Amos 1

Amos describes in this chapter many sins against Israel. The surrounding countries are condemned for how they have treated Israel, the northern kingdom of Israel.

The surrounding countries are:

1. Syria
2. Philistia
3. Tyre
4. Edom
5. Ammon

Syria "threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron" (3). Ammon "ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their borders" (13).

Philistia "deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom" (6). Tyre "deliverd up an entire population to Edom" (9). Presumably this entire population is Israel. I wonder if Amos speaks of a past event or the future destruction of Israel, the future judgment of Israel.

Tyre and Edom both violate ties of kinship in destroying Israel. Tyre "did not remember the covenant of brotherhood" (9). Edom "pursued his brother with the sword" (11).

Perhaps this chapter is a vision of the future destruction of Israel at the hands of these surrounding nations. Even if they are instruments in the hands of God, to deliver His wrath upon Israel, still they will be punished.

Syria: "The people of Aram will go exiled to Kir" (5).

Philistia: "The remnant of the Philistines will perish" (8).

Tyre: "I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it will consume her citadels" (10).

Edom: "I will send fire upon Teman, and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah" (12)

Ammon: "I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah, and it will consume her citadels....Their king will go into exile, he and his princes together" (14-15).

Amos 9, 13-15

13. The LORD gives Amos a vision of the future. It is a future in which there is no waiting for the good things that we must wait for in this life. The good things will come immediately.

Instead of plowing and sowing and waiting and reaping--actually, this would make more sense if it said "the reaper will overtake the plowman"--but it says the reverse.

The treader of grapes overtakes the one who sows seed--that makes more sense as a way of describing immediate results.

"The mountains will drip sweet wine"--I guess that means that we will get wine without having to do the work of producing it.

"The hills will be dissolved"--I'm not sure what that means. Elsewhere I think it refers to the proud being humbled.

14. Here, the LORD says that He will "restore the captivity of My people Israel." Is that referring to a remnant of the northern kingdom--or is it a remnant of the southern kingdom? I thought the northern kingdom was under total condemnation, no one excepted, with no future restoration.

Here the LORD speaks of people returning to the land and planting vineyards, making gardens and enjoy the fruit thereof.

Which ruined cities will they be rebuilding? Those of the northern kingdom?

15. In the final verse, the LORD says that the LORD will plant the remnant back in the land and they will never again be removed from it, the land that the LORD gave them.

Is this a message of hope for the northern kingdom? Is there a faithful remnant? Or will the descendants of the scattered ones be a faithful remnant who will then return?

Does God Intervene in History?

John Fea's critique of The Light and the Glory in the July/August edition of Touchstone reminds me of the evolutionist's critique of intelligent design: just as we must confine ourselves to natural causes in understanding the origin of the species, we must do the same when understanding the events of American history.

It may be worth discussing in a bit more detail than Fea does the self-understanding of the participants in the War for Independence.

The Declaration of Independence itself expresses the view that God will be on the side of the Americans in the coming war: they embark on it "with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence." God is on the side of the Americans, not because He likes Americans better than he likes the British, but because the Americans are fighting to defend the unalienable rights with which they have been "endowed by their Creator." Fea seems to think that it is a fatal blow to this way of thinking to point out that British Christians were praying for the Americans' defeat. The Founders would no doubt have found it strange for someone to find, as Fea does here, a moral equivalency between liberty and tyranny. If God in fact gives people rights, presumably He prefers that system of government which is best able to secure them. Perhaps He even intervenes in history on the side of those who fight for it.

Fea wants us to dismiss the statements of the participants in these events, because to do otherwise would be to "fail to exemplify the historian's necessary detachment from his subject." Or because it "would be the equivalent of future historians arguing that the events of September 11, 2001 were a punishment from God because their sources--certain prominent television preachers--said so." Yet these statements were made not by preachers but by important Founders such as Washington and Franklin, intelligent men who were directly involved in these events and who (at least in Franklin's case) were not necessarily known for their great faith.

In the Constitutional Convention, for example, Benjamin Franklin speaks of his certainty that God fought on the side of the Americans: "In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. -- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor." In his first inaugural address, Washington does the same: "No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

Granted, we do not have to believe that what Franklin and Washington say is true just because they say it, but the detachment of a historian does not require us to assume that what they say is not true either. Perhaps we can take the approach of the scientist: in the Declaration, the Americans predict that God will fight on their side because they are fighting for liberty, and in the event, He apparently did.

