POSTED 15 JULY, 2011

The Message of Amos

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

While the Book of Amos appears later in the book order of the Tanach or Old Testament, the prophetic words it contains, about what is to befall the people of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel, were actually delivered about a generation or so before those of Hosea. Today’s Messianic Believers are largely familiar with various parts of Amos’ declarations (i.e., 9:11-12), and probably repeat various statements that the Prophet makes without fully knowing it (3:3, 7). Yet, how much improvement can be made by simply reviewing a summary of its nine chapters? It is likely that while Amos is by no means unappreciated, that all of us have missed a few key points, by not considering the wider scope of its message. What are some of the known and unknown lessons that the Book of Amos has to teach us?

The Prophet Amos is stated to be “one of the shepherds of Tekoa,” who served during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam II of Israel (1:1). He served the Lord in a time of great prosperity, but also considerable opulence, for both of the Kingdoms of Israel. That Amos has a message from God which must be heeded by all is certainly seen as one begins reading his declarations: “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers” (1:2). Judgment that will be dispensed by the God of Israel is first stated against Israel’s neighbors, including: Damascus, the Philistines, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab (1:3-2:3). Much of this was all seen in ancient times, via the expansion of the Assyrian Empire, and later the Babylonian Empire, as the regional clout of these different small powers was all stifled.

While it can probably be debated among readers and examiners to what degree the enemies of Israel fell in the ancient period—to Assyria, Babylon, or even Persia, Greece, and Rome from a later time—what cannot be debated among readers is how the Northern and Southern Kingdoms are listed right along with their pagan neighbors as deserving judgment. The sins committed by the Southern Kingdom of Judah are listed first, along with the penalties to be meted out by God:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem’” (2:4-5).

God’s judgment is also sure to come upon the Northern Kingdom. While it may be safely assumed that these people are just as guilty as the Southern Kingdom for dismissing His Instruction and committing idolatry, Amos is rather specific how the poor have been abused:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines” (2:6-8).

In this word issued against the Northern Kingdom, the rich have abused others, as “they sell the righteous for money” (2:6, NASU), and a father and son use the same prostitute.

God’s judgment upon all the people, of both the Kingdoms of Israel, can be assured as He has defeated the Amorites (2:9). While He brought these Israelites’ ancestors out of Egypt, leading them into the Promised Land (2:10), and has raised up prophets and Nazirites to direct their attention back to Him (2:11-12), the tenor is that the chosen people have missed all of the prophetic warnings issued. As God says, “Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes loaded with grain. The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day” (2:13-16).

The Prophet Amos, speaking for the Lord, will issue a wide number of rebukes against the people of Israel. Given the time of his delivering these prophecies in the Eighth Century B.C.E., one needs to read carefully, because sometimes they are specified against the Southern Kingdom or the Northern Kingdom. What makes this confusing is that the Northern Kingdom is itself called “Israel,” requiring one to remember context. That the Lord is displeased against all of His people cannot be disputed, but which judgments are to befall which people, requires some careful attention to detail. Some of the punishment to be issued against “Israel,” might only be to the Northern Kingdom, and not necessarily the Southern Kingdom.

The major rebukes against God’s chosen ones begin with the decree, “Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt” (3:1). Kol-ha’mishpachah would obviously be a reference to all of Israel, of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The Lord says, “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins” (3:2). With Israel’s status of being God’s own, has come some significant responsibilities of obedience to His Torah and loyalty to Him, which they have all squandered away. The need for Israel and its God to be of one accord is intensified by the word, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (3:3). The trust that Israel and God were to have together has now been broken. Warning signs have been issued (3:4-5), including Divine judgment on Israel’s enemies (3:8-10), but they have been largely unheeded. It is emphasized how “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (3:6), but how many of Amos’ generation will truly take heed?

Not taking the Lord’s word seriously, He says, “An enemy will overrun the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses” (3:11). Some degree of saving will be possible, “As a shepherd saves from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved…” (3:12a), but these people are specified to be “those who sit in Samaria” (3:12b), meaning those of the Northern Kingdom. The word continues, stating, “Hear this and testify against the House of Jacob” (3:13), which would seemingly concern both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. Yet when we see, “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel…” (3:14a), this regards the judgment of one of the two worship centers of the Northern Kingdom, originally established by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:29) upon its secession from the Southern Kingdom. Still, all of the House of Jacob was to surely heed this message. Even with a wide number of Amos’ decrees issued against the Northern Kingdom, those in the Southern Kingdom were to still pay attention—as they are by no means entirely innocent.

