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I posted the wrong chapter :). 

6.1-6 Ease is always the desire of man. The use of the Hebrew word (shaanan) here has to do with being secure. Amos let them know they think they are secure and have life lined up perfectly. These people had put the evil day far into the future and out of their mind. They were laying upon beds of ivory and eating rich food without a care in the world. Everything was perfectly in order. They chanted to the sound of the viol like David, meaning their music was the best. David’s music was inspired by God and brought people into fellowship with God, whereas this music was excellent and flawless, but was sensual and carnal. God was not a part of their music. They were in their bathes and using their oils while unconcerned about the world around them. This attitude is similar to the well known refrain “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”. They were so sated by opulence they were unaware their world was crashing down around them. The reason? The affliction of Joseph (can also mean adding). These socialites had continued to add more and more selfish misuse on the poor. The result? The result was to be captivity.

6.7-14 the captivity. The Lord continues to present His case against these pseudo-religious socialites. God documents His case completely. God abhors the excellency (arrogancy), of Jacob. Pride is always a stink in the nostrils of God, and never more so than at this moment. God delivers the entire city to destruction. A man’s uncle (hebrew~dod), lover, friend, family member, will betray them to the captors. Every house will fall, the great houses and also the small houses. God’s anger is all consuming. Amos the country preacher illustrates with metaphors from his rural life. Shall horses run upon the rock? He illustrates the judgment, or verdict, has been turned into poison. The promise from God is a nation is coming that will afflict you from Syria to Egypt. These wealthy patrons of ease had trusted in their own resources and now their resources will not suffice to deliver them. Riches never deliver in the day of death and judgment
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7.1-3 grasshoppers. God allowed them to plant the crop, water the crop, even cut the mowing so their hopes were strong for a good harvest, then sent the locusts to devour their labor and profit. The question arises; was God deliberately letting them hope before destroying their hopes? Was God delaying the judgment in hopes they would come to their senses? Acts 15.18 lets us know, known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. It would seem God foreknew they would not change and repent so He allowed them to go through all the planning, all the labor, and all the expectation before dashing their hopes. God wants to imprint the lesson firmly into their minds that He alone controls all of nature and by extension all their lives. Locusts seem to be a particular choice of judgment from God. This may date all the way back to the creation of Adam and his creation from the soil. Locusts lie dormant in the soil until such a time God summons them to His purpose. From the soil God can summon life, man or judgment.

7.4-6 fire. Fire is a major symbol of judgment. In 1.4 God had said He would send fire as judgment on the house of Hazael. We know in the final chapters of life on earth, fire is a major factor. Hell and the lake of fire are reserved for the Devil and the beast and the false prophet. Fire is reserved for all who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. The fire summoned here is not a small blaze for it devours the great deep. A fire powerful enough to destroy the oceans of the world seems inconceivable to our mind. Yet this is what Amos announces will happen.

7.7 plumbline. The wall was the nation and people of Israel. When the righteous line of God was held against this wall, the wall showed how far the nation was off course. Their vision of them self could not see the drift. By holding the plumbline against the wall, the drift was stark and the nation was without excuse. The drift was undeniable. The nation was far from where they once were. Spiritual drift is difficult to measure. The gradual nature of drift is so subtle it is hard to perceive. God wanted the nation to see how far they had moved from their beginnings. The house of Jeroboam was to be removed forever. This happened when Assyria invaded in 721 BC and carried away 200,000 captives. The northern country, here called the house of Jeroboam, exits the stage forever. 

7.10-13 Amaziah’s treachery. Now comes a shift in the line of Amos’ visions of judgment to describe a parenthetical moment. Amaziah, the high priest of this self sufficient religious people, resented the ministry of Amos. Amos was dismantling the High Priest’s playhouse of insincere religion. The high priest strikes back by accusing Amos of treason and demands the prophet go home and leave them alone. This is a false accusation and draws an immediate reaction from Amos, and an immediate judgment form God.

7.14-17 Amaziah’s judgment. This judgment is a minuscule view of the larger picture of Israel rejecting the voice of the prophets all the way back to Samuel. Amos declares he did not ask for this job. He was a lowly shepherd doing the most menial job in the country (gathering sycamore fruit). He was not the son of a prophet, and therefore an unlikely candidate to pronounce judgment upon an entire nation. God called this uneducated, rough hewn prophet to show His power and glory and veracity are not always found in the esteemed of men. God chose the basest of men to pronounce judgment on the nation, when the nation was at the zenith of power and wealth and influence. Like a lash, the words of Amos flick out and sting the high priest. The high priest is informed his wife will be a harlot and his children will die by the sword. Amaziah will perish, as all will, who resist the word of a God called man. This moment, frozen in time, illustrates God’s principal of vengeance. God declares in Rom 12.19, vengeance is mine, I will repay. The message was loud and clear. Raise your voice against this prophecy, resist this prophecy, and there will be swift and harsh judgment.

