Amos, parts 1, 2, and 3: Judgments and Controversies

Amos’s name means “burden.” Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II who brought the kingdom to the height of its power. Amos’s warnings seemed improbable yet within 50 years the kingdom was utterly destroyed.

Amos is in 4 parts.

Part 1: Judgments on surrounding peoples.

Look at Amos 1: 6, 7, 10, 12:

 6 This is what the LORD says:
   “For three sins of Gaza,
   even for four, I will not relent.
Because she took captive whole communities
   and sold them to Edom,
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
   that will consume her fortresses.
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
   that will consume her fortresses.”
12 I will send fire on Teman
   that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”

Wow! Fire on the wall! (This is explained in

Crossing theScriptures. Wall is homah, a het word, that is, the book of Amos aligns with the Hebrew letter het which itself means fence or wall.) 

Part 2: Judgments on Judah and Israel. Fire is sent to destroy Judah, and there is judgment on Israel.  Read 2: 5, 6:

5 I will send fire on Judah
   that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
   that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
 6 This is what the LORD says:
   “For three sins of Israel,
   even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
   and the needy for a pair of sandals.

Part 3: Jehovah’s controversy with the family of Jacob. Read 7:7-9:

 7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”
   “A plumb line,” I replied.          
   Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
 9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed
   and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
   with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”  

Look at verse 7 again. Did you notice where the Lord was standing? By a wall! What a wonderful link to the corresponding Hebrew letter’s (het) symbolic meaning. Now read 9: 9, 10:

9 “For I will give the command,
   and I will shake the people of Israel
   among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
   and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
   will die by the sword,
all those who say,
   ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’
   and I will shake the people of Israel
   among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
   and not a pebble will reach the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
   will die by the sword,
all those who say,
   ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’

God will not totally destroy the house of Jacob, but this does look pretty bleak. Not to fear, though, see part 4 … uh, next week.