Amos chapter 2
Judgment against Moab and Judah and Israel. They had spurned the grace of the LORD God. Divine judgment is on the way.
JUDGMENT AGAINST MOAB
VERSE 1. The LORD 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;
he burned the bones of the king of Edom. In a war against Edom, Moab had opened the royal grave, and burned the bones of the king.
That was considered a sacrilege.
In those days, much importance was placed on a dead person’s body being peacefully placed in the family burial site.
VERSE 2. but 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 shofar;
VERSE 3. and I will cut off the judge from among them, and will kill all its princes with him,” says the LORD.
JUDGMENT AGAINST JUDAH
VERSE 4. The LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected the LORD’s law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked;
they have rejected the LORD’s law. If you are in love with the LORD God, his commands are not burdensome. In fact, they can be a delight.
But for people who are NOT in love with the LORD God, everything about him is a burden and they want to be rid of him.
their lies. That is, the lies of the false gods.
VERSE 5. but I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
JUDGMENT AGAINST ISRAEL
VERSE 6. The LORD 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;
the needy for a pair of sandals. Rich people sold poor people for the price of a pair of sandals.
VERSE 7. They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;
NIV translation. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.
trample on the heads of the poor. In our day there is a lot of attention focused on the super-wealthy. The super-wealthy are being rebranded as “job creators.”
People speak of enacting laws that will favor super-wealthy people, and cut assistance for poor people.
deny justice to the oppressed. It is easy for a society to deny justice for oppressed people.
Oppressed people cannot speak up for themselves.
VERSE 8. and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
THEY HAD SPURNED THE GRACE OF THE LORD GOD
VERSE 9. Yet 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.
VERSE 10. Also 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.
VERSE 11. I 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 the LORD.
VERSE 12. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
NAB translation. You gave the nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets not to prophecy.
commanded the prophets not to prophecy. The prophets delivered the voice of God to the nation.
But some people did not want to hear the voice of God. So they commanded the prophets to stop.
Some people always want to silence prophets.
In our day, as you do the ministry of evangelism, some people will tell you to not talk about Jesus Christ.
For them, you are a prophet that needs to be silenced. Don’t take it personally. Such an individual is not ready yet.
DIVINE JUDGEMENT IS ON THE WAY
VERSE 13. Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain.
VERSE 14. Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won’t strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;
VERSE 15. neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won’t escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;
VERSE 16. and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,” says the LORD.
NIV translation. “Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the Lord.
the bravest warriors will flee naked. For even the mightiest of people, there will be a day of reckoning.
Their courage will evaporate, and they will be scared to death.
AMOS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.