Bible Commentaries
Amos 3

Verses 1-8

The Covenant Relationship Between YHWH And His People (Amos 3:1-8 ).

The covenant relationship between YHWH and His people is revealed in this carefully constructed passage in which there is constant reference to that relationship in one way or another. It can be analysed as follows:

a Hear this word that YHWH has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt (Amos 3:1).

b “Saying, ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth.’ Therefore I will visit on you all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).

c “Will two walk together, except they have agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

d “Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?” (Amos 3:4).

d “Can a bird fall in a snare on the earth, where no gin is set for him? Will a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?” (Amos 3:5).

c “Will the ram’s horn be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Will evil befall a city, and YHWH has not done it?” (Amos 3:6).

b “Surely the Lord YHWH will do nothing, except he reveal his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

a “The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord YHWH has spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8).

Note that in ‘a’ YHWH has spoken His word against the whole family (Israel and Judah) whom He brought out of the land of Egypt, and in the parallel the Lion has roared, for the Lord YHWH has spoken. In ‘b’ the special relationship between YHWH and His people is emphasised, and in the parallel the special relationship between YHWH and His prophets. In ‘c’ for two to walk together they must be in agreement, and in the parallel the now disobedient people are afraid and it is YHWH Who has done it (because they were no longer in agreement). Centrally in ‘d’ we have a picture of the Lion Who has taken His prey, Who is contrasted with the people who like birds have fallen into the snare.

Amos 3:1-2

The Call For Israel To Consider YHWH’s Special Relationship With Them A Relationship Which Makes Special Demands Upon Them (Amos 3:1-2 ).

“Hear this word that YHWH has 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 known of all the families of the earth.’ Therefore I will visit on you all your iniquities.”

‘Hear this word that YHWH has spoken ---’ emphasises the seriousness of what he is about to say, and introduces a new oracle. What YHWH has spoken will surely come about. The language in these verses connects the children of Israel up with Exodus 20:2, ‘I am YHWH your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt ’, and thus with the covenant of Sinai. Furthermore at that time YHWH had seen them as ‘My son, My firstborn’ (Exodus 4:22). They were His family (Deuteronomy 14:1 - ‘you are the sons of YHWH your God’). They were to be ‘My own treasured possession among all peoples’ (Exodus 19:5). And He had ‘known them’ (Genesis 18:19) uniquely out of ‘all the families of the earth’ (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 28:14 -both Judah and Israel are now in mind) in order that they might be a blessing to the world. They may have considered that that put them in a privileged position, a position which made them feel superior, and to a certain extent it was true, but YHWH wanted them to know that it in fact put them in a dangerous position. For how can two (YHWH and Israel) walk together except they be agreed? Thus it was precisely because they were His chosen and elect people that He would visit on them ‘all their iniquities’ which were to be seen as totally inexcusable in those whom YHWH has chosen. They above all were seen to be without excuse.

‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth.’ This phrase ties up very much with YHWH’s first call to Abraham. His purpose then had been that through His ‘knowing’ Abraham ‘all the families of the earth’ would be blessed (see Genesis 12:3 combined with Genesis 18:19). And this was later confirmed to Israel (Jacob) in Genesis 28:14 which indicates that ‘all the families of the earth’ are waiting for the blessing that will come on them through Abraham’s and Israel’s (Jacob’s) seed. And that would be because of YHWH’s special ‘knowing’ of Abraham, and through him his seed (see Genesis 18:19). And in Genesis 18:19 we are told that YHWH had distinctively ‘known’ Abraham with the express understanding that he would command his children and his household, and their descendants, to keep the way of YHWH, and to do justice and righteousness, so that by that means they might be a blessing to all the families of the earth. In other words such elective knowledge by YHWH made great demands on them. And it was through obedient response to those demands that blessing should have come on all the families of the earth. That was why their disobedience was so heinous.