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5.1-3 The verdict is in, the sentence is passed, the virgin of Israel is fallen. Israel is decimated. The spiritual forecast is, one tenth shall survive. Thus Amos laments the moment.

5.4-6 Even at this precipitous moment, still the strain of mercy bleeds through. Three times the invitation is given seek ye me and ye shall live. Judgment can be postponed or avoided. The only hope at this point is to seek the Lord. God jettisons their religious places like Bethel, Gilgal or Beersheba. These places had rich pasts but had ceased to point the people to God. The admonition is to seek God, not their past moments of religion. This is the trap of all religious experiences of God. The quest to keep our devotions as fresh manna every day is our daily challenge. This is mirrored in the Lord’s prayer, give us this day our daily bread.

5.7-10 These people were religious. The judgment from God came because their religion was self serving. Judgment and righteousness were not offered to God, but rather used as a medium to reach their own selfish ends. Religion of itself is not always pleasing to God. Religion must exalt God and point men to God to be efficacious. Those who practice self serving religion hate those who speak uprightly.

5.11-17 Many people associate religion with a church or synagogue. God never intended anyone to have “church house” religion. One man said if your religion does not work at home it does not work, so do not export it. This passage shows how Israel’s self serving religion did not accomplish the purpose of true religion. This is what brought God to the end of His patience and invoked judgment. God will not share His glory with another. Mistreatment of the poor, the manifold transgressions of their mighty sins, afflicting the just, was no longer to be tolerated. The call from God was to choose between good and evil, and establish judgment in the gate. As a result of their selfish, self centered, religion, they would wail and mourn in the same streets where they had ravaged and mistreated the poor. This travail would spill out of the city and into the countryside and vineyards.

5.18-27 These quasi-religious people had loudly proclaimed their desire for the Day of the Lord. Now it was coming and God proclaims it will not be to your liking. They are informed they will not escape. It will be darkness, and liken to fleeing from wild beasts. Why? Because God came to despise their feast days. This was because their religion was all about “them”. God was not part of the true purpose of what they did under the guise of religion. They offered their burnt offerings and meat offerings and God said no thanks. God sadly declares he does not want to hear their songs. God is looking for righteousness, not hypocrisy. The years of accumulated offerings that these people thought were pleasing to God, are rejected by God wholesale. The indictment includes their inclusion of Moloch and Chiun (Hebrew kiyun~idol), in their worship. The cup of God’s anger and disgust is full. The gavel in the hand of God falls and the words hang in the air pregnant with fear, “Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity”. From beautiful homes, ivory furniture, wealth and opulence, body oils and luxury, and comfortable well organized religion, to captivity in one fell swoop. How are the mighty brought low.

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4.1-5 the indictment. Amos begins to list the travesties of Israel. Amos uses strong language by calling them Kine (cows). The cows of Bashan were well fed and strong because of the lush vegetation of the area. This is much more than an insult in itself. The illustration is a full grown cow leading her calves. This is not just about the Israel of now, but for many years the offspring will be led into captivity. These cows have oppressed the poor and gotten fat off the reward of their mistreatment of the poor. So the prophet mocks them with his words; come to Bethel and transgress, to Gilgal and multiply transgression. He continues to mock them by saying offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven. This is an apt reference to all their sacrifices being polluted.

4.6-13 God’s defense. God is always fair. Here Amos presents his defense of God and God’s long suffering. God tried. God sent cleanness of teeth (famine), want of bread (poor crops), drought (no rain), God even selected cities to rain on and not to rain on another, but Israel just did not get the message. The voice from God the jilted lover said, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. God then went further in trying to get through to his beloved people. God sent blasting and mildew, the worms destroyed their crops, pestilence and war, until life literally stunk in their nostrils, and still Israel never made the turn to her God. God gave a sample of the judgment to come by overthrowing some of them like Sodom and then plucking them out of danger just in the nick of time. Nothing in all of this impacted this people that God loved so much. A frustrated God now announces: prepare to meet thy God. He that formed mountains and creates the wind, the all powerful God who has loved such fallen mankind, has reached the end of His patience with a disobedient nation. With a formal declaration of His name He steps back and allows judgment to descend on Israel.

