AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:1 Amos included the Judeans in his warning (see Amos 2:4). Both ZION (Jerusalem, the capital of Judah) and SAMARIA (the capital of Israel) were strong fortresses, easily defended. But God’s people should never be confident in their own power. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getEleme... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:2 Stronger cities than either Jerusalem or Samaria had already fallen. Among these were CALNEH, in south-central Mesopotamia (see Genesis 10:10); HAMATH, in Syria to the north of Israel; and GATH, a Philistine city southwest of Israel. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTa... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:4 Instead of grieving over their sins, the wealthy Israelites were treating themselves to the very best of life’s pleasures. It was these people whom the Assyrians would take first into exile (v. Amos 6:7). ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, l... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:6 WINE IN BOWLS and FINEST OILS are further indications that all restraint was gone. The wealthy cared extravagantly for their own bodies but cared nothing for the needs of others. The two main tribes in Israel were Ephraim and Manasseh, descended from JOSEPH. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images =... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:8 SWORN BY HIMSELF. See Hebrews 6:13. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:12 Perverting JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS is as unnatural as HORSES choosing to RUN ON ROCKS or a farmer planting crops on a rock pile. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var images = document.getElementsByTagName("img"); for (var i=0, len=images.length, img; i [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:13 LO-DEBAR and KARNAIM were two cities on the east side of the Jordan. Both cities were in areas that were in constant dispute with Syria. It is likely that Israel had succeeded in recapturing them from Syria, and that this was a cause for Israelite self-confidence. ⇐ ⇔ ⇒ var i... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS—NOTE ON AMOS 6:14 Amos says the little victories of v. Amos 6:13 will be nothing compared to the destruction that is to come. LEBO-HAMATH was in the far north, in the valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. THE BROOK OF THE ARABAH is in the valley in the far south between the... [ Continue Reading ]