David recognized his calling by GOD, too, in Psalm 78:71. Amos’ authority as a prophet came from God, not from a school. He had a divine call, and this verse is the only place Amos references his call. He told Amaziah, “The LORD said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’” The word “said” comes from the Hebrew word ‘amar and means commanded. The LORD commanded Amos to go prophesy to His people Israel. Amos could do nothing but go. GOD’s calling was like a fire burning in his bones, as Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 20:9. The LORD’s calling on Amos’ life compelled him to go. GOD commanded him to go.

One final word. Notice GOD did not tell Amos to go to Israel. He said to go to My people Israel. God still loved Israel and called them His own. He would do much to save them and keep them as His own. The Lord today does the same for us. He keeps calling to His children who have strayed. As a last recourse, the Lord allows hardships to occur in hopes the person will turn back to Him, repent, and seek to follow Him again. God sent many prophets to call Israel to turn back to Him. He loved His people and wanted them to return to a right relationship with Him. God, as loving and righteous, would allow the enemies of Israel to come against and conquer them to punish them and get their attention so they would turn to Him seeking help, confessing their sins, and renewing their relationship with Him.

Amos and the Prophecy Against Amaziah

In verses sixteen and seventeen, Amos spoke to Amaziah. The LORD did not direct this statement of judgment against others, but directly at the high priest of Israel. With verse sixteen, Amos gave the reason for the judgment. Verse seventeen relates GOD’s judgment against Amaziah.

Just as Amos began the other prophecies he spoke in the first six chapters of this book, he began this prophecy against Amaziah. He wanted the high priest of golden calves to realize this prophecy came from Yehovah, the I AM of whom he learned and would recognize. The prophecy stated this way should have made the priest tremble because he would have known about Yehovah and His history with the people of Israel. Besides this, with Amos’ statements above, he should have known Amos was truly a called prophet of the LORD, not an educated, self-chosen prophet for money.

Of what then did GOD charge Amaziah? God said Amaziah told Amos and His other prophets not to prophesy or speak against the house of Isaac. In Amos 2:12, GOD charged the Israelites with commanding His prophets they could not prophesy in Israel. They forbade them to speak GOD’s words-His charges and judgments. Besides this, GOD charged Amaziah with saying Amos “shall not speak against the house of Isaac.” This judgment of God specifically affected Amaziah. The word “speak” comes from the Hebrew word nataph and means to drip or flow. Often Bible writers used it to speak of preaching or prophesying. By using this word, God said Amaziah told Amos he shall not drip/drop words like a refreshing rain or like a bomb against the people, which they would not want to hear. Amaziah censored Amos. He kept his people from hearing the truth and ruffling their feathers so they would not question the worship of idols in Israel, which he led.

For this serious sin of prohibiting God’s called prophet to speak to the Israelites, GOD judged Amaziah harshly. He said through Amos in verse seventeen that Amaziah’s family would experience His judgment of him. Amos relayed God’s words and said, “Your wife will become a harlot in the city.” This spoke of the time of their future capture. It could have meant Amaziah’s family would become so destitute during and after the siege of Israel that to have money to feed her family, his wife would prostitute herself. The other meaning is that Israel’s captors would make Amaziah watch his wife’s dishonor as they forced her to be their sexual toy. He would be unable to prevent her dishonor. Either occurrence showed the depths to which Amaziah, the chief priest of Israel, would fall because of GOD’s judgment of his sins. His family would be poor and dishonored. This judgment is like what Hosea said in Hosea 4:13-14.

Amos continued to relay GOD’s judgment about the devastation upon Amaziah’s family in verse seventeen. He said, “Your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.” His children would die violently by the hands of their enemies. The people Amaziah loved most would die a horrific death. His future would not exist because the enemy killed his children. Amaziah’s line would end. For what use then was he teaching false religion and earning money if he would not have descendants? God’s judgment affected his wife and his children in terrible ways.

