Amos 3

The Man with a Difficult Message from God

Amos

Mark Kirkpatrick

Chapter 3

God warns Israel’s people

v1 People in Israel, listen to this message. The *Lord has spoken against you.

This message is about God’s family that I brought out of Egypt.

v2 ‘There are many families on earth.

But you are the only family that I chose to know in a special way. Because of this I am going to punish you for all your *sins.’

v3 Two people will not walk together unless they agree to do so.

v4 A lion in the forest will only roar when he catches an animal.

A young lion will not roar in his cave if he has caught nothing.

v5 A bird will not fly into a trap on the ground if there is no food there.

A trap will not shut unless there is a bird in it.

v6 If a *trumpet sounds in a city, then people will certainly shake with fear.

When trouble comes to a city, then the *Lord has caused it.

Verse 1 God now chooses to speak in a more direct way. It is an important message for the people in both Israel and Judah. Both nations shared much history. In particular, they shared the *redemption from Egypt that God brought them. When they *worshipped, they both heard this story. It was part of their lives.

Verse 2 Amos continues with the same idea. God has known Israel and Judah in the past. Only God has looked after them in a special way (Exodus 33.12, 13, 17). He loves them in a special way. But now God has to be true to himself. He has no more patience. They are not living as God has told them to. So he is going to punish Israel’s people for their *sins. But they do not want to hear this message. Christians, too, are responsible for what they do. They cannot blame their *sins on their families or on the places where they live.

Verses 3-5 Strangers will not usually travel together. They must want to walk together. Amos now gives several pictures. Lions hunt in a quiet way. They will only roar when they catch something. Birds need food. This is the only reason that they will fly into a trap. These are simple facts. They are clear to everyone.

Verse 6 But now Amos begins to make his message clear. God has given Israel a warning. There is no escape, and Israel should feel frightened. If Israel suffers, this is not an accident. It is part of the judgement of God. God uses all events for his purposes (Isaiah 45:7; Philippians 1:12; Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:28-30). Sometimes Christians suffer. Perhaps they need to ask if there is a reason for their suffering. If there is a reason, they should *repent.

v7 The *Lord the Ruler might decide to do something. But before he does anything, he will tell his plans to his servants the *prophets.

v8 When a lion roars, people will be scared.

When the *Lord speaks, people will *prophesy.

Verse 7 *Prophets do not speak with their own authority. God gives them this authority. God could act without the *prophets. He does not need to tell them what he knows. But before he acts, he chooses to tell his *prophets. Then they will explain to other people all that he is going to do.

Verse 8 Sensible people need to notice the roar of a lion. In the same way, *prophets need to notice God’s message and tell it to other people. They have no choice.

v9 Go to the strong places in Ashdod and Egypt and announce this message:

‘Come to the mountains of Samaria.

You will see great confusion there.

Look at the cruelty among the people there.

v10 I will do this because people do not know how to live in right ways. People take things from other people.

They hide these things in their strong places.

Then they fill these strong places with the things that they have taken. They use force to do this.’

The *Lord says these things.

Verse 9 Ashdod was a *Philistine city. Amos asked the people from Ashdod and Egypt to look at themselves. Their leaders were not fair to their own people. So they would hear a message from God. He would speak to them as a judge. They should also look at God’s judgement on Israel. The *Philistines were used to the power of rich people. They knew about the bad things that rich people did to poor people. But even they would be surprised at the terrible actions in Israel.

Verse 10 Amos now explains his message. The *Israelites did not know what was ‘right’. They had forgotten the *covenant with God. They had started to live like the people who lived near them. The *Israelites wanted to enjoy themselves and to have an easy life. They only thought about this. The rich people took things from the poor people. They then stored these things in their palaces. They did not care about innocent people.

v11 Therefore this is what the *Lord the Ruler says: ‘An enemy will come to your land.

That enemy will destroy your strong places.

He will steal the things that you have hidden in your strong places.’

v12 This is what the *Lord says: ‘A lion might attack a young sheep, and a *shepherd might try to save the young sheep.