Amos taunts those with power and money in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, calling them “you cows of Bashan” (4:1a). While men are quite guilty of committing sin, this is specifically directed toward “you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, ‘Bring us some drinks!’” (4:1b). These people will be taken away with hooks and fishhooks (4:2-3), a sure indication of the exile to later be enacted by Assyria. God cares nothing about the empty sacrifices or offerings of the Northern Kingdom (4:4-5). Even with some degree of drought and a food shortage present, the people will still not turn to God (4:6-9). The kind of plagues initiated by the Lord were to draw the attention to previous scenes of judgment, like what was inflicted upon Egypt (4:10) or even Sodom and Gomorrah (4:11). No return to the Lord and to His ways has been or will be seen. And so what does He say to the Northern Kingdom? Something very sober:

“‘Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.’ He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is his name” (4:12-13).

While most Bibles render Amos 4:12 with “prepare to meet your God,” it needs to be noted how the verb qara, appearing in the Qal stem (simple action, active voice), largely means “meet, encounter” (BDB).[1] A better English rendering, with God’s judgment inevitable, might instead be “prepare to encounter your God,” which draws a reader’s attention to how previous sinful powers have all “met” with Him via vengeful encounters before.

As serious as meeting or encountering the Lord will be for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, to now be regarded as “Fallen…Virgin Israel, never to rise again” (5:1), there are appeals made to repentance. While betulat Yisrael might apply to the Southern Kingdom as well, and its people should surely have been listening, that the Northern Kingdom is specifically in view in ch. 5 is seen from the references to Bethel (5:5), the House of Joseph (5:6), and the remnant of Joseph (5:15). The severity of what is coming is witnessed in the decree, “The city that marches out a thousand strong for Israel will have only a hundred left; a town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left” (5:3). Does this mean that when the judgment comes, ninety percent of the population of the Northern Kingdom will become collateral damage to Assyria? The point made is that regardless of the specific numbers, the population will be considerably reduced when the calamity from God arrives. One does not get the impression that a huge number will go into exile (5:5). While the people are admonished, “Seek the LORD and live,” what will transpire for most is “he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire” (5:6), issuing His sure punishment (5:7-9) on those who have rejected the ways of righteousness. The Northern Kingdom’s main sins of oppressing the poor and the needy worker, and subverting justice, are lamented:

“[Y]ou hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth. You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts” (5:10-12).

Within such a scene of corruption, all Amos can observe is how “the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil” (5:13). All who are hearing his prophetic utterances are directed, “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” (5:14-15a). A word of mercy being issued to the remnant of Joseph, which may presumably survive through the coming catastrophe (5:16-17), is pleaded (5:15b). Amos 5:18-20, which follows, are commonly quoted words when it comes to the end-times and how to approach them properly:

“Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as through he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?”

The challenge with reading Amos 5:18-20 is not discerning that the Day of the Lord is not something that any person should wish for or rejoice over. It isn’t. The challenge is that in the Bible there are multiple aspects of the Day of Lord, some of which pertain to whenever God enacts judgment upon His people or the world, and many others which pertain to the definitive moment when Yeshua the Messiah will return and defeat His Earthly enemies. While Amos 5:18-20 can surely be applied in a general sense to warning people against somehow desiring the apocalypse to occur, what would this have meant to the original, Eighth Century B.C.E. recipients of Amos’ decrees? Hopefully, there were those who were sincerely stimulated to repentance, because the tenor of Amos 5:21-27 suggests that the whole of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms is in view here:

“‘I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god—which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,’ says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty” (5:22-27).

While the Northern Kingdom would be the first to face calamity via Assyria, the Southern Kingdom would too face judgment, and be carried into exile beyond Damascus. As the Prophet says to both of them together, with Joseph’s judgment impending:

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end” (6:6-7).

While Amos chides these people for their wanton luxury, as they seemingly get fatter and fatter as they suck the life out of the population at large—how are we to take the statement that they do not grieve over Joseph, and that they will be the first to go into exile? Both those in Zion and Samaria, the Southern and Northern Kingdoms, are issued this word (6:1). It is sometimes overlooked that in the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by Assyria, some from the Southern Kingdom of Judah were likewise taken away.[2] There is nothing in the text that would stand against some of the corrupt figures of the Southern Kingdom going in the first exile along with the Northern Kingdom. The key charge, regardless of how Amos 6:6-7 is viewed in terms of the audience, is how “they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph” (6:6, TNIV). The rich and powerful just don’t care—or even give a proverbial “damn”—about what happens. Because the momentary fleshly urges of these people are met, will they hear the Lord’s issuance of judgment upon the whole Land of Israel?