Note: see also John Witherspoon: "It would be a criminal inattention not to observe the singular interposition of Providence hitherto, in behalf of the American colonies."

Amos 9, 7-12

7. The LORD denies that He has any special relationship with Israel anymore. They are no longer His chosen people, any more than the Philistines or the Arameans.

8. Israel is described as "the sinful kingdom." The LORD will "destroy it from the face of the earth." Some of the people of Israel will survive: "I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob."

9. God speaks of shaking the people of Israel "as grain is shaken in a sieve." Perhaps this means that the bad ones will sift through, but the good ones will not be destroyed, "not a kernel will fall to the ground." The good ones (relatively speaking) will be scattered "among all nations."

10. The bad ones will be destroyed: "all the sinners of My people will die by the sword." These are the ones who are confident that God will not judge them, "those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'"

11. Amos then turns to the southern kingdom, the house of Judah (I think). God says that He will restore a king to the throne of Judah: "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches, etc."

12. Then this restored kingdom will become an empire: it will "possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name."

Amos 9, 1-6

1. Amos sees the LORD standing next to an altar, presumably in a temple, a temple in the northern kingdom of Israel.

The LORD speaks of striking down the pillars of the the temple and bringing them down on those who worship there.

God will bring death upon all the people of Israel, none will escape: "they will not have a refuge who will flee or a refugee who will escape."

2. The people will not be able to escape from this destruction, even if they should get as far as Sheol or heaven. The LORD will find them and drag them back to experience the judgment that awaits all the people of Israel.

3. If even they should try to escape to the top of Mt. Carmel or the bottom of the sea, the LORD will bring this destruction upon them: "I will command the serpent and it will bite them."

4. Even if they should be captured by the enemy, the LORD will make sure that they die: "I will command the serpent and it will bite them."

God has abandoned this people: "I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good."

5. Amos describes the LORD here as one who brings destruction, who "touches the land so that it melts, and all those who dwell in it mourn."

Amos then repeats the image of the Nile flooding and then subsiding. I suppose this is an image of destruction coming through a place.

6. Amos then describes the LORD as being far greater than we are: He "builds His upper chambers in the heavens, and has founded His vaulted dome over the earth."

The LORD "calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth."

Amos 8, 11-14

11. God says that there will be a famine in Israel, not of food but of God's word, "hearing the words of the LORD.

Either there will be no prophets or the people will no longer listen to God's written word.

12. People will seek God's word, but will not find it. God will no longer speak to the people of Israel.

13. The young men and women of Israel will faint from thirst in that day of judgment, either literally or they will thirst for God's word.

14. The false god of Israel, the false God of Dan, is one of the reasons that the true God will judge them. This false god is "the guilt of Samaria." Those who swear by this false god will be destroyed, "will fall and not rise again."

Amos 8, 1-10

1. The LORD shows Amos a vision of summer fruit.

2. This is way of showing Amos that Israel will soon be destroyed and that there is no hope of repentance and rescue.

"The end has come for people Israel. I will spare them no longer."

Perhaps the summer fruit is ripe--so it looks fine now, but soon will be rotten.

3. The destruction will reach the king in his palace: "the songs of the palace will turn to wailing in that day."

Many will die: "Many will be the corpses; in every place they will cast them forth in silence."

4. A crime of Israel: there is no equal protection of the law for the weak and poor. The strong violate the rights of the weak: "Hear this, you who trample the needy to do away with the humble of the land."

5. The merchants cheat and steal from those who do business with them. They sell in quantities less than promised (and so can sell more and make more money): they "make the bushel smaller."

They also use false weights and so again sell less than promised. They also somehow inflate the currency--"make the shekel bigger." (?) When someone inflates the currency, it take more of it to buy the same amount of things.

6. It sounds as if the rich make slaves of the poor (who presumably become debtors): they "buy the helpless for money and the needy for a pair of sandals."

The merchants also sell poor quality wheat, "the refuse of the wheat."

7. Israel is proud and God will punish them for that. He will remember all of their wicked deeds.

8. The punishment of Israel will come: the land will quake "and everyone who dwells in it will mourn."

It will be like the Nile that swells and floods the land and then subsides. (?)

9. Literally or figuratively, God will make the daytime dark "in that day."

10. The people of Israel presently enjoy festivals and singing, but God will turn them into mourning and lamentation.

People will wear sackcloth and will shave their heads.

They will feel the deepest grief, as if they were mourning for the death of an only son.

