Judgment on Moab
Study note
Moab was a nation east of the Dead Sea. They committed the shameful act of burning the bones of the king of Edom to ite, which was considered an extreme dishonor to the dead. God promises to destroy Moab's cities and kill its rulers in the chaos of battle.
1 The LORD says: "Moab has sinned over and over, so I will not hold back their punishment. They burned the bones of the king of Edom until they turned to powder." Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
2 "So I will send fire on Moab, and it will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will collapse in chaos — war cries blaring, trumpets blasting." But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
3 "I will cut down Moab's ruler and execute all his officials right alongside him," the LORD says. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
Judgment on Judah
Study note
Now Amos turns to Judah, the southern kingdom and his own homeland. Judah's sin was rejecting the law of the LORD and following false gods, just as their ancestors had done. God promises to send fire on Judah that will burn down the palaces of Jerusalem. Amos's audience in the north would have cheered at this -- not realizing their own judgment was next.
4 The LORD says: "Judah has sinned over and over, so I will not hold back their punishment. They tossed aside the LORD's law and refused to obey his commands. The same false gods their ancestors worshiped led them down the wrong path." Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
5 "So I will send fire on Judah, and it will burn down the fortresses of Jerusalem." But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
Judgment on Israel
Study note
Now Amos delivers the shocking main message. Israel is just as guilty as the other nations. The people sold the innocent into slavery for money and the poor for the price of a pair of sandals. The wealthy trampled the poor, and fathers and sons committed sexual sin. They even took clothing pledged by the poor and used them as blankets at their pagan altars.
6 The LORD says: "Israel has sinned over and over, so I will not hold back their punishment. They sold honest people for pocket change and traded the poor for the price of cheap sandals." Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
7 "They grind the faces of the poor into the dirt and shove powerless people out of their way. A father and his own son sleep with the same woman, dragging my holy name through the mud." That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
8 "They lounge beside their altars on clothing they took from the poor as collateral. In their god's temple, they drink wine purchased with money they squeezed out of people through unfair fines." And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
God Reminds Israel of His Kindness
Study note
God reminds Israel of everything He has done for them. He destroyed the powerful Amorites to give Israel the Promised Land. He brought them out of slavery in Egypt and cared for them for forty years in the wilderness. He raised up prophets and Nazirites among them. But the people forced the Nazirites to break their vows and told the prophets to stop speaking God's word.
9 "Yet I was the one who cleared the Amorites out of the land for them — people as tall as cedar trees and as tough as oaks. I destroyed them from top to bottom, fruit and roots alike." Yet destroyed I 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.
10 "I brought you up from Egypt and guided you through the wilderness for forty years so you could have the Amorites' land." Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 "I handpicked some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Can you honestly deny this, Israel?" the LORD asks. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.
12 "But you pressured the Nazirites into breaking their vows by drinking wine, and you ordered the prophets to shut their mouths." But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
No Escape from God's Judgment
Study note
God describes the crushing weight of Israel's sin and the inescapable punishment coming upon them. When judgment comes, even the fastest runners, the strongest warriors, and the bravest soldiers will not be able to escape. The image is of total defeat with no hope of rescue.
13 "Look — I am weighed down under the burden of your sin, like a cart overloaded with heavy bundles of grain." Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
14 "Your fastest runners will not be fast enough. Your strongest warriors will lose their power. Even your mightiest soldiers will not be able to save themselves." Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
15 "Archers will not hold their positions. Sprinters will not outrun the danger. Cavalry riders will not escape with their lives." Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
16 "On that day, even the most courageous soldiers will throw down their weapons and run away naked," the LORD says. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.