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3.1-3 you only have I known. This is one of the most endearing statements God ever made to Israel. The Hebrew word yada is a broad term. It has the connotation of knowing in many ways. It speaks of God taking time and care to truly “know” the nation of Israel above all nations of the earth (Ez 20.5). God revealed himself and extended himself to Israel and Israel’s response was indifference, and now the great God of heaven feels all the feelings of a jilted lover. God cannot walk with Israel unless they both reciprocate. God chose Israel out of all the peoples of the earth, and her response was to be unfaithful.

3.4-8 the yearnings of God. God is speaking like a lion roars or a bird caught in a snare. There is cause for His complaint. The voice of Amos is God crying out to the nation, please listen to me. Israel did not see the future of the next three decades but God did, and the future was bleak for this backslid nation.

3.9-15. The mind of the country preacher presents a vivid unforgettable image in this passage. The image of a nation torn in pieces by powerful nations around them. As a lover, God had held off these nations from invading Israel, but now He announces these nations will be free to plunder and ravage Israel. When these nations have satiated their unholy lust on God’s people the final result will be like a shepherd who finds only pieces of an attacked and torn animal. There will only be two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken. God as a jilted lover responds with lifting His protection and Egypt and Damascus are loosed on weak defenseless Israel. Israel never got the revelation that God was their refuge and strength. As a final coup de grace, God announces their houses of Ivory shall perish. All of their pride and accumulated possessions will be plundered by Philistia and Egypt.

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2.1-3 Moab. The genesis of Moab was the same as Ammon (Lot’s daughters), and the result was much the same also. Interesting the view of God; the burning of bones of the King of Edom. God’s judgment is reserved usually for actions toward His people. If this holds true, this would refer to the time Edom was a vassal of Israel after the war involving Joram and Jehoshaphat against Moab. The Moabites dug up the bones of the King of Edom and burned them to add insult to injury. If this is indeed the reference of the prophet, then it clearly shows God is also concerned about the peripheral issues of His people also.

2.4-5 Judah. This is one of the sermons that ingratiated Amos to the socialites of the Northern Kingdom. The long simmering issues with the Southern Nation of Judah were ongoing. To hear a judgment against Judah made these Israelites rejoice and feel smug. Little did they know their sermon was coming soon. Both Israel and Judah had violated the law of God and were equally on God’s radar. Both nations were on a countdown to destruction.

2.6-16 Israel. The joy of judgment on Judah was short lived, for in the next breath, Amos prophecies about Israel. The list of grievous issues is long and detailed. As Amos lists the flagrant violations of God’s law, the heart of the people sank lower and lower. God had reached His breaking point with this Northern Kingdom. The sins of selling out the righteous for money, ignoring the meek (God’s choice in people), sexual impurity, drinking the wine of the condemned, all in juxtaposition to God destroying their enemies, bringing them out of Egypt, raising their sons to be prophets, finally caused God to feel like He was pressed under a cart full of sheaves. The clock had ticked down to the final moment and judgment had arrived. Amos was the voice announcing that moment. There was to be no escape nor deliverance. Omnibus rebus bonis finis est, for all good things there is an end.

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1.1-2 Amos begins by documenting the moment of his prophecy according to a well known earthquake. This earthquake was also mentioned by Joel and Zechariah. It is a reminder of God’s great power in nature.

1.3-5 Damascus. This capital city of Syria had a long history of cruelty toward Jerusalem. This judgment brought great satisfaction to the Jewish populace of the Northern Kingdom. The phrase for three transgressions and for four is a rhetorical way of saying the offender is guilty of many offenses. The plain of Aven is an area where idolatry was deeply entrenched. The house of Eden (pleasure), probably has reference to the King of Syria’s palace.

1.6-8 Gaza. This prophecy was a prophecy against Philistia as a whole, as it names several cities of that country. Philistia took the whole populace of Israel captive and delivered it to Edom. This is mentioned in Joel 3.3-8. The prophecy that Philistia will be cut off and perish has been fulfilled.

1.9-10 Tyrus. Tyre did not remember the covenant that King Hiram made with David and Solomon. This agreement had been in place for many years and no King of Israel or Judah had ever warred on Phoenicia. Judah honored her side of the treaty but Phoenicia sold the people of Israel to others (Joel 3.4-8). God expects promises to be honored and kept.

