Thursday, November 12
Read Amos 1
Think About It:
God wanted to get the nation’s attention, but the people weren’t listening. You’d think they could hear a lion roar or the thunder roll and know that danger was at hand. God was speaking (thundering) from Jerusalem, for judgement always begins at the house of the LORD (1 Peter 4:17). He had sent drought to the land so that even fruitful Caramel was withering, but it didn’t bring the people to their knees. So God called the common farmer to preach to His people and warn them. “A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The LORD God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?”
You have just read the scriptures Amos prophesied of the LORD’s coming judgment. Eight times Amos used the phrase, “For three transgressions and for four,” A Jewish idiom that means “An infinite number that has finally come to the end.” I looked up the final judgments on these nations. Every single word Amos prophesied came to fruition.
Syria (1:3-15) The phrase, “I will send a fire “ (Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14, 2:2, 5) means “I will send judgment”; for fire represents the holiness and the judgment of God. Indeed, the LORD judged Syria: The dynasty of King Hazael ended; His son Ben-Haddad was defeated; Damascus lost its power; and “The house of Eden” became a ruin. King Josiah defeated Ben-Haddad three times (2 Kings 13:25), but it was the Assyrians who finally subdued Syria and took them into captivity.
Philistia (1:6-8) God’s judgment on Philistia came in the days of King Uzziah (2 Kings 18:7-8) and the Assyrian invaders under Sargon and the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The slave masters were themselves taken into exile and slavery.
Tyre (1:9-10) Judgment came in 332 BC when Alexander the Great literally wiped Tyre off the face of the earth and left it a place for drying nests.
Edom (1:11-12) The Edomites would not allow their Jewish cousins to pastor their land during Israel’s march to Canaan. Teman and Bozrah were strong cities that today don’t exist. The Edomites lived “In the clefts of the rock” and had their “nests among the stars” (Obadiah 3-4), boasting that their fortresses were impenetrable. But the LORD destroyed their nation so thoroughly that nothing is left today except ruins. When the Romans attacked Jerusalem in 70 AD, they destroyed what was left of the Edomite people, and Edom was no more.
Ammon (1:13-15) Amos announced that a storm of judgment would come to the people of Oman and that their capital city (Rabbah) would be destroyed. This took place when the Assyrians swept over the land in 734 BC. Not only did Amos predict the destruction of their land, but so did Ezekiel in 25:1-7. The chief god of Edom was Molech, which means “Reigning one, King”. Amos 1:15 could be translated, “Molech will go into exile,” thus showing the inability of their god to save them.
God is currently warning our nation and all the nations of the world. We need to start in His house, repent, and return back to Him. Soon the LORD will come to judge the nations again. Any idols that may be set up in our hearts, need to be torn down. It is a call to be ready and be humble before a loving and just God.
Family Time:
- What does it mean in verse 2 when it says ‘the LORD roars’? Read the whole verse. How do you think it would feel to hear the LORD roar?
- ‘For three transgressions, and for four.’ This was repeated several times. Can you count how many? (check chapter 1 and 2)
- Transgressions are sins. When this written, ‘for three transgressions’ meant a full cup (pretend you can put your sins in a cup. Three sins would fill the cup up.) ‘For four transgressions’ meant an overflowing cup. When someone said these two things together, like in this verse, it meant too many sins to count!! These people were doing some bad things!! God also says repeatedly ‘I will not turn away its punishment’. Don’t let God say this to you!! Consider all you do – seen and unseen. I would not want God to roar my punishment at me!!
