Amos
1. GOD’S WAR ORACLES AGAINST THE NATIONS (1:1–2:16)
A. The superscription (1:1–2). This book begins like most other prophetic books (1:1): by identifying the author of these words (Amos), his secular employment (a manager of shepherds), his location (Tekoa), his audience (the northern tribes in Israel), and his time (during the reign of Uzziah and Jeroboam II), probably around 765–760 BC. The words that he spoke he “saw,” a term that points to the prophet perceiving them through the medium of divine revelation.
Amos 1:2 introduces God’s roaring voice as the source of the prophet’s message. God speaks words of warning from his temple in Jerusalem, like a lion roaring as he leaps to capture his prey (cf. 3:7–8). As a consequence of God’s ferocious action, the land where the shepherds pasture their flocks will mourn, and even the fertile, green Mount Carmel will dry up. The drying up of these two symbols of fertility confirms that Amos’s message is actually God’s roar and summarizes what God is now doing (he is on the attack).
B. God’s judgment of the foreign nations (1:3–2:3). Although other prophets have oracles against other nations (Is 13–23; Jr 46–51; Ezk 25–32), the oracles by Amos are much shorter and serve as parts of a larger “war oracle.” Before Israelite troops went to war, the commander would seek God’s approval (1 Sm 23:2, 4) by asking a prophet to pray for divine guidance. Once God answered, the prophet would pronounce a war oracle that usually explained how God would defeat their enemies. Since the Israelites in Samaria were involved in many wars during this period, Amos used the war oracle to get the people’s attention, to gain their approval, and to cause them to realize exactly what God was planning.
Amos compares Syria to a threshing sledge (Am 1:3), like the one seen here.
1:3–5. First, Amos gives an oracle about the defeat of Syria and its capital city of Damascus (1:3). The prophet’s Israelite audience would quickly agree with Amos that Syria had acted in rebellion against God. They had sinned “three . . . even four” times, a rhetorical expression that indicates repeated rebellion and legitimates God’s punishment. It was just for God to bring his wrath against them, for recently they had mistreated the Israelite people living in Gilead, the area east of the Sea of Galilee (2 Kg 13:1–7). Amos compares their immoral behavior to the harvesting of grain. Just as farmers drag heavy wooden threshing sledges with iron spikes over the grain to separate the grain from the stalk, so the Syrians have brutalized the people of Gilead by running over them. Consequently, God will send the fire of war against the palaces of kings Hazael and Ben-hadad, destroy the gates of Damascus, remove the people who live in the distant provinces of Syria, and exile the remaining people back to the place where they came from in Kir (1:4–5; cf. 9:7).
1:6–8. Using nearly identical terminology, the second oracle speaks out against the Philistines, who have also committed many rebellious acts. God will hold them accountable and pour out his wrath on them. Amos castigates Gaza for kidnapping the entire population of some unwalled villages and then selling them to the Edomites (1:6). Consequently, God will bring fire on the palaces of Gaza and the other Philistine fortified cities (1:7). The common people, the rulers in these cities, and the remnant that remains will perish (1:8). Certainly the Israelite audience would have applauded the words of this prophet from Judah.
1:9–10. The next two oracles, addressing God’s plans for the Phoenicians (1:9–10) and the Edomites (1:11–12), use a slightly different pattern: the punishment statement is shorter, and there is no final “The LORD has spoken.” The Phoenicians from the cities of Tyre (and probably Sidon) have sinned repeatedly, so it is proper for God to send his wrath against them. Their sin is similar to that of the Philistines, in that both of these nations have sold people to Edom (1:9). But selling an entire community of innocent people (possibly Israelites) is not their only fault, for the Phoenicians have kidnapped people from a country with which they had a peace treaty. Instead of respecting their treaty, the Phoenicians have betrayed this trust and broken their covenant. This may have happened because King Jehu killed the children of Ahab and Jezebel (she was a Phoenician; 2 Kg 10:1–11), although Amos never identifies this specifically. Amos’s Israelite audience would naturally despise the treasonous acts of these former allies, so they would wholeheartedly agree that God should destroy Tyre with fire and ruin the king’s palace (1:10).
1:11–12. Next Amos addresses the many sins of Edom, the descendants of Esau (Gn 36:1). Although Jacob and Esau were blood brothers and should have had brotherly love for one another, the two nations that came from these brothers fought again and again (2 Sm 8:11–14; 2 Kg 8:20–22; 14:7; 16:6). Amos concludes that it was just for God’s wrath to fall on Edom because the Edomites have had absolutely no mercy on the sons of Jacob, but in great anger repeatedly they have allowed the fire of their hatred to drive them to kill their brothers (1:11). Consequently, the audience would agree with God’s plan to send the fires of war against the main Edomite city of Teman and destroy the palaces in Bozrah (1:12).
1:13–15. The last pair of oracles addresses the future of the Ammonites (1:13–15) and Moabites (2:1–3), the two nations that came from Lot’s two daughters (Gn 19:30–38). God’s word about the Ammonites is that his determination will not vacillate, for he has decided to pour out his wrath on them because of their acts of rebellion. Among their rebellious deeds is the specific sin of ripping open pregnant women from Gilead, a heinous atrocity in which the Ammonites killed innocent noncombatants, defenseless women and their unborn children, in a time of war, simply to enlarge the borders of Ammon (1:13; cf. 2 Kg 15:16). Certainly Amos’s audience in Samaria would agree that God is just in kindling the fires of war on the capital city of Ammon (Rabbah) to destroy the palaces of the king who has ordered these atrocities and to exile their rulers and princes to another land (1:14–15).
2:1–3. The sixth war oracle identifies Moab as a very rebellious nation that God is determined to punish because the Moabites desecrated the body of the dead king of Edom, an act of vindictiveness and total disrespect for an enemy (2:1). Especially heinous in this case is the burning of the corpse, thus depriving the king of a culturally appropriate burial. So God will send the fire of war on the chief cities of Moab, and many people will die, specifically those in power (2:2–3).
C. God’s judgment of his people (2:4–16). The final pair of oracles describes what God will do to Israel and Judah. The Israelites who were listening to Amos were probably a little surprised to hear that a prophet from Judah would condemn his own nation, but this adds to Amos’s credibility, for a true prophet must speak everything God says and not show any favoritism. Israel and Judah had lived as separate nations for about two hundred years, and the two nations fought several wars against each other (1 Kg 14:30; 15:7, 16–21; 2 Kg 14:8–14), so the Israelites in Samaria had little love for the people of Judah.
2:4–5. Following the established pattern, Amos speaks about the many rebellious deeds of Judah and God’s determination to hold them accountable. Two of Judah’s acts of rebellion are recounted (2:4). First, they have not followed the covenant stipulations in the law of Moses, which they agreed to follow when they committed themselves to a covenant relationship with God; now they will be held accountable for what they agreed to. One of the ways they have failed is that they have listened to the lies of their leaders and false prophets (cf. Is 3:12; 28:15; Mc 3:5) who have led the people astray after other gods and did not stop them from unjust practices.
Since Judah has sinned, fire will consume the palaces of its rulers in Jerusalem (2:5). It will be treated no differently than will the other nations. Of course when the Israelites in Amos’s audience heartily agreed with God’s punishment of Judah for breaking the covenant, they were admitting that it was legitimate to judge Israel with this standard, for they also had knowledge of God’s covenant laws.
2:6–8. The climactic conclusion to this prophetic message is the extended oracle about Israel (2:6–16), the people Amos is talking to. They are expecting this war oracle to end with the usual positive conclusion that God will save them and use Israel to defeat God’s enemies. But Amos surprises them by using the same terminology of judgment against Israel because Israel too has sinned many times (“three . . . even four,” 2:6a). Thus, Israel is no better than these other nations and should be evaluated on the same terms. Instead of listing just one sin, Amos catalogs seven ways the people of Israel have rebelled against God (2:6–8). These rebellious acts involve the mistreatment of others (just as with the other nations), but Israel shamefully mistreats its own people, not foreigners.
First, poor and innocent Israelite debtors are not assisted with charity (Dt 15:12–18) or given additional time to repay their debt (2:6b). Instead, they are heartlessly forced to give up their land to a wealthy lender or are driven into slavery. Second, this is done even to people who cannot pay off a relatively small amount of debt (the price of a pair of sandals).
