Harsh Words in a Smooth Season [footnote 1]
Amos 1:1-2
Amos 1:1-2
[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.
[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.
Introduction:
prologue or superscription, perhaps the most complete in the prophets
Outline of Amos
Outline of sermon
Connection to our own day
Theme of the book = 4:12 - prepare to meet thy God
I. The Smooth Season of Amos (1:1)
1. The Identification of the Prophet (1:1a)
The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa
The words of Amos -
Jeremiah 1:1 - The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
Deut. 1:1 - These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
Isaiah 1:1 - The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Hosea 1:1 - The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
Nahum 1:1 - The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
herdmen -
2 Kings 3:4 - And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
Amos 7:14-15 - Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: [15] And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
Tekoa -
2 Samuel 14:2 - And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:
Jeremiah 6:1 - O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
2. The Times of the Prophet (1:1b-d)
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
Zech. 14:5 - 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.
2 Chronicles 26
[2 Kings 15:13 - Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria.]
[2 Kings 15:30 - And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.]
Amos 7:10 - Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
Isaiah 29:6 - Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
2 Kings 15:1-7 - In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. [2] Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. [3] And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; [4] Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places. [5] And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land. [6] And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? [7] So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
2 Kings 14:23-29 - In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. [24] And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. [25] He restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gath-hepher. [26] For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. [27] And the Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. [28] Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [29] And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.
II. The Harsh Words of Amos (1:2)
1. The Nature of the Judgment of God (1:2a)
And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion,
and utter his voice from Jerusalem;
The contrast between the shepherd (Amos) of vs. 1 and the lion (God) of vs. 2
The voice of the Lord - Gen. 3:8; 1 Kings 19:12 (Ps. 29:4; Is. 30:30); Mt. 3:17; 17:5; Jn. 12:28-29
The roar of the Lord -
Joel 3:16 - The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Jeremiah 25:30-33 - Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. [31] A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. [32] Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. [33] And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Isaiah 42:13 - The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
Hosea 11:10 - They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. (cp. also Hosea 5:14; 13:7)
Rev. 10:3 - And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
The shepherd and the lion -
1 Samuel 17:34-37 - And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: [35] And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. [36] Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. [37] David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
Cp. also Amos 3:3-8, 12; 8:11-12; 4:12
2. The Effect of the Judgment of God (1:2b)
and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn,
and the top of Carmel shall wither
merism: "synecdoche in which totality is expressed by contrasting parts" (e.g. high and low, young and old), 1894, from Mod.L. merismus, from Gk. merismos "dividing, partition," from merizein "to divide," from meros "part." [footnote 2]
Amos 9:3 - And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn -
Jeremiah 12:4 - How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
Joel 1:18-19 - How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. [19] O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Carmel -
1 Samuel 25:2 - And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Isaiah 33:9 - The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
Conclusion:
A "smooth season" may not be the safest time for the people of God!
The voice of the Lord may enter into our "smooth season" as the roar of a lion uttering "harsh words" when we are comfortable in our sin.
When our external circumstances appear unruffled and smooth, when need to be on our guard against stagnation and sin. We may find the Lord's perspective quite contrary to our own when we assume everything is going along smoothly. It may be otherwise in our relationship to the Lord!
Footnotes:
1. The Oxford Annotated Bible, The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version Containing the Old and New Testaments, eds. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962), pg. 1107.
2. "merism." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 21 Apr. 2007.
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