Amos 1:1-8
Introduction
The name “Amos” means “burden bearer or one with a
burden.” Amos was not a
professional prophet nor was he a person of great wealth or position as we read
he was among the herdsman of Tekoa.
According to Amos 7:14 he was a gatherer of Sycomore fruit so he was a working
man and not a noble. When his call
came he went from being a herdsman to prophet.
Amos spoke against the oppression of the poor, commercial dishonesty,
self-indulgence, and idolatry. He
was the first prophet to announce the captivity of Israel and God’s rejection of
his people. Amos prophesied between
760 B.C. and 755 B.C.
Amos 1:1
The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 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 was a herdsman of Tekoa and he was also a gatherer
of Sycomore fruit (7:14). Amos
mentions two kings, Uzziah and Jeroboam which would give us an accurate time
frame of the ministry of Amos.
Tekoa was located 12 miles (19 km) west of the Dead Sea and about 11
miles (18 km) south of Jerusalem.
This verse mentions an earthquake which happened during the reign of Uzziah.
Excavations done in 1956 by Y. Yadin uncovered some earthquake damage
which was dated about 760 B.C. confirming the date of Amos.
This earthquakes is also mentioned by the prophet Zechariah.
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.
(Zechariah 14:5) Amos
1:1 should give great encouragement to believers who do not possess Bible
college or seminary degrees because it shows God used an ordinary working man to
bring his word to the people of Israel.
In fact some of the wisest Christians I have ever known never stepped
inside of a seminary.
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.
Amos begins his prophecy by stating that the LORD will
roar from Zion. The word “roar”
means “to cry out.” He will utter
his voice from “Jerusalem” where the temple is.
The word “utter” means “to send forth or give.”
When a lion roared, especially if he was approaching the sheep, then the
shepherds knew that trouble was imminent and here Amos is using the same
language to state that judgment from God is imminent since he is roaring and
sending forth his word. Amos
prophesied to the northern kingdom 39 years before they went into captivity with
Assyria. Here God is issuing a
judgment warning that the fertile fields which the shepherds counted on for the
sustenance of their livestock will wither away and the top of Carmel with its
flowers, woods, and vineyards will also wither meaning the livestock will have
no grazing fields for food and the shepherds will see them getting leaner each
day until death occurs which means all profits are now turned to loss.
Amos 1:3
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:
When the LORD speaks about three transgressions of
Damascus and for four he is using language that means an infinite number of
transgressions against the people of Israel.
Damascus had long been an enemy of Israel and God is stating that they
will not get away with any of the transgressions they committed.
During the time of Elisha and
Jehu Damascus caused Israel many problems.
It was a prosperous and proud city but Assyria, under Adadnirari III
(805-802 B.C) and Shalmanezer IV (797 B.C.) conquered Damascus.
Assyria had fallen into hard times and suffered from Bubonic plague which
weakened them and Amaziah actually was able to take back some territory and that
included Damascus (2 Kings 14:23-27).
The Gilead threshing which is in view was done to the inhabitants of
Gilead with threshing sledges that cause intense torture.
War is always full of atrocities but God will not allow war as an excuse
for torture. The threshing sledge
had iron teeth and it was drawn over the grain to thresh it and cut the stalks.
Amos 1:4
But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which
shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
Hazael was anointed king over Syria by Elijah.
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: (1
Kings 19:15) The name Hazael
means “God sees or hath seen.” The
“Ben-hadad” in view is just a general term for the kings of Damascus.
The fire which will come on the king of Damascus is a term for judgment
against Damascus itself. If the
leader is defeated the people will follow.
If it is a literal fire, then the palaces will be burned to the ground as
a judgment against their evil dealings with Israel.
Amos 1:5
I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the
inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the
house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith
the LORD.
The bar which is in view is the bar which holds the city
gates closed and strengthens it so invaders could not have access.
Here God is stating that he is going to break that cross bar which means
the city will come under attack and eventually be destroyed.
The inhabitants of the plain of Aven is the Beka valley which is west of
Damascus where Baalbek is located which is a large valley because Baalbek is
about 50 miles (80 km) north of Damascus.
The House of Eden would be the northern Aramaeans which were near Haran.
The Syrians who were the Aramaeans would go into the Assyrian province of
Kir from where they originally came.
This was fulfilled by Tiglath-Pileser.
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.
(2 Kings 16:9)
Amos 1:6
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried
away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
The LORD now turns to Gaza which was one of the chief
cities of Philistia. What they did
was to capture men, women, and children and turned them over to Edom to be
slaves. According to Joel 3:3-7,
they were eventually re-sold to the Greeks which Alexander the Great repatriated
them to Judah. Gaza was looking to
make quick profits and the quickest way was to turn people into slaves and sell
them. Under Old Testament law
slaves were to be treated properly and given the proper food, clothing, and
shelter and would be freed at a certain time which was the year of Jubilee.
The Gazaites did not care anything for that, they just wanted the money.
Amos 1:7
But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall
devour the palaces thereof:
Just as God was going to destroy Damascus, he would in
similar manner destroy the chief city of Philistia.
The walls which were built for protection would now be reduced to ash and
that would mean all the palaces and inhabitants would now be vulnerable to
destruction which is prophesied here to happen.
Amos 1:8
And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him
that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron:
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.
The city of Ashdod was soon to be destroyed which happened in 711 B.C. by Sargon II who was an Assyrian king and son of Tiglath-Pileser who reigned from 722-705 B.C. The king of Ashkelon will also be destroyed which means the city with him. Then judgment on the city of Ekron took place in 702 B.C. by Sennacherib along with the remnant of the Philistines and that spelled the end of the Philistine nation. Zechariah also prophesied these events. {5} Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. {6} And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. (Zechariah 9:5-6) The city of Gath is not mentioned even though it was one of the five principal Philistine cities. Uzziah had made war against Gath and it probably did not recover and become one of the largest cities again. And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. (2 Chronicles 26:6) \