Next GOD spoke judgment regarding Amaziah’s land. He said, “Your land will be parceled up by a measuring line.” The word used for land here is the Hebrew word adamah. It means a specific plot of land, not a nation or territory, or earth in general. The verb “parceled up” means to divide, plunder, or assign by a conqueror. The enemies would take the land Amaziah’s family received from their tribe leader when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. God’s judgment would take their inheritance of His promise with Abraham away from his family line. This spoke to GOD removing His promise and His hand of protection from them. The Israelites took for granted God’s covenant with them. They considered He would protect them without faithfully keeping their covenant with Him as their ancestors promised in Deuteronomy 28. God’s judgments now horrendously affected Amaziah’s wife, children, and land. His present, and future blessings became curses because of his sins against GOD.

Finally, if these three judgments against Amaziah did not cause him to repent and return to GOD, the last one should have. GOD told him, “You yourself will die upon unclean soil.” The word “unclean” means religious or ritual uncleanness. A priest would make sure to always be “clean.” He would perform each of the rituals to become clean so he could go before his god. With this part of his judgment, Amaziah would live in an unclean, heathen nation. He could not get ritually cleaned. His ministry would remain tainted in his exile. In 2 Kings 17:6, the writer noted Assyria captured Samaria and took the leaders of Samaria into captivity. Ezekiel 4:13 notes the sons of Israel would eat their bread unclean among the nations where God banished them. God’s judgment of Amaziah affected his family, his honor, his inheritance, his descendants, and his income. God would take away each of His blessings to Amaziah. The removal of His blessings and His presence would cause curses in Amaziah’s life.

The words of Amos were not just the words of a man. They were GOD’s words and should have caused Amaziah to turn toward GOD repenting. Amaziah did not examine himself and his nation regarding covenant blessings, faithfulness, and responsibility. He, like the rich people of Israel, felt secure behind the walls of Samaria and behind the rituals of his king-instituted religion. Amaziah remained blinded by these human achievements-fortresses and religiosity.

·         On what do you count to show your rightness when defending yourself against charges from people? Would these acts of rightness stand up to God’s standards or would God consider you unrighteous?

·         When someone brings an error of yours to your attention, do you go on the defensive or justify yourself? Have you considered the possibility the person is trying to help you grow beyond yourself?

·         On what part of your life has God been speaking to you to change? Have you listened to Him, sought His will, and grown? Have you justified yourself and kept walking in your own way? If the latter, you are like Amaziah and many people.

·         We each sin and try to justify our thoughts, words, and actions. God is the standard. Can our thoughts, words, and actions meet His standards? Not in our own they can’t. We cannot justify ourselves before God.

Consider this passage from Romans 5:1-3. 

Recap

Amos spent much time prophesying to the people of Israel and explaining about their sins of which God charged and judged them. With Amos 7, God gave him three visions of His judgment on His people Israel. He withheld His judgment by locust and fire because of Amos interceding for Israel. The final vision of the plumb line would occur. Amos saw the depth of the Israelites' sins and did not intercede for them after the third vision.

After the third vision and its message that God, through Israel’s enemies, would destroy their sanctuaries and rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword, Amaziah the high priest sent a report to King Jeroboam II telling him about Amos and that he conspired against the king. Next Amaziah tried to persuade Amos to leave Israel feigning concern for his income and his ability to buy bread. He compelled Amos not to prophesy in Bethel. Amaziah stated Amos was a prophet for hire and did not recognize GOD called him to the position for that time.

Amos refuted Amaziah explaining his calling by GOD to go to Israel and speak His prophecies of judgment against them. He told him his job was as a tender of flock and fig trees. Amos said he did not inherit the position of prophet, nor did he attend a prophet’s school. He then prophesied the total destruction and dishonor of Amaziah, his family, and his land. Because of his misdirection, the man to whom a nation looked for spiritual direction would receive a critical, dramatic judgment from the LORD.