In the same way we who are ‘elect according to the foreknowledge of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit unto the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood’ (1 Peter 1:1-2) are bound to that obedience, and those who have been ‘chosen in Him before the foundation of the world’ have been so in order that they may be ‘holy and without blame before Him in love’ (Ephesians 1:4). It puts us under a great responsibility.

Amos 3:3-8

A Series Of Questions In Which Israel Are Asked To Consider The Consequences Of Their Situation (Amos 3:3-8 ).

Some see these question as simply illustrating cause and effect from everyday examples, with the aim of seeking to obtain a negative reply from each question until at last Amos suddenly puts in the crunch question (Amos 3:6 b). And for some of his listeners that might well have been how they saw it. (Each receives what he is willing to hear). But when we consider that Amos had initially opened his prophecy with a reference to YHWH as acting like a lion (‘YHWH will roar from ZION, and utter His voice from Jerusalem’ - Amos 1:2), and applies a similar parallel in Amos 3:8 (the lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord YHWH has spoken who can but prophesy?’), the context demands that we see in them more than that. The roaring of the lion must surely be seen as indicating that YHWH was speaking to his people. And what more effective picture of the future of sinful Israel than that of a frightened bird caught in a snare? Thus we see each question as being pregnant with significance in the context. With this in mind let us first look at them as a whole.

Amos 3:3-6

“Will two walk together, except they have agreed?”

“Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?”

Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?”

Can a bird fall in a snare on the earth, where no gin is set for him?

Will a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?”

Will the ram’s horn be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid?

Will evil befall a city, and YHWH has not done it?”

Like the parables of Jesus the questions at first appear to be dealing with commonplaces, but once we pierce underneath them we discover that each line has a special significance in context. How can YHWH and Israel walk together unless they are in agreement? Does not the roaring of YHWH indicate that a prey has been caught (Israel). Will not the fall of Israel indicate that a snare had been set for them by YHWH? Can His snare fail in the accomplishing of His purpose, the ensnaring of Israel?

The final two lines then apply the ‘hidden’ meaning more openly as they draw attention to the besieging of a city. The sounding of the ram’s horn is a signal of danger threatening, warning all to flee to the refuge of the city. And when evil comes on a city it is the sign that YHWH is active against it. Thus what is to happen to Israel will be proof positive that it is YHWH Who is acting against them. With this in mind we shall therefore consider the statements line by line:

Amos 3:3

“Will two walk together, except they have agreed?”

While this is certainly a general saying indicating the importance of two people agreeing if they are to walk together, for it is true that no two people will continually stay together unless they are at one with each other, in context its significance goes much deeper than that. For in the light of Amos 3:1-2 YHWH is pointing out that He and His people cannot walk together in the covenant, in spite of His ‘knowing’ them, unless they are both in agreement about the need to walk together. Indeed His purpose in ‘knowing’ them had specifically been in order that they might walk in agreement with Him. And that they are not in such agreement has come out by the fact of their iniquities.

‘Walking with or before YHWH’ is a regular Scriptural picture of His people walking in obedience with or before Him. Consider, for example, Genesis 5:24; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 17:1; Leviticus 26:12; Leviticus 26:27-28; Deuteronomy 11:22; Deuteronomy 13:4; Deuteronomy 23:14; 1Sa 2:30 ; 1 Samuel 2:35; 2 Samuel 7:7; 1 Kings 2:4; 1 Kings 8:25; 1 Kings 9:4. And the idea of ‘walking in His ways’ appears more times than we could mention. Thus what is in mind here is that YHWH and His people cannot walk together, because His people are walking in iniquity.

In other words, referring back to Amos 3:1-2, Amos is pointing out that if they had wished to enjoy the blessing of being ‘known’ by YHWH as Abraham had been, they should have walked with Him with a like mind and a similar obedience, instead of walking in the way of iniquity. And it was because of those iniquities that YHWH could no longer walk with them. Their sinfulness had made it impossible. For those people whom YHWH has ‘known’ do walk in His ways, as Abraham did. (In the words of Jesus, ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me ---’ (John 10:28)).