Third, the powerful metaphorically trample the heads of the helpless into the dust (cf. Is 3:15), mercilessly humiliating them and treating them as the scum of the earth (2:7a). Fourth, people in the upper class manipulate the weak to their own advantage and deprive them of their normal rights as God-created human beings. Fifth, contrary to the stipulations in the law of Moses (Ex 21:7–11; Lv 18:8, 15; 19:20–22), a wealthy father and his son have had sexual relations with the same servant girl (2:7b). God claims that all these ugly deeds “profane my holy name”; they pollute and desecrate his reputation, and they defile his moral standards. Because of these acts other people will not see God’s holiness reflected in his people.
Sixth, wealthy people who have taken a garment as a pledge from a debtor are supposed to return it in the evening (Ex 22:25–27; Dt 24:12–13), but these heartless people refuse to return the garment so that the poor person can keep warm for the night (2:8a). Instead, they take the stolen cloak to the temple with them. Finally, judges steal the wine people have given to the state to pay a fine (2:8b). These judges would take the wine with them to the temple to drink or to present as a drink offering to God. The Israelites mistreat people just as the other nations do, plus they break the laws of Moses, just as the people of Judah do. [Old Testament Ethics]
2:9–16. In order to emphasize the ungratefulness and perversity of the Israelites, Amos goes on to describe God’s past acts of grace on behalf of the people of Israel, who are now rebelling against him (2:9–12). Many years ago God graciously defeated their enemies while they were enslaved in Egypt and enabled Joshua and the Israelite army to defeat the many nations (including their giants) living in Canaan. He also cared for them by providing everything they needed for forty years while they wandered in the wilderness, and he sent them prophets and Nazirites to reveal his will, but they forgot about his grace and rejected his prophets.
Therefore God’s judgment (2:13–16) will shake this nation and destroy its strong army. No one, no matter how strong they are, no matter how fast they can run, will be able to escape this horrible destiny. God’s judgment on Israel will be severe.
2. THE REASONS FOR GOD’S JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL (3:1–6:14)
A. For every effect there is a cause (3:1–8). Many Israelites would have questioned this word of divine judgment against them, for many thought that their election as God’s special chosen people (Dt 7:6–7) and God’s powerful grace in delivering them from Egypt (Ex 14–15) implied that God would never destroy them (3:1–2). Amos indicates that God makes no absolute promises to sinful people but will require much from those who have received his blessings. Therefore, God’s plan is to punish sinful Israel if there is no repentance.
Although some were no doubt astonished by the announcement, Amos emphasizes that everything that happens in this world has a cause. Lions roar for a reason, birds get caught in a trap for a reason, trumpets are blown for a reason, destruction comes to a city for a reason, and God tells a prophet to warn a nation for a reason (3:3–7). This should cause the Israelites to fear God’s roar and repent, for Amos is warning them of God’s plan to destroy them (3:8).
B. God will bring judgment on Israel (3:9–4:3). Since some Israelites doubt that God will judge them, Amos uses three judgment oracles to persuade them that this is true.
3:9–12. First, God asserts that if some pagan people from the Philistine city of Ashdod and from Egypt were to watch what has been happening in the capital city of Samaria, they would testify that there is much oppression and violence, and that many people are acting like they do not know the difference between right and wrong (3:9–10).
Because of this, God will have a foreign nation surround Israel, destroy its fortresses, and loot the large homes of the wealthy oppressors (3:11). As a lion devours everything but a few useless scraps and bones of the animal it is eating, so this enemy will devour everything from the homes of the upper class except a few worthless pieces of their furnishings (3:12).
3:13–15. Second, Amos warns his audience that God will remove every security the people have, both objects of religious security, like the altar at the temple at Bethel (3:14), and objects of material security, like their wonderful winter and summer homes (3:15a). Even the inlaid ivory decorations will be destroyed (3:15b).