Conclusion and Relevance

God calls to each of us to be in a relationship with Him. He speaks to every person to follow Him and grow more like Christ each day. God pricks each person’s conscience when he or she faces temptations to sin against Him and other people. He sends people into our lives to teach or preach His Word so we grow and become strong enough to overcome any temptation we meet. These people come into our lives as God’s voice to teach us so we feel pricks from God to our consciences, feel God’s sadness at our disobedience, and turn back to Him repenting. At times, we are the people growing, being tempted, overcoming temptation, or sinning. Occasionally, we are the people God uses to speak His Word so others may grow and conquer temptation, or repent from sin and return to the Lord.

For his time, Amos was that man of God to Israel.

For our time, we know of people like Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, and Charles Swindoll.

For our time, God may also use any of us to speak to people-to teach and testify about Him.

For all time –

Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

is the teacher and Savior from God.

He not only came to teach, but to be the final sacrifice needed for our sins to redeem us from slavery to sin and defeat the penalty of death our sinning causes us to deserve. Because of God’s love for us, His mercy and lovingkindness, He provided a way for each of us to be in His presence, to experience eternal hope and joy, and to live eternally with Him. Jesus justifies us to God through His death on the cross.

A passage in the Gospel of John speaks about this. John 3:16-18 

For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the word, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [NASB]

Jesus was not just a teacher to tell us about God; He showed God to us here on earth through His life, love, death, and resurrection. Jesus died so we can have eternal life.

His life was a testimony to us about how to live and overcome temptation.

His death and resurrection were an act of God’s love and mercy to us to save us.

We each must decide if we will believe in Jesus Christ and accept His love and forgiveness.

Will you heed the words of Amos, the testimony of Jesus’ life, and receive the love, forgiveness, and eternal life Jesus’ death and resurrection give from God?

It’s your choice.

Certainty of God's Judgment part 2

Introduction

In the last Bible study, we studied Amos 3:1-8. In those verses we recognized that Amos called the people of Israel to hear, listen, and obey. That is what the Hebrew word shama’ means. This sermon/proclamation is one of five Amos brought to the Israelites after he prophesied God’s charges and judgment on them.

Within verses three through seven, Amos used four common occurrences the people would understand to help them understand the certainty of God’s judgment falling upon them. He used these causal analogies of everyday life just as Jesus used parables from everyday life to help the people understand. Amos stated just as two men agreed to meet at a particular time, they would definitely meet. Just as a person set a trap and baited it, so a bird would take the bait and get caught in the trap. Surely as a lion tracks and captures its prey, upon doing so he will roar. Just as a trumpet blares, so a people would know their enemy arrives against them. Amos’ final causal relationship was personal; and came from his own experience. He said, just as the LORD speaks, so a prophet can do nothing, but prophesy. Each of these analogies shows a cause and effect relationship that states the inevitability of something occurring because another thing happened first.

Amos used these five analogies to state emphatically to the Israelites, what God says He will do, will happen. God will announce His judgment before He enacts it. The Israelites of the northern kingdom listened to His judgment from at least five prophets and did not return permanently to a right relationship with the LORD. Amos wanted to make sure they understood this very well, so he proclaimed loudly exactly what he meant in verse eight. Amos said this in verse eight,

“A Lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” [NASB]

Just as the people could understand that what God said He meant and would do, Amos stated he recognized the voice of the LORD for certain and could not stand by without prophesying of what God told him. It was a personal cause and effect relationship for Amos.

Hearing God’s charge and judgment and acting upon it in obedience were two different things for the Israelites. They had strayed from the LORD for so long that their hearts were no longer in tune with Him or His ways. They did not recognize God as being almighty, omnipotent, and the One who led them from Egypt and gave them a promised land. The Israelites did not revere Him, so that obedience was natural like Amos’ reaction and obedience to being called by God to speak to the Israelites. The Israelites no longer feared the LORD. God said repeatedly through Amos’ prophecies He judged them and punishment would occur. He wanted the Israelites to understand, repent, and return to a covenant relationship with Him. With the rest of Amos 3, the LORD revealed to them His judgment on them and the reason for it. Let’s begin our study of verses nine through fifteen.

