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Amos

Amos 2

Judgment on Israel

Amos 2:1-3

Moab was a sourthern neighbor of Israel, their sins were many.  The sin to be mentioned was their cruel treatment of the king od Edom.  They had shown disrespect for the leadership and heritage of the descendants of Esau.  So fire would come down; they would die amidst tumult and chaos of war. 

And again, the Jews would applaud the justice coming to their longtime enemy.  They would wholeheartedly agree judgment was appropritate.

 

Amos 2:4-5

At some point the people of the Northern Kingdom might have looked at Amos and thought, "This guy really is a prophet and speaks the word of God."  They would have applauded the words and the well deserved judgment against their neighbers.  But then, as he spoke these words against Judah it was hitting pretty close to home.  It would be abundantly clear he wasn't speaking God's judgment against gentiles and enemies of Israel but those who had provoked the Lord by sin.

For Judah had sinned, not just three or four times but many.  Because of this there would be a punishment.  They were disobedient, not keeping the commandments; in fact, they despised the law of God.  They wanted to chase other gods; live life on their terms.  They believed this was possible and it led them astray.  There was some culpability in their fathers leading them astray and the leaders not leading the people to God.  But the nation was being judged for their sin; as any person would be judged.  We don't escape our sin by offering an excuse as if we could justify it. 

Therefore, fire was coming; judgment on the palaces.  And the people of the northern kingdom would have probably remained silent; maybe looked away, down at their sandals, anywhere but in the face of this prophecy that his so close to home.  Some may have silently agreed with the judgment against Judah, not realizing who was next on the list.

See also Jeremiah 9:26.

 

Amos 2:6-7

Did the people expect mercy?  Grace?  Did they think justice couldn't or wouldn't come to their naiton?  Who was responsible?  Was there a lot of people saying, "Not me!  I didn't create this mess, it was those guys."  Or maybe they blaimed the leaders, or polical party or their parents.  But the sins belonged to the people of this nation and judgment had come.  They had lived life ont their terms with disregard to the law and the many words the prophets offered them.  They had show total disregard for God's ways as they sought other gods and other ways.

It wasn't just three or four; and it wasn't a prescribed number of sins, for the Lord is able to provide atonement.  The Lord can lead the way to righteousness.  Instead the people sold righteousness; for the right amount of silver, the rich man could buy it.  The judges were swayed by the sight of the silver.  Yet, for the price of a pair of sandals the poor man might be placed into bondage.  Justice and righteousness was a moving line based on who you were and how much silver you had. 

The rich and powerful of the nation remained so on the backs of the poor and humble.  They oppressed and trampled down poor and saw no problem with it.  The humble man stood no chance; he was drawn into a corrupt system in which his ethics wouldn't work.  As if that weren't enough, the standards of morality nonexistent.  A father and son both might visit the same prostitute.  The language implies this was purposeful on their part; done, if not to offend God, to at least show blatant rebellion of His moral principles. 

It's the attitude toward sin that drew judgment; it's piling sin on sin and not even recognized it as sin.  It's the complacency of not 'taking heed' lest you fall.  It's letting your guard down and allowing all the things happen that were clearly warned against. 

 

Amos 2:8

The law of God forbid taking of someones cloths in a pledge.  It was literally taking the clothes off their back.  I like the way David Guzich stated it:

"In combination, the whole picture is almost overwhelming. Amos pictures a man committing sexual immorality with a temple prostitute – the same girl his son visited the day before – keeping warm with a garment extorted from the poor, toasting his success with wine bought with money dishonestly gained."

 

Amos 2:9-13

God reminds these people of their past.  They had arrived at the conclusion that they were responsible for the many blessings they had received.  They attested their prosperity and freedom to their own wisdom, hard work and luck.  Maybe they thought it was their education and keen sense of politics or maybe their ability to raise up an army and make lots of spears and swords.

God reminds them, it was Him.  He prepared the land for them.  He brought them to that land.  He even allowed some to be prophets to speak His word to them that they might hear from Him.  Some were priveleged to be called to a Nazirite vow.  God asks, "Is it not so?  It's as if He were asking, "Can you possibly deny these things?"

Yet, their response was not of recognition or gratitude to their God.  Instead they helped the Nazirite break his vow.  They told the prophet to remain silent and not speak God's word to them.  It's as though they wanted to forget their creator and the heritage of the Lord.  Is this not in our nature to have such a short memory?  Is this not so we can comfortably live life on our terms? 

God's conclusion; He's weighed down.  They are like dragging around dead weight.  

 

Amos 2:14-16

All they had would be taken.  It would start slowly and subtley.  The swift would no longer be so.  The strong would become weak.  The mighty can't even deliver themselves let alone others.  The warriors will fall, foot soldiers overcome and the cavalry immobilized.  The most courageous will be left fleeing naked.  Think about that.  What man do you see as the picture of courage?  When he is lef naked and fleeing, it is the picture that all hope is lost. 

The Lord is removing all those things that they trusted for comfort.  Their security was always in the Lord; He would remove all the things in which they found security.  Their provision was always from the Lord; in the absence of provision they would be reminded they were incabable of providing for themselves.  Their hope was always in the Lord; yet they had forgotten.

The Lord loved His people.  He had gone to great lengths to redeem them and deliver them from bondage and their response to His love was parting from Him.  At the root of this judgment of God is His broken heart.  Once again we see a humble man used by God in big ways.  This wasn't an easy message for Amos to deliver, not was it popular. 

While it seems the humble servant of the Lord will get run over in this world, are you standing on God's promises?  Do you trust Him alone for your security and provision?  Is your hope in Him alone?  Are you where God wants you, doing what he wants you to do? 

©2016 Doug Ford