Reflections on Amos 1

 Amos 01  (Contemporary English Version)

1. I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. Two years before the earthquake, the LORD gave me several messages about Israel,
   
2. and I said: When the LORD roars from Jerusalem, pasturelands and Mount Carmel dry up and turn brown.
   
3. The LORD said: I will punish Syria for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. They dragged logs with spikes over the people of Gilead.
   
4. Now I will burn down the palaces and fortresses of King Hazael and of King Benhadad.
   
5. I will break through the gates of Damascus. I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the ruler of Beth-Eden. Then the Syrians will be dragged as prisoners to Kir. I, the LORD, have spoken!
   
6. The LORD said: I will punish Philistia for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. They dragged off my people from town after town to sell them as slaves to the Edomites.
   
7. That's why I will burn down the walls and fortresses of the city of Gaza.
   
8. I will destroy the king of Ashdod and the ruler of Ashkelon. I will strike down Ekron, and that will be the end of the Philistines. I, the LORD, have spoken!
   
9. The LORD said: I will punish Phoenicia for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. They broke their treaty and dragged off my people from town after town to sell them as slaves to the Edomites.
   
10. That's why I will send flames to burn down the city of Tyre along with its fortresses.
    
11. The LORD said: I will punish Edom for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. They killed their own relatives and were so terribly furious that they showed no mercy.
    
12. Now I will send fire to wipe out the fortresses of Teman and Bozrah.
    
13. The LORD said: I will punish Ammon for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. In Gilead they ripped open pregnant women, just to take the land.
    
14. Now I will send fire to destroy the walls and fortresses of Rabbah. Enemies will shout and attack like a whirlwind.
    
15. Ammon's king and leaders will be dragged away. I, the LORD, have spoken!

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The prophesy of Amos is directed at six nations besides Judah and Israel. While the judgments against Judah and Israel related to breaking their covenant with the Lord, those against the other six nations related to their treatment of Judah and Israel. Some theologians say that these nations, too, had broken a covenant with God, meaning the covenant God made with all mankind following the flood of Noah's day. In that covenant, God said. "Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image." (Genesis 9:6) These nations had definitely shed man's blood, and Amos' prophesy speaks of their own blood being shed.

The first nation at whom Amos directed his attention was Aram whose capital city was Damascus which is named in this judgment. Their sin was harsh treatment of Gilead, one of the Israelite tribes. They had threshed Gilead much as wheat was threshed with a heavy sledge. Punishment of Damascus would begin with fire, as was the case with the other six non-Jewish nations. Fire would consume the king's palace and citadels, the city gates would be torn down and the invading army would flood into the city and the people of Aram would be exiled.

Next in Amos' prophesy was Philistine whose major cities included Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron, which are mentioned in this judgment. The sin of the Philistines was their exiling of whole communities and handing them over to Edom, which amounted to slave trading. As with Aram, judgment would begin with fire annihilating their cities. The Lord would completely destroy Philistine.

The judgment on Tyre points to the nation of Phoenicia. Tyre's sin of slave trading with whole communities of exiles went even further than did that of Gaza, for the people of Tyre broke a treaty with the people they took captive. It was a treaty of brotherhood which likely united them against their enemies and made a pact not to turn on each other. It was probably Israel with whom they had their treaty. But tyre broke it, attacking these people, taking them exile, and handing them over to another nation as slaves. Tyre's judgment was much like that of Gaza. The city of Tyre was to be burned and the people taken captive. Alexander the Great did this in 332 b.c., killing 6,000 people outright, crucifying another 2,000, and selling 30,000 as slaves.

Amos turned his prophetic judgment next against Edom. Edom had been a persistent antagonist of Israel carrying over from the hatred of one brother, Esau, against another brother, Jacob, who had tricked Esau out of his birthright. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau and persistently carried on this hatred toward Israel which consisted of the descendants of Jacob. Edom did not simply harbor hatred toward Israel, but pursued it at every opportunity they had to inflict injury on Israel. The fulfillment of this judgment on Edom turned the nation into a wasteland.

The sin of the Ammonites was different from the other nations mentioned in Amos' prophesies. Though the nation may have also exiled people and sold them into slavery, the sin at which this judgment was aimed was the nation's practice of ripping open pregnant women, killing defenseless women and unborn children. These acts had no defense as necessary acts of war, they were plain and simple acts of terror. Nor did their warfare involve self-preservation. They engaged in war simply to extend their borders.

As for Ammon's punishment, Rabbah, their leading city, would be set afire by their attackers and a violent wind would fan the flames, consuming everything. Their king and officials would be taken captive.