A Call for Witnesses

Just as Moses proclaimed, “Hear O, Israel,” Amos began His proclamations with, “Hear this word the Lord has spoken.” He commanded them to pay attention, listen, and obey. The Lord God is Almighty and worthy to hear and obey, Amos said. After calling for Israel’s attention, God called for eyewitnesses to what He would do to Israel as punishment for their rebellion against and unfaithfulness to Him. Listen to Amos’ words in verses nine and ten.

“Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, ‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the oppressions in her midst. But they do not know how to do what is right,’ declares the LORD, ‘these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.’” [NASB]

God called Amos, Philistia, and Egypt to hear, listen, and obey-shama’-when He said “proclaim” in verse nine. He wanted Amos to proclaim/summon Ashdod and Egypt to come witness Israel’s iniquities and their punishment from almighty God, the One who brought the Israelites from Egypt and who proclaimed judgment on Philistia.  God called the people who lived in the fortified cities and palaces of these nations to assemble on the mountains around Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom. Samaria was about thirty miles north of Jerusalem in a valley on a small hill surrounded by high hills. God called the rulers of Egypt and Philistia to come sit around Samaria like a judicial or tribal council. Listen to the crimes of Samaria and see its judgment and punishment occur, God said. Come see what God will do to the Israelites for their disobedience because of their rebellion against Him. Samaria, just as Gaza, Damascus, and Tyre, was the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel. It represented the whole of the northern kingdom. The charge and judgment of Samaria was for the entire nation.

What did Amos prophesy about Samaria’s iniquities? He used four words to describe them. Amos told the witnesses to see the “great tumults,” “oppressions,” “violence,” and “devastation.” What did these words mean to Israel? Are they the same as what God charged of them in chapter two? “Tumults” comes from the Hebrew word mehuwmah, which means turmoil, confusion, destruction, panic, trouble, and discomfort. In their greed and luxurious living, the people of Samaria-the leaders of the nation-caused tumult for the poor and righteous. There was noise from the masses of people in Samaria committing wickedness. They upset poor people who sought daily sustenance and justice with their own greed and corruption. “Oppressions” comes from the Hebrew word ‘ashuwq, which means extortion or prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority. What the people of Samaria did caused harm physically and mentally to those they considered beneath them. Amos gave examples of this oppression in Amos 5:11 when he said the powerful exacted heavy rent from the poor and tributes of grain from them. In Amos 8:6, he said the rich buy the helpless to be servants and enslave the needy because they needed money to buy sandals and could not repay it. Besides this, Amos said the rich reaped all the produce from their fields and left none for the poor to glean for their own hunger.

The first crime in verse nine Amos said the people of Samaria hoarded violence. The rich leaders did not need what they took, kept for themselves, or exacted from the poor. They merely kept it in storage “just in case.” The rich caused undue harm to and did not care enough for the poor to let them glean their fields. The last crime God charged the people of Samaria with in this part of Amos’ prophecy is they hoarded up devastation. He said Samaritans took away the needs of the poor, and destroyed them, their families, and their homes. They wreaked havoc on their lives and brought devastation and ruin to them. The people of Samaria-the rich and rulers-enslaved the poor, widow, orphan, and alien so they had no life to call their own and had no home. They tore apart everything poor people could call their own, even their reputation and pride. The Samaritans took the poor captive because of their greed and sinfulness.

By doing these things-causing great tumults and oppression and hoarding violence and destruction-the Samaritans broke the laws of God as set up and told to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land.  God wanted the people of Israel to take care of the poor in their towns, villages, and cities. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 told them to keep their tithe in their own cities every third year to feed the Levite and the poor. In Deuteronomy 16:11 & 14, God told the Israelites to rejoice and feast together before the LORD with the poor and the alien. In Deuteronomy 24:19-21 Moses recorded God’s law, which said the farmers were to leave the dropped produce for the poor and alien to glean to provide for their needs.

