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Amos 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Nelson’s Commentary gives an informative but concise background on the book of Amos.
“The Lord sent Amos, a Judean, to Bethel to prophesy of coming judgment on Israel. But in Bethel, Amos faced a hostile audience. Israel’s first king, Jeroboam I, had made the town a center of pagan worship. Because the temple in Jerusalem was in Judah and not in the nation of Israel, Jeroboam had encouraged the Israelites to worship at Bethel instead of Jerusalem. Thus the Israelites who gathered at Bethel would regard Amos, a Judean, with suspicion. Yet Amos bravely condemned there the sins of Israel’s neighbors—the Syrians, Philistines, Phoenicians, Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites. Then he went on to point out the iniquity of Judah and Israel: they had rejected the God who had covenanted with them. They too stood before God condemned by their own evil ways. With a steady voice, Amos called the Israelites to return to the living God.”
Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary
Amos started with the nations surrounding Israel in order to gain an initial following, and by the end of the book, he would turn God’s judgment toward Israel. But first, he would use a series of metaphors to illustrate the sins of the surrounding nations. Take verse 3 for example…
The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four, because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
Amos 1:3 HCSB
What does he mean by “three crimes, even four?”
Three things are beyond me; four I can’t understand.
Proverbs 30:18 HCSB
The earth trembles under three things; it cannot bear up under four.
Proverbs 30:21 HCSB
Three things are stately in their stride, even four are stately in their walk.
Proverbs 30:29 HCSB
The numerical formula represented the countless sins against God. Three represented more than enough to punish but four was beyond comprehension. This metaphor represented in the strongest wording just how corrupt Syria had become and how horrific their sins were to God.
It is important to understand that God holds us accountable for what we know. In this case, the Syrians did not have the same revelation as Israel did, however, God was still holding them accountable to the moral law that they already knew.
In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
Philippians 3:16 HCSB
The application for us is that God has an expectation for us. His bar is high and there is no way we can even begin to reach it without faith. But once we submit our lives to Him, that expectation for living a fruitful life can be accomplished. Jesus illustrated this point in the parable of the talents. He praised the two servants who doubled what was given and He judged the one who squandered it. Our God expects us to live up to the truth revealed to us!