Amos Chapter One

The Book of Amos Chapter 1

Often when reading the Old Testament a person may get the initial impression that God is harsh in His judgment but if we look closer we find He is not harsh but just, the Book of Amos is a clear lesson in the Justness of God.

Gen 18:25

25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Amos prophesies to the northern 10 tribes of Israel Amos 7;10

Chapter 1 One thing we see in Amos 1 is the low level to which Israel and Judah have sank ,not only morally as in the rest of the book ,but militarily also.

God’s judgment against those nations who have sinned against Him.

Every one of these nations had some sort of a testimony delivered to them and had abused the opportunity that was given them to do right.

Note:

It is ironic that in a nation where the rich were oppressing the poor and the priesthood was corrupt the Lord raises up a poor shepherd to speak to them. Men and women alike oppressed the poor Amos 4:1.

He was a sheepherder – 7;14-15

Date: 2 years before a great earthquake – Zech. 14;5

Each group mentioned here had uniquely at one time been exposed to the true God and His people whether by covenant ,blessing or birth.

They are judged according to how they had treated this relationship.

Before the Lord approaches Israel about their sin He speaks to the nations around them about theirs, He knows the way we are, when He approaches me about my the first thing I do is say ,’well what about this fellow or that one look what they’ve done”

Comparing ourselves with each other is not wise ,( 1Corinthians 10;12) ,we must look at ourselves because my accountability with God is between Him and Me

The Different peoples to be judged covering the north south east and west of Israel.

Vs. 3-5 - Damascus- Syria goes into Kir (Assiria) 2 Kings 16:9 North

Vs. 6-8 - Gaza- Philistines 2Chron.21;16,17 their sin. West

Vs. 9-10 - Tyre- 1 kings 5;1-12 West

Vs. 11-12 - Edom- Obad 8-15 South

Vs. 13-15 - Ammon- Gilead is in Manesseh East

End of Chapter 1 up to this point all looks well for Judah and Israel.

Chapter 2

Vs. 1-3 – Moab East

Vs. 4-5 Judah

Vs. 6 on – Israel

Damascus -2 Kings 8:10-13 Hazael king in Damascus had a brush with God.

Gaza – 1Sam5:1-12 The Philistines knew the power of God.

Tyre-1Kings 5:7 Hiram knew onGod and covenanted with Solom.

Edom -Heb 12:15-17

15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Gen. 27:33,34

Ammon and Moab –Gen. 20:36-38 Were the descendants of Lot a child of God, 2 Peter 2:7,8

The date of Writing

Amos 1:1

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Zech 14:5

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Isa 5:26

25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

The phrase transgressions for 3 and for four.

The statement three and for four is standard for fruition.

Amos 1:3

3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

Pro_30:15, Pro_30:18, Pro_30:21, Pro_30:29,

From Keil & Delitzsch;

(Note: J. Marck has correctly explained it thus: “When this perfect number (three) is followed by four, by way of gradation, God not only declares that the measure of iniquity is full, but that it is filled to overflowing and beyond all measure.”).

It should be noted that

Transgression = TO TRANSGRESS

Basically, this noun signifies willful deviation from, and therefore rebellion against, the path of godly living.

Rom 4:15

15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Amos 1:1

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Amos’ place of birth - notice he could see the whole area and it was a warning area for the watchmen Ezek.33;2-7. (defenders who manned posts at the borders to warn of the enemy), Amos was the Lords watchman.

KJV

TEKOA in Judah

Because of its elevation - about 850 meters (2,790 feet) above sea level - Tekoa became a station for warning Jerusalem of the approach of its enemies (Jer 6:1). From Tekoa a person can see the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and Mount Nebo beyond the Dead Sea.

