Harold Shank

Amos 1-2–yellow

Amos 2-3–green

Outline of Amos

Amos 1-2, Seven International Reports
Amos 2, Seven problems, Seven gifts, Seven disciplines
Amos 3-5:17, Three “Hear This” Speeches 
Amos 5:18-6:14, Three Woes 
Amos 7-9, Five Visions
Amos 9, The Future in Fives

Relevance

• International Chaos
• Domestic violence & fraud
• Ignorance of the nature of God
• Two class society (affluence & poverty)
• Widespread denial about sin & oppression
• Ever present grace of God
• Hope for future

 

 

Amos 1-2, International news

Thought question [Small groups]: A speaker from another state comes to your city planning to tell you what you are doing wrong and how to correct it. What advice would you give him?

o People do not want to hear about their failures
o Giving bad news is never easy
o People may not see you are trying to help them, but will think you are degrading them
o Expect people to deny your accusations

Group discussion after the reading:
o Amos the farmer comes to North Israel to tell the people what they are doing wrong. What does he do to communicate his message?
o Describe the sins of the nations.
o What parallels are there between the sins of the nations in Amos and contemporary international behavior?

Interpretative Reading of Amos 1:1-2:16
o God is subject of 44 verbs in these verses including “thus says the Lord” and “says the Lord” (14 times)
o Passport information: Amos is from Tekoa (10 miles south of Bethlehem) where he is a shepherd, a naqid, which suggests something like a manager of shepherds. During his visit to North Israel he visits the Bethel temple, goes to a funeral, walks through the neighborhoods of the wealthy and the poor, stops by a market
o Earthquake (740 B.C.) was 2 years after Amos’ visit which may indicate his prediction of upheaval (2:13; 3:14-15; 4:12-13; 8:8; 9:1, 5, 9)
o Lions (Amos 3:4, 8, 12; 5:19), Zion (Amos 1:2; 2:5; 6:1), Control of nature (direct opposition to Baal religion

o Locate the Seven International Nations
 Syria—northeast of North Israel (NI), east of Sea of Galilee
 Philistia—southwest of NI, on Mediterranean coast
 Phoenicia—northwest of NI, on Mediterranean coast
 Edom—southeast of NI, southeast of Dead Sea (related)
 Ammon—east of NI, northeast of Dead Sea (related)
 Moab—southeast of NI, east of Dead Sea (related)
 Judah—south of NI, west of Dead Sea (related)

o Seven parts to oracles against nations (OAN)
 Thus says the LORD—messenger formula
 Numerical Accusation—three, four (seven offenses prompts response)
 Irrevocable Aspect—God’s anger not restrained here
 Sin—pesha
 Specific Crime
 Punishment (fire seven times)
 Says the LORD—messenger formula (5 times)

o Crimes
 Syria—war atrocities against Israelites

         Stop to visualize iron threshing machine: Syrians treated civilians like they were stalks of grain, an inhumane cruelty

 Philistia—peacetime enslavement of Israelites for profit disregarding human dignity
 Phoenicia—involved in peacetime transport (middleman) of civilians with whom they had treaties into slavery, i.e. betrayal of friends
 Edom—savage attacks on Israel
         Stop to visualize use of sword without pity and in constant anger
 Ammon—massacre of innocent women and children
 Moab—violated widespread cultural act of respect for the dead by burning the king’s bones to use as lime in construction
 Judah—rejected God’s law and denied doing it

Amos 2-3

General Background of Amos

• Internal political stability (Jeroboam II ruled 40 years; Uzziah ruled 41 years)
• International Power Shift (Assyrians and Egyptians in decline leading to conflict in smaller states, North Israel with significant military power)
• Economic Prosperity
  • Subsistence economy (each family/village produced what they used) to market economy with specialized industry, large estates owned by rich served by poor, foreclosures on land
    • Saul & David subsistent farmers
    • Gibeon wine production; weaving/dyeing Debir; olive oil Samaria; Copper Arabah; wool @ Bethel
    • International trade
    • Upper class had feasts with large amounts of food, imported drink
  • Housing (four room Israelite houses to multi storied houses on hill tops of stone, and mud houses with common walls in valleys; ivory inlays)
  • Sources: John Bright, History of Israel; D. N. Premnath, Eighth Century Prophets—A Social Analysis; Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Civil Institutions.   72-73