4:1–3. Third, God swears an irreversible oath against the wealthy and powerful women of Samaria (“cows of Bashan”) who crush the poor and live for pleasure (4:1). These people will be forcibly led through the breaches in the walls of Samaria with meat hooks (being treated like cows) and will be sent far away (4:2–3). These three judgment speeches indicate that there is no question about God’s plans, and his oath makes these plans absolutely sure.
C. Israel did not return to God when they worshiped (4:4–13). 4:4–5. Some Israelites may think they are safe from any judgment because they regularly go to the temple to worship God. To counter this false conclusion, Amos imitates a priest calling the people of Israel to come to the temple (cf. Ps 100:4; Jl 1:13–14). He sarcastically invites them to sin, because that is what they do when they go to their temples for worship. Instead of encouraging them to come once a year to sacrifice, which was the normal practice (cf. 1 Sm 1:3), Amos sarcastically invites them to prove how superspiritual they are by coming every day (4:4). Does God want people to tithe every three days instead of every three years (Dt 14:22, 28), or is he looking for righteous people with a pure heart? Is God glorified when people give large thank and freewill offerings and then brag about them (4:5)? Are they actually glorifying God or themselves?
4:6–13. To further his persuasive point that these people do not truly worship God, Amos reminds them of five trials God sent to cause them to turn to him: (1) God sent a famine, but they did not return to him (4:6). (2) God withheld the rain, and they still did not turn to him (4:7–8). Then God (3) ruined the crops in their gardens and vineyard (4:9), (4) sent plagues and caused men to die in battle (4:10), and (5) overthrew some of them just like he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah (4:11), but still they did not return to God with all their hearts.
Since the Israelites will not come to God and get right with him, God is coming to them, so they need to prepare to meet God (4:12). The Creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who knows everything and has the power to do anything, will meet them and hold each one of them accountable (4:13).
D. Lamenting the death of the nation (5:1–17). 5:1–9. Having made very limited progress in persuading the Israelites to transform their lives, Amos begins to wail as he laments the death of the nation (5:1). Although it seems to most Israelites that Israel has a strong army and economy, God realizes that the nation is as good as dead because he knows what the future holds. Amos laments that the virgin Israel, a young nation in the prime of her life, is soon to be a fallen, deserted virgin that no one will help (5:2). He laments that her armies will go out strong but come back decimated, with few survivors (5:3). Her only hope is to seek God truly if she wants to live (5:4).
It is useless to worship at Bethel or other sacred temples in the nation, because all of those temples will be destroyed with a fire that cannot be put out (5:5–6). God will bring destruction, because in Israel, violence is ruling over justice (5:7). The plain truth is that righteousness is dead and buried. In hymnic style Amos reminds his audience that their only hope is in the true God, who put the stars in their constellations (5:8–9). This God can also bring great darkness over the earth, just like he did in the time of Noah (Gn 7–8) or when he flashes his destructive power and destroys a strong, fortified city.
5:10–17. Why would God do such a thing? As long as the upper class continues to manipulate decisions in court and deprive the weak of justice, God will do everything he can to prevent the rich from receiving the rewards of their injustice (5:10–11a). They will not enjoy their homes built through oppression and injustice (5:11b); instead, a dark day of calamity is coming when the prosperous will be forever silent, having received their just reward (5:13).
Their only hope is to reject evil behavior and love justice; maybe God will be merciful (5:14–15). If they do not do this, the whole nation will experience a day of wailing and mourning like they have never known before (5:16–17). God’s powerful presence will pass through the midst of Israel, just like he passed through the midst of Egypt at the time of the Passover, when he killed the firstborn children (Ex 11:4–6).
E. Don’t be deceived by false hopes (5:18–27). Lest anyone think that somehow the nation of Israel will escape God’s wrath and not suffer judgment, Amos addresses three issues that might be false sources of hope for the people in Israel.
5:18–20. First, the prophet questions the audience about their beliefs about the day of the Lord. Some Israelites doubt his prediction of doom; they think that on the day of the Lord, God will miraculously intervene in history, defeat his enemies, and invite his Hebrew people to enjoy his eternal kingdom, where the Messiah will reign as king forever. Amos announces that this is a deceptive hope, for that day will actually be a day of darkness for Israel (5:18, 20). On that day the Israelites will be lumped together with God’s enemies. Disaster after disaster will happen to them; it will be impossible to flee from God’s judgment (5:19).