Amos 3:4

“Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?”

Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?”

With Amos 1:2 in mind this is pointing out that YHWH would not have roared from Zion had He not had a prey in mind. Nor would He have roared through His prophets unless He had intended to fulfil what they said (Amos 3:7). Thus the fact that YHWH is now roaring at them demonstrates that He sees them as a prey which He has taken, and means that they should therefore consider that that in itself demonstrated their precarious position.

Amos 3:5

Can a bird fall in a snare on the earth, where no gin is set for him?

Will a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?”

Thus Israel should consider that the fact that they are to be taken in a snare is proof positive that it is YHWH Who has set a snare for them, and that when that snare is sprung it will not fail to catch its prey (of course earthly hunters regularly came across snares which had been sprung and had taken nothing, but Amos’s point is that it will not happen with the divine Hunter). In other words their coming fall is inevitable.

Amos 3:6

Will the ram’s horn be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid?

Will evil befall a city, and YHWH has not done it?”

The sudden intensification in thought that occurs here is brought out by a change in the interrogative particle to ’im from ha. Now we are getting down to the patent facts. The blowing of a ram’s horn in a city for no apparent reason would immediately strike fear into the hearts of those who heard it (compare 1 Kings 1:41). In those days no one blew a ram’s horn for fun. It was a serious matter. And if it was unexpected (and not the regular blowing of rams’ horns at a suitable feast) it clearly indicated danger, and people would be afraid. Those within the city would know that they should prepare for siege. Those outside the city would know that they should flee into the city for refuge. And in the same way now that YHWH was blowing His ram’s horn through his prophets Israel would do well to fear (‘the lion has roared, who will not fear?’ - Amos 3:8). Let them then listen to Amos’s warning. Let them recognise that the evil that he has prophesied against Israel will actually be due to the activity of YHWH and will certainly come upon them. Indeed nothing happens without YHWH’s say-so, for all is under His control, so that they will then know that it is YHWH Who has acted against them.

Amos 3:7-8

He Assures Them That YHWH Does Nothing Without Revealing It To His Servants the Prophets So That They Need Not Be Caught Totally By Surprise By His Actions. However As YHWH Has Spoken Through The Prophets They Would Do Well To Take Heed (Amos 3:7-8 ).

Nevertheless he stresses that YHWH always gives forewarning. He never does anything without revealing it to His servants the prophets, and that with the intention of winning His people to repentance. And that is what He has done here. He has roared from Jerusalem (Amos 1:2). Should they not then be afraid? And it is because YHWH has spoken that the prophets must prophesy, even when forbidden to do so. It is Amos’s justification of his presence in Israel.

Amos 3:7

“Surely the Lord YHWH will do nothing, except he reveal his secret to his servants the prophets.”

These words stress the fairness and nobility of YHWH. While he owes men nothing, nevertheless He never does anything without giving due warning. Indeed that is why He has sent prophets. It was precisely in order to give warning so that men may have the opportunity to repent.

‘His servants the prophets.’ The phrase occurs a number of times in 2 Kings and regularly in Jeremiah. It occurs on the lips of the young prophet sent by Elisha on his approach to Jehu to prepare him for kingship (2 Kings 9:7), and in 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Kings 17:23 it is assumed as regularly used by prophets and seers prior to the fall of Samaria. There are no good grounds for denying it to Amos, (nor incidentally for calling it ‘Deuteronomic’).

Amos 3:8

“The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord YHWH has spoken, who can but prophesy?”

And in this present situation let his hearers be in no doubt. YHWH has roared (Amos 1:2), should they not then be afraid? And the Sovereign YHWH has spoken, and therefore His prophets must prophesy. Both are constrained, the people by fear and the prophets by YHWH. That is why he, a Judaean, has come from Judah bearing the burden of the Lord’s message. It is because he has been constrained by YHWH.