“The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it. If ten men are left in one house, they too will die. And if a relative who is to burn the bodies comes to carry them out of the house and asks anyone still hiding there, “Is anyone with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD.” For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’ For the LORD God Almighty declares, ‘I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah’” (6:8-14).

The need to read the Book of Amos very carefully, as judgment is sure to befall both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel is apparent, is witnessed in Amos 7:1-9. Here, we see how the Lord will raise up a swarm of locusts against “my people Israel,” ami Yisrael (7:8). But, it is the house of Jeroboam—those of the Northern Kingdom—who will mainly suffer this judgment:

“This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king's share had been harvested and just as the second crop was coming up. When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, ‘Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’ So the LORD relented. ‘This will not happen,’ the LORD said. This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. Then I cried out, ‘Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!’ So the LORD relented. ‘This will not happen either,’ the Sovereign LORD said. This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ ‘A plumb line,’ I replied. Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.’”

Why does it seem that there is such confusing language used? It might be as simple as how all of the people in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms are to pay attention to Amos’ words, that all will soon experience some degree of disaster, but the Northern Kingdom will experience the main brunt of it. This is realized as the false priest Amaziah of Bethel, sends word to King Jeroboam of the Northern Kingdom of the prophetic words that Amos has been issuing (7:10-17). The further word about “my people Israel” described as “A basket of ripe fruit (8:2), along with the references seen to “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing” (8:3), and “Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land” (8:4), would seem general enough to apply to the Northern and Southern Kingdoms combined (8:5-12). However, the oracle of ch. 8 ends with the word, “They who swear by the shame of Samaria, or say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan’…” (8:13), necessarily implying that the principal intended audience of much of Amos’ message, are those of the Northern Kingdom.

The section of Amos, that receives the most amount of attention by examiners, is actually ch. 9. No one can deny how there is a general theme of Divine punishment witnessed upon Israel (9:1-6), but which Israel is it? Amos 9:7-8 details,

“‘Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites?’ declares the LORD. ‘Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir? Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth—yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,’ declares the LORD.”

This is a word that seems to generally speak of the calamity that God will issue upon His people, for all the sins they have committed against Him. Following this, though, we see Him decree how “I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground. All the sinners among my people will die by the sword, all those who say, ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us’” (9:9-10). Is this House of Israel those of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms? Or, is it just those of the Northern Kingdom, with the Assyrian exile in pending view?

While today, many readers of the Book of Amos might quickly skim through this passage and just assume that “Israel” automatically just equals the ancestors of today’s Jewish people—the original setting and context of Amos’ prophecies forces us to be a bit more specific than this. In fact, a variety of both Jewish and Christian commentators are keen to recognize how the House of Israel to be scattered b’kol-ha’goyim, is primarily those of the Northern Kingdom of Israel/Ephraim, and that the setting is the Assyrian exile of the Eighth Century B.C.E.:

·  Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: “The sinful kingdom is Israel; not merely the kingdom of the ten tribes however, but all Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes along with Judah, the house of Jacob or Israel, which is identical with the sons of Israel, who had become like the Cushites, although Amos had chiefly the people and kingdom of the ten tribes in his mind.”[3]

·  S.M. Lehrman: “Either the Northern Kingdom is convicted, or the whole nation, Judah as well as Israel, may perhaps now be included.”[4]

·  Douglas Stuart: “[T]he sinful kingdom must be the one Amos was preaching to: (northern) Israel…..The sifting spoken of in these verses will include ‘all the nations’ (~ywgh-lk). A time of general political upheaval (such as that of the Assyrian invasions of the 730s and 720s B.C.) will catch Israel, too, and provide the context for God’s judgment.”[5]

·  Billy K. Smith and Frank S. Page: “The context at least places the focus on the people to whom Amos preached, namely Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and especially the rulers….Apparently, then, ‘the sinful kingdom’ and ‘the house of Jacob’ are not identical. Israel, the sinful Northern Kingdom, would cease to exist as a nation, but a remnant of the people who were the descendants of Jacob would survive.”[6]

What are the implications for the House of Israel of Amos 9:9 principally being those of the Northern Kingdom? A generation later, the Prophet Hosea would put it this way: “Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like a worthless thing” (Hosea 8:8). Most of the Northern Kingdom would be taken away by Assyria into dispersion, and from that into all the nations. The Assyrian policy of forced assimilation would see to it that the majority of the exiles would forget their Israelite heritage within several generations. The future restoration, of the House of Israel/Ephraim with the House of Judah in the Last Days, is undeniably a major part of the Prophets’ expectation for Israel’s complete, corporate redemption (cf. Isaiah 11:12-16; Jeremiah 31:6-10; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Zechariah 10:6-10). Amos himself testifies to how the fallen Tent or mishkan of David will be rebuilt:

“‘In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name,’ declares the LORD, who will do these things” (9:11-12).