 

Amos accuses North Israel of 12 specific wrongs

• Enslaving others 2:6
• Denying fair access to courts 2:7, 5:10,12
• Abusing (sexually) poor women 2:7
• Keeping items taken in pledge 2:8
• Collecting unjust taxes/fines 2:8
• Extorting harvest of sharecroppers 5:11
• Taking bribes 5:12
• Defrauding poor in business transactions 8:5
• Tampering with weights/measures 8:5
• Using poor people as slave labor 8:6
• Selling inferior merchandize 8:6
• Charging unfair rents 3:15-4:1

 

Oppressors described in 10 ways

• Had winter/summer houses 3:15
• Lived in leisure 4:1
• Dwelt in stone mansions 5:11
• Complacent & secure lives 6:1
• Beds decorated with ivory 6:4
• Had time to lounge rather than work 6:4
• Ate choice cuts of meat 6:4
• At ease to enjoy arts 6:5
• Amble supply of alcoholic beverages 6:6
• Used fine lotions 6:6

 

Oppressors not condemned for wealth but for:

• Trample the heads of the poor 2:7
• Crush the needy 4;1
• Abused righteousness and justice 5:24
• Reign of terror 6:3 (NIV)
• Doing away with poor 8:4

 

General Principles from Amos 1-2

• Hurting other people offends God (OAN 1-6)
• God intercedes on behalf of the oppressed (OAN 1-6)
• Disapproval of leaders who lie to their people about how to live (OAN 7)
• Those who know what is right are judged by higher standards (Judah/Israel)
• God judges when the oppressed become the oppressors (Israel)
• Moral disruptions in the human community reflect negatively on God (Israel)
• Cultural influences can overshadow divine influence (post-Christian culture parallels Amos 1-2)
• God never gives up no matter how bad a society becomes (he sends Amos)
• Until the end, there is still time to repent
• Don’t miss the signs

 

What are the 7 major criticisms of American society?  What are the top seven areas of concern you have for the American culture?  List the 7 worst qualities of American society?  What are the top 7 sins of Americans?   See the lists from a recent class discussion:

7 sins of U.S.

• Disrespect for God
• Greed
• Lust
• Pride
• Immorality
• Materialism
• Lazy

7 criticisms of U.S.

• Materialism
• Political polarization
• Abuse of natural resources
• Conceited
• Low morality
• Anti-Christian
• Racism

Interpretative Reading of 2:16-3:15 

 2:6-7—Seven Sins of North Israel

2:6a—Cheering stops, no more Amens

2:6b-11—has Pentateuch in background

• Amos does not make laws, just calls attention to lawbreaking
• Pt of Pent laws: create an ideal human community where all live in harmony

2:6b—Sell righteous for silver, needy for pair of shoes

• Righteous—sadiq [06662] 2:6; 5:12
  • Innocent
  • Deuteronomy 15; 24:17, 18
• Needy–‘ebyon, [034] 2:6; 4:1; 5:12; 8:4, 6
  • Lack something
  • Choices
  • Deut. 14:28, 29
• JPS: “sold for silver those whose cause was just”
• Powerful people selling innocent into slavery
• Creditors sold those who owed them into slavery for a low price
• Taking advantage of poor in court
• Corrupt legal system manipulated by wealthy
• Poor were exploited and rights ignored
• Exodus 21:2-11; 22:25; Lev 27:1-8; Deut 15:12-18

