Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors. Amos 1:1-15
“Prepare to Meet thy God, O Israel”
I. GOD’S IMPENDING JUDGMENTS, Amo_1:1-15
1. Upon the Surrounding Nations, Amo_1:1-15
JUDGMENT ON ISRAEL’S NEIGHBORS
The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] 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. [Zec_14:5]
Amo 1:2 And he said, “The LORD thunders and roars from Zion [in judgment] And utters His voice from Jerusalem; Then the pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the summit of [Mount] Carmel dries up [because of God’s judgment].” [Isa_42:13; Jer_25:30; Joe_3:16]
Amo 1:3 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded]. [2Ki_10:32-33]
Amo 1:4 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael, And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).
Amo 1:5 “I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus, And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness), And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus); And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to Kir,” Says the LORD. [Eze_30:17]
Amo 1:6 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared] And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade]. [Joe_3:6]
Amo 1:7 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza And it shall consume her citadels.
Amo 1:8 “And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod, And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron, And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,” Says the Lord GOD. [Jos_13:3]
Amo 1:9 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood. [1Ki_5:1, 1Ki_5:12; 1Ki_9:12-13]
Amo 1:10 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre, And it shall consume her citadels.”
Amo 1:11 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword, Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy; His destructive anger raged continually, And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.
Amo 1:12 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman, And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”
Amo 1:13 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of the children of Ammon and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because the Ammonites have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, That they might enlarge their border.
Amo 1:14 “So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon] And it shall devour its strongholds Amid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle, And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].
“Their king shall go into exile, He and his princes together,” says the LORD.
OUTSIDE NATIONS SHALL SUFFER JUDGMENT
Amos opens his prophecies with predictions against neighboring peoples, that Israel may be led to appreciate her guilt and to bear the approach of God’s righteous judgment, Luk_12:47. The formula of three transgressions and for four, Amo_1:3, etc., means several or many. Compare Job_5:19.
The order followed is Syria, Amo_1:3; Philistia, Amo_1:6; Tyre, Amo_1:9; Edom, Amo_1:11; Ammon, Amo_1:13; Moab, Amo_1:1. Each of these neighboring kingdoms was successively overwhelmed by the invasion of the great countries that lay in the valley of the Euphrates. Tiglath-pileser began and ultimately Nebuchadnezzar finished the work of desolation. But in turn the conquerors, becoming enervated by uninterrupted success and prosperity, were also swept away. We may be sure that there is One who judges in the earth and that, although might may assert its claims to be right, it is but for a moment. The constitution of the universe is in harmony with Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Calvary: and only a Christian civilization can be permanent.
JUDAH SHALL BE JUDGED ALSO
Edom was Esau; that is, the people were closely akin to Israel; perhaps for that very reason the hatred on either side became more and more inveterate from the days of the Exodus to the siege and fall of Jerusalem, Psa_137:7-8. Teman and Bozrah were principal cities, the first being named after Esau’s grandson, Gen_36:11. Isaiah, in after years, saw the warrior Angel of Jehovah coming up from Edom to the foothills of Palestine, his garments stained with the blood of the foe whom he had overthrown, Isa_63:1. Thus Jesus Christ has overcome our foes, and now stands sentry between us and them.
Rabbah was the capital city of Ammon. The strife between the citizens and the Chosen People smoldered from the days of Saul, flaming out from time to time in terrible intensity. Moab-the terrible act referred to here was probably associated with 2Ki_3:27. Alas that, in the divine vengeance, Judah should be associated with these heathen peoples! The indictment is not for sins against man, but for those committed against God. We are judged by the greater light and the higher standards that we possess. The fire here threatened was the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar and his Chaldeans, who have their modern counterparts. Man is often used by the Almighty for the chastening and purifying of his fellows.
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