But the *shepherd will save only a part of that sheep.

He might pull two legs or a part of an ear from the lion’s mouth.

In the same way, God will not save most of the people in Israel. The people living in Samaria will only save a part of a bed, or a corner of a seat.’

v13 The *Lord *Almighty says this: ‘Warn Jacob’s family (Israel) about these things.’

v14 I am going to punish Israel’s people for their *sins.

I am also going to destroy the *altars at Bethel.

I will cut off the *horns of the *altars.

They will fall to the ground.

v15 I will destroy the winter house with the summer house.

I will destroy the rich people’s houses.

Great houses will come to an end.’ The *Lord says these things.

Verse 11 The people in Israel thought that they were safe. The rich *Israelites were proud of all their possessions. But their enemies would defeat them.

Verse 12 Amos repeats his picture of the lion. The *Israelites will try to defend themselves. But they will only keep a few of their possessions, those of little value. Their enemies will enjoy the possessions of those rich people. They had good pieces of furniture. Most people could not afford furniture like this.

Verse 13 This verse is an introduction to the section from 3:13 to 4:13. The section finishes with the final warning of 4:12: ‘People in Israel, prepare to meet your God.’ Again, Amos uses the idea of a court to warn Israel. He uses the name of Jacob. This is to remind the *Israelites that God has chosen them.

Verse 14 Amos speaks against the particular *sins of the northern nation. Bethel was the important place for the false *worship. The *horns came up from the four corners of the *altars. Perhaps the *horns showed that there was special strength there. They were also a place where someone could be safe. Adonijah used the place to be safe from Solomon. He was in fear of death (1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28; Exodus 21:14). But all this would finish.

Verse 15 The houses of the rich people would fall down. Ahab had two houses (1 Kings 21:1; 1 Kings 21:18), a warm one for the winter and a cool one for the summer. But there would be no more luxuries like this.

Lord ~ a special name for God. God told the Jews that this was his name. Some Bibles use ‘LORD’ for this special name. There is another word ‘lord’ which means someone with authority. This is why I have translated as ‘the Lord the ruler’ the title that really is ‘lord LORD’.)
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.'sin, sinful ~ when people do bad things against God or other people.
trumpet ~ a type of musical instrument that you blow. People blew the trumpet in a battle. The sound of the trumpet told the soldiers to begin the battle. And it frightened the enemy.'redeem, redemption ~ to rescue or set free by the payment of a price. What Jesus did when he died for us.
worship ~ a way to act when we are with God.
repent ~ to turn away from sin to God’s ways.

sin, sinful ~ when people do bad things against God or other people.
prophet ~ a man or woman who was able to speak God’s words to the people.
prophesy ~ to speak God’s words.
prophet ~ a man or woman who was able to speak God’s words to the people.
Philistines ~ people who came from a country called Philistia.
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
covenant ~ special agreement, especially between God and the Israelites. The covenant that God made with Moses was that he would take care of the Israelites. But they must obey his law.
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
law ~ the rules that God or rulers make.
shepherd ~ a person who looks after sheep.
Almighty ~ better than everyone else; the Lord of everything. This can also mean that God leads the armies of heaven.
Lord ~ a special name for God. God told the Jews that this was his name. Some Bibles use ‘LORD’ for this special name. There is another word ‘lord’ which means someone with authority. This is why I have translated as ‘the Lord the ruler’ the title that really is ‘lord LORD’.)
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
altar ~ a table where the priest burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or to false gods.
sacrifice ~ to give a gift to God of an animal or food. Usually people burnt all or part of this gift. This may be a way to thank God, or to ask him to forgive us.
horns ~ animals have horns on their heads; these horns have sharp points. A horn is also a musical instrument like a trumpet.
trumpet ~ a type of musical instrument that you blow. People blew the trumpet in a battle. The sound of the trumpet told the soldiers to begin the battle. And it frightened the enemy.