My Lord Yahweh has Spoken

The day of the Lord is coming and the Prophet Amos begins in Amos 1:2 And he said, “Yahweh roars from Zion and he utters his voice from Jerusalem”. And his words begin with the nations around Judah where Tyre has engaged others in the slave trade and Edom has supplied in Amos 1:9–10 “they did not remember the covenant of brotherhood!” and in Amos 1:11 “he pursued his brother with the sword!” and fought their neighbour Judah. Then to Ammon, who has committed genocide, he says in Amos 1:13 “they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory!” and Moab who could not capture or assassinate the “king of Edom” so in Amos 2:1 “he burned to lime the bones”. But it is Israel that was to demonstrate to the world, the covenant of blessing who have turned away in Amos 2:6-7 “they sell the righteous for money … trample the heads of the powerless” so the Lord says to them in Amos 3:2 “You only have I chosen of all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities”.

Yahweh Roars From Zion

Amos 1:1–8

They Ripped Open to Enlarge Their Territory

Amos 1:9–15
As the Lord speaks, he names each group and their transgression. Amos uses this phrase “For three transgressions of (the city or people) and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they (and he names their transgression). But this not only names who and what, ‘Amos uses a Semitic literary device that has been called the “numerical ladder.” It begins with a given number to describe a particular circumstance, and as though that were not large enough for the purpose, this number is increased by one. Thus the expression for three sins, even for four really means “for their many sins.”’¹

Here, Tyre is named, “A Phoenician seaport located northwest of Israel.”² and they are said to have “delivered up a whole community to Edom” who is Judah’s southern neighbor and refers to “The port of Tyre … involved in slave trading, breaking every law of humanity.”³ and also Edom, “did not remember the covenant of brotherhood”, “the league of Hiram of Tyre with David and Solomon, the former supplying cedars for the building of the temple and king’s house in return for oil and corn (2 Sa 5:11; 1 Ki 5:2–6; 10–22; 1 Ch 14:1; 2 Ch 8:18; 9:10).”⁴ as Amos says in

Amos 1:9–10 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole community to Edom and they did not remember the covenant of brotherhood! 10 So I will send a fire against the wall of Tyre and it will devour its citadel fortresses.”

and he continues against Edom who persisted in rage, and rage against those that should have been their brothers in

Amos 1:11 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword! He stifled his compassion and his anger tore them apart continually, and he kept his rage forever.

Then Amos turns to Amon who commits genocide to take territory and not only fought warrior defenders, but also killed women and children to destroy the inhabitants from the land in

Amos 1:13 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Ammon and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory!

They Have Rejected the Laws of Yahweh

Amos 2:1–5
The Lord turns his attention to Moab in

Amos 2:1 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.

It seems their intent to capture or assassinate the “king of Edom” was thwarted and “balked of their attempt to secure the king of Edom alive, Moab wreaked their vengeance on his corpse, and burnt his bones to lime. It was, in the religious belief of all antiquity, a sacrilege”⁵

Then the word of the Lord comes to Judah, but for them, “it was a crime that only the covenant people could commit, based as it was on the law (Heb. tôrâ) and its specific applications (statutes; Heb. ḥuqqāyw; cf. Deut. 4:5) which they alone had been given.”⁶ So, “The Jews first cast off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting them with a righteous retribution (Ro 1:25, 26, 28; Ro 1:25, 26, 28, 2 Th 2:11, 12).”⁷ in

Amos 2:4 Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of Yahweh and have not kept his rules, and their lies have led them astray, after which their ancestors walked!

They Sell the Righteous for Money

Amos 2:6–16
The Lords rebuke of Israel continues with ways they behave as a society in Amos 2:6-7 “they sell the righteous for money … trample the heads of the powerless … turn aside the way of the destitute … a man and his father with the same girl, so that they profane my holy name” and then ways the behave even in God’s house as they come in Amos 2:8 “ … clothing taken in pledge … drink wine bought with fines imposed”.

The Lord reminds them that he gave them the land and removed the Ammonites, its prior owners in Amos 2:9. He reminds them that he brought them out of Egypt to this place in Amos 2:10. He reminds them that he raised up prophets and Nazarites among them in Amos 2:11 but they have corrupted the Nazarites and refused the words of the prophets in Amos 2:12.