The Second Chapter of Amos: Minor Prophets Reviewed

In this post we will look at the second chapter of Amos. He was a Minor Prophet who came from Judah to prophesy in Israel. At this time the country is split with ten tribes to the north called Israel, and two tribes in the south called Judah.

Amos

Chapter 2

Judgment on Judah and Israel

V 1 “ Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.”

Amos continues his “for three transgressions” for Moab. Moabites were peoples who spring from the conduct of incest by Lots oldest daughter.

There was a Hebrew tradition that the bones which were burned here belonged to a Moabite king, Mesha. They burned the bones in contempt for the individual(s), and it was believed that the burning deprived them of peace in the afterlife.

Remember, good king Josiah burned the bones of the false priests on the altar at Bethel (2 Kings 23:15-16). If he knew the Law, he was only showing contempt not make it bad for their afterlife.

V 2 “So I will send fire upon Moab And it will consume the citadels of Kerioth; And Moab will die amid tumult, With war cries and the sound of a trumpet.”

Punishment again is by fire. Kerioth most likely was a chief Moabite city. It is mentioned in Jeremiah 41:48.

V 3 “I will also cut off the judge from her midst and slay all her princes with him,” says the Lord.”

The elite leaders won’t escape in the day of battle.

V 4 “Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those after which their fathers walked.”

In the first chapter and up till now, God’s message through Amos was to Gentile nations around them. Suddenly, the prophetic message is turned on Judah. Remember, too, that the prophesy of Amos draws closer and closer to Israel where he makes his prophesies.

Again, the sure punishment is coming because he uses “for three transgressions. . .and for four.” Also, there’s no turning back from this prophesy. They can’t repent and cry out to God for mercy. The prophesy will take place. It may be delayed, but it will happen.

The reason for their fate: they didn’t keep the law; they were led astray by lies. Judah, like those before her, walked after false gods. Therefore, they followed after lies.

V 5 “So I will send fire upon Judah And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

                You know that this happened. Jerusalem and the temple was burned in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:8-10). Jerusalem means peace. Peace, the absence of war and the glorious welfare of its people, Jerusalem didn’t retain its peace. Nor does it know peace today. There is always the threat of war was against them.

The temple was rebuilt in 16 B.C., refurbished by Herod the Great from 23 B.C. until his death in 4 B.C. Then the refurbishing of the temple was completed by Herod Phillip in 66 A.D. Then the Romans burned the city and the temple in 70 A.D.

Yes, Amos’ prophesies did indeed come true.

V 6 “Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals.”

The same holds true for the ten northern tribes called Israel whose capital is Samaria. Her fate is met in 722 B.C. One reason for their punishment was because they sold their brothers as slaves. This was not to be done (Leviticus 25:46 rule with severity).

The main thrust of Amos’ message to Israel concerned itself with how Israel treated the poor. “Pair of sandals” would indicate the value placed on the poor and helpless of Israel during this time. If as we suspect that Amos prophesies during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel, the Promised Land had never been more prosperous since David and Solomon. During times of prosperity, men tend to take everything for granted. They don’t need God or anyone. They become self-reliant, satisfied and believe that as long as they satisfy their personal agenda, no one else matters.

V 7 “These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless Also turn aside the way of the humble; And a man and his father resort to the same girl In order to profane My holy name.”

The leaders profaned the legal system that was held at the gates. They longed for the large estates, and they amassed these at the expense of the poor and by selling their brothers and sisters as slaves. 

A man and his son had the same woman. This was an abomination to the Lord. It profaned his name. 

V 8 “On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.” 

If one took another’s garment as a pledge, he was to return it to him before nightfall (Deuteronomy 24:12-13). However, the rich stretched out beside every altar on garments they took as pledge. They also drank the wine of those whom they had fined. 

The idea here being they entered the house of God by the altar with items that broke the Law. They had no regard for the Lord’s Law. 

Vv 9 -- 16 

V 9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like the height of cedars
And he was strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.” 

