The Day of the Lord in the Prophets
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:1 Superscription. The first verse identifies the book’s speaker, audience, and time frame. Amos addresses Israel during the time covered in 2 Kings 14:23–15:7, which is the period between the accession of Jeroboam II (796 B.C.) and the death of Uzziah (739); more specifically, it is two years before the earthquake. Zechariah, like Amos, mentions an earthquake “in the days of Uzziah king of Judah” (Zech. 14:5). At the site of Hazor in the eighth century B.C., archaeologists uncovered walls that were tilted (Stratum VI), perhaps pointing to this very earthquake. However, even if it is uncertain when this particular event took place, this statement is significant because it makes unmistakable the genuine historicity of the book and its message. Shepherds were at or near the bottom of the social order, which underscores the irony of God’s choice of Amos to prophesy against Israel’s wealthy, apostate leaders. (If, on the other hand, the esv footnote [“sheep breeders”] is followed, then Amos may have been a prosperous businessman.) Tekoa was a small village southeast of Bethlehem in Judah.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:2–6:14 Oracles of Judgment. Amos delivers a series of messages from God showing that no one can escape the consequences of his actions, neither Israel’s neighbors (1:2–2:5) nor Israel herself (2:6–6:14).
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:2–2:5 Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors. At this time the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea (now called Palestine) was inhabited by seven other small nations besides Israel. All of them were in danger because of Assyria’s push toward Egypt. But Amos showed that what was about to befall them would not come from Assyria but from the Creator of all the earth who had revealed himself to Israel in particular. The culpability of these nations demonstrates the biblical principle that one is accountable for what one knows. Thus the first six were judged for sins of common cruelty and brutality, while Judah was judged for failure to keep the Torah (God’s covenant instruction). These judgments by God on Israel’s Gentile neighbors are similar to pronouncements of judgment on various non-Jewish nations in the writings of other prophets (see chart; cf. Genesis 19). They are a reminder that God’s moral standards as revealed in the Bible are not merely for Jewish people, or for Jews and Christians in the NT period, but that God holds all people and all nations and cultures accountable to his moral standards, whether they have them in written form or simply in their hearts and consciences (see also Rom. 1:18–32; 2:14–15; and note on Amos 2:1–3).
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:2 Despite Israel’s rejection of Jerusalem as the only appropriate place of worship, that was still the place from which God’s voice of judgment issued to all the earth. Carmel. Perhaps an allusion to the encounter between the Lord and Baal, when the Lord struck the top of Mount Carmel with fire, demonstrating that he alone is the true God (1 Kings 18:36–39).
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:3–5 Syria was both a major partner and a rival with Israel in the affairs of the region. It was located north and east of the Sea of Galilee.
View this chart online at http://kindle.esvsb.org/c104
| Isaiah | Jeremiah | Ezekiel | Joel | Amos | Obadiah | Jonah | Nahum | Zephaniah | Zechariah* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammon | 49:1–6 | 25:1–7 | 1:13–15 | |||||||
| Arabia | 21:13–17 | |||||||||
| Assyria (Nineveh) | 10:5–19; 14:24–27 | (Nineveh) | (Nineveh) | |||||||
| Babylon | 13:1–14:23; 21:1–10; 46:1–47:15 | 50:1–51:64 | 2:9–12? | |||||||
| Damascus | 17:1–6? | 49:23–27 | 1:3–5 | 9:1 | ||||||
| Edom | 21:11–12 | 49:7–22 | 25:12–14 | 1:11–12 | 1–14? | |||||
| Egypt | 18:1–20:6 | 46:2–26 | 29:1–32:32 | |||||||
| Elam | 49:34–39 | |||||||||
| Ethiopia | 2:12–15 | |||||||||
| Gaza | 1:6–8 | 9:5 | ||||||||
| Kedar and Hazor | 49:28–33 | |||||||||
| Lebanon | 11:1–3? | |||||||||
| Moab | 15:1–16:14 | 48:1–47 | 25:8–11 | 2:1–3 | 2:8–11 | |||||
| Philistia | 14:28–32 | 47:1–7 | 25:15–17 | 3:4–8 | 2:5–7 | 9:6 | ||||
| Tyre Sidon |
23:1–18 | 26:1–28:19; 28:20–23 | 3:4–8 | 1:9–10 | 9:2–3 |
*Additional cities/states are denounced in 9:1–8: Hadrach, Aram (v. 1); Ashkelon, Ekron (v. 5); Ashdod (v. 6)
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:3 three transgressions … four. This poetic expression is used to introduce the judgment upon all seven of the neighboring nations, and upon Israel as well (2:6). It is a way of expressing totality: “three” expresses the plural in Hebrew, and by raising it to “four” the idea of multiplicity is conveyed (see Prov. 30:15, 18, 21). Gilead was on the east side of the Jordan River where the tribe of Gad resided. Syria sought to control that area in part because the highway leading south to the Red Sea and its lucrative trade with Sheba went through it. threshing sledges of iron. One way of separating grain kernels from their hulls was to put all the grain in a pile and then have an ox pull a heavy wooden sledge around on the pile. Amos says Syria has treated the people of Gilead as though they were nothing but a pile of grain, crushing them into the ground.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:4 Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael, was the king of Syria during the first years of the eighth century B.C. (see 2 Kings 13:24). Fire is the judgment meted out on all seven neighboring nations (see Deut. 4:24; 9:3; Isa. 29:6; 30:27, 30; 33:14). Against the fire of God not even the most powerful of human strongholds can endure (Amos 1:7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5).
