From about the middle of the 9th century B.C., Assyria was beginning to develop as a world power. At the end of the 9th century, it went into decline for about sixty years; it was probably during that period that Jonah had gone to Assyria.
This period of weakness gave Israel and Judah a chance to strengthen their own positions. The period of Assyrian weakness coincided with the reign of Uzziah and Jeroboam II. Both of these kings brought prosperity to their nation.
The territories were enlarged, trade increased, and material wealth was enjoyed by the rich. However, the death of Jeroboam II and the succession to the throne of Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria brought to an end this period of prosperity for Israel. Tiglath-Pileser III embarked on a policy of conquest, which included Israel.
So from the time of the death of Jeroboam II, Israel very quickly collapsed until in 722 B.C. They were finally taken away into captivity by the Assyrians, 2 Kings 17:5-23.
It was during the period of prosperity that Amos brought his message to Israel. Although he was from Judah, his message was for the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
The affluent society in which the rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. Some people were living in luxury, Amos 3:15 / Amos 6:4-7. A society characterised by social injustice, Amos 2: 6-8 / Amos 5:11-12 / Amos 8:4. There was also religious corruption, Amos 4:4-5 / Amos 8:4-6.
Amos himself is the author, and his name appears seven times throughout his book: Amos 1:1 / Amos 7:8 / Amos 7:10 / Amos 7:11 / Amos 7:12 / Amos 7:14 / Amos 8:2. The name of Amos is not to be confused with Amoz, the father of Isaiah, 2 Kings 19:2 / 2 Kings 19:20.
The name Amos means ‘carrier’ or ‘burden bearer’. He was from the village of Tekoa, Amos 1:1, which was about five miles south of Nazareth. This was a rugged environment, a mountainous region.
By occupation, Amos was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees, Amos 7:14. The sycamore tree bore a fig-like fruit. This fruit had to be pierced in order for it to ripen. The message of Amos shows us that God is a God of righteousness and holiness. God’s holiness demands that He punish Israel for her wickedness.
Amos 1:1 gives us the details of the date. In the days of Uzziah, 792-740 B.C. and Jeroboam II, 793-753 B.C., according to the Chronology of the Hebrew Kings by E.R. Thiele.
The date of the earthquake, Amos 1:1, is uncertain, but it must have been a significant earthquake because it is mentioned in Zechariah 14:5. The book is generally dated around 760 B.C.
The book begins with ‘the words of Amos’, Amos 1:1, who was one of the shepherds of Tekoa, Amos 1:1. He was a humble farmer, Amos 7:14. Amos saw a vision, Amos 1:1, in which he sees the wickedness of Israel.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning the earthquake.
‘Some scholars believe that this earthquake was the one mentioned by Josephus who gave the account of a very great earthquake in the reign of Uzziah, an earthquake so great that it was remembered generations afterwards when Zechariah referred to it, Zechariah 14:5. That earthquake, according to Josephus, made a breach in the temple, ruined the gardens and palace of the king, and occurred simultaneously with the smiting of Uzziah with leprosy. It cannot be dated exactly,’ 1 Kings 19:11-13 / 2 Chronicles 26:16-23.’
The Lord roars, Amos 1:2. This picture of God as a roaring lion who is about to pounce on the prey, Isaiah 42:13. Joel says something similar in Joel 3:16. In Joel 3:16, God is represented as roaring on behalf of Israel, but in the stern condemnation of Amos, he is represented as roaring against Israel.
It was calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the wicked and lead them to repentance. We see the extent of this judgment in the pastures of the shepherds drying up and the top of Carmel withers, Amos 1:2 / Deuteronomy 28:20-24. This is a picture of mourning.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following concerning everything being dried up.
‘This appