Tyndale Open Study NotesAmos 3

The first message from the Lord warns Israel that being chosen by God will not protect them from his judgment. They will be held to a higher standard than the surrounding nations.

Amos delivers three prophetic messages to Israel, criticizing their mistaken belief about being God's chosen people. The messages show a progression toward judgment.

Amos begins with a reference to God’s goodness to Israel when he rescued them from Egypt (see Amos 2:10).

The word translated as have known suggests a deep, personal understanding that goes beyond just knowing facts. It can mean formal recognition (Exodus 1:8; 5:2), personal experience (Genesis 2:17), or sexual relations (Genesis 4:1). This word often describes God's relationship with Israel (Hosea 5:3) and the ideal relationship Israel should have with God (Hosea 2:20). Because of Israel's special status, God would hold them accountable for all their sins. God holds people accountable based on what they have been given (Luke 12:47–48).

Amos explains his call to prophesy using rhetorical questions that should be answered with "no." However, the metaphorical language has a deeper meaning beyond the questions.

Amos’s faithful life showed that his message agreed with what God was doing to judge Israel.

Amos delivers messages from God. What he predicts will happen to Israel. God is like a roaring lion, and he has already chosen his target—the people of Israel who are ready for judgment.

The trap shows the consequences of Israel's sin. Israel fully deserved the judgment that Amos announced.

calamity … has not the LORD caused it?: God sends both the good and pleasant, as well as the harmful and painful (Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:38; see Deuteronomy 28; Job 2:10).

God, like a lion, has roared from Mount Zion (Amos 1:2) and urged Amos to prophesy (see 7:14–16).

The prophet now turns to two enemies of Israel: Philistia and Egypt. He names Ashdod, one of the main cities of Philistia. He calls these nations to gather around Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and to witness the violence and oppression inside the city.

From the outside, Israel appeared strong. Inside, however, the nation was corrupt and divided by conflict between social groups. Because of this inner weakness, Israel’s enemies would be able to take advantage of it (see Amos 3:11).

Israel’s wealthy people gained their riches by neglecting the poor and by treating the helpless with cruelty (see Amos 2:6–8).

The true enemy was not Egypt or Philistia, but Assyria, the only major power in the region at that time.

• As the shepherd snatches: The people of both Israel and Judah believed that, because they were chosen, God would save them and never let them die. The prophet’s words are ironic. Their rescue would be like a shepherd arriving too late to save the sheep, only able to pull two legs or a piece of an ear from the lion's mouth.

• just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch: This points to how little would remain after the Assyrian attack on Samaria. It suggests that only small pieces of furniture would survive the destruction.

  In the same way, only a few people in Samaria would escape. Their rescue would be as incomplete and fragile as the broken remains left behind.

• The Lord's message is for all of Israel, also known as the house of Jacob. Jacob was the ancestor of both Israel and Judah.

• The witnesses who are told to listen could be the nations mentioned in Amos 3:9, the people of Samaria, or groups of prophets.

• the God of Hosts: This title (also in Amos 4:13; 5:14–16, 27; 6:8) shows God as the leader of the heavenly armies. This is the true God of the universe, not a local deity (see also Exodus 15:3).

the altars of Bethel: Jeroboam I built the shrine at Bethel soon after he became king (1 Kings 12:26–33). It lasted through the Jehu's family line of kings (2 Kings 10:29), from whom Jeroboam II descended. This shrine combined worship of Yahweh (the Lord) with a bull, a pagan symbol. When the altars were destroyed, the Bethel shrine, the king’s official sanctuary (Amos 7:13), and the northern kingdom would also fall.

Ivory represents the very great wealth that the rich gained in the wrong ways. Archaeologists have found some of these ivory inlays in the ruins of Samaria.