The LORD summed up at the beginning of verse ten what happened to the Samaritans and Israelites. He said, “They do not know how to do what is right.” In this day when “what is right” is relative to each person, we need to understand God’s character of righteousness defines the rightness of action, word, and thought. He is righteous-without evil and sin, and totally holy. God called each of His children to be righteous, to do what is right. He provided them guidelines to do that, what He expected of them. The first part of verse ten says the Israelites did not know; they did not recognize, were unacquainted with, and did not confess to know the LORD God and His ways. “Doing what is right” means doing what is straight before them, walking in an upright way. The people of Samaria and Israel had lost their way, the way to God and His righteousness, because it had been too long since they cared to listen about and to the LORD. They no longer knew Him or about Him and so lost their moral compass, their true north. Without God in a person’s life, true rightness, which the character of God defines, is no longer visible. One person’s right will not be right according to another person. Their wills and concepts clash, and tumult, oppression, violence, and devastation occur. Amos said in this verse, the Israelites no longer had a “true north.” They did not know or recognize God so did not know and, as a result, obey His laws. The Samaritans lived for themselves and harmed the poor, weak, and alien. They loved only themselves. They lived Darwinian lives before even Darwin proposed the theory of “the survival of the fittest.”

Hedonistic, luxurious living that disregards other people and makes one’s self primary is rebellion against God. With that understanding, we must consider ourselves and our own lives.

·         Do you do everything within your power to get ahead at work, in the community, and/or in school even if that means you overlook or denigrate  the needs or person of someone else in the process?

·         Do you hear about free food and run to the site to push and shove to insure you get your share, even though you have food in your own pantry and other people have none?

·         Do you undercut your competitor’s bids for a job, then give a low quality of work?

·         Do you offer a bribe to an official to make sure you get a job or get your government documents?

Judgment on Samaria and Israel

With verses eleven and twelve, God explained in more detail what His judgment on the northern kingdom would include. Besides what He said in Amos 2:14-16 where Amos said no one would escape God’s judgment, in Amos 3:11-12, God specified what would happen to the Israelites, and especially the rich and the leaders of the kingdom. Amos said in verse eleven,

“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘An enemy, even one surrounding the land, will pull down your strength from you and your citadels will be looted.’” [NASB]

Amos used two names to speak of the Lord. He called him Adonay, a title given to God in reverence of Him as almighty God. Amos called the Lord, Yehovah, the existing One-I AM. He acknowledged the Lord with reverence recognizing His majesty, and he admitted this Lord is the I AM who spoke to Moses and the Israelites. He is the One who was, is, and is to come-the great almighty Creator of all that is. Amos acknowledged the Lord GOD before the Israelites proclaiming who God is and reminding and teaching the Israelites about Yehovah I AM. The Israelites had forgotten Him; Amos told them about Him.

After this, Amos told the Israelites how God’s judgment would come upon them. He said an enemy would surround them and come from a nation with whom they were acquainted. In Amos 6:14, Amos specified exactly which part of their nation would experience the effects of this enemy. The enemy would attack them from Hamath (on the border of Aram and Israel) to the brook of the Arabah (the southern border of the southern kingdom of Judah). Every Israelite, each of the descendants of Jacob, would feel the effects of this enemy.

The enemy would be strong. It would affect many places in the land of the Israelites. The enemy would be so strong, Amos said, it would “pull down your strength from you and your citadels.” Those defenses built to keep the Israelites safe from their enemies would not stand against the LORD’s judgment that He enacted by their enemies.  The LORD is stronger than anything man, His created being, could make from the earth, which He created. Those things in which they trusted to safeguard them would fall. Their material strength would fall-the walls, palaces, and fortresses- and their physical, social, and political strength would fall. The rich would become like the poor-hungry and with no social or political clout to help them get out of their devastation. Amos said this same thing about Judah in Amos 2:5. Each Israelite would experience the effects of God’s judgment through the hands of their enemies. One final point God added to this first part of the judgment is the booty the rich hoarded for themselves from the oppression, devastation, and violence they exacted against the poor would become booty for their enemy. What they stored they would not get to enjoy.

