Amos 3:9-15
and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say,
Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria,
and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof,
and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
[10] For they know not to do right, saith the Lord,
who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
[11] Therefore thus saith the Lord God;
An adversary there shall be even round about the land;
and he shall bring down thy strength from thee,
and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
[12] Thus saith the Lord;
As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs,
or a piece of an ear;
so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria
in the corner of a bed,
and in Damascus in a couch.
[13] Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob,
saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,
[14] That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel:
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
[15] And I will smite the winter house with the summer house;
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.
Introduction:
In chapters 1-2 Amos has brought the prophesied judgments of God home to Israel.
In chapter 3:1-8 Amos has made it clear that he can do nothing but prophesy, and that there are valid reasons for the coming judgments which are now to be prophesied.
Now in 3:9-15 we enter into a series of oracles against Israel.
An oracle is a solemn divine pronouncement,
a revelation from God uttered by His spokesman.
Outline:
I. The Presentation of the Covenant Lawsuit (3:9-11)
II. The Destructon of the Covenant Lawsuit (3:12)
III. The Focus of the Covenant Lawsuit (3:13-15)
Let us begin our consideration of this passage with the first oracle found in verses 9-11, where the covenant lawsuit is presented.
I. The Presentation of the Covenant Lawsuit - Amos 3:9-11
[9] Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say,
Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria,
and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
[10] For they know not to do right, saith the Lord,
who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
[11] Therefore thus saith the Lord God;
An adversary there shall be even round about the land;
and he shall bring down thy strength from thee,
and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
1. The Summons to the Witnesses (3:9)
Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt,
and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria,
and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof,
and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
Text and translation issue -
Ashdod (ESV, NIV, NASB, HCSB, NLTmg, YLT) vs. Assyria (RSV, etc.)
Job 1:8 - And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
We have the opposite here!
Cp. this to God inviting Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt, Howard Stern, the Pope, Don Corleone, Sadaam Hussein, and Osama Bin Laden to witness the chastening of the Church! Not possible? Consider the following verse!
1 Cor. 5:1 - It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2. The Reading of the Indictment (3:10)
For they know not to do right, saith the Lord,
who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
Amos 5:7 - Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
Amos 5:11 - Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
Amos 6:12 - Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:
Amos 6:3 - Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
Amos 8:6 - That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? (4-6)
Psalm 14:4 - Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.
Isaiah 3:14-15 - The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. [15] What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah 4:22 - For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
Habakkuk 2:8-11 - [8] Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. [9] Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil! [10] Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. [11] For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
Micah 6:10-12 - Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? [11] Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? [12] For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
Zeph. 1:9 - In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
Zech. 5:3-4 - Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. [4] I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
How do we know right from wrong?
How can we get to the point where we don’t, where we are no longer able to?
3. The Pronouncement of the Judgment (3:11)
An adversary there shall be even round about the land;
and he shall bring down thy strength from thee,
and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
God acts contrary to the wisest stratagems of men in attacking their strongest points rather than their weaknesses - cp. Sun Tzu, The Art of War -
"To achieve an advance that cannot be hampered, rush to his weak points...To be certain to take what you attack, attack where the enemy cannot defend." [footnote 1]
2 Kings 17:5-6 and 18:9-12
Deut. 28:31, 43, 47-57
Contrast Deut. 1:26-28
Amos will now illustrate the completeness of Israel’s coming destruction with a graphic figure of speech. Consider verse 12 with me -
II. The Destruction of the Covenant Lawsuit - Amos 3:12
Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs,or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
1. The Figure of the Shepherd (3:12a)
Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear;
"According to ancient laws, shepherds were to demonstrate their diligence by rescuing a portion of a sheep taken by wild beasts..." [footnote 2]
Genesis 31:39 - That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. [Jacob to Laban]
Exodus 22:9-13 - [9] For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. [10] If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: [11] Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. [12] And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. [13] If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
"If the animal be killed in the stable by God ( an accident), or if a lion kill it, the herdsman shall declare his innocence before God, and the owner bears the accident in the stable." [footnote 3]
1 Samuel 17:34-35 - 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.
Can it be that God is depicted in this figure as both the lion and the shepherd?
2. The Reality of Israel (3:12b)
so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
Text and translation issue -
Damascus (NIV, NLT, YLT), cover (NASB),
part (ESV, RSV), cushion (HCSB)
Issue: whether the city or the cloth produced there is intended, and whether that cloth was referred to as such during Amos’ times.
"Damask" is "A rich patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool." [footnote 4]
Note: This term may not have been used before 1200-1250 A. D. for the type of cloth produced in Damascus. [footnote 5]
Is this prophesied to extend hope for a remnant or to teach the complete destruction of the Northern Kingdom? When a lion devours a sheep does the sheep continue to exist? What does the shepherd bring back but the proof of the destruction of the sheep? Get the figure right, and you will not read into it what it will not bear. This is not a picture designed to extend hope to the nation, but fear and trembling before the utter destruction of the Almighty.
God’s focus in the destruction is the next subject He will address through His spokesman Amos.
III. The Focus of the Covenant Lawsuit - Amos 3:13-15
[13] Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,
[14] That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel:
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
[15] And I will smite the winter house with the summer house;
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.