5:21–24. Second, Amos reminds his audience it would be deceptive to think that their worship will win them favor with God, for God hates their worship (5:21). He does not accept any of their sacrifices or any of their worship songs because righteous behavior does not rule their lives (5:22–23). If a person lives sinfully all week, God will see that and will not accept the ritualistic worship of such a person on the Sabbath. What they need to do is to let justice flow out of their lives like a river (5:24). This means that God wants to see the results of repentance in the way people live: the rich dealing honestly with the poor, justice in the courts, and no one selling people into slavery.
5:25–27. The third issue Amos addresses is the deceptive pagan worship that some people have followed. The question in 5:25 asks about the sacrifices the people brought to God during their wilderness journey. Their covenant relationship with God is based on worshiping God with all their heart and soul (Dt 6:5), not just on the external act of sacrificing to God. So the people should not be deceived and think that God will be pleased with those who are worshiping the Assyrian star god, called Sakkuth or Kaiwan (5:26). One cannot bow down to other gods and still claim to be honoring the one true God. Because they have done these things, Amos warns his audience that the God of Armies will send Israel into exile far beyond Damascus, into the land of Assyria (5:27).
Amos stresses that God’s people have a responsibility to care for the poor. In the Gospels, Jesus makes this one of his major themes as well (e.g., Mt 19:21; Mk 12:43; 14:7; Lk 6:20; 12:33).
F. Don’t be deceived by size, affluence, or power (6:1–14). 6:1–7. In another woe oracle Amos laments at an Israelite funeral banquet (cf. Jr 16:5–9) because the foremost people of the capital city of Samaria feel so secure and carefree in their present situation (6:1). He challenges them to go visit the cities of Calneh, Gath, and Hamath to see if those kingdoms are bigger than Israel (6:2). Are they living with a false sense of security like the people in Samaria? Since these cities are smaller, they have no false sense of security; they are vigilant and try to put off the day of their calamity, but the Israelites’ smug attitude of indestructibility actually brings their end nearer (6:3).
Next Amos describes the affluence displayed at this funeral banquet (6:4–6). Those attending sprawl out on the finest furniture, eat the best beef, enjoy great music, drink large amounts of wine, and have the finest lotions; but they ignore and do not grieve over the deterioration of the nation. God announces that the feasting days will soon be over, and these first-class citizens will go into exile first (6:7).
6:8–14. The Lord loathes the pride and arrogance of the wealthy who live securely in their large palaces (6:8), so God has determined to destroy the nation’s fortified cities, to destroy the population through war so much that those who come to bury the dead will find no one alive in any of these houses (6:9–10). Then he will smash all the large and small houses to bits (6:11).
Finally, the prophet asks absurd questions (6:12). Obviously, only a crazy person would be dumb enough to gallop horses on cliffs, for soon the horse would fall. So too, isn’t it absurd that the Israelites have turned a good thing like justice into something as destructive as poison? Isn’t it absurd for Israelites to brag about defeating the city of Lo-debar, which means “Nothing” (6:13)? Only God defeats cities; people do not have the “strength” to defeat the city of “Karnaim,” which means “Strength.” In the end there is only one possible destiny for this sinful and deceived nation. God will send a powerful nation against them to defeat them, from the northern border at Hamath to the southern border by the Dead Sea (6:14). [Plow]
3. VISIONS AND EXHORTATIONS ABOUT THE END (7:1–9:15)
It appears that chapters 7–9 were spoken while the prophet Amos was preaching in and around the temple at Bethel. The date is unknown, but Amaziah’s later attempt to exclude Amos from preaching in the Bethel temple (7:12) suggests these sermons were given near the end of his ministry in Israel.
A. Two visions of destruction bring compassion (7:1–6). 7:1–3. Amos’s first vision is about a locust plague that God sends to destroy Israel’s crops (7:1). Since the king has already had his share of the crops, this plague will hit hard the poor farmers, who would get the second crop. Because of Amos’s love for these people, he intercedes by asking God to have compassion because these poor farmers could not survive the famine that such a severe event would bring (7:2). In response God stops the plague and provides the people with more time to repent of their sins (7:3).