With Amos 3:12, God declared the extent of the Israelites’ devastation by their enemies. Amos said in verse twelve,

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, so will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away–with the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!’” [NASB]

The Israelites might have understood better with this point. The idea came from an Old Testament law in Exodus 22:13. That law required the shepherd to bring proof a wild animal snatched one of the flock or cattle by bringing the remnants of the animal as evidence. When he did so, the owner of the animal would not require the shepherd to pay for the torn animal. God said in this prophesy the devastation of the enemy’s overthrowing of Israel would be so great only a remnant would remain in the land. God would rescue only a few people from the enemy. By using parts of a bed or couch, Amos showed those most affected by their enemies would be the wealthy. The poorer people did not have a bed to sleep on or a couch upon which to recline. They sat and slept on the ground. The poor, the ones whom the rich and the rulers injured, would be the ones most likely not to experience captivity.  Those who managed to escape the enemy would do so because of God’s goodness and mercy. As the rich devoured the lambs-the poor and righteous-before God’s judgment, so their enemy would devour them. Samaria would be the lamb led to slaughter because of their sins.

When we read and understand this, can you think of an instance where you experienced God’s rescue from the snares of the enemy? Or were you made captive by your enemy because of the wrong you did? Consider these things.

·         Have you ever snubbed someone before and then later, maybe even years later, needed that person’s help and worried the person would not help you because of your snubbing?

·         Have you ever ignored the poor person begging at the traffic light because you wanted to get through the light, then noted a police siren following you to give you a speeding ticket?

·         Did you ever find yourself rescued from an abusive situation and wonder why God helped you?

·         Has there been a situation in your life where you didn’t deserve someone’s care, but they gave it anyway telling you because God loves you, he or she loves you and wants to help you?

Each of these situations is real. They happened to people I have known. These occurrences are not rare, but happen daily. Which of the persons mentioned would you rather be, the one helped, or the one harmed? Would you rather be the one who helps or the one who walks over others? What you do will eventually come back to you. God still sees and judges people for their actions. What He says, He will do.

A Call to Testify

With verse thirteen, Amos called the witnesses of verse nine, Egypt and Philistia, to testify against the “house of Jacob.” Amos said,

“‘Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,’ declares the Lord God, the God of hosts.” [NASB]

The leaders of Egypt and Philistia were to witness and to testify to the iniquities of the house of Jacob, the descendants of Jacob. They were not just to watch them and God’s judgment; they were to testify to God’s righteousness, justice, and power. Israel, whom God meant to be a light leading the nations to Him so others would be in a relationship with God, did not shine for GOD. Instead, they adopted the practices of the surrounding nations and gave in to greed and prejudice. Israel was a light leading just to themselves. They gratified themselves and wanted everyone to see how wealthy and successful they were. Israel made themselves and their own desires their god and left the Lord God.

That leads us to the final part of verse thirteen. Amos said the Lord God, the God of hosts, proclaimed this. As noted earlier, when Amos stated “Lord GOD,” he showed reverence to God, Adonay Yehovah, the existing I AM, of the Israelites and Creator of the world. By adding the “God of hosts,” Amos did something no other writer in the Bible did. He put these four words together to state emphatically who God is. “God” comes from the Hebrew word ‘elohiym, which means ruler, judge, and the “true God”. “Hosts” means host of angels on earth and in heaven. By using these four words for God, Amos expressed God as Adonay Yehovah ‘Elohiym of all beings on earth and in heaven. He is the mighty, existing I AM who is the ruler and judge of every being in heaven and on earth. He is of whom and by whom Amos spoke. Amos wanted to remind the Israelites of the Lord GOD so they would seek to have a right relationship with Him. He wanted the Egyptian and Philistine leaders to witness Samaria’s evil and the power of Adonay Yehovah “Elohiym of hosts. The LORD wanted Samaria’s corruptions known so the witnesses could not deny the justice of Samaria’s punishment from God. Those leaders had a duty to testify to the nations of Samaria’s iniquities and God’s judgment of them.