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:5 gate-bar. The wooden city gates were fastened shut with a heavy wood bar across them. If that bar were broken, the city could be entered by an invading army. Valley of Aven … Beth-eden. Regions in Syria. Kir is identified in 9:7 as the ancestral home of the Syrians. It is conjectured to be somewhere to the northeast of Mesopotamia. Thus they were being sent back to where they started, with nothing to show for the intervening years. In 2 Kings 16:9 this is where the Assyrians brought the people of Damascus for exile.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:6–8 Four of the five cities of the Philistines are named in this judgment oracle (Gath is not mentioned). This is because there never was a single enduring capital city of Philistia. Rule of the region went back and forth among the five cities depending on which city’s ruler happened to be strongest at the time. Philistia was located southwest of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean coast.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:6 they carried … to Edom. It is not known precisely what event this refers to. It may be a prediction of events at the time of the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 B.C., when Edom was actively assisting the Babylonians in subduing Judah (see Obad. 12–14). This would then be saying that the Philistines were the partners of the Edomites in that affair. But it may also refer to something that had taken place in Amos’s lifetime in the continuing struggles between the Judeans and the Philistines (cf. 2 Chron. 26:6–7). whole people. Probably not an entire national group, but an entire community.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:9–10 Tyre. The great maritime city of Tyre was northwest of Israel on the Mediterranean coast. With its fine harbor and easily defended island citadel, it was positioned to dominate the sea trade of the eastern Mediterranean (see Isaiah 23; Ezekiel 26–28). Tyre is accused of the same act of inhumanity as the Philistines (Amos 1:6), but it was more heinous because it involved the repudiation of a covenant of brotherhood. This may refer to the covenant that had existed between Solomon and Hiram (1 Kings 5:12), or perhaps to that between Ahab and Eshbaal of Sidon as a result of which Jezebel became Ahab’s wife (1 Kings 16:31).
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:11–12 Edom was located south and southeast of Judah around the southern end of the Dead Sea. Descended from Esau, the Edomites maintained enmity toward Israel, extending at least as far back as Israel’s journey from the wilderness to the plains of Moab prior to crossing the Jordan (Num. 20:14–21). Here the sin for which Edom is judged is implacability—perpetual anger. Teman and Bozrah are Edomite cities.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:13–15 The Ammonites were located east of the Jordan River between Syria to the north and Moab to the south. Their ancestral territory did not extend all the way west to the Jordan, so they were in constant conflict with the tribes of Reuben and Gad in an effort to extend their border westward to gain control of the desirable region of Gilead where the two Israelite tribes lived. The sin of the Ammonites was the viciousness and brutality of their attacks, without pity even for pregnant women. Ammon’s capital city of Rabbah (see Deut. 3:11) is present-day Amman, Jordan.
AMOS—NOTE ON 1:15 exile. When Assyria conquered a nation, they deported the leadership and imported people from elsewhere into the area. This was both a way of defusing any tendency to rebellion and also of homogenizing their diverse empire.
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:1–3 Moab was Ammon’s neighbor to the south, perhaps included here because Moab and Ammon were both descended from Lot through his daughters (Gen. 19:37–38). The fact that Moab’s sin was against neither Israel nor Judah, but its southern neighbor Edom, demonstrates that these judgments are based not on ethnicity but on the universal justice of God.
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:4–5 Unlike the other nations, Judah is not judged for inhumanity to others but according to a higher standard, the law of the LORD, which they had sworn with a blood oath to keep (Ex. 24:8).
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:4 lies. Very likely a reference to false gods (see Isa. 44:20; Jer. 16:19–20; Hab. 2:18). The first of the statutes of the Mosaic law was the prohibition against worshiping other gods (Ex. 20:3).
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:6–6:14 Judgments on Israel. The introduction (2:6–16)—in which Amos demonstrates that Israel, far from being better than its neighbors, is even more worthy of condemnation than they—is followed by four extended addresses: 3:1–15; 4:1–13; 5:1–17; and 5:18–6:14. The first three are each introduced with the words “Hear this word” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). They show how desperate Israel’s condition is. The fourth address is characterized by the repetition of the word “Woe” (5:18; 6:1; 6:4), identifying this as a funeral dirge for the soon-to-be-destroyed nation.
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:6–16 Introductory Announcement of Judgment on Israel. It is easy to imagine that up to this point Amos’s preaching had met with an enthusiastic response. Not only were the pagan neighbors coming in for judgment, but so also was the sister/rival Judah, and for idolatry at that. But here, with the very same introduction that had been given the others (“for three … four”; see note on 1:3), the prophet indicts Israel. Significantly, he does not accuse them of idolatry, although that was manifestly the case. Rather, he condemns them for social injustice. Amos 5:18–24 suggests that he considers their entire religious behavior to be terribly corrupted by their sinful conduct, especially by their hard-hearted injustice toward the poor and oppressed. Verses 6–12 of ch. 2 contain the accusation, and vv. 13–16 give the announcement of judgment.
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:6–7a They sell the righteous perhaps refers to giving false witness for money, but it might also speak of selling someone into slavery for indebtedness over something as paltry as a pair of sandals (cf. Lev. 25:39–43). Instead of helping the afflicted as the law commanded (Ex. 23:6–8), the affluent Israelites were crushing them (see also Amos 8:6).
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:7b–8 a man and his father. It appears that Amos is intentionally linking here the sins of incest (Lev. 18:6–18; Deut. 22:30) and of ritual prostitution (Deut. 23:17–18). God required sexual purity for at least two reasons: faithfulness in heterosexual marriage was an expression of the unique faithfulness of the Creator, and pagan religions sought to use sexual performance as a way of manipulating the divine power of fertility. To make it appear that the Lord was just like the pagan gods—faithless and capable of manipulation—was to profane his holy name, to defame his character. Garments taken in pledge refers to a poor person’s cloak that was given to a money-lender as security for a loan. It was to be returned to the poor person at night since he or she probably had no other covering (Ex. 22:26). In the context it seems likely the wine was payment for an unjust fine (Isa. 10:1–2).
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:11–12 Not only had God graciously delivered Israel and given them the land of Canaan (vv. 9–10), he had also raised up from among them prophets to warn them, and Nazirites to shame them with the example of their commitment (see Jer. 35:1–19 for a similar instance). But instead of being warned and shamed, the Israelites had tried to shut up the prophets and to compromise the Nazirites (Num. 6:3 prohibited Nazirites from drinking wine).
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:13 Behold signals the beginning of the conclusion. Israel will be flattened in the road like an animal run over by a loaded cart.
AMOS—NOTE ON 2:14–15 No one will be able to escape the coming destruction. The swift will not be able to run away from it, and the strong and mighty warrior will not be able to stand before it.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:1–6:14 Detailed Announcements of Judgment on Israel. Four oracles (3:1–15; 4:1–13; 5:1–17; 5:18–6:14) move from the general to the specific, leaving no doubt that, unless there is true repentance, Israel cannot hope to escape destruction.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:1–15 An Oracle of Warning. The sins for which Israel is to be judged are touched upon but not detailed here. Rather, God is simply warning Israel through Amos that judgment is surely coming. The prophet has heard the roar of the lion just as he launches himself on his prey (vv. 4, 8). What can the prophet do but tell what he has heard?
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:1–2 Hear this word introduces the first three messages (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). The God of Israel is the Creator who spoke the world into existence and who is characterized from first to last as the God who speaks (Isa. 45:18–19; John 1:1; Rev. 22:18–19). It seems clear that Israel and Judah believed that their role as the chosen people of God would protect them from harm (see note on Amos 5:18–20). Amos says that the very opposite is true. It is precisely because God has known them as he has known no other nation that they are being judged according to a higher standard (see Luke 12:48).
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:3–8 With a series of questions, Amos shows that imminent disaster is for Israel. He points out that in the world of nature, certain sequences of events can lead to predictable outcomes. If a lion (vv. 4, 8) roars, then it has taken, or is about to take, its prey. What he, the prophet, is doing is simply telling Israel that the Lord GOD (v. 7) has announced judgment and that unless Israel takes immediate corrective action, the outcome is certain. disaster (v. 6). The esv has correctly captured the sense of the Hebrew word ra‘ah in this verse, a word which has a very broad range of connotations (see chart). Often translated “evil,” it is used to express everything from “moral evil” (Gen. 6:5) to “disaster” (as here and also Jonah 3:10). If there is disaster occurring, the people should not attribute it to bad luck but should take note that God is at work, in his sovereign wisdom, and they should respond accordingly to his judgment. without revealing his secret (v. 7). Throughout the OT God often showed the prophets his own perspective on the events of history and revealed to them his purposes and actions, so that the prophets could interpret historical events accurately for God’s people.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:9–11 Israel’s capital city of Samaria was a powerful stronghold, located on a high hill (mountains) in a good position of natural defense. It stood just off the great highway that ran along the Mediterranean coast connecting Egypt with Mesopotamia. If Samaria fell to the Assyrians, there was nothing more to prevent the destruction of the Philistine cities (represented by Ashdod) and of Egypt itself. But Israel would fall, not because of the superior power of Assyria but because of its own spiritual and social corruption. The stronghold was filled with oppression, and with violence and robbery. Thus, Israel had forfeited God’s protection, and without him all their natural defenses were useless (see Isa. 5:5–6).
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:12 Picturesque prose expresses the total destruction that was to be visited upon Samaria and Israel, though a tiny “remnant” would be left. See also 5:3.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:13–15 The conclusion of the message emphasizes in a general way the two factors that would account for the coming destruction: (1) false, ritualistic religion and (2) the accumulation of wealth at the expense of the poor.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:13 God of hosts. This title for God became increasingly popular among the prophets (cf. chart). “Hosts” in this context refers to troops of soldiers. Thus the image expresses the unlimited power of God. He is a general with an infinite number of troops at his command. The term sometimes refers to hosts of heavenly beings (1 Kings 22:19; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 148:2; see also Matt. 26:53).
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:14 Bethel was not only associated with the patriarch Jacob and his vision (Gen. 28:10–22), it also stood close to the border between Israel and Judah. Thus, Jeroboam I chose it as the site of one of his two golden calves (1 Kings 12:25–33). It was not by accident that this was the place where Amos chose to deliver his prophecies (Amos 7:12–13). It represented the corruption of the true religion (4:4–5). Far from appeasing God’s anger against Israel, the religious practices carried out there would seal that anger. See also Hosea 10:5, where “Beth-aven” (house of iniquity) is substituted for “Beth-el” (house of God). The horns of the altar were short vertical projections at the four corners of the top of the altar (Ex. 27:2). They had ritual significance as places where God’s protection was available (1 Kings 1:50; 2:28), but the horns of Bethel’s altar would provide no protection whatsoever.
AMOS—NOTE ON 3:15 All of Israel’s social injustice is represented by the sin of amassing property (see also Isa. 5:8). This was a violation of the covenant that said a family’s land was a trust from God to be held in perpetuity by that family. There were legal fictions to get around this, but those fictions did not impress God. Here Amos does not condemn wealth in itself, but wealth accompanied by injustice toward the poor (Amos 4:1), fraudulent business practices (5:7, 11, 12; 8:4–6), and living in luxury without care for the needy (5:12; 8:4–6), without concern for sin and evil in the land (6:4–6), and without genuine religious faith (5:21–23). Archaeological excavations at Samaria have uncovered fragmentary remains of rich ivory objects, attesting to the luxury built upon the backs of the poor.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:1–13 An Oracle of Doom. The oracle is composed of two parts: vv. 1–5 and vv. 6–13. In the first part, the prophet expands somewhat on the points made in 3:14–15: the sins of self-indulgence built upon oppression (4:1–3) and of false religion (vv. 4–5). In the second part, God details all the ways in which he had appealed to the Israelites to return to him, yet without response (vv. 6–11). There is nothing left but that they must come face to face with the infinite Creator in all his power (vv. 12–13).
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:1 Bashan was rich pastureland northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Cattle that grazed there tended to be plump and healthy. Amos compares the matrons of Samaria to those cattle. Not just the husbands, but even these wives oppress the poor and crush the needy.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:2–3 A description of what would happen to these wealthy and self-indulgent women when the city fell to the Assyrians: they would be dragged out through the broken-down walls (breaches) like a fisherman dragging a fish out of the water with fishhooks. But the reference may be literal as well. Some Assyrian illustrations seem to show captives being taken away with ropes attached to rings in the captives’ noses. Harmon. This location is unknown.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:4–5 The prophet denounces the religious activity at Bethel and also at the ancient site of Gilgal (Josh. 4:20; 10:43) with bitter sarcasm. Far from procuring forgiveness for transgression, this activity was itself transgression! The Israelites might love to engage in such worship, but it only disgusted God (Amos 5:14–15, 21–24). The prophets often seem to dismiss sacrificial worship, but careful attention to the context shows that they are concerned with faithful use of the divine ordinances and obedience from the heart. Hosea 6:6; Amos 4:4–5; and 5:21–25 are addressed to the northern kingdom, in which the worship practices blatantly defy the Mosaic prescriptions with golden calves, sanctuaries other than the one in Jerusalem, and priests who were not Levites (see 1 Kings 12:26–33). Texts such as Isa. 1:11–17; Jer. 6:20; 7:21–23; and Mic. 6:6–8 are addressed to Judah, where the external form of the sacrifices may be proper, but is not combined with genuine repentance and godly living. In such cases the worship is worse than empty; it is an attempt to manipulate God.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:5 Although the people could claim that the thanksgiving offering and the freewill offerings were what God had specified in the Torah (see Lev. 7:12–21), that meant nothing to God because the offerings were not being celebrated in the right place under the Levitical priests, nor were they accompanied by moral obedience (see Amos 5:15, 24).
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:6–11 Even though God had sent various natural and social calamities, the people would not turn back. The repeated refrain is yet you did not return to me (vv. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). In short, the coming destruction of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians would not be a sudden unexpected outbreak by a short-tempered God. It was the final outcome of many patient appeals and warnings that the people should have heeded but did not.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:6 cleanness of teeth. They had no food to cling to their teeth. yet you did not return to me. Stubbornness, like the stubbornness of Pharaoh in the exodus, increases guilt.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:7 rain … yet three months. After the summer dry season, the rains of November and December were absolutely necessary if the seeds of grain were to germinate in the ground and yield a harvest beginning in April.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:10 The Bible does not describe the pestilence after the manner of Egypt elsewhere. However, the reference in Ex. 15:26 supports the idea that the swampy areas of the northeast Nile delta where Israel lived in slavery must have been disease-ridden, probably with malaria among other diseases.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:12 It seems apparent that the Israelites were asking God to appear on their behalf in a great day of vindication, making them the rulers of the world (see 5:18–20). Amos says they are about to meet … God, but not at all in the way they expect.
AMOS—NOTE ON 4:13 Amos uses lyrical poetry to underline the seriousness of the situation. Israel is not dealing with some local mountain deity. They are about to come face to face with the Creator of the universe, the LORD, the God of hosts (see note on 3:13). See also 5:8–9 and 9:5–6 and notes. One of the ways God manifests his greatness over the false gods of the pagans is that he alone knows all thoughts and therefore he declares to man what is his thought (cf. Dan. 2:27–28; 1 Cor. 14:24–25).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:1–17 An Oracle of Entreaty. A special feature of this oracle is God’s pleading for his people to return to him. Although they face imminent destruction, it is still not too late to seek God and his goodness (vv. 4–6, 14).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:1 lamentation. Neither the prophet nor God takes delight in these pronouncements of doom. Like mourners at a funeral, they grieve at what lies ahead for the unrepentant people. For the same reaction on the part of Jesus, see Matt. 23:37–39 and Luke 19:41–44.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:2 Virgin Israel is an image used frequently in the prophets to speak of the special value God places on Israel. She is like a virgin daughter to him, and the thought of her selling herself into prostitution or being raped by an enemy is heartbreaking to him.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:4–9 This is a powerful plea to seek the LORD as he has revealed himself and not in the pagan forms found at Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba. Whenever God is identified with the things of this world, there are two results: ethical behavior as a means of expressing devotion to God disappears (v. 7), and any concept of a purposeful Creator is lost (vv. 8–9).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:5 On Bethel and Gilgal, see 4:4–5 and note. Since Beersheba was in Judah, it is not clear what its significance was for the Israelites. Perhaps people from the northern kingdom made pilgrimage there, remembering its association with the patriarchs (Gen. 21:14–19, 31; 26:23, 33; 46:1–5); perhaps they also felt that there was a special power available there.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:6 The religious activities carried on at Bethel would not quench the fire of God’s anger. In fact, they would fuel it.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:7 Wormwood is a plant native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, with a bitter-tasting and poisonous extract (also 6:12). True worshipers of God will manifest justice and righteousness (cf. James 1:26–27). See also Amos 5:21–24. Justice (Hb. mishpat) is much more than legal equity; it refers to the entire scope of God’s government of his world. Thus, to “do justice” involves, on the part of government, a fair and just use of power and proper functioning of a fair judicial system, especially to protect the weak from the strong. On the part of individuals, “justice” involves honest and fair business dealings and faithfulness to keep one’s word, as well as not taking advantage of the poor or those with less power or protection. Righteousness (Hb. tsedaqah) involves doing what is right in the sight of God, especially with regard to conduct toward others.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:8–9 This is another piece of lyrical poetry (cf. 4:13 and 9:5–6) used to contrast the limitless glory of the Creator with the paltry things worshiped in the confines of Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba. Pleiades and Orion. Constellations of stars. In ancient Near Eastern religions, the stars were often thought to be gods. See also Isa. 40:26. To say that God calls for the waters of the sea and then pours them out on the surface of the earth is to remind Israel that he alone governs the rainfall, which he can and will use to discipline his people.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:10 reproves in the gate. The walled cities of the ancient Near East had covered gatehouses in which there were multiple sets of gates. Thus, if the enemy broke through one set, they were immediately confronted with another. During times of peace all these gates would be open and the gatehouse would provide a shady place where the old men of the city could sit to observe the comings and goings, and where they could decide the cases of those who came to them for justice. But in Israel, justice was going to the highest bidder. See also vv. 12, 15.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:11 Shall not dwell in them and shall not drink their wine express frustrated hope; cf. Mic. 6:15; Zeph. 1:13.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:13 keep silent. The reference is probably to the legal proceedings taking place in the gatehouse (see note on v. 10). If someone were to speak out against the manifest injustice taking place, his own life might be in danger (v. 10), while his objections would do no good because they could not stop the ongoing, entrenched evil.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:14–15 Speaking through the prophet, God addresses a further appeal to his people (see vv. 4–7). In that evil time (v. 13), they should seek good for those around them. If they will, there may be hope for the nation, even at that late hour. as you have said. There are two possible explanations. It may be that “God be with you” was a popular form of greeting, as in the original “Goodbye” of English. A more theological explanation is that the religious leaders of the nation may have been saying that the nation could not fall because “God is with us.” Amos says that God will only be with them if there is a return to godly behavior in the land. establish justice. See note on v. 7. For God of hosts (also vv. 15, 16), see note on 3:13.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:16–17 Although Israel could have returned to God, the fact is that they would not. As a result, Amos announces that a great funeral cry of wailing … mourning … lamentation (see v. 1) will go up all over the land from the streets of the cities to the vineyards in the countryside. I will pass through your midst. See 4:12 and note.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:18–6:14 An Oracle of Woe. This fourth message follows closely on the third, because it details the kinds of sins that will provoke the funeral of the nation. Three times the funeral cry of “Woe” appears: 5:18; 6:1; 6:4. Each one introduces another category of sin. The first (5:18–27) is manipulative, paganized religious activity carried on without regard for daily justice and righteousness. The second (6:1–3) is complacency. The third (6:4–7) is self-indulgence. The message ends with an announcement of coming destruction (6:8–14).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:18–27 The Israelites’ religious activities, far from pleasing God, actually alienated him. The recurrence of the pronoun “your” in connection with the several kinds of religious behaviors in these verses gives a clue to the point being made: the feasts and assemblies as they are celebrating them cannot bring them closer to God. God does not want only religious behavior from his people; he wants their total devotion as shown in the ethical character of their lives (v. 24). See note on 4:4–5.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:18–20 This is the earliest known use of the prophets’ expression, the day of the LORD. It also occurs in Isaiah (Isa. 13:6, 9), Jeremiah (Jer. 46:10), Ezekiel (Ezek. 13:5; 30:3), Joel (Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14), Obadiah (Obad. 15), Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:7, 14), and Malachi (Mal. 4:5). (See diagram.) Perhaps in Amos’s day the term was in popular use for the time when the Lord would intervene and put Israel at the head of the nations (possibly based on Deut. 32:35–37); but Amos, and all prophets after him, clarify what it would mean for the Lord to visit his people: it means judgment upon them if they are unfaithful. In Amos, the term points forward to the coming judgment on the northern kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians (Amos 5:27); in Zephaniah, it points to the coming judgment on Judah at the hands of the Babylonians. Other prophets use the term to signal God’s forthcoming punishment of other nations for their brutalities, e.g., Babylon (Isa. 13:6, 9); Egypt (Jer. 46:10); Edom (Obad. 15); and many nations (Joel 3:14; Obad. 15). In some cases the prophet uses the term to denote something farther off in the future (Mal. 4:5; probably in Joel 2:31). All of this indicates that the “day” is not unique, but may be repeated as circumstances call for it. The NT authors apply the term as well to the return of Christ (e.g., 1 Cor. 1:8; 2 Pet. 3:10).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:21 God hates and despises Israel’s religious feasts and solemn assemblies, their offerings (v. 22) and songs (v. 23) because of their persistent sinful conduct (see note on 3:15) and because of their perversion of worship at Bethel (cf. note on 4:4–5), as well as the absence of “justice” and “righteousness” in their conduct toward one another (5:24). Worshiping God in a way contrary to his Word and without moral integrity in one’s life is blatant hypocrisy (cf. Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8–9).
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:22 I will not accept them. God graciously extends his fellowship and forgiveness to those who will accept his covenant, as shown by their changed lives. He cannot be manipulated into doing such a thing by ritualism.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:24 On justice and righteousness, see note on 5:7.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:25–26 The Israelites had in fact given such offerings in the desert, but since their hearts were not right (note the mention of Sikkuth and Kiyyun, Mesopotamian astral deities), God nevertheless judged them. Thus the religiosity of the people of Israel in Amos’s day will not fool God, either.
AMOS—NOTE ON 5:27 Exile beyond Damascus is just what happened (2 Kings 17:6). This is a startling and significant prediction, as Assyria was comparatively weak in Amos’s time. On God of hosts, see note on Amos 3:13.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:1–3 Amos calls on the complacent (those who believe they have no cause for concern) to consider the other kingdoms (stronger than they) that had already fallen to Assyria.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:1 The prophet did not leave the Judeans out of his diatribe (see 2:4–5). Both Zion (Jerusalem), the capital of Judah, and Samaria, the capital of Israel, were strong fortresses, easily defended. But pride and self-confidence are never fitting for God’s cherished people.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:2 Stronger cities than either Jerusalem or Samaria had already fallen. Among these were Calneh, in south-central Mesopotamia (see Gen. 10:10; Isa. 10:9); Hamath, in Syria to the north of Israel; and Gath, a Philistine city southwest of Israel. Since the three locations reflect the entire extent of the so-called “Fertile Crescent,” they may have been chosen for their representative value. No city in the whole region could claim immunity to destruction.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:3 The only hope for either Israel or Judah was in the power of God made available through repentance, but Israel, at least, saw no need for such a thing.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:4–7 Instead of mourning and grieving over their sins and those of their nation (v. 6), the Israelites were treating themselves to the very best of life’s pleasures. It was these people, the “cream” of Israelite society, whom the Assyrians would take first into exile (v. 7). On God’s requirements concerning wealth and the wealthy, see note on 3:15.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:4 Ivory was then, as now, a luxury. These people indulged in tender lamb and veal, not the tougher mutton and beef. On ivory, see note on 3:15.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:5 Although the Israelite elite emulated David in making music, and perhaps congratulated themselves on that, it is clear that they had no real awareness of the deep meaning of the Hebrew psalms with their passion for God and his ways.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:6 Wine in bowls and finest oils are further indications that any trace of moderation or restraint was gone from this complacent upper echelon of society. They cared extravagantly for their own bodies but cared nothing for the needs of others. The two main tribes in Israel were Ephraim and Manasseh, descended from Joseph.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:8–14 Israel’s paganized religion, their strong fortresses, and their decadent culture would be helpless against the enemy that God was raising up.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:8 sworn by himself. See Gen. 22:16; Isa. 45:23; Jer. 22:5; 51:14. Hebrews 6:13 explains this on the grounds that “he had no one greater by whom to swear.” On strongholds, see Amos 3:9–11 and note.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:9–11 While the general sense of this vignette is clear—nothing would be left of the great houses and families—the specific sense is not as clear. Perhaps it describes a time when the survivors (v. 10) would be so traumatized that they would be afraid of any mention of the name of the LORD lest it be done inappropriately and bring yet more disaster upon them.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:12 horses run on rocks. Even the least-educated farmer understands that there are laws of nature that must be obeyed if life and health are to be preserved. But Israel’s leaders have no such understanding. Perverting justice and righteousness is ultimately as destructive as trying to get a crop from a rock pile. On both justice and wormwood, see note on 5:7.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:13 Lo-debar and Karnaim were two cities on the east side of the Jordan. Lo-debar may be the same as Debir in Josh. 13:26. If so, it was located on the northern border of Gad, near Mahanaim (see also 2 Sam. 9:4–5; 17:27). Karnaim was farther north, in the territory of Bashan (see Amos 4:1). Both cities were in areas that were in constant dispute with Syria. It is likely that Israel had succeeded in recapturing them from Syria during the Assyrian weakness just before Amos’s time, and that this was a cause for Israelite self-confidence.
AMOS—NOTE ON 6:14 Amos says the little victories of the previous verse will be nothing compared to the destruction that is to come. Lebo-hamath was in the far north, in the valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The Brook of the Arabah is in the valley in the far south between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The Assyrian conquest and oppression would cover the whole land, not just a few isolated cities.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:1–9:15 Visions of Judgment. In the final section of the book, the prophet turns from speech to sight. He now tells of visions he has received from God that leave no doubt of the deadly peril in which the nation stands. The first is a vision of inescapable judgment (7:1–9), a vision frighteningly confirmed by the prophet’s experience with the priest of Bethel (7:10–17). The second vision is of Israel’s terrible end (8:1–14). The last is of the Lord standing at the altar of sacrifice (9:1–15). But this vision has two parts, the first of which continues the theme of judgment (9:1–10), whereas the second sounds a note of hope (9:11–15).
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:1–17 A Vision of Inescapable Judgment. Israel is too far gone to avoid judgment.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:1–9 The Vision Itself. God reveals to Amos in three pictures that there is no hope for Israel. In response to the first two, the prophet pleads for mercy for the nation (vv. 2, 5), and God twice graciously relents (vv. 3, 6). But the third picture is so convincing that the prophet sees there is no hope and therefore makes no intercession. The idea is that God has repeatedly shown mercy to his erring people, only to have them continue in their complacency toward him. Sooner or later, their time will be up.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:1 Judgment would fall on Israel like a plague of locusts. The latter growth was the wheat crop harvested after the barley. If it was lost, there would be little to eat in the coming year. The king’s mowings were the part of the crop paid as a tax to the king.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:2 please forgive. In spite of the severity of all that Amos had said, there was no element of vindictiveness in him. Unlike Jonah, he did not want what he was predicting to happen. He pleaded earnestly that God would show mercy.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:3 The LORD relented. Like Amos, God does not desire to destroy his people. He is very patient (see Ex. 34:6). Unlike the capricious gods, who may decide for no reason either to destroy or release, the Lord is utterly reliable: he has promised to relent in response to repentance (see Jer. 8:5–10; cf. Jonah 3:10–4:2).
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:4 Judgment would come upon Israel like a fire so intense it would dry up the sea (the great deep) and scorch the land.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:7–9 The third picture that God showed Amos was of a plumb line held against a wall. A plumb line is a string with a weight fastened to the end of it. When the string is placed beside a wall and the weight is allowed to hang freely, it will be apparent whether or not the wall is perfectly vertical. If the wall is leaning and it is not fixed, it will eventually collapse. Compared to the standard of the Torah, the plumb line according to which the wall of Israel was built, it is clear to Amos that the nation is now so far out of true vertical that the collapse cannot be prevented. Israel is hardened in sin; thus, in this case, Amos does not ask God to relent.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:9 The reference to high places and sanctuaries makes it plain that Israel is out of line with reality, particularly regarding her relationship to God. When this situation is laid where it should be, at the foot of the king Jeroboam (II), the royal chaplain comes to his defense (vv. 10–17).
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:10–17 An Experience Reinforcing the Vision. If the plumb line according to which Israel was constructed was the Torah, then the priesthood should have held Israel accountable to the Torah (Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:6–7). But the priesthood itself was corrupt (see 1 Kings 12:31 for how Jeroboam I ruined the priesthood for the northern kingdom). Thus, there was no external standard being applied by which Israel’s true condition could be recognized and corrected. In such a case, the end truly was at hand.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:10 The reference to Amaziah the priest shows that a representative of the established religious leadership, who had the ear of the king, opposed the prophecies of Amos. His words, Amos has conspired against you, were a lie.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:12–13 When Amaziah called Amos a seer, his intent may have been contemptuous. This term for a prophet (2 Sam. 24:11) suggests Amos is not a member of the royal guild of prophets (who, since they were paid by the king, would speak to his pleasure), and thus has no standing in the king’s sanctuary. Note that no mention is made of this being God’s sanctuary or temple. never again prophesy at Bethel. Amaziah the priest and those supporting him wanted only to hear messages of God’s promises of blessing and success, not messages about sin and obedience and judgment (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3).
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:14–16 Far from being humiliated at his lack of professional standing, Amos takes it as a badge of honor. He is not paid to say what he is saying, but does so solely at the command of the Lord.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:14 dresser of sycamore figs. Sycamore figs were somewhat like a mulberry. They would only ripen if bruised. They were usually eaten by the very poor.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:15 the LORD took me … the LORD said to me. Amos was not prophesying on his own authority but on God’s authority.
AMOS—NOTE ON 7:17 All the honor that Amaziah prized so highly would be taken from him: his wife would belong to other men indiscriminately; he would be deprived of any progeny; he would lose his property; he would lose his profession (because of being defiled by the unclean land to which he would be taken as captive); and he would die as an exile. These terrible punishments would be heaped on this religious leader (recognized by the king but not by God) for rejecting the words of God that came through the prophet Amos.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:1–14 A Vision of the Terrible End. Amos describes the final end of Israel in powerful imagery.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:1–2 The Hebrew terms for summer fruit (qayits) and end (qets) sound alike. In Hebrew literature this kind of wordplay is very common. Beyond this, “summer fruit” did signify the last of the harvest. See Jer. 8:20, “the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” The long summer of God’s patience has finally come to an end, and there has been no harvest of repentance.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:3 dead bodies. See Ezek. 9:7. The paganized worship of Israel will end in a terrible silence.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:4–6 The terrible irony is that the Israelites thought that ritualistic worship could excuse oppression and greed. Even a sincere worship could not have atoned for that. See the notes on 4:4–5 and 5:22.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:4 you who trample on the needy. The rich and powerful were oppressing the poor and weak rather than helping them. But those who sought to bring the poor of the land to an end were themselves going to face a terrible end.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:5–6 Real worship of God in the new moon and Sabbath festivals would have created compassion for the poor and the needy. Throughout the OT, false balances are a symbol of injustice (Lev. 19:35–36; Prov. 20:10; Mic. 6:10–11). The weight of goods being bought or sold was determined by hanging them on one end of a balance beam while standard weights (such as a shekel) were hung on the other end. If the weights were only slightly false in the merchant’s favor, considerable profits could be made. The situation was similar if the measure of volume (such as an ephah) being used was incorrect.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:6 buy the poor … and the needy. Rather than helping their poor neighbors, the rich and powerful were using their money and power to put these people into slavery.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:7 The pride of Jacob could be taken in two different ways: it could be a reference to God himself (see 6:8), or it could be a literal reference to Israel’s insupportable pride in its strength and wealth (see also 6:8).
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:8 rise … and sink … like the Nile. Amos sees the coming destruction to be like the annual flooding of the Nile. The flood is absolutely inevitable, covering everything and leaving destruction in its wake. See also 9:5.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:9–10 Israel’s destruction will be so terrible that even nature will go into mourning, with the sun hiding its face. This is reminiscent of the darkness that covered the earth when God’s only Son died for the sins of Israel and the whole world (see Mark 15:33). Darkening can serve as a symbol of judgment (Joel 3:15; see also Rev. 6:12; 8:12).
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:11–12 Israel had rejected the words of the LORD from Amos and so they would go into exile, where there would be no word from the Lord at all. In its absence they will find that the revelation from God had been their most precious possession. they shall not find it. People who have repeatedly rejected God’s words will suddenly be unable to find God’s words at all. In 7:17 severe judgment came to a priest for rejecting God’s words, but here severe judgment comes upon the people as a whole for the same sin.
AMOS—NOTE ON 8:13–14 Israel had depended on their paganized ideas of Yahweh, represented by the idols at Samaria and Dan, or on the ancestral tradition of Yahweh at Beersheba (see 5:5 and note), but they would find that these pseudo-Yahwehs were no good at all. The Guilt of Samaria might be a mocking wordplay on “Asherah of Samaria,” since the Hebrew for “guilt” (’ashmah) sounds like Asherah. For a similar wordplay, see the transformation of Eshbaal, “man of Baal” (1 Chron. 8:33), into Ish-bosheth, “man of shame” (2 Sam. 2:8).
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:1–15 A Vision of the Lord Standing beside the Altar. This vision has two parts, one negative (vv. 1–10) and the other positive (vv. 11–15). The negative aspect is the culmination of the previous oracles and visions. God renders as worthless all the sacrifices that the Israelites had given in an attempt to manipulate God on their behalf while they brought reproach to his name with their sinful lives. God would shatter (v. 1) their pagan temples and demand their own lives as sacrifices (vv. 9–10). But God’s ultimate purpose in judgment is never destruction (v. 8); it is always restoration. So vv. 11–15 depict a day on the other side of judgment when Israel, again recognizing David (v. 11), would be restored to its land.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:1–10 The Thresholds Shaken. The primary theme of this part of the vision is the inescapability of God’s judgment. He will search out the sinful Israelites wherever they try to hide from him (vv. 1–4). The final piece of lyrical poetry in the book comes next, emphasizing the sovereign power of the Creator (vv. 5–6; see also 4:13; 5:8–9). The ultimate blow is to the idea that Israel ought to receive special favor from God because they are uniquely chosen (9:10). In fact, says Amos, God had directed the movements of many peoples on the earth (v. 7), and if Israel has any special status, it is a special accountability (vv. 8–10).
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:1 Capitals are the tops of the columns, and thresholds are the bases. The two together form a merism expressing the totality of the temple structure. Revelation 20:11–15 uses this image of no escape to describe the last judgment.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:2–3 Two more merisms: Sheol (the underworld) vs. heaven; and Carmel (the mountaintop) vs. the bottom of the sea. In short, there is no place between these extremes to escape God.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:4 for evil and not for good. This is a terrifying statement, showing that there is no escape anywhere in the entire creation, but it was what God had promised long before (Deut. 28:64–68) if the people were unfaithful. And yet even there, God offers forgiveness and restoration to those who repent (Deut. 30:1–10). As Ps. 103:9 puts it, “nor will he keep his anger forever.”
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:5 The Lord GOD of hosts. See 3:13 and note. rises like the Nile. See 8:8 and note.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:6 Heavens, earth, and sea are all at the beck and call of the One whose name is the LORD.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:7 Cushites (or Nubians), who lived south of Egypt, were considered to be living at the end of the world. All peoples are under God’s providential care. Caphtor. Crete. For Kir, see 1:5.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:9 no pebble shall fall. Israel will stand out among the nations, but in the sense that none of the Israelites will be able to hide among the nations. Isaiah 27:12–13 uses the sieve figure to say that none of the remnant will be lost among the nations.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:11–15 The Booth of David Restored. In contrast to the mighty edifice of Israel that God would smash to the ground (v. 1), the fragile, torn tent of David (v. 11) would be repaired. The reminder that well-being depends on the line of David would come with special force to the northern audience of Amos, who had rejected the Davidic king. God has committed himself to bless his people, and eventually the world, through the family of David (2 Sam. 7:15–16; Ps. 72:17). In that context, Israel’s fortunes (Amos 9:14) would be restored. The abundance described in vv. 13–15 stands in stark contrast to the ruin and destruction that fell on Israel after God repeatedly warned them, appealing to them to come to repentance (4:6–11). Again, the point is that God does not intend for judgment on Israel to be final, but to be a tool through which blessing may ultimately come.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:11 In that day reminds the reader of the day of the Lord that the Israelites confidently expected. If it was to be a day of destruction instead of blessing (5:18–20; see note), that did not mean it was to be God’s final word on the subject.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:12 Just as the “booth” in v. 11 contrasted with the temple of v. 1, so here the “possession” of the nations … called by my name stands in connection with the nations described in vv. 7–8. Israel does have a special place among the nations, but it is a place of mission, not of privilege. In Acts 15:16–17, James cites Amos 9:11–12, understanding that passage to indicate that in the messianic reign inaugurated by Jesus’ resurrection (when David’s fallen tent is raised), “all the nations” (i.e., Gentiles) become included in God’s blessings, as God had promised to Abraham (Gen. 12:3).
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:13 The abundant productivity of the restored land, under the blessing of God, will be so amazing that the land does not need to lie fallow for a moment, but as soon as the reaper has harvested one crop, the plowman comes right behind planting another one, and as soon as someone sows the seed, the grapes grow so rapidly that the treader of grapes comes to pick the ripe grapes and gather them for the winepress. This is a beautiful poetic image of a land like the garden of Eden—with productivity that is free from the curse (Gen. 3:17–19; cf. Amos 4:6–10) and with greater abundance than anything currently known. Some interpreters apply this passage, which in its immediate context describes the fruitfulness of a renewed land of Israel, to a wider renewal of the whole earth in a future age (cf. Rom. 8:19–21).
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:14 I will restore the fortunes. To build cities and enjoy food and prosperity, when these things are enjoyed in obedience to the Lord and with thanksgiving to him, is to enjoy God’s blessing.
AMOS—NOTE ON 9:15 This final blessing of the people is predicated upon their recognition of their Davidic messiah, something that is yet to occur. See Rom. 11:25–27.