Amos 1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Mt. Carmel

Located CARMEL

1. A mountain promontory in Asher, 12 miles long, jutting out into the Mediterranean. a few miles S. of Ptolemais or Acre; toward its eastern extremity 1,600 feet above the level of the sea, at the W. end 600. Now Mar Elyas (Elijah), rarely Kurmul. The only bold headland of Palestine

Known for it’s beauty and luxurious growth

. CARMEL

The stone is mostly soft white limestone, with nodules of flint; at the W. chalk; on the N.E. plutonic rocks. "Elijah's melons," or lapides Judaici, is the name applied to stones of light brown flint outside, hollow inside, and lined with quartz crystals or chalcedony, the geological "geodes." Fossil spines of echinus are called "olives." The "apples" are the shells of the Cidaris glandifera.

Carmel's characteristic shrubbery's are still to be seen, with rocky dells amidst jungles of copse oaks, evergreens, and numerous caves. The forests have disappeared. Flowering and fragrant herbs abound, hollyhocks, jasmine, and various vegetable creepers, "the excellency (i.e. the beauty) of Carmel"

Isa 35:2

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

Song 7:5-6

5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

Damascus Vs. 3-5

The capital of Syria

Where Hazael was given rule by God and abused it.

1 Kings 19:15

15 And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

2 Kings 8:10-13

10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

2 Kings 13:3

3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.

These are possibly the 4 mentions but this still leaves out Ben-Hadad and his crimes.

2 kings 8:28, 2 Kings 9:14,15, 2 kings 10:32, 2 Kings 12 :18

Captivity into Kir

2 Kings 16:9

9 And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

Adam Clarke

The prophecy against the Syrians, whose capital was Damascus, was fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria; see 2Ki_16:9. The prophecy against Gaza of the Philistines was accomplished by Hezekiah, 2Ki_18:8; by Pharaoh, Jer_47:1; and by Alexander the Great; see Quintius Curtius, lib. 4. c. 6. The prophecy against Ashdod was fulfilled by Uzziah, 2Ch_26:6; and that against Ashkelon by Pharaoh, Jer_47:5. All Syria was also subdued by Pharaoh-necho; and again by Nebuchadnezzar, who also took Tyre, as did afterwards Alexander. Nebuchadnezzar also subdued the Edomites, Jer_25:9, Jer_25:21; Jer_27:3, Jer_27:6.

Vs. 6-8 The Philistines

Gaza the great city of the Philistines who have just invaded Israel

2 Chron 28:18

18 The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there.

Gaza

1 Sam 6:16-17

16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;

Edom

Ezek 35:3-5

3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.

4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:

KJV

Another lesson of Amos one is that the Lord holds men accountable for what they do with what they know.

In a day when the revelation of God is fully revealed in His word we have much more knowledge of His will and plans than any of the nations of Amos’ time we are accountable for that knowledge.

God has sent His Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), God manifest in the flesh, 1 Tim 3;16, Phillipians 2;5,6 who revealed to us the Father for the Father was in Him and He in the Father (God) John 14;9,10.

He died on a cross in Israel for our sins and rose again from the dead 1^st Corinthians 15;3,4 to intercede, (stand in for those who repent and believe on Him, before a holy God) Hebrews 7;24,25, and will save us FROM our sin if we turn to Him for the salvation He ALONE supplies through His payment for our sins.

The good news is, though we are guilty of sin , ( 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

KJV)

We are sinners by practice because we are sinners by nature.

Rom 5:12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

And because we can’t keep the perfect standard of God and He knew this and Loved us ,He sent His Son to die for us and pay the penalty for our sins on the cross.

God offers us His righteousness freely given to us ,(put to our account), Rom 3:20-22

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

KJV

Not only does He offer us His righteousness but He will not hold us accountable for our sin if we repent and ask His forgiveness freely given because of the price paid By the Lord Jesus for us.

Then we can say

Rom 4:6-8

6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin,(put it on our account).

Will you come to Him that you may have forgiveness and eternal life or will you stand guilty before Him when He judges the world in Righteousness by Jesus Christ ?

Ps 9:7-8

7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

Acts 17:30-31

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Jesus Christ the Lord).

KJV