Amos Chapter 3

The Lion Roars, the Prey Fears, But Not You?

"Lions - Sharing a Meal" (cc) Steve Jurvetson 2011

God pleaded with Israel through judgment.

Outline

• 1–2 God’s chosen
• 3–8 Analogies of related pairs
• 9–15 Decree of judgment

Lesson

God chose Israel, yet they deserted Him. In response, God sent prophets. When the people refused to listen to them, He sent judgment. God did what was necessary—even allowing His people to be torn apart like prey in a lion’s mouth—to get their attention.

Does He have to break your financial security to get your attention? Or is it your relationships?

God’s pattern of dealing with His people remains constant. He begins with a rebuke in the heart. If that is ignored, God’s Word—whether through a preacher, reading the Bible, or another means—will expose the sin. Only after repeated rejection does God send judgment.

So, do you listen to the Holy Spirit the first time He rebukes you?

When we walk in unison with God, we are eager to listen to Him—even if we don’t like what He says. That is, our desire to please Jesus is stronger than our desire to please ourselves. In this chapter, God uses natural analogies to demonstrate that, in life, two things often belong together. Reading between the lines, God seems to cry out to Israel, “Why don’t you and I belong together?”

God wants to walk side by side with us. He longs for us to belong to Him. However, He will not follow us into sin. Instead, He stands nearby, pleading for us to return. He throws out a lifeline to pull us back to safety. When He does, for goodness’ sake, take it!

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Verse by Verse Study

1-2 Israel had the special privilege of directly receiving the Word of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19–20). God chose Israel to manifest His presence to all the earth. Therefore, since they had such direct knowledge of God, Israel was held to a higher standard than the rest of the world. That is, they should have known better. The nation could not claim ignorance of God. They had no excuse for their sins.

3-6 God listed a series of pairs to emphasize the separation between Him and Israel. The Israelites continued to offer sacrifices, believing God was on their side, but their hearts and actions contradicted God’s will.

7-8 As in the pairs of the previous verses, God desired to be unified with Israel. He shared His plans with prophets so the nation could understand and agree with Him. That is, God never withholds knowledge from His people; for the New Testament parallel, see John 15:15. However, they refused to hear, trying to stifle the message of the prophets. Of course, their efforts were in vain; once God sends a decree, it will come to pass. Today, the same is true. Those who love sin try to silence preachers and mock the Bible because they do not want to hear the truth. Nevertheless, they will one day have to bow and acknowledge Jesus as Lord before Almighty God (Philippians 2:11).

9-10 Ashdod lay to Israel’s west. Second Kings 17 informs us that Assyria fulfilled this prophecy by invading the northern kingdom of Samaria because of its sins. This verse is the culmination of the previous verses and explains the punishment mentioned in verse 2: because the ten northern tribes of Israel were not in agreement with God, He would judge them. God is a just judge; He only punishes those who are wicked, those who have refused to repent of their evil despite God’s warnings.

11-12 The imagery suggests the nation will be torn apart. The people who are asleep spiritually, comfortable in their beds of sin, would be dragged away to be devoured. Indeed, this was fulfilled when the Northern Kingdom was taken captive by Assyria. Similarly, the Southern Kingdom was later captured by the Babylonian Empire. However, unlike an animal that has been devoured and its remains left to rot, the nation escaped with a living remnant. Such is consistent with God’s promise to the Jews: no matter how harsh the judgment, He always leaves survivors to rebuild the nation.

13-15 True to His word, God proclaims what He will do through His prophets as a witness that the judgment is from Him. In addition, by proclaiming the prophecy, God gives people time to repent. He explained the judgment would come because of their idolatry in Bethel and that the riches in which they trusted would be destroyed. While today the warning comes through the Gospel and the prophecy of the Great Tribulation (the events of Revelation), we have the same opportunity to hear and respond before judgment falls.