The book of Amos chapters 1
Two years before the earthquake: While earthquakes are not uncommon in Palestine, the one to which Amos refers
must have been unusually sever; for it is mentioned again by Zechariah in his prophecy (Zec. 14:4,5) more than tow
hundred years later. It stands as a reminder of God’s great power in nature and is warning of His judgment that is
about to overtake Israel. Amos begins his prophecy with words taken from Joel (cf v. 2 with Joel 3:16).
1:3-5. Damascus is the capital city of Syria and is to be especially stricken in judgment because of the cruelties Syria
had inflicted on Israel. For three transgressions and for fur (which introduces the message of judgment to all of the
nations, including Israel) is a rhetorical way of saying that the offender has been guilty of an incalculable number of
offenses. The plain of Aven may have been an area in which idolatry was deeply entrenched. The house of Eden
(“House of Pleasure”) may refer to the king’s pleasure resort. The precise location of Kir is unknown.
1:6-8 The mention Ashdod, Asheklon, Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines (v.8) lets us know that the prophecy
is directed against Philistia as a whole. Their crime was the taking of a whole population captive and delivering it over
to Edom. Joel 3:3-8 fills in the details that Amos’s prophecy lacks.
1:9, 10. Tyre remembered not the brotherly covenant which their King Hiram had made with David and Solomon. This
covenant had been long-standing (cf. 2 Sam 5:11; 1 Kin. 5:2-6, 15-18; 9:11-14), and no king of Israel or Judah had
ever made war on Phoenicia. Though Judah honored it side of the treaty, Phoenicia had sold Israelites to others (cf
Joel 3:4-8).
1:13-15. Rabbah (lit. “The Great”) was the capital city of Ammon. Amos prophesies that it will be utterly destroyed,
and the king and is princes taken into captivity for it unspeakable atrocities against God’s people.
Amos chapter 2
2:4, 5. Israel was probably as pleased at this pronouncement of judgment as she was with al the others. Judah’s sin
is similar to Israel’s, for they have despised the law of the Lord Israel should realize that if God would judge Judah,
then certainly He would also judge Israel herself. Judah’s sin is worse that those of the nations, because Judah has
violated the law of God that was delivered to her by direct revelation.
2:13-16. Because of Israel’s flagrant violations of God’s righteous law and His gracious provisions, in escapable
judgment must inevitably fall, though it will fall only after God has permitted Himself to endure Israel’s many and
grievous sins far beyond what might ordinarily be considered he breaking point.
Amos chapter 3
3:1,2. Have I known (Heb. yada ') should be understood in the sense of God's setting Israel apart to bring her into
covenant relationship with Himself. It is used with similar meaning in Psalm 1:6; 147:19, 20; Ezekiel 20:5.
3:9,10. Ashdod is used figuratively of all of Philistia, who with Egypt is summoned to Samaria to view the unrest and
oppression within it.
3:11-15. Two legs, or a piece of an ear: A small and insignificant remnant will be salvaged from God's judgment. This
remnant will be saved, not because they deserve it, but because of God's future messianic plans for Israel, which
cannot be allowed to be thwarted by the nation's sin.
Amos chapter 4
4:1-3. Ye kin of Bashan is an indictment against the women of Samaria. The "cows" of Bashan were noted for being
well fed and strong because of the lush pastures of the area. The women of Samaria lived in luxurious wantonness,
enjoying their luxury because they oppressed the poor and crushed the needy. When the women of the land sink to
such a low moral and degraded state, God's judgment must fall, for the entire land is degraded.
4:12,13. Prepare to meet thy God warns that God is not going to visit Israel with salvation, but rather with inevitable
and complete judgment.
Amos chapter 5
5:4-7. Three times the invitation, Seek ye me, and ye shall live, is given (v v. 4, 6, 14). Though God's judgment is
imminent, it can be avoided, or at least postponed, by seeking the Lord. The only hope is to seek the Lord in true
repentance and thus avoid the judgment of God.
5:21-24. I hate, I despise your feast days: Religious activity without heart reality is repugnant to God. God-ordained
forms of worship and religious expression without reality become only nauseating, empty formalism; and they anger
rather than appease God.
Amos chapter 6
6:4-7. Chant to the sound of the viol... like David: They displayed a genius and creativity similar to that of King David,
but with one great difference: David's music was inspired by God and directed man's heart to praise Him; their music
turned man's heart away from God to their own lusts.
6:12-14. Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? The two questions are rhetorical and
demand a negative answer. Horses do not run on rocks, or else they would be lame; nor does one plow rocks with
oxen, or else the plow would be broken. To violate natural law is to reap the consequences of it. Even more, Israel's
folly is transgressing God's law will bring certain judgment.
Amos chapter 7
7:4-6. Great deep means the vast reservoir of underground water, as well as the sea. Such a fire would be
inextinguishable (cf. Gen. 7:11; 8:2; 49:25; Is. 51:10).
7:7-17. This vision lets the prophet know that all hope for Israel has been exhausted, and judgment must come. The
purpose of plumbline is to illustrate how far Israel has strayed from God's righteousness, and that it must be
destroyed.
Amos chapter 8
8:1-14. The vision of the summer fruit shows that Israel is ripe for judgment, which will come very soon.
Amos chapter 9
9:1-10. This final vision of the prophesy, of the Lord standing upon the altar, portrays the destruction of the
idolatrous temple at Bethel. This temple has given cohesiveness and direction to Israel in her idolatrous defection
from the Lord. Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me? Israel had become like the pagans who surrounded
her.
9:11,12. In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David: Even though Israel has sunk to an all-time low, and
judgment must fall, still God's plan for the house of David and His promises to Abraham have not failed and will not
ultimately be realized. Though it is married, it is not beyond God's ability to repair. Peter quotes these verses at the
Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:16,17) to demonstrate God's intention to save Jews and Gentiles alike.