KNOW YOUR SCRIPTURE Prophecy Amos belonged to that circle of prophets who received a commission to prophesy the ruin which was impending over the Covenant-people, before any human probability existed for it. ~ Ernst Hengstenberg (ca. 1840) Amos 2:6-8; Amos 4:1-2, 12 (ESV) For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— Those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; They lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’ The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. Prepare to meet your God, O Israel! Notes on the Scripture Prepare to Meet Thy God, oh Israel Amos is the oldest of the prophetic books in the Bible. Nothing is known about Amos except what we read in the Bible book that bears his name. He was an agricultural worker, uneducated and undistinguished, who herded cattle and sheep and dressed sycamore trees. Like David or Simon Peter, God simply plucked him out of obscure day labor and filled him with the Spirit, to become his spokesman. He is the first of the group of prophets to come, who will voice Gods anger and warn the Hebrews of the wrath that will result if they do not reform. This early group of written prophets were a “final warning” from God. They had abandoned His covenant for centuries and He would punish them with destruction. Amos’ prophecy came at a time of prosperity, a temporary high point in Israels fortunes under Jeroboam II in 750 B.C., characterized by luxurious excesses of the rich combined with lack of godliness. Its difficult to understand, today, just how radical his message was, for the ruling class was accustomed to deference, not invective. Amos denunciation of wrongdoing is scorching. He begins (in Chapter 1) by predicting dire futures for the nations surrounding Palestine; one can imagine the Hebrews saying, “This guy is great,” because he was prophesying such a terrible future for the enemies of Israel and Judah. But then, he turns his attention to Judah, and finally to Israel, and one sees that the prophesies against Damascus (Babylon), Edom, et al., were just a warm-up. Even Judah only gets a few verses: It is the Kingdom of Israel that he truly excoriates, at length and with the most dire predictions, slanderous name-calling, and florid imagery possible. He catalogs all sorts of common sins against the law of Moses. We see a small sample in todays Scripture. Abuse of the poor and helpless by the rich and powerful is especially emphasized. For example, people sleeping beside alters on “garments taken in pledge” violates a specific law. A person who lent money, which was secured by the borrowers cloak, was required to return the cloak to him at night. The poor slept out in the open, and a cloak might be a person’s only protection against the elements. (Deuteronomy 24:12-13) He compares rich women on the mountain of Samaria — the nice neighborhood in the capital city — to cows. He depicts them ordering their husbands to bring them wine — which has been stolen from people paying fines — having a party while the poor sleep in the cold and starve; and predicts for them the colorful and gruesome fate of being dragged away with fishhooks. SOURCE>dailyprayer.us
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 08:06:22 +0000
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