God speaks to all the tribes who were brought up out of Egypt in chapter 3. Their relationship with God had begun with Abraham. It was Jacob’s sons that would make up the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel by God. They are God’s chosen people, called by His name. There are five covenants that were made between God and man. The Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Priestly, and the Davidic covenant. There is also the covenant that was given in the New Testament. When a person receives Christ as his or her savior he is then in covenant with God. A covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties and is taken very seriously even today. It has responsibilities and promises on both sides. They were in covenant with God, and they had broken that covenant. He is going to punish them for all their iniquities. The people of Israel were chosen for special blessings, and God had cared for them and blessed them. He had revealed himself to them in a special way. He was their Father and had lovingly tended to their every need. He had given them a land flowing with milk and honey, they had been provided for richly, but as children that rebel against their parents they had turned their backs on Him and worshipped other gods, and had walked in their own ways disregarding Him, and now there is no turning back. He has given them many chances, but they chose to go forward in their disobedience. The die is cast. God is a just and equitable judge, and he will move forward with the punishment.
Verses 3-8 asked rhetorical
questions. The effect is dramatic. Amos gives us cause and effect. God sent his
prophets to the people and the people disregarded what they said. They turned a
deaf ear to the word of God. Amos’s prophesy was given during a prosperous
time. They were comfortable and Amos’s words were hard to hear. “Shall
a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be misfortune
in the city, and the Lord has not done it?” The sound of the trumpet meant war
and brought fear. The punishment of God would come upon the people, but not
before the prophets had warned them to turn from their evil ways. Not before
they were given a chance to repent and reverse the punishment and gain
blessing. “The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God has
spoken, who can but prophesy”(Amos 3:8)?
They needed to ask themselves these questions and discuss the answers
among themselves. This would bring them to the same conclusion that God had come
too. Matthew Henry says it clearly, “The
distinguishing favors of God to us, if they do not serve to restrain us from
sin, shall not serve to exempt us from punishment; nay, the nearer any are to
God in profession, and the kinder notice he has taken of them, the more surely,
the more quickly, and the more severe will he reckon with them.”[1]
1 Peter 4:17 tells us, “For the time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of God?” They had dishonored God among the nations. It
was their own sin that was bringing this judgment upon them and it would
continue until it had finished its work. God was faithful in his care of
Israel. They were his chosen people, and their relationship with Him was personal
and committed on God’s side of the covenant, but they did mouth service to Him,
but their hearts were far off. Their godliness was just a form and they
worshipped other gods and trampled the poor and righteous.
In verses, 9-10 God calls
Philistia, which was where Ashdod was located, and Egypt to witness His
judgment of Israel. It is a sad state when the ungodly are more righteous than
God’s people. They had not been given a revelation of God, but Israel who had a
personal relationship with Him had repeatedly violated that relationship. “Let
them see how black the charge is, and how well proved. Let them observe the
behavior of the inhabitants of Samaria; let them look from the adjacent hills,
and they may see how rude and boisterous they are and hear how loud the cry of
their sin is, as was that of Sodom.” [2]
God calls the nations to judge between Him and His people. Their sin was so
blatant and open that the other nations could see the equity of God’s
judgment.
Verses 11-13 begin
the sentencing of Israel. The godless nations have been called to witness this
and to see that God is justified in his judgment of His people. The Assyrians
literally sapped the strength of Israel and completed the destruction in 722
BC. Samaria was a beautiful place where the Ivory palaces of Ahab and Jezebel
were built. They could look over the land and enjoy the beauty. Today it is
laid waste, and people visit the ruins. The destruction of a sheep by a lion
was the way Israel would be destroyed. There would be nothing left but small
pieces to prove their existence. A shepherd that cared for a flock had to prove
the lion had destroyed it with a bone or ear or some small part. The
destruction of the Northern Kingdom would be complete. God calls them to hear
and to testify against the house of Jacob. By using the house of Jacob he
includes all 12 tribes. Jacob whose name had been changed to Israel bore the
sons that would be the 12 tribes of Israel.
Verses 14-15 begin
with a reference to Bethel. Jeroboam had built idols in both Bethel and Dan to
keep the people from traveling to Jerusalem and possibly losing their political
allegiance to the house of Rehoboam who was heir to the throne through Solomon,
his father, and David his grandfather. This was discussed in chapter 1. Horns
represent strength and to cut them off would be to destroy the strength of
their false worship. “Some make the horns of the altar to signify all those
things which they flee to for refuge, and trust in, and which they make their
sanctuary: they shall all be cut off, so they have nothing to take hold of.”[3]
Verse 15 discusses the destruction of all of the houses that represent power
and wealth which were obtained off the backs of the poor and the righteous.
They gained their wealth through dishonesty and misuse of the justice system.
There was no honor left and judgment was coming.
I want
to once again stress the influence a government has over its people. We need to
be vigilant especially today. As a nation, we need to be conscious of the
relationship that we have with God. “In God we trust” is written on our money,
but maybe it should be written in our hearts. It is concerning that we as a
country are piling up sin upon sin.
Questions: Chapter 3
1.
Who is God speaking to in chapter 3?
2.
What does verse 1-2 tell us about the relationship between God and
Israel? What had God done for Israel?
3.
What are the issues with this relationship?
4.
Verses 3-6 are a list of rhetorical questions. What is God’s purpose in
asking these questions? What lesson can be learned?
5.
Why would they blow a trumpet in the city? What would be the people’s response
to it in verse 6?
6.
How would the prophet’s message
be similar to the trumpet being blown in the city?
7.
What are the duties of a prophet according to the Scriptures? What other
prophets can you think of and what works did they do?
8.
What is the assurance in verses 7-8?
9.
What were the differences between Ashdod and Egypt and Israel?
10.
What is the message that is to be proclaimed, and why in Ashdod and
Egypt? What is their significance?
11.
In verse 10 what reason is given for Samaria’s punishment?
12.
The Lord speaks in verse 11 and what is to be the punishment brought
against them?
13.
In verse 12 the Lord speaks again. What conclusion can be drawn from
this illustration?
14.
What is to be testified against the house of Jacob (Israel)?
15.
What is the significance of the horns of the altar at Bethel?
16.
Why are the houses of verse 15 mentioned?
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