Amos 7, 10-17

10-11. A priest of Bethel named Amaziah tells King Jeroboam that Amos is prophesying against Israel and saying that the LORD will destroy Israel and Jeroboam as well.

12. Amaziah tells Amos to go back to Judah and stop troubling the people of Israel.

13. Amaziah tells Amos that Bethel is "a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence" and so it is not a proper place for the kinds of things that Amos is saying.

I assume that this means that Bethel is a place where the King of Israel lives and worships.

14. Amos says that he is not a prophet, so there is no sense in telling him to stop prophesying. He is a farmer and a keeper of herds.

15. He is just an ordinary person speaking out the words that the LORD told Him to say.

16-17. Then Amos delivers a message from the LORD to Amaziah: the judgment of Israel will surely come, in spite of Amaziah's unwillingness to hear of it. Amaziah's wife will be reduced to prostitution, his children will be killed, and he will be carried into exile and die in a foreign land. As for Israel, it will be conquered and the people will go into exile.

Does God Ever Change His Mind?

This question came up in Sunday school the other day. We were studying the passage in Exodus in which God says He is going to wipe out Israel and then Moses intercedes for them. Someone in the class wanted to make it clear that God never changes His mind.

I brought up the passage in Amos 7, in which it says twice that God changed His mind (vv. 3 and 6). The teacher said that a better translation of the Hebrew verb here would be "relent" (as in turned back from His wrath) rather than "changed His mind" as the NASB has it.

The Hebrew verb is "shuv"--which has a primary meaning of return. There may not be all that much of a difference between "relent" and "change His mind." If God relents, then He returns to a state of not planning on doing what He said He was about to do. In other words, He changes His mind.

Perhaps the problem is that when we human beings change our mind about something, it is because we get better information, or re-calculate what is best and realize we were in error, or decide to indulge a desire against our better judgment, or get struck by a whim, or something along these lines. Clearly this is not what happens when God relents or changes His mind.

Someone pointed out that in most or all of the cases in which God "returns" in this way, it is a decision to postpone or withhold judgment. This reminds me of the story in Froissart, in which the Queen pleads with King Edward III at Calais, that he would show mercy on the 6 nobleman and not execute them, as he was intending to do. The king relented. In another story from the reign of Richard II, King Richard's Queen pleads with the Duke of Gloucester, that he would show mercy on Simon Burleigh, and not execute him. In this case, the Duke is not willing to show mercy and Burleigh is executed.

In the case of Israel in the vision of Amos, or Sodom and Gomorrah or Israel in the time of Moses, the objects of God's wrath are fully worthy of the punishment that God intends to visit upon them, so relenting or changing His mind does not indicate any error on His part. But God delights in mercy and it appears that He is at least sometimes willing to be persuaded to postpone or temper or even withhold judgment when asked. So if God is willing to forgo doing something that is right in itself and perfectly in accordance with His character (execute justice) in order to do something else that is also right in itself and in accordance with His character (show mercy), then there is nothing troubling about this.

To go back to the example of Edward III and Calais, there is something beautiful about the Queen's pleading and the King's yielding that would not have happened if Edward had pardoned the noblemen without being asked. The same can be said of the times in which God yields to the pleading of a Moses or Abraham or Amos, so perhaps it is part of God's beauty that He is willing to change His mind.

Amos 7, 1-9

1. God shows Amos what He is about to do: namely, bring a plague of locusts upon Israel, in order to destroy the spring crop.

2. When Amos sees the destruction He pleads with God on Israel's behalf, that God would spare Israel.

3. So God changes His mind and agrees to spare Israel.

4. Then God shows Amos another vision--a vision of God destroying the land of Israel with fire.

5-6. Again, Amos asks God not to bring His wrath upon Israel and the LORD agrees.

7. Finally, Amos sees a vision of the LORD standing next to a wall with a plumb line in
His hand.

8. The LORD then tells Amos that He will not postpone His judgment any longer. He will hold up a plumb line in Israel--and presumably this will make it clear how unrighteous the people are.

9. The places of false worship in Israel will be destroyed and then God will bring down the King of Israel, Jeroboam, by means of a conquering enemy.

Amos 6, 12-14

12. There is no justice or righteousness in Israel, just poison and bitterness. This is not as it should be, like making a horse run on rocks or plowing rocks with oxen.

13. The people of Israel do not recognize their need for God; they think that they are responsible for what they have achieved.

14. God will raise up an enemy to conquer Israel and afflict them. Presumably "from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah" refers to the entire length of Israel."