Verses 1-10

The Inevitability Of Judgment, Both Because Of What YHWH Is, And Because He Will Act (Amos 3:1-10 ).

Following up on the idea in Amos 2:9-10 Amos commences this section of his prophecy (introduced by ‘hear this word’ compare Amos 4:1; Amos 5:1), with a reminder of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and YHWH’s subsequent covenant with them at Sinai, which are the consequence of His having especially chosen them by entering into a covenant relationship with them (by His having ‘known them’), and emphasises the fact that One Who has revealed the fullness of His moral requirements in such a way must inevitably judge those who, having embraced them, ignored them. That is why Israel can be more certain of judgment than all the others who had previously been condemned in his sevenfold condemnation.

He then follows this declaration up with a list of contrasts which draw attention to the fact that each thing has its consequence, and the examples are carefully constructed to convey an important message. Thus two (a moral YHWH and a disobedient Israel) cannot walk together unless they are in agreement, which they patently are not. That is why YHWH is like a lion roaring over its prey (Amos 3:4; Amos 3:8), in contrast with Israel who are like a twittering bird caught in YHWH’s snare (Amos 3:5). And it is all because they are not walking in agreement. The people in the city hear the ram’s horn warning of danger, and are consequently afraid, thinking that the danger comes from an external source, while all the time the evil will come on them because YHWH, Who is like a lion towards those who behave wrongly, is responsible for what will happen to them (Amos 3:6). And all this He has revealed to His servants the prophets, with whom He is in agreement.

Foreign nations are then called on to witness what was to happen to YHWH’s people because they had failed to do what was right (Amos 3:9-10), for even pagan nations will recognise the depths of their sinfulness in treating YHWH as they have. The consequence will be that they will soon find themselves surrounded by enemies (Amos 3:11). Like a lion YHWH is about to eat up His erring people (Amos 3:12), and the scraps will be there to prove that it has happened.

The passage finally closes with a declaration that as a consequence YHWH will bring judgment on the false altars at Bethel, and on the palaces and mansions of the wealthy, because both of these are evidence of Israel’s failure to fulfil the covenant. And all this is as a result of the word of YHWH (‘says YHWH’).

Verses 9-15

Amos Puts Israel On Trial Before YHWH In The Presence Of Witnesses (Amos 3:9-15 ).

Amos begins by calling his witnesses together in Amos 3:9-10, giving his grounds for doing so, and then declaring YHWH’s own verdict on Israel in Amos 3:11-12 which describe the consequences that are to come on Israel as a result of their behaviour. This is then confirmed in Amos 3:13-15 which also make clear more grounds for Israel’s punishment. Note how they connect back to Amos 2:6.

Amos 3:9-10

Amos Calls On Foreign Peoples To Witness What Is To Happen To Israel, And Why (Amos 3:9-10 ).

Amos calls on the influential and the wealthy (those who live in palaces) in places like Egypt and Ashdod to assemble on the mountains of Samaria to witness for themselves what is happening in Israel, and what violence and oppression is taking place in Samaria. And it is because the people who live in palaces in Samaria are not ‘doing right’ (walking in accordance with His requirements), as is evidenced by their violence and the way in which they rob the poor.

Amos 3:9

“Publish you in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, ‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults are in it, and what oppressions amongst it.”

The call goes out to the palaces in Ashdod, an important Philistine city state, and to the palaces in the land of Egypt, for the wealthy and influential to gather as witnesses on the mountains of Samaria. YHWH is both seeking vindication for what He is about to do, and giving them their own warning as well. And they are being called on to consider the social conditions prevailing in prosperous Samaria, so as to justify YHWH’s action. It is a city of inexcusable violence, as the wealthy obtain what they want by force, and a city of oppressions, as the poor and helpless are swindled out of their possessions.

