Bible Commentaries
Amos 3

Verses 1-8

Amo 3:1-8

Egypt and Philistia Summoned To

Witness the judgment against Israel (Amos 3:1-8)

“Hear this word that Jehovah hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I know of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities” (Amos 3:1-2).

God had chosen Abraham to bring forth His seed promise by which all nations would be blessed with the opportunity of having their sins forgiven. Abraham’s descendants became a great nation because Abraham had obeyed the commandments of God (cf. Genesis 22:18). Righteousness was reckoned unto Abraham due to his heart of faith and obedience (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3).

The reason for their punishment is due to their relationship to God. The Lord, by sovereign choice, had chose Israel to be His people. He revealed His mind to them and blessed them with protection, sustenance, land, fruitfulness of land and womb yet they had disrespect and irreverence toward His holy name. No other nations had these blessings aside from Israel. Due to this arrangement and the opportunities afforded Israel the Lord must now punish them for their gross disobedience.

“Shall two walk together, except they have agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is set for him? Shall a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all? Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it? Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared; who will not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken; who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:3-8).

In relation to the word of prophesy spoken against Israel, in that Jehovah shall visit them in judgment due to their iniquities, the prophet now poses questions that when answered they will understand that their punishment is just.

Can two people walk together in friendship and unity if there are serious disagreements between the two (see study # 3; Bible Fellowship)? Of course not. Thereby God and Israel do not agree and cannot peacefully walk together.

The roar of the lion and the young lion are indicators of captured prey. The lion does not roar without the prey. God’s roaring, through the prophets, are indicators that Israel (His prey) is in sight.

Israel is likened unto a bird caught in a snare trap and there is no escape. The sound of the warning trumpet is sounded and surely there is fear as a product. Israel’s problem is that she fears not. When evil has befallen Israel they ought to understand that it was of the sovereign God’s will.

God has revealed these things through the prophets. The Lion, God, has roared and Israel ought to be trembling in fear.

Why did Israel, as a whole of God’s people, not repent? There was no fear of God before her eyes (cf. Jeremiah 2:19; Jeremiah 5:24). The Lord has revealed the secrets of his thoughts to the prophets.

Verses 9-15

Amo 3:9-15

Retribution Toward Israel Observed

By The Defiled Nations of Egypt and Asdod

(Amos 3:9-15)

“Publish ye in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults are therein, and what oppressions in the midst thereof. For they know not to do right, saith Jehovah, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces” (Amos 3:9-10).

God calls the defiled nations of Egypt and Philistia (Ashdod) to assemble upon high mountains to observe the chaos in Israel.

The wickedness of Samaria, the capital city of Israel, had attained such a level of filth that the godless nations of Egypt and Philistia are called upon to look at them with disgust. Israel was filled with tumults of disorderliness among a people who set aside the law that governed them. Israel received gain by oppressions against the weaker and less fortunate among them.

Israel did not “know to do right” because they had forgotten all about God. A society filled with violence, thievery, chaos, and oppression is one that is governed by the will of the individual. Such a society will see few survive; i.e., the strongest and most deceptive.

“Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: an adversary there shall be, even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be plundered” (Amos 3:11).

Due to Israel’s irreverence, ungratefulness, and ignorance of the laws of God they shall be destroyed. The princes, kings, priests and all those of authority who have contributed to such a despotic state of mind shall be brought down and the city plundered by an enemy. The “adversary” would be the Assyrians (i.e., the “rod of mine anger” [Isaiah 10:5]).

“Thus saith Jehovah: as the shepherd rescueth out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed” (Amos 3:12).

The entire body of Israel will be devoured by the Assyrian lion save a few legs and an ear. The idea is that a small remnant will be spared.

The Lord tells us that the reason for the small number being saved is that the majority have approached life having considered that their luxuries and wealth should save them. Their minds were intoxicated with the things of this world and thereby did not consider God’s will for them. “During the reign of Jeroboam II the northern kingdom reached its zenith of wealth and power with the attendant results of luxury and excess, a situation reflected constantly in the prophetic visions of Amos” (ISBE v. 1, pp. 115).

“Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts. For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah” (Amos 3:13-15).

The Day of Judgment comes to Israel due to her transgressions. The judgment against Israel will be thorough and include Bethel, the place where Jeroboam I had set up a calf idol to worship God (cf. 1 Kings 12:25 ff).

Many inhabitants had come to be so rich that they owned not only homes in the cities but homes in which they spent winter and summer in. Some of their houses were laced with the luxuries of ivory. Again, the mind of Israel was on wealth, power, and everything of this world. God was far removed from their mind (cf. Hosea 4:6).