Amos 1:1-2:3 NKJV
(1) The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders 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.
(2) And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
(3) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
(4) But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
(5) I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.
(6) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom.
(7) But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.
(8) I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” Says the Lord GOD.
(9) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
(10) But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”
(11) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he pursued his brother with the sword, And cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, And he kept his wrath forever.
(12) But I will send a fire upon Teman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
(13) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, That they might enlarge their territory.
(14) But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, And it shall devour its palaces, Amid shouting in the day of battle, And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
(15) Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together,” Says the LORD.
(1) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
(2) But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.
(3) And I will cut off the judge from its midst, And slay all its princes with him,” Says the LORD.
Amos lists the sins and punishments of various Gentile nations. If we read through them, we see that many of the things they did are quite brutal, cruel, or just plain wicked. Massacres, oppression, betrayal, relentless destruction, etc. All of these crimes that God is accusing these nations of are related to how each treated people of other nations. Because they persisted in harming and destroying each other, God punished each and every one, sending His fire to devour their palaces–images and structures of glory and might. We could easily say, “Amen” to God’s justice. After all, these nations had little to no regard for life and they surely deserved to be punished. Surely their transgressions angered and provoked the Lord.
But then we read on – Amos 2:4-16
(4) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.
(5) But I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
(6) Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.
(7) They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name.
(8) They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Judah and Israel, the chosen people of God, are also listed here among the Gentile nations. God said He would send fire to devour the palaces of Jerusalem, His own holy city. What were the people of God guilty of? What heinous acts did they commit? Why did God want to punish them?
Because they have despised the law of the LORD, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed…Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Did the people go out enslaving other weaker nations? Did they recklessly kill foreign armies? No, they didn’t. In fact, compared to all the acts of the other nations listed, the evil of Judah and Israel doesn’t look that bad. Yet God said he would punish them just the same as the nations that murdered and destroyed. Why? Because God has a higher standard for His people. These were the ones with whom God made a covenant in the wilderness. He commanded them to obey his laws and decrees, and in turn he promised them abundant blessing, prosperity, and victory. These were the chosen descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob–the sole line that was to maintain and preserve the holy image of God. These were supposed to be God’s children.
Though His people did not outwardly sin against other nations, they did sin against each other internally (in the case of Israel), and they sinned against God. From our point of view, the sins of Judah and Israel are generally less severe than those of other nations, but God was not only angered and provoked–He was deeply weighed down with grief, because these were the people who He personally lead with His hand:
(9) “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
(10) Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
(11) I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD.
(12) “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’
(13) “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
(14) Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;
(15) He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
(16) The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the LORD.
Those of us who are Christian today should consider. Maybe we don’t go around killing, stealing, oppressing, or hurting others. Maybe we don’t go around partying, smoking, cursing, or cheating. Does that make us “better” than everyone else? Does that make us more “righteous” than those around us? Does that mean we should be satisfied with how “good” we are relative to the rest of the world?
Do we truly obey the commandments of the Lord in their pure form or do we despise the law of the Lord by deciding ourselves what is right and wrong? Do we pursue holiness or do we find pleasure in the depravity of the media? Do we seek the glorification of God’s name or do we defile it? Every little thing in our lifestyle matters, because we have a higher standard–we were bought at a higher price.