Judgment of Bethel and Samaria

God wanted the witnesses to see the depth of the depravity of Israel; they worshiped false gods just as the Egyptians and Philistines did. He wanted them to recognize His sovereignty by His power to destroy the idols to which the Israelites swore devotion. To do this, Amos drew their attention to Bethel, the main temple of worship for the northern kingdom of Israel. Amos said in Amos 3:14,

“For on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions, I will also punish the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and they will fall to the ground.” [NASB]

The people of the northern kingdom worshiped idols, oppressed the poor and righteous, and lived self-centered lives. God would show them the idols they worshiped and prayed to had no power. The Lord God would cut off the horns of their altar. Remember, the altar of the LORD was where sacrifices for sins occurred to provide atonement for the sinner. A person who killed another person without intention could flee to the altar and grab hold of the horns on God’s altar to seek sanctuary. The people of the northern kingdom had an altar in their temple with cow’s horns upon which they offered the blood of sacrifices to atone for their sins. When God said He would cut off the horns of the altar at Bethel, He meant two things. This action would show He is greater than their manmade altar. His actions meant no atonement of their sins could come from the altar of their false god. The Lord GOD would be the one to judge them. No place of asylum would hide them from His judgment; the Israelites could not escape from Him and His judgment. God’s judgment was certain. Nothing could stop it. He is Adonay Yehovah ‘Elohiym of hosts.

·         Do we worship something other than God–our homes, our jobs, our time, our money?

With Amos 3:15, God definitively singled out the rich and the leaders of Israel to receive His judgment. God said through Amos in verse 15,

“‘I will also smite the winter house together with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish and the great houses will come to an end,’ declares the LORD.” [NASB]

Earlier God said all the Israelites, “the house of Jacob”, would experience His judgment.  Next He said His judgment would come upon their places of worship and their priests. Finally, the LORD singled out the wealthy and leaders of Israel. The latter were the ones oppressing the poor, corrupting the judicial system, and leading the people of Israel to worship other gods.

How do we realize God singled out the wealthy? In verse fifteen, He declared His judgment upon the people who have more than one home and/or had homes with grand embellishment, inlaid ivory. The wealthy lived in winter houses during the cold season to stay warmer and closer to necessities. They lived in the cities. This winter house faced the sun toward the south and helped them stay warm. During the warm seasons, the rich stayed in their summer houses. The summer houses normally faced the east or north away from the sun to keep the house cooler. Often they built their second homes in or near a forest. Houses of ivory show grand extravagance. Money did not deter them getting what they wanted. King Ahab had an ivory house (1 Kings 22:39). Psalm 45:8 said kings had ivory palaces. This judgment showed God saw and would punish the rich and the rulers. They oppressed, disrupted, and devastated the lives of the poor and righteous, who could not afford to pay someone to defend them. The rich made the poor cower. They corrupted justice in their nation.

What was God’s judgment on these rulers and the rich people of Israel since we know this? He said He would smite them and their “great houses would come to an end.” They would not escape the enemy God allowed to overtake them. God specifically picked them out for His judgment and it would certainly happen. The enemy would execute God’s judgment on the Israelites who were rich and were leaders. They would hit, beat, and kill them. The luxurious houses would fall, be removed completely and swept away. Nothing would remain but rubble. Again, another lesson teaches not to hoard and hurt, but to help the less fortunate.

What the rich held as great worth, would be worthless.

If the rich were fortunate, they would keep their lives, though we understand from historical record the first round of captivity saw many leaders killed and maimed. Their sons fell by the sword.