Ashdod has already been mentioned in Amos 1:8 and was presumably selected because it was the largest and most important of the city states in Philistia. (Note how Gaza had represented the whole of Philistia in Amos 1:6 and Damascus the whole of Aram in Amos 1:3. Thus the naming of a city as indicating also its wider area is typical of Amos). Its mention emphasises that the witnesses are not themselves unblemished, for Ashdod has already been condemned (Amos 1:8). And yet even they will be appalled at the behaviour in Samaria. Egypt was called on because it was seen as of especial political importance, and as an external witness. It was not directly involved in the sins of Israel, Judah and the surrounding nations as described in chapters 1-2. It was also possibly called on as the place from which Israel had emerged (Amos 3:1).

While LXX alters ‘Ashdod’ here to ‘Assyria’, presumably seeing it as a better parallel with Egypt, that is clearly wrong for two reasons. Firstly because it is Assyria who are to be the instruments of YHWH’s judgments, and Amos always avoids mentioning them, leaving the threat that they pose to the imagination, and secondly because Amos was looking around for witnesses near at hand, who had a political interest in the area. We might not see Ashdod as important from our distant perspective, but to Amos it was mighty Ashdod, representing the whole of Philistia. And along with Egypt it was conveniently situated to be called in as a witness in Samaria. Egypt had always been involved in Canaanite affairs, and in this case it was an independent witness (it has not previously been mentioned), and was important as the source from which Israel had come (Amos 3:1).

(If we argue that Amos did not know who YHWH’s instrument of punishment would be because Assyria was not yet looming on the horizon as an important factor, we must then further conclude that in his eye they were not important enough to mention here. We cannot have it both ways).

The plural ‘mountains of Samaria’ emphasises that all Samaria is involved. What is described is going on everywhere.

Amos 3:10

“For they know not to do right, says YHWH, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.”

What the two witnesses were to witness to was the failure of Israel to do what was ‘right’, in other words, what was in accordance with the Law of YHWH, something especially demonstrated by the influential and wealthy inhabitants in their use of violence and dishonest techniques in order to get what they wanted (as outlined in Amos 2:6-8). They could afford to employ bully boys, and had the influence to manipulate justice, thereby robbing the poor of their rights.

Amos 3:11-12

YHWH’s Verdict On Israel (Amos 3:11-12 ).

YHWH’s verdict on Israel is that an adversary will appear who will bring down Israel’s strength and plunder her palaces, and he then vividly portrays the consequences for Israel in that all that will be left of the wealthy and influential in Israel are ‘two legs and a piece of ear’.

Amos 3:11

“Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH. An adversary, even round about the land, and he will bring down your strength from you, and your palaces will be plundered.’

The consequence of Israel’s sin, and of YHWH’s intervention in her affairs, will be that they will have an adversary round about. The thought is of an invader who will occupy the land and surround Samaria. But the stress is on what that adversary will do. He will bring down their strength from them and will plunder their palaces (thus Samaria will fall). For ‘bring down their strength compare Leviticus 26:19, ‘I will break down the strength of your pride’. It may signify the smashing of their military strength, or the taking away of those things that they saw as making them ‘strong’. The plundering of their palaces is a case of them reaping what they have sowed, for they have plundered the poor.

Amos 3:12

“Thus says YHWH. As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so will the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.”

Amos then vividly portrays the hugeness of the disaster that will come on them in terms of what will be left of them once the Lion had finished with them. It was important for a shepherd to rescue parts of a sheep stolen by a lion so that he could prove what had happened to it, and that he himself had not stolen it. By producing parts of the animal he proved his innocence for the loss, even if it was only two legs or a piece of ear (Exodus 22:10-13). In the same way all that would be left of those who lived in luxury in Israel once YHWH had finished with them would be similar fragments, which would be evidence of what had happened to Israel.

It is possible that we should translate ‘with a corner of a couch and the leg of a bed’ (the meaning of the word for ‘leg’ or ‘silken cushions’ is uncertain). This would be a good parallel to the two legs and the piece of an ear of the dead sheep, demonstrating all that would be left of the Israelites.