The ultimate completion of the restoration of David’s Tabernacle will see the exiles of Israel returned to their homeland, restored to prosperity and never to be rooted out again. That this is something yet to be seen in human history is quite obvious, even with the State of Israel present in the Middle East today. More is still to come…

The challenge with properly viewing Amos 9:11-12 is actually two-fold. The Hebrew sh’eirit Edom or “remnant of Edom” was actually rendered in the Greek Septuagint as hoi kataloipoi tōn anthrōpōn, “those remaining of humans” (NETS). This can be explained due to the close relationship of Edom to adam, the Hebrew term for mankind or humanity. Secondly, Amos 9:11-12 is directly appealed to by James the Just in the First Century C.E. deliberations of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:15-18), as part of the explanation over why many non-Jewish people have turned to faith in Israel’s Messiah. The salvation of the nations was recognized as a critical part of the restoration of all Israel. Such an Israel would involve those of the Northern Kingdom scattered into the captivity of the nations (9:15), and many from the nations themselves being incorporated into this restored people of God (9:12, LXX).

The basis of the Apostolic decree issued in Acts 15:19-21 from James is, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19). The words of the Prophets, including those of the nations coming to Zion to be taught God’s Torah (Micah 4:1-3; Isaiah 2:2-4) in the era of New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27), were to naturally play out, without the need to forcibly order the new, non-Jewish Believers (Acts 15:5, ESV). Not to be overlooked in Acts 15:19 is how the verb epistrephō often just rendered as “turning,” means not only “to change direction, turn around,” but also “to return to a point where one has been, turn around, go back” (BDAG).[7] Having placed the salvation of the nations within the expectations of Israel’s restoration, the words of Amos 9:14, “I will bring back my exiled people Israel”—which itself certainly includes those of the scattered Northern Kingdom, along with Judah (cf. Hosea 6:10-11)—are partially mirrored by James. The Hebrew verb shuv, “turn back, return” (BDB),[8] is rendered with epistrephō in the Greek LXX: “I will return [epistrephō] the captivity of my people Israel” (9:14, NETS).This would mean that the new, non-Jewish Believers coming to Messiah faith, were at least associated participants in a restoration of Israel involving both the Jewish people and those from the exiled Northern Kingdom. Notably, though, James did not try to sort out the details, but simply affirmed that “the words of the prophets” (Acts 15:15) were taking shape.[9]

When only read in bits and pieces here and there, there is much that today’s Believers—even Messianics—can miss from the Book of Amos. When read and summarized in a single sitting, we can more greatly appreciate the different dynamics of Amos’ prophecies. We can surely be challenged to dig into them a little deeper for some of their historic significance to an Eighth Century B.C.E. Israel, about to significantly be different in a generation.

Amos’ themes against the rich and powerful (2:6-8; 3:12; 4:1; 5:11-13; 6:4-7; 8:4-6), have been definitely appropriated throughout history since, and are noticeably detectable in a passage like James 5:4: “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” Various social justice movements, the Protestant Reformation, and even Zionism, have appreciated the message of Amos in many unique and important ways.

Hearing about the oppression of the poor and/or the exploitation of workers, is not popular in any generation—even today in a relatively “enlightened” Twenty-First Century, when in much of the West we tend to pride ourselves on taking care of the downtrodden. This is perhaps most sadly true in a professing “Christian America.” In some parts of our culture, especially among those who are a bit overly-capitalistic, those who work for fair wages and living conditions for workers, and honest business practices—are sometimes accused, even by evangelicals, of being “socialists” or “communists.” The fact remains, though, that Jews and Christians who have supported government legislation providing for some degree of care for the poor, needy, and homeless, have often used Amos to theologically support their views. While I myself do not believe in a subversion of capitalism, questions do exist about where the free market ends and not falling into the traps of the “fat cows” of Amos begins. When do we answer to the plight that is around us in the world?

For Messianics reading the Book of Amos, there are greater issues for us to consider beyond those of not falling into greed, wanton opulence, or disloyalty to the Lord. Have we carefully considered the Eighth Century B.C.E. time and setting of Amos’ prophecies, noting that the Northern and Southern Kingdoms are addressed, but with some references to “Israel” being to the Northern Kingdom? How do we approach Amos 9:11-12 and its usage by James in Acts 15:15-18? What details have we possibly left out? What areas are there for an improved, more textually and historically conscious reading?

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.

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