Reading
Amos 2, Amos 4:1-2, Amos 5:21-27

1Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;

2but I will send a fire on Moab,

and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth;

and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;

3and I will cut off the judge from among them,

and will kill all its princes with him,”

says Yahweh.

4Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have rejected Yahweh’s law,

and have not kept his statutes,

and their lies have led them astray,

after which their fathers walked;

5but I will send a fire on Judah,

and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

6Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have sold the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals;

7They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth

and deny justice to the oppressed.

A man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name.

8They lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge.

In the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,

whose height was like the height of the cedars,

and he was strong as the oaks;

yet I destroyed his fruit from above,

and his roots from beneath.

10Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt

and led you forty years in the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite.

11I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Isn’t this true,

you children of Israel?” says Yahweh.

12“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,

and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

13Behold, I will crush you in your place,

as a cart crushes that is full of grain.

14Flight will perish from the swift.

The strong won’t strengthen his force.

The mighty won’t deliver himself.

15He who handles the bow won’t stand.

He who is swift of foot won’t escape.

He who rides the horse won’t deliver himself.

16He who is courageous among the mighty

will flee away naked on that day,”

says Yahweh.


1Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;

2but I will send a fire on Moab,

and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth;

and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;

3and I will cut off the judge from among them,

and will kill all its princes with him,”

says Yahweh.

4Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have rejected Yahweh’s law,

and have not kept his statutes,

and their lies have led them astray,

after which their fathers walked;

5but I will send a fire on Judah,

and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

6Yahweh says:

“For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four,

I will not turn away its punishment,

because they have sold the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals;

7They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth

and deny justice to the oppressed.

A man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name.

8They lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge.

In the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,

whose height was like the height of the cedars,

and he was strong as the oaks;

yet I destroyed his fruit from above,

and his roots from beneath.

10Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt

and led you forty years in the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite.

11I raised up some of your sons for prophets,

and some of your young men for Nazirites.

Isn’t this true,

you children of Israel?” says Yahweh.

12“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,

and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’

13Behold, I will crush you in your place,

as a cart crushes that is full of grain.

14Flight will perish from the swift.

The strong won’t strengthen his force.

The mighty won’t deliver himself.

15He who handles the bow won’t stand.

He who is swift of foot won’t escape.

He who rides the horse won’t deliver himself.

16He who is courageous among the mighty

will flee away naked on that day,”

says Yahweh.


21I hate, I despise your feasts,

and I can’t stand your solemn assemblies.

22Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings,

I will not accept them;

neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals.

23Take away from me the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24But let justice roll on like rivers,

and righteousness like a mighty stream.

25“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel? 26You also carried the tent of your king and the shrine of your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves. 27Therefore I will cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of Armies.


Devotional

Amos stood up in the centre of one of Israel’s most important cities, the city of Bethel, and started proclaiming the Lord’s judgement on six surrounding nations – Damascus, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon and Moab (Amos 1-2). These nations were all competitors and enemies of Israel. God condemned all these nations who had sinned against Him and hurt His people. Now I am sure that Amos’ message here was well received. You can just imagine the crowd in Bethel nodding their heads as Amos was preaching and shouting out, “Amen! Preach it brother Amos! Isn’t Amos on fire today!” The Israelites must have really enjoyed these words.

 

But then in Amos 2, Amos suddenly turns his attention to Israel and starts talking about Israel’s sins and pronounces God’s judgement on them! You can imagine that Amos’ preaching did not go down too well at this stage. There are three main things that God charges Israel with.

 

Firstly, the oppression of the poor. In Amos 2:6 he says, “They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.” In other words they exploit the poor! “Silver” was a symbol in those days for a loan or a huge debt. Things were so bad that people were going into debt to buy even a pair of shoes! And in those days there was no such thing as declaring bankruptcy. If you couldn’t pay your debts, you were forced into slavery. People were having to sell themselves just to stay alive. God’s people had the power and the wealth to put an end to so much of this suffering. But sadly, they did not have love for their neighbour. God’s people were guilty of trampling “the head of the poor into the dust of the earth” (Amos 2:7).  God’s people were those “who oppress the poor and crush the needy” (Amos 4:1). This was total injustice in the eyes of God.

 

Secondly, Amos also charges them with sexual immorality! In Amos 2:7 he says, “A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning my holy name!” Israel was undergoing their own version of a sexual revolution and God’s people were just going along with it! They didn’t really speak out against it or object to it, and eventually they ended up getting involved in it – in sexual immorality. They were dishonouring God’s holy name through the improper use of their bodies. 

 

Thirdly, even in the midst of this, the Israelites still remained fervent in their religious devotion (Amos 5:21-27). They kept going to the Temple faithfully. They kept making their sacrifices. They kept giving their tithes. They kept singing their songs. Many of the people had abandoned real faith in God, instead worshipping “images made for themselves” (Amos 5:26) but they still pretended to be true worshippers of God. They still pretended like they wanted God to be a part of their lives. But it was not authentic. Like Isaiah, who prophesied right after Amos said, “These people honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). They come to Church and sing my praises but their hearts are a million miles away somewhere else, and that’s demonstrated by how they live their lives the other six days of the week. You see what you really believe about God is not demonstrated by how loudly or how passionately you worship on Sunday, but by how you live your life the rest of the week (Romans 12:1-2). In the words of Jesus, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

 

These were the charges brought against Israel: oppression of the poor, sexual immorality and superficial religion! In response to the charges brought against them, Amos reminds the Israelites of God’s faithfulness to them in the past. “It was I who destroyed the Amorite before them… It was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite” (Amos 2:9-11). In other words, I rescued you from Egypt and led you through the wilderness to the Promised Land, and you respond to all that by ignoring me and ignoring other people? God’s past faithfulness should have inspired and empowered the Israelites to obey Him in the present. Likewise, what God has done for us should renew within us a passion and a zeal to live for Him and to glorify Him. 

 

However, it is very easy to look at the sins of other people. But what happens when we turn the spotlight on ourselves? How many of Israel’s sins are we guilty of? As you read Amos, put yourself in the place of these Israelites and listen to God’s message. Have you become complacent? Have you grown cold in your love for Jesus? Have other concerns taken God’s place in your life? Do you ignore those in need or oppress the poor? Have you been caught up in sexual immorality or some sin that so easily entangles you? Has your relationship with Jesus turned into superficial religion that is empty? As we finish today’s study, let’s reflect, examine and pray the prayer of the Psalmist together: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).