Amos 3:13-15

The Witnesses Are Called On To Testify Against The House Of Jacob On The Basis Of What YHWH Will Do To The Instruments of Israel’s Sins (Amos 3:13-15 ).

Reference is probably being made here to the witnesses assembled in Amos 3:9. As a result of what they have seen they are to testify against Israel. What they will have seen is then described. It will be punishment for Israel’s transgressions (compare Amos 2:6), the cutting off of the horns of the false altars (thus rendering them useless), and the smiting of the luxury accommodation of the wealthy.

Amos 3:13

“Hear you, and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord YHWH, the God of hosts.”

The call here must surely be to the witnesses assembled in Amos 3:9. They are to listen to what YHWH has said and testify against ‘the house of Jacob’, which is of course another name for Israel (Jacob was also called Israel), and they are to do it at the command of YHWH, the sovereign Lord and God of Hosts (in this context the God of ALL hosts, even the hosts of Assyria) on the basis of what they see as taking place.

The description of Israel as ‘the house of Jacob’ linked them back to the promises given to the patriarchs which required that those benefiting by those promises must be righteous and just. Because of YHWH’s special ‘knowing’ of Abraham, and through him his seed (Amos 3:2; see Genesis 18:19), YHWH expected that Abraham (and his seed) would command his children and his household, and their descendants, to keep the way of YHWH, and to do justice and righteousness, so that by that means they might be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Thus that was what was expected of ‘the house of Jacob’ (Genesis 28:14), and it was what they had deliberately failed to achieve by their disobedience to the covenant.

The use of the name Jacob is interesting in Amos as it is used to emphasise what is worst in Israel, and how puny they are, and is spread throughout the book in a chiastic pattern which surely cannot be accidental. This emphasises the unity of the book. Thus we have:

a ‘The house of Jacob’ who are to be testified against (Amos 3:13).

b ‘The excellency (pride, manifested wealth) of Jacob’ which is hated by YHWH (Amos 6:8).

c ‘How shall Jacob stand?’ because he is so puny (Amos 7:2).

c ‘How shall Jacob stand?’ because he is so puny (Amos 7:5).

b ‘The excellency (pride, manifested wealth) of Jacob’ whose works will never be forgotten (Amos 8:7).

a ‘The house of Jacob’ who will nevertheless not be fully destroyed (Amos 9:8).

It will be noted how carefully the phrases are balanced as the argument goes forward.

Amos 3:14

“For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground.”

For what these witnesses see will be YHWH’s due punishment on Israel for its transgressions (as outlined in Amos 2:6 onwards). Included under the heading of these transgressions are the false altars of Bethel, where false syncretistic worship (Yahwism intermingled with Baalism) was being carried out. The very fact that there were plural altars increases the condemnation. Other gods apart from YHWH were being worshipped. And these altars would be rendered ineffective by having their horns (their sources of power, as the horns of a wild-ox were its source of power) cut off, so that the horns fell to the ground. Their power would be humbled before YHWH, and only a stump of the altar would be left (compare what happened to Dagon in 1 Samuel 5:1-5). A number of altars having these ‘horns’ or projections have been discovered in Palestine.

The horns of the altar were also the place where people could find a place of refuge so that they would be safe until they had had fair judgment (1 Kings 1:51). But this power would be removed from these altars because they represented false gods.

Amos 3:15

And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end, says YHWH.”

And along with the destruction of the false altars, would go the destruction of all Samaria’s luxury accommodation, including both winter houses and summer houses (the height of luxury), houses with panels inlaid with ivory and containing ivory inlaid furniture (compare 1 Kings 22:39), and all the other grand houses. All would ‘have an end, and that as a result of the word of YHWH.

Excavations in Samaria have laid bare many examples of such ‘ivory inlaid’ houses.