Although I destroyed the nations before them, they aren’t giving me credit. They are relying only on themselves. They are acquiring riches at the expense of my poor people whom I fought for. 

I destroyed his land, “fruit above,” and his posterity, “root below.” 

V 10 “It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And I led you in the wilderness forty years
That you might take possession of the land of the Amorite. V 11 Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.”

You seem as though you have amassed your wealth by yourself. Did you forget that it was I who brought you out of Egypt. You would still be slaves there were it not for Me!

V 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’

Rather than giving God the praise and thanks that he deserves, they even made those Nazirites, who were supposed to abstain from drinking intoxicants, drink wine. They, the leaders, also demanded that the prophets not to prophesy.

These thankless peoples will be punished by Yahweh. They will be defeated in battle so badly that their mighty warriors will not escape.

V 13 “Behold, I am weighted down beneath you as a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves.”

You have grown too heavy for me to carry. Your sins and iniquities have grown too heavy for me to continue to count you as my chosen people. God through Hosea uses another simile, “as a wagon weighted down when filled with sheaves” to describe how heavy Israel’s sins and iniquities have become. They could hear the wheels of the wagon screeching as the wagon and its load rolled toward the threshing floor.

V 14 “Flight will perish from the swift, and the stalwart will not strengthen his power, nor the mighty man save his life.”

The residents will not be able to flee the onslaught. Notice that the really brave and powerfully skilled warriors won’t be able to save his own life.

V 15 “He who grasps the bow will not stand his ground, the swift of foot will not escape, nor will he who rides the horse save his life. V 16 Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.”

If the skilled warriors, “He who grasps the bow,” will run away, and even the ones who can run really fast can’t escape, then what chance does the common man have against the coming enemy.

Some of the skilled and mighty warriors will be captured and taken away as captives, “flee naked.” It doesn’t look good at all for Israel, does it?

V 16 “Even the ^[o]bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.”

The champion warrior will run naked from the battle field or be stripped naked.

Does naked mean undressed or inability to do battle, weakness exposed? Did he get lazy and fail to train properly? The word “naked” is used four times in Revelation:

3:17 “Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,”

3:18 “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

16:15 “(“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)

17:16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire.

The above ideas of nakedness would indicate their sin is exposed before the Lord. They haven’t prepared themselves properly, They haven’t taken the time to learn Jesus; therefore, their sin of rebellion and disbelief will be exposed when the true light of Jesus overcomes the darkness in which they have chosen to live.

Maybe the same applies to the armies of Israel from the above verses in Amos.

I like to include questions with my studies. Notice the questions aren't specific; rather, they give you an opportunity to reflect and answer them as you think.

Amos

Chapter 2 Questions

  1. Moab came from? _______________________________________________________________.

  2. Why were the bones of their enemy burned? _________________________________________.

  3. “For three transgressions of Judah and for four” would indicate destruction for Judah. How does this saying give surety of their destruction? Because on the witness of two capital punishment would take place. Here you have even more than two witnesses—you have four!

  4. How will Judah be destroyed? _____________________________________________________.

  5. “Pant after the dust would indicate? ________________________________________________.

                Their desire to own land.

  6. “Garments taken as pledge and before the altar indicates what kind of sin? ____________________

___________________________________________________________________.

                Direct disobedience of God’s law to return the pledge before sundown. They feel no remorse even sleeping before the altar on the pledge.

  7. “Fruit above” v 9 indicates that God destroyed the? _______________________________.

                land

  8. “Posterity” would indicate that God destroyed the? _______________________________.

                Offspring of the enemy

  9. What is implied by “You made the Nazirite drink wine?” ____________________________

__________________________________________________________________.

                A Nazirite was to abstain from wine and strong drink all their life. They were to be teetotalers.

10. Describe, “weighed down beneath you as a wagon loaded with sheaves.” __________________

__________________________________________________________________.

                Their sins and iniquities have become too much for the Lord to carry. They had nearly broken down the wagon that had given them all their prosperity and protection.

Blessings,


Howard

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