1.11-12 Edom. The judgment of Edom is enunciated clearly in the book of Obadiah. Edom pursued his brother Israel with the sword. One of David’s most admired qualities was he never lifted a sword against another Israeli. To fight and betray a brother is a cause of great angst in the heart of God.

1.13-15 Ammon. Long an enemy of Israel and Judah, Amos asserts this evil and wicked nation will meet it’s demise for it’s unspeakable atrocities against God’s people. Beginning in the time of the Judges, through the wars of Hazael the King of Syria, and Sihon the King of the Amorites, the nation of Ammon had ripped up women with child and committed unspeakable cruelties. As punishment their capital was to be burned, the nation put in exile, and their kingdom destroyed. The message of this chapter is clear: God keeps records and will bring every work into judgment.

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Things had never been better. Israel was at the pinnacle of her national power. Trade and commerce were at an all time high. For the first time in many generations there was no threat of war. Merchants began to pile up profits. The people had luxuries they had only heard of. New homes were springing up everywhere. Beautiful ivory laid furniture was in the homes of the affluent. Meat, wine, body lotions were all common place in every home. 

Then one lone voice rose above the din of pleasure. From the southern kingdom a lone prophet had come to town with a new message. Amos first two sermons ingratiated him with the rich elite socialites of Jerusalem. Everything was going well. Then, Amos’ third sermon exploded their carefully constructed lives. Amos called these expensively coiffured socialites a bunch of cows. The priest challenged the Prophet and judgment fell quickly. 

Amos was no professional prophet. He was a herdsman from lowly Tekoa in the south. He addressed a religious group of people who were regular church goers. They were comfortable and looking forward to the Day of the Lord. Suddenly a prophet was bringing bad news. God said “I hate, I despise your religious festivals”. God wanted justice. Amos focuses on the injustice of Israelite society. 

The rich were abusing the poor to get luxuries. They paraded their devotion to God like future Pharisees. They wanted God to fit neatly into their lives. Amos informed them God must be master over all of life, even business.

Amos was rough and unpolished. He did not fit in their cultured, opulent life style. His language is coarse and plain. His allusions are from the country. He speaks of baskets of fruit and plumb lines. The simplest person in society could understand his plain language. All men understand the language of cruelty and inhumanity. Amos predicted coming judgment. From the moment he spoke these words, Israel began to spiral downward. In the next thirteen years five Kings took the throne. Three were assassinated. Within thirty years Israel had been dismantled by Assyria. 

Amos again illustrates that God used Prophets as His direct mouthpiece to the people because the priesthood had failed in its function. 

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2.1-2 the trumpet. The sounding of the trumpet was a call to religious gathering. Here the prophet uses the metaphor to signal God is sounding a trumpet. This will be repeated in the New Testament by Paul and John the revelator in the books of 1 Corinthians and Revelation.

2.3-11the day of the Lord. This is a major theme of the Old Testament. Joel is sounding the alarm that the day is approaching rapidly. Joel likens it to a scorched earth scenario. This is common among the peoples of that day. Armies many times used this technique to render an opponent helpless. In the case of God it is a reflection of the completeness of His anger and judgment. The analogy of locusts is to chariots and war horses. The destruction will be complete. The day of the Lord will be terrible and who can abide it?

2.12-17 the appeal to return. It is not too late. God is still reaching for His people. Turn to the Lord with weeping and mourning. God is slow to anger and merciful. Begin with the priests and a call to repentance. This is the second time Joel metaphorically sounds the trumpet.

2.18-27 the beauty of God’s judgment is it did not last forever. It was for a season. The prophet now shifts his eye to the restoration of the people of God. There will be restoration of the very things the locust destroyed. Wheat, corn, wine, oil, and all the beasts of the field will again be plentiful. The fruit trees will again bear in their season. The promise is to restore everything taken away by the locusts. The prophet now moves into the great prophecy of the coming of the Spirit of God fulfilled in Acts chapter 2.