Samaria, after a three year siege by Assyria, fell to their might and persistence. God’s punishment began. The king of Assyria relocated many of their leaders to Assyria. A big part of the people of Israel stayed in the land. Sargon, king of Assyria, moved people from throughout his entire kingdom to the land of the Israelites. They intermixed their people, culture, and religions with the Israelites who remained so that the Israelites lost their identity as the people of Israel.

·         Have you lost your identity as a child of God?

·         What do you allow in your life that keeps you from focusing on God?

·         How do you live your life–to help the needy or to help yourself?

·         Do you ever feel God pricking your conscience to help? Do you help or do you deny God and the other person?

Recap

The people of the northern kingdom were part of the descendants of Jacob like the southern kingdom of Judah. From their first king, Jeroboam, until their fall in 721 BC, the northern kingdom did not worship the Lord GOD, but instead worshiped idols-calves, Baal, Molech, Chemosh, and Asherah. The LORD sent several prophets to call the Israelites to repent and return to Him, but they lived for themselves. They rebelled against Him and against other people. In Amos 3, God specifically judged the rich, the leaders, and the idolaters. God said He would smite them and their homes, and their wealth would end. He would allow an enemy to overtake them. Many of the Israelites would go into captivity while those who remained in Canaan would live with people from all over the Assyrian empire and lose their identity as Israelites.

Conclusion

Before we leave this passage in Amos, we need to consider what it means for us. What does this history of the Israelite people have to do with us today? The foremost thing we should consider is Adonay Yehovah ‘Elohiym of hosts is still Creator and LORD of all. Two thousand plus years from then to now does not change God. He is unchangeable. The LORD back then is the LORD still. With that being said, have we changed – as a people. Did our ancestors walk away from God and then, by His absence in their lives, keep us from God? Did we learn about God and choose not to believe and obey Him? If your ancestors did not worship the LORD, that does not mean you cannot or should not worship Him. Each person must decide if he or she wants to be a child of God. Your ancestors cannot make it that decision for you.

God seeks us and wants us to worship Him because He wants a relationship with us. Consider these people:

1.      Adam walked in the garden with God. As we read God looked for him in Genesis 3:8. God cared that Adam not be alone on earth so made woman (Genesis 2:18).

2.      Abraham was special to God. He called him friend (James 2:23; Genesis 18:17). God cared about Him very much and Abraham was devoted to Him. Because of that, God promised his people would be more numerous than the stars and would be His people. They would inherit a promised land from God.  

3.      God called Moses to be close to Him. He trained him to recognize and see Him wherever he went. Consider Moses’ recognition of God in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15) or in the pillar of fire or cloud in the wilderness.

4.      Recall Paul who recognized the Lord even though he persecuted Jesus’ followers (Acts 9). The Lord sought Paul for Himself and stayed with Him throughout the rest of His life. He wanted a relationship with him.

5.      Remember the disciples who followed Jesus while He lived on earth. Jesus, the Son of God, sought them out for relationship.

6.      When the Son of God lived in human form, the Father sought regular relationship with His Son. Jesus went to the garden, to the mountain, and to “lonely places” to pray-spend time with His Father.

You must ask yourself a question…

Will you seek a relationship with Yehovah, the existing One, the One Who was, is, and always will be?

God still seeks to have a relationship with you. Even though we are sinful and He is holy, He provided a way for us to be in His presence. God provided a way to atone for our sin, to wash our sins away and make us clean from them and the guilt. 

What did God do because of His love for us so we could have a relationship with Him?

He sent His Son, Jesus, in human form to take our punishment for our sins and die our death that we deserved so He could wash us from our sins and we could be in a relationship with Him forever.

God loves you that much!

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world (you) that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”

That’s the Love of God!

You can be like the Israelites who turned away from God and worshiped manmade things, but

why would you? Those things rot, fade, corrode, and pass away.

Instead…

Choose A Relationship with God!

Choose Jesus!