2:7a—Trample poor into dust

• Poor–dal, [1800] 2:7; 4:1; 5:11; 8:6
  • Comparison
  • Vulnerability
• Trample—šā’aq [07602] 2:7; 8:4
  • Swallow up, devour, pant as animal in heat
  • Refers to eagerness, greed, selfishness, no regard for those they hurt
  • Bosas=trample in 5:11
• Physical abuse of helpless and weak
• Oppressors didn’t care
• Poor seen as insignificant, with no voice, no meeting of their needs
• Trample into ground: metaphor for power of one group and humiliation of another
• Lev 19:18 (whole chapter)

2:7a—Turn aside afflicted

• Afflicted/poor—‘anan, [06035] 2:7, 8:4
• Broken hearted, suffering
• Emotional aspect of poverty
• Turn Aside, Natah, 2:7, 8; 5:12
  • “lie down” in 2:8
  • Pitch a tent, stretch out
  • Action of taking one thing and using it for another
• Stuart “keep them from making progress or finding justice”
• Make the humble walk a twisted course
• Lev 25; Deut. 15

2:7b—Man and father have sex with same girl

• Lev 18:7-20; 20:11-12; Deut 22:30
• Profane God’s name Lev 20:2-3; 22:32
• Suggest sins against women offended God.

2:8a—Make personal use of articles taken in pledge

• Garments had to be returned at night
• Powerful wearing them to temple
• Exodus 22:26-27; Dt 24:12-13

2:8b—Use wine taken as fines for worship

• Judges used fines for sacrifices
• Rich used wine in worship which they obtained from fines on the poor

 

2:9-11—Seven cases of God’s past grace

2:9—God destroyed the Amorites

• The Amorites were large people Num 13:33
• Amorites as strong as trees, but God was stronger

2:9b—God destroyed them all

• Above and below—merism (high/low, morning/evening) (all of them)

2:10a—God rescued them from Egyptian oppression

• They had now become the oppressors
• NI success was not their own doing, but grace from God

2:10b—wilderness

2:10c—promised land

2:11—Nazarites/prophets

• Samson, Samuel
• Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Elijah, Elisha, Amos 1:1; 3:7, 8; 7:14, 15
• Suggests social pressure

2:12—Opposition to prophets: 1 Kings 18:4; 19:2, 10; 22:26-27; 2 Kings 6:31

 

What are the striking features of this list?

• Social issues, about way people are treated, nothing about government, military, world
• Not about how they treat foreigners (OAN 1-6), but fellow citizens
• All involve taking advantage of others for personal benefit
• Common feature is fate of powerless

 

How is your list of complaints/problems/sin of American society different from this list?  Why is it different?

See the responses from a recent class discussion

Comparison with Amos:

• We’re not all that different – treatment of people
• We’re putting ourselves first before God and others
• We often turn aside from the afflicted
• We often tend to gather around people who are afflicted
• People were immoral then and now
• We are isolated in our communities: – we don’t deal with the down-trodden
• Not all of the people in our community are the same – some have different economic situations
• Denial – they didn’t think they were having a problem. Same with us.

2:13-16–Seven descriptions of the defeat of Israel’s army

• Military images
• Those who enjoyed God’s grace (2:9-11) will experience judgment (2:13-16)
• Nobody, not even the best soldiers, will escape

2:13—earthquake reference?

• North Israel will be crushed like grain under wheels of fully loaded wagon
• JPS “I will slow your movements as when a wagon is slowed when it is full of cut grain”
• Stuart “I will make you bog down”

2:15—JPS “a bowman shall not hold his ground”

2:16—JPS “the mighty shall flee away unarmed”

 

3:1-15—First “Hear This Speech”

3:1—recall of Exodus

3:2—summary of OAN

3:3-8—Laying a foundation

• 7 rhetorical questions ordered by cause and effect, but people in NI see cause, but not effect (denial)
• Lion from 1:2 appears in 3:4, 8

3:9-10– spectators of coming judgment

• RSV great tumults
• NIV great unrest
• Wolff boundless terror

3:11-15–invasion

• Not much left (leg or ear), corner, part
• JPS “As a shepherd rescue from the lion’s jaws/two shank bones or the tip of an ear”
• Just as 2 bones/part of ear are useless, so NI useless
• Destruction of religious buildings, and houses of wealthy