2.28-32 this prophecy is one of the turning points of the Old Testament and points to the great outpouring of the Holy Ghost in Acts 2. God reveals His will to indwell every person who will allow Him to live inside them. In the bigger picture of planet earth, the destruction caused by the fall of Adam and Eve will be restored by the spiritual rain that falls in Acts chapter 2. This is the restoration God has provided for all of mankind. Mankind was destroyed by sin in the garden and now God has provided complete restoration through His in dwelling spirit.All things destroyed by the fall are now restored in Jesus Christ. Peter confirms this when he preaches the first message of the New Testament era in Acts 2. Peter quotes this passage as proof of God’s spirit indwelling believers. The moment in Acts 2, when the Holy Ghost falls is the pinnacle of all God’s purpose and promise to humankind. From that moment, the eternal purpose of God is made manifest; God came to earth to save all of mankind.

Chapter 3

3.1-8 The prophet extends the eye of prophecy to all the nations of the world. There will be a gathering of all nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat. This is referring to the great battle of Armageddon in the future. The battle of Armageddon will balance the scales of all the wrongs listed in these verses by the nations that opposed God.

3.9-16 the greatest battle of all history is now spoken of. The gentile nations are awakened. Plowshares are beaten into instruments of war, and pruning hooks into spears. This is the great harvest of the ages in which God will bring mankind to answer for his rebellion. There will be reactions from nature in the sun and the moon. The stars will go black. God will roar out of heaven and proclaim His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is the ultimate war of good verses evil, and good triumphs forever.

3.17-21 the aftermath of war. God will restore earth and He himself will rule as King. Earth rejoices with plentiful crops and abundance. Jerusalem takes her rightful place as the capitol of the world. In these final sweeping verses, Joel captures the promise of the ages of almighty God to His faithful followers. The devastation at their feet left from the invasion of locusts that represent judgment, will give way to the glorious morning of Christ’s rule on Earth. All things will be restored and God shall fill all in all.

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Joel

Introduction

Is a natural disaster an act of God? When earthquakes strike, or famines continue, are these the acts of God or are they just the result of life on planet earth? This Theist verses Deist argument has been around for 2500 years. Plato and his school discussed this ad infinitum. The prophet Joel had no hesitation. He boldly proclaimed this was God working among men. 

The book of Joel is about a locust invasion. A swarm of locusts that covered the land and destroyed everything in sight. Joel’s vision was God leading these locusts into battle like a General leads his troops (2.11). Joel encouraged the priests to call a national day of prayer and fasting to lead the people back to God. He promised if the people would return to God they would eat in plenty (2.26). Joel proposed this disaster could bring a backslidden nation back to God.

It was an uphill task for God’s prophet. Joel’s vision was that God’s people would love God all the time, not just in times of disaster. It is human nature to turn to God in times of great tragedy. This book is an eternal appeal to all mankind to love God in the times of prosperity, and in the times of dearth.

It begins with the plague of locusts, and moves to the call for repentance. The day of the Lord is coming and the prophet is calling for men to turn back to God. One of the greatest promises of the Bible is in this small book. It is the promise of the coming Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh. This would happen centuries in the future on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. The prophecy then moves on to the judgment of Judah’s enemies and the future eternal blessings on God’s people.

This small book of three chapters covers some of the most profound questions mankind has asked throughout history. The conclusion is succinct and powerful. Whether it’s is a swarm of locusts, or nuclear war, God is in control. Turn to God and your future will be blessed and secure.

Chapter 1

1.1-3 the prophet gives his ancestry as the son of Pethuel, which means enlarged of God. He calls to the aged among the people to see if anyone remembers such a plague as they now experience? He encourages them to not let this moment be forgotten in the generations to come.

1.4-12 the devastation is documented. The terms of four destroying insects are offered. These are the palmerworm, the locust, the cankerworm and the caterpillar. These also represent the stages of the plague and the results. First there was a worm, then a grown locust that left behind eggs that would hatch again and bring yet another plague of young locusts. This vivid imagery was poignant to farmers for all future crops were in jeopardy. They would no sooner get one crop grown before the eggs gave birth to new young hordes of locusts and the cycle repeated itself again. The cycle would never end. This was the story of the people of God over the last six hundred years of Israel’s history. The image of revolving failure was stark for the people to see. The total loss of meats, fig trees, corn, wine, wheat and barley, and pomegranates reflect the loss of joy in the hearts of the populace. They were facing a hopeless future.

1.13-20 the prophet starts with the answer; the priests. Joel calls the ministry to lament and howl and fast. The hunger is a result of the spiritual famine and leaving God. The natural disaster is a mirror of what has happened to the nation spiritually. The seed is rotten, the barns are broken down, and the beasts have no pasture. The future is bleak unless the people turn back to their God.

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