7:4–6. In the second vision Amos sees a fire that is able to dry up the sea and destroy the farmland (7:4). The picture is not very clear, but this must be something like a gigantic volcanic eruption if it is able to destroy both the land and the sea. If part of the land is the farmland of Israel, one can understand why the prophet Amos would identify with the people living in that area. Although there is no evidence that the people of Israel have repented and turned to God, once again Amos briefly intercedes and asks God to stop this fire, and once again God has compassion (7:5–6).
B. Vision of destruction of king and temple (7:7–17). 7:7–9. In the third vision the prophet observes God with a plumb line, standing on a wall (the exact wall is not identified) in order to determine if the wall is plumb (7:7–8). This symbolizes God’s work of examining the nation of Israel to find out if it is upright or if it is falling over and in need of destruction. Does Israel meet God’s specifications in the covenant: loving God with all their hearts? Are they holy as God is holy? Do the people live according to the instructions God has given them?
It is evident that Israel is not plumb and does not meet God’s standards, for the interpretation of the vision indicates that God plans to bring some nation against Israel in order to destroy its pagan high places, their king Jeroboam II, and their sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan, for God has determined to spare them no longer (7:9). Thus the end of the nation is near.
7:10–17. In a brief historical interlude Amos reports what Amaziah the priest in charge of the temple at Bethel does when he hears this prophecy about the plumb line. He interprets the news in this vision as political treason, so he reports Amos’s prophecy to King Jeroboam II (7:10–11). The text does not include any response from Jeroboam II, so no one knows if Amos actually had to leave Israel immediately. Because of this vision Amaziah confronts Amos and tells him to flee back to Judah, to leave the foreign affairs of Israel to the Israelite prophets, and to go make his money as a professional prophet in Jerusalem (7:12–13).
Showing no fear of Amaziah, Amos denies being a professional prophet who works for money and states that he makes his living by caring for sheep (7:14). Amos explains that he is in Israel prophesying because of God’s calling (7:15), so Amaziah’s attempt to shut him up and send him out of Israel is an act that directly contradicts God’s command (7:16). In a not so subtle way Amos is boldly condemning Amaziah, undermining his authority, and raising questions about the priest’s relationship with God. Amos concludes this tense confrontation by announcing that Amaziah’s family will one day be disgraced and killed, his inheritance in Israel will be lost, and Amaziah will be exiled with the rest of Israel into a pagan land (7:17).
A sycamore fig tree and fruit. Before God called him to be a prophet, Amos was a herdsman and took care of sycamore figs (Am 7:14).
C. Vision and exhortation about the end (8:1–14). 8:1–3. Like the preceding section, this portion has a vision followed by a related message about God’s approaching judgment of Israel. In this vision the prophet notices a basket of ripe summer fruit, indicating that it is harvesttime (8:1–2a). The interpretation of the vision is that the time is ripe for God to harvest the fruit in the nation of Israel; thus its end is near (8:2b). The statement “I will no longer spare them” connects this vision with the earlier plumb line vision, which had the same warning. This evaluative statement indicates that there will be some dire consequences, because God’s assessment of this fruit is very negative.
Amos 8:3 explains what will happen. God paints a word picture in which dead bodies are lying everywhere, even defiling the temple area, because the gods that were worshiped there will provide no protection. A few people will live, but some will be wailing for their dead family members while others will be stunned and shocked so severely that they will be dumbfounded and silent.
8:4–6. The rest of the chapter reflects on this terrible event in a judgment speech (8:4–14). Initially, the prophet gives one of the reasons why God will no longer have mercy. Earlier, in Samaria, Amos pointed to the violence and oppression of the poor (2:6–8; 3:9–10; 4:1; 5:11–13), so it is not surprising that he returns to this theme again when he preaches at a new location (the Bethel temple).