1. The Divine Warrior Addresses the Prophet (3:13)
Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts
These titles of God occur together only here in Amos.
"In times past God had been a warrior on their behalf. But now He would lead another army against them to punish them for their sins..." [footnote 6]
From God’s mouth into Amos’ ears.
From Amos’ mouth into Israel’s ears.
2. The Divine Warrior Against the Idolators (3:14)
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel:
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
"A fugitive could gain asylum by grasping the horns of the altar (1 Kin. 1:49-51), though this privilege was not always observed (1 Kin. 2:28-35). Even this last resort for sinful Israel will be cut off." [footnote 7]
Cp. Lev. 4, 8:15; 16:18-19; 26:31; Ps. 118:27
However, this has nothing to do with the false altar at Bethel! (1 Kings 12) It never was, nor could it be a true place of sanctuary.
Amos 4:4 - Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
Amos 5:5-6 - But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. [6] Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
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.
Amos 7:13 - But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.
Alternative places of worship & couch potatoes (vs. 12) - cp. Heb. 10:19-25
The issue of idolatry and unrighteousness in the Church:
1 Cor. 6:18 - Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1 Cor. 10:14 - Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1 Tim. 6:11 - But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
2 Tim. 2:22 - Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
1 John 5:21 - Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
3. The Divine Warrior Against the Rich (3:15)
And I will smite the winter house with the summer house;
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.
Make no mistake about this! God is not on the side of any human "ism"! The human systems known as communism, socialism and capitalism are all likewise condemned by God! Beware of defending any of these in the name of Christianity! Even in the streets of Scranton blood flowed in the past as oppressed coal miners rose up against the greedy capitalists who owned the mines! [footnote 8] All of these systems and those who profit from them are likewise condemned as unrighteous by the King of kings whose kingdom is not of this world!
Christianity and the politics of this world make strange bedfellows! What Christians should do in the political sphere is to point to God the judge of all who condemns them for their pride and greed and oppression as William Wilberforce did. What must be done is to speak with the voice of the prophets into the darkness of the sins in high places that God will bring down to the dust!
The high and mighty, the rich and powerful of this world will not be well-represented in heaven. God has not called many of them! [footnote 9] Where do we fit into this scheme of things? Did you ever compare your standard of living with those in other countries around the world?
As you read, consider and study these ancient prophecies, take them to heart! Take them personally!
Conclusion:
Make no mistake about the end of those who oppress the poor! A fearful judgment awaits those who enrich themselves at the expense of others, who luxuriate in the fine things of this world to satisfy their flesh.
There should be a marked difference between the children of God and the children of this world! Be ye holy!
Footnotes:
1. Ch. 6, "Weakness and Strength", http://www.sonshi.com/learn.html.
2. New Geneva Study Bible, eds. Luder Whitlock, Jr., R. C. Sproul, Bruce Waltke, Moises Silva, et al. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), pg. 1399.
3. The Code of Hammurabi, Para. 266, Trans. Leonard William King (1910, public domain) at Wikisource: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Codex_Hammurabi. Also at Washington State University (ed. Richard Hooker, copyright 1996): http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTM.
4. damask. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Co., 2004.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/damask (accessed: July 10, 2007).
5. Ibid. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc.; Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/damask. So A. R. Fausset, A Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.), II:2:538.
This contradicts C. von Orelli, The Twelve Minor Prophets, trans. J. S. Banks (Minneapolis: Klock & Klock Christian Publishers, n.d.; 1977 reprint from T. & T. Clark, 1897 original), pg. 120; C. F. Keil, Minor Prophets, Vol. X, Commentary on the Old Testament, by C. F. Keil, and F. Delitzsch, trans. James Martin (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.), I:264; H. R. Reynolds and Prof. Whitehouse, "Amos", in Ellicott’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, A Verse by Verse Explanation, ed. Charles John Ellicott (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, n.d.), III:V:455.
These last are apparently influenced by the works of Gesenius and Ewald.
6. The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (n.p.: Victor Books, 1985), pp. 1434-1435.
7. New Geneva Study Bible, op. cit.
8. "Hyde Park History", excerpts from History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, Pa., (New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 1880), and Jubilee History of Lackawanna County Pennsylvania, by Thomas Murphy (Topeka-Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Co., 1928), http://www.thomasgenweb.com/hyde_park_history.html. See also: "The Coal Riot. Horrible Treatment of the Laborers by the Miners. - Condition of the Wounded - A War of Races - Welsh vs. Irish and Germans", New York Times, May11, 1871; and The Great Riots, by Edward Winslow Martin, pseudonym for James Dabney McCabe (Philadelphia: National Publishing Co., 1877), pp. 189-222, http://books.google.com/books?id=87Pm8CLO82MC&pg=PA189&vq=Scranton&dq=scranton+riot+coal+miners#PPA189,M1.
9. 1 Cor. 1:26 - For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; cp. also Mt. 19:23-24; Mk. 10:17-25; Lk. 1:51-53; 6:24-26; 12:13-21; 14:12-24; 16:1-3; 18:18-25; 1 Tim. 6:3-21; Jas. 1:9-11; 2:1-7; 4:13-5:6; Rev. 3:17-18; and 6:15-16.
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