The first verse of the book identifies it as the book of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa. Nothing else is known about Amos apart from what he says about himself in 7:14-15. There Amos insisted that he is not a prophet by profession, but a herdsmen and a dresser of sycamore figs who God entrusted with a special task of carrying a divine message to the people of the northern kingdom. The theme of Amos is the universal justice of God. The Israelites clearly expected a “day of the Lord” when all their enemies would be judged. What they were not prepared for was that the judgment would fall on them as well. They would be held more accountable than their neighbors
Chapter 1
v. 3 – “three transgressions…four”. This poetic expression is used to introduce the judgment upon all seven of the neighboring nations, and upon Israel as well. It is a way of expressing totality: “three” expresses the plural in Hebrew, and by raising it to “four” the idea of multiplicity is conveyed. “Threshing sledges of iron”…one way of separating grain kernels from their hulls was to put all the grain in a pile and then have an ox pull a heavy wooden sledge around on the pile. Amos says Syria has treated the people of Gilead as though they were nothing but a pile of grain, crushing them into the ground
v. 4 – Fire is the judgment carried out on all seven neighboring nations. Against the fire of God not even the most powerful of human strongholds can endure.
v. 6-8 – Four of the five cities of the Philistines are named in this judgment. This is because there was never a sing enduring capital city of Philistia.
v. 9-10 – Tyre is accused of the same act of inhumanity as the Philistines, but it was more heinous.
v. 11-12 – Edom descend from Esau, the Edomites maintained enmity toward Israel, extending as far back as Israel’s journey from the wilderness to the plains of Moab before crossing the Jordan. The sin for which Edom is judged is perpetual anger.
v. 13-15 – The sin of the Ammonites was the viciousness and brutality of their attacks, without pity even for pregnant women.
Chapter 2
v. 1-3 – The fact that Moab’s sin was against neither Israel nor Judah, but its southern neighbor Edom, demonstrates that these judgments are based not on ethnicity but on the universal justice of God.
v. 4-5 – Unlike the other nations, Judah is not judged for inhumanity to others but according to a higher standard, the law of the Lord, which they had sworn with a blood oath to keep.
v. 6-16 - Amos does not accuse Israel of idolatry, even though that might be true. Rather, he condemns them for social injustice.
v. 7-8 – When Amos says “a man and his father” he is intentionally linking here the sins of incest and of ritual prostitution. God required sexual purity for two reasons: faithfulness in marriage was an expression of the faithfulness of the Creator, and pagan religions sought to use sexual performance as a way of manipulating the power of fertility. Garments taken in pledge refer to a poor person’s cloak that was given to a money-lender as a security for a loan. It was to be returned to the poor person at night since he or she probably had no other covering.
Chapter 3
v. 3-8 – With a series of questions, Amos shows that imminent disaster is for Israel. He points out that in the world of nature, certain sequences of events lead to predictable outcomes. If there is disaster occurring, the people should not attribute it to bad luck, but should take note that God is at work and they should respond accordingly.
v. 14 – The horns of the altar were short vertical projections at the four corners of the top of the altar. They had ritual significance as places where God’s protection was available. The horns of Bethel’s altar would provide no protection because it was the site of one of two golden calves.
Chapter 4
v. 1-13 – The oracle is composed of two parts. In the first part the prophet expands on the sins of self-indulgence built upon oppression and a false religion. In the second part God details all the ways in which He had appealed to the Israelites to return to Him, yet without response.
v. 4-5 – Amos addresses the northern kingdom, in which the worship practices blatantly defy the law with golden calves, sanctuaries other than the one in Jerusalem, and priests who were not Levites.
v. 6-11 – Even though God had sent various natural and social calamities, the people would not turn back. The coming destruction of Israel would not be a sudden unexpected outbreak by a short-tempered God. It was the final outcome of many patient appeals and warnings that the people should have heeded.
Chapter 5
v. 2 – Virgin Israel is an image used frequently in the prophets to speak of the special value God places on Israel. She is like a virgin daughter to Him, and the thought of her selling herself into prostitution is heartbreaking to Him.
v. 7 – Justice is much more than legal equity; it refers to the entire scope of God’s government of this world. Thus, to “do justice” involves, on the part of government, a fair and just used of power and a proper and fair judicial system, to protect the weak from the strong. On the part of individuals, “just” involves honest and fair business dealings as well as not taking advantage of the poor or those with less power or protection
v. 9 – Pleiades and Orion are constellations of stars that in ancient Near Eastern religions were often thought to be gods.
v. 10 – The walled cities had covered gatehouses in which there were multiple sets of gates. If the enemy broke through one set, they were immediately confronted with another. During times of peace all these gates would be open and the gatehouse would provide a shady place where the old men of the city could sit to decide the cases of those who came to them for justice. But in Israel, justice was going to the highest bidder
v. 13 – The reference to keep silent is probably to the legal proceedings taking place in the gatehouse. If someone were to speak out against the injustice taking place, his own life might be in danger.
v. 18 – This fourth message details the kinds of sins that will provoke the funeral of the nation. Three times the cry of “woe” appears. Each one introduces another category of sin. V. 18-27 speaks of manipulative, pagan religious activity without regard for justice and righteousness. The feasts and assemblies as they are celebrating them can not bring them closer to God. He does not want only religious behavior from His people, He wants their total devotion.
Weekly Summary