Amos speaks about those who crush and trample the poor in the land of Israel (8:4). Previously Amos talked about oppression by the wealthy upper class, but here the middle-class merchants are abusing those who trade in the marketplace. In two different ways, they are cheating the buyers and sellers (8:5b). First, they have two sets of weights for their scales: a heavy weight for buying grain and a light weight for selling grain. Second, they use a larger bushel basket that has to be filled when the merchant is buying grain and a smaller bushel basket when the merchant is selling grain. Of course one could always add a little dust, dirt, and chaff when selling so that it does not cost so much grain to fill a bushel basket (8:6b). These deceptive practices were contrary to God’s requirement (Lv 19:35–36; Dt 25:13–15; Pr 11:1; 16:1). Through such dishonest means, the merchants would drive the poor into bankruptcy or slavery because they could not pay their debts (8:6a). [Wheat]
These devious merchants can hardly wait until the Sabbath or other religious feast days are over (8:5a). They are anxious to get back to the business of cheating people. The Sabbath was to be a holy day (Ex 20:8–11), and the celebration at the New Moon feast (Lv 23:23–25; 1 Sm 20:5; Is 1:13–14) was to be a day dedicated to God, so no work was to be done. Although the nation maintains the aura of orthodoxy by not having businesses open on holy days, the merchants are more interested in making more money than in worshiping God.
8:7–10. Elsewhere God swears by his own holiness (4:2) or by himself (6:8), but in 8:7 he swears by his name. Since God does not change, there is no doubt about whether God’s judgment will fall on Israel. In almost hymnic fashion (8:8–9) God describes how his coming will affect their world. The earth will quake, moving up and then down like the mighty Nile River, causing people to mourn and fear for their lives (cf. Is 24:1–6, 19–21).
God’s judgment will turn the present optimistic songs of joy in Israel into words of mourning (8:10). The few remaining people will lament in sackcloth and ashes. The severity of their bitter agony is expressed by comparing their mourning to the wailing of a family that has lost its only son.
8:11–14. The final paragraph indicates that during this period of divine judgment people will try to find a word of comfort from God or some direction about what they can do to survive this dark period, but none will be available. When there is a famine and there is no water or food, people go to great lengths to survive by rigorously searching from one end of the country to the other just to find something to eat. In a similar manner people will search for a prophetic message from God, but none will be found (8:11–12). They rejected Amos (7:10–17) and other prophets (2:11–12), so eventually God will reject them and will send no one to comfort them.
Part of the reason may be implied in 8:14, for it appears that the prophet is saying that those who follow other gods will fall and never rise again. The phrase “those who swear by the guilt of Samaria” probably refers to people who swear oaths at the Baal and Asherah temple built in Samaria (1 Kg 16:32); this is their “guilt.” The reference to the god who lives at the city of Dan is to the golden calf that Jeroboam I put in a temple in Dan (1 Kg 12:29) just after the northern tribes declared their independence from Judah. The “way of Beer-sheba” must also refer to the pagan religious practice at that city in the southern part of Judah. The people who worship at these syncretistic places will cease and never be seen again.
An ancient pair of sandals. Twice Amos decries the fact that the needy are being bought and sold for a pair of sandals (Am 2:6; 8:6).
© Baker Publishing Group and Dr. James C. Martin. Courtesy of the British Museum, London, England.
D. No one can escape from God’s hand (9:1–10). 9:1–4. The final chapter begins with another vision, a hymn, and a final warning. The fifth vision pictures the enactment of God’s judgment on Israel by describing his destruction of Israel’s temple (probably at Bethel). God is standing beside an altar at a temple, commanding that the temple and the people in it be destroyed (9:1). The earth will shake, the pillars of the temple will buckle, and the falling roof and pillars will kill all those inside. Although this vision involves only one building and a few people inside it, one should assume that similar events will happen throughout the country, for five times God indicates that no one will escape from his hand.
Using exaggerated terminology, Amos states that even if people try to hide in the depths of Sheol or climb up to heaven (both are impossible), they will not escape from God’s wrath (9:2). Others may try to hide in caves at Mount Carmel or deep in the sea, but God will find them (9:3). Even the few who go into exile will not be safe from the sword, because God is determined to punish these sinners (9:4).
9:5–6. Having described the thoroughness and severity of God’s judgment, Amos reminds his audience of the greatness of God’s power by quoting from one of their hymns. God is able to bring about everything he has predicted because he is the commander in chief of the hosts of heaven, the God of Armies (9:5). When he touches the earth, his power has the ability to melt it, to make it move up and down (the earthquake), and to cause people to mourn (cf. 8:8).
