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Amos 1-5 Listen 
An introduction to Amos
Amos was a prophet during the reign of King Uzziah (790-739) of Judah and King Jeroboam II (793-753) of Israel. According to Amos 7:14, he was a shepherd and gatherer of Sycamore fruit, but he was called to go prophesy to the Northern Kingdom. Amos lived in Tekoa, 10 miles south of Jerusalem in the Southern Kingdom. Uzziah was a good king of Judah at first, but went astray during the latter part of his reign. Jeroboam II, of Israel, was always into pagan worship as were all the kings of the Northern Kingdom.
Judgment on Israel's neighbors (Amos 1:1-2:3)
1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 ¶ And he said:
“The LORD roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of Carmel withers.”
3 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,”
Says the LORD.
6 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
7 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn My hand against Ekron,
And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord GOD.
9 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
Which shall devour its palaces.”
11 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
12 But I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
13 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
Amid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
15 Their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the LORD.
2:1 Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
2 But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
3 And I will cut off the judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the LORD.
Assyria would soon come knocking on everyone's door in that region. Ultimately, all would fall to Assyria except for the walled city of Jerusalem itself. Amos is prophesying against these nations (including Israel and Judah) for their wickedness.
Following are his prophecies against Israel's neighbors:
Amos prophesies the imminent fall of all of these nations.
Incidentally, nothing is known regarding the earthquake of verse 1.
Judgment on Judah and Israel (Amos 2:4-16)
4 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Judah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have despised the law of the LORD,
And have not kept His commandments.
Their lies lead them astray,
Lies which their fathers followed.
5 But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
6 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for silver,
And the poor for a pair of sandals.
7 They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And pervert the way of the humble.
A man and his father go in to the same girl,
To defile My holy name.
8 They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
10 Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets,
And some of your young men as Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the LORD.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’
13 “Behold, I am weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the LORD.
We see the judgment against Judah in verses 4-5 and the judgment against Israel in verses 6-16. It is interesting to note that all of these nations fell to the Assyrian army. While Judah did fall, the stronghold of Jerusalem itself survived the Assyrians - only to fall to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.
Amos condemns four kinds of crimes in the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
Amos gives a brief historical overview of how Israel has arrived where they are in their alienation from God. They are reminded of their deliverance through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt and their conquest of Canaan in verses 9-10. They are being called into account for their ill treatment of the prophets of God and the Nazarites in verses 11-12, and Israel's defeat is pictured in verses 13-16.
How are we going to settle this? (Amos 3)
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord GOD has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?
9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the oppressed within her.
10 For they do not know to do right,’
Says the LORD,
“Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ”
11 ¶ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”
12 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
15 I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house;
The houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the LORD.
This chapter deals with the actual punishment of Israel i.e. their fall to the Assyrians. I think verse 7 is telling, "Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets." It should not be a surprise to Israel when they fall to the ravages of war; the prophets are there in advance to warn them. In verses 13-15 we see the Northern Kingdom's imminent fall to the Assyrians, the event that took place in 722/721 B.C. during the reign of King Hoshea of Israel (II Kings 17, see notes). Let's not lose sight of this reality: Israel fell because of their rejection of the principles of God.
Amos 3:3 is an oft-used verse to define acceptable relationships, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" The actual context here refers to Israel's broken fellowship with God and the resulting chastisement from God. Several illustrations from nature follow to demonstrate that it is within God's nature to deal with Israel's disobedience.
Notice the descriptive way Amos notes the fall of Israel in verse 14, "That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground." You will recall that Jeroboam established his new religion for Israel with one of the altars located in Bethel (I Kings 12:25-33, see notes). Bethel gets special mention here.
A message to some over-indulged wives (Amos 4:1-5)
1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to your husbands, “Bring wine, let us drink!”
2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will be cast into Harmon,”
Says the LORD.
4 “Come to Bethel and transgress,
At Gilgal multiply transgression;
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.
5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord GOD.
You gotta love verse 1, "Listen up, you cows of Bashan!" Look further and realize that he's prophesying concerning the wealthy women of Israel who have their Jewish husbands at their beck and call. They will be led away into captivity. The Hebrew word for "palace" (harmown) in verse 3 really literally refers to a high place (like a palace) - probably the mountain on the way from Israel to Assyria where straggling prisoners were dumped to die on the journey to Assyrian exile.
You've refused all the chances God has given you (Amos 4:6-13)
6 “Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities.
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the LORD.
7 “I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the LORD.
9 “I blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the LORD.
10 “I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the LORD.
11 “I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the LORD.
12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the wind,
Who declares to man what his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth—
The LORD God of hosts is His name.
Amos gives a history of chastisements from God for Israel's disobedience, but they did not turn back to God. These verses don't seem to be outlining the disobedience of previous generations, but Amos seems to be citing more recent demonstrations of God's chastisement; all were rejected by Israel. In verse 12 we see an oft-quoted phrase, "...prepare to meet your God..." This meeting is one of judgment for Israel's sin. They had chances to turn back to God, but they declined.
It's simple; just seek the Lord (Amos 5:1-17)
1 Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.
3 ¶ For thus says the Lord GOD:
“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”
4 ¶ For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me and live;
5 But do not seek Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And Bethel shall come to nothing.
6 Seek the LORD and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7 You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
8 He made the Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
The LORD is His name.
9 He rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor
And take grain taxes from him,
Though you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the LORD God of hosts will be with you,
As you have spoken.
15 Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
It may be that the LORD God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 ¶ Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
And skillful lamenters to wailing.
17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For I will pass through you,”
Says the LORD.
Here, Israel is exhorted to seek the Lord to avert judgment. Wow! After all of Israel's rejection of God, they are offered another chance to make it right. Notice verse 4, "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: 'Seek Me and live.'" Amos encourages them not to depend on the cultic centers of worship in verse 5, but on God in verse 6 where he again says, "Seek the LORD and live." In verse 8 they are again encouraged to "seek him" who made the universe. The penalty for not doing so? Assyrian captivity! Isn't it interesting that Israel always chose to hate the messengers (the prophets) rather than heed them. Are we ourselves not living in a day when those voices in our world who are calling for a return to the principles of God are dismissed as wackos and hate mongers? Some things never change. Notice verse 14, "Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken."
Be careful what you wish for! (Amos 5:18-27)
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
For what good is the day of the LORD to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I despise your feast days,
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
24 But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.
25 “Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You also carried Sikkuth your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,”
Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.
Notice the rebuke of Amos to many in Israel in verse 18, "Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light." "Bring on that day of the Lord," many in Israel cried. They were looking for a day when all of Israel's enemies would be defeated. In their minds, an enemy of Israel was an enemy of God. Here's what they did not realize: they had set themselves up as enemies of God also. The "day of the Lord" they were looking for was coming, but it would engulf them along with the surrounding nations. That "day" was the day the Assyrians would show up and take them into captivity and ravage their land and houses. The "captivity beyond Damascus" is the northern route they took past Damascus, then east to Assyria. So, while the misguided people of Israel were looking forward to the "day of the Lord," little did they realize that this would mark their own destruction.
By the way, Stephen quotes from this passage in his message before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:42-43 (see notes). He uses it to demonstrate that the fall of Israel was to be preceded by wide-spread idolatry, just as Amos had prophesied.