He is the glorious God who lives in the upper reaches of the heavens (9:6). He is the God who created the earth and who has already demonstrated at the time of Noah that he is able to destroy all flesh on earth with a flood. His name is Yahweh, the God of the people of Israel. This hymn confirms to Amos’s audience that God is able to carry out the judgment described in the vision in 9:1–4.
9:7–10. The third short paragraph in this section attempts to convince those who still question God’s intention to punish his own special and chosen people. Although there were still some people who thought that “disaster will never overtake or confront us” (9:10), God reveals that his judgment is coming. It appears that these people believe that God’s tremendous grace in bringing the Israelites from Egypt is a sure sign that God will never judge his people. But Amos argues that God also delivered other nations (the Philistines and Arameans) from difficult situations in other countries and brought them to new lands (9:7). Does this mean that God will never judge these nations? Obviously, no Israelite would say this. God also claims that he views the Cushites from southern Egypt as similar to Israel; thus, Israel is not the only nation God cares about.
The real key to understanding God’s future action is not to view it as an extension of God’s past acts of grace. One of the main predictive factors that can indicate God’s future action is the sinfulness of each nation. He will destroy every sinful nation (9:8a). Yet within these dire predictions is the brief promise that God will not totally destroy all the people from Israel. There will always be a righteous remnant left (9:8b). How will God distinguish the righteous from the wicked? He will separate the righteous from the wicked just like a farmer uses a sieve to separate the good grain from dust and rocks that get mixed in with the grain on the threshing floor (9:9).
E. The hope of final restoration (9:11–15). The scroll containing Amos’s messages ends with a surprising vision of hope for the distant future. Maybe some Israelites will be reminded of what the future holds for the righteous people of God and will repent of their sins so that they will be able to enjoy this time of divine blessing. This section has two parts, one based on the introductory “in that day” phrase in 9:11, and the other based on the phrase “the days are coming” in 9:13. God reminds the Israelites that his promises to his people have not changed; he will eventually establish his glorious kingdom (9:11–12) and restore the land and its people (9:13–15).
9:11–12. Regarding the first promise, God’s action is dramatically recounted in four “I will” clauses (9:11). Concerning the nation that he will soon judge, he says, “I will restore” the ruptured and dilapidated kingdom that was united under David (the fallen shelter) but divided into two nations (Israel and Judah) after the death of Solomon (1 Kg 12). In addition God promises that “I will repair,” “[I will] restore,” and “[I will] rebuild” the ruined cities that will suffer destruction in the near future.
Other people who are called by God’s name from Edom (a symbol of foreign nations, as in Is 34:1–8; 63:1–6) will be a part of this future kingdom (9:12). Although the history of Israel demonstrates great hatred between Edom and Israel (1:11–12), through the witness of the seed of Abraham, God will extend his blessings to other people (Gn 12:1–3; Is 2:1–4; 19:18–25). People from every tribe, language, and nation will be part of God’s future kingdom (Dn 7:14).
9:13–15. The second promise relates to the restoration of fertility to the land and the return of the people to the land of Israel. When God restores his kingdom, the land will produce so abundantly that those harvesting grain in the summer will not be able to finish their work before it is time to plow the fields for the next crop (9:13). The grapes will be so large and abundant that their juice will flow like a stream down the hills. Finally, the land of milk and honey will produce the kind of crops envisioned in the covenant blessings (Lv 26:5), like a restored garden of Eden (Is 51:3; Ezk 36:35).
God will also cause some of his exiled people to return from their captivity so that they can rebuild their homes and enjoy the blessings of a fertile land (9:14–15). Once God plants them in his land, they will be like deep-rooted plants that cannot be uprooted. Since God has given this land to them, no other nation will ever remove them from this land.
Amos 9:12 becomes very important when the early Christians are trying to decide if they should allow uncircumcised Gentiles into the church. James’s quotation of this verse resolves the issue (Ac 15:16–17), bringing a unified acceptance of Gentiles who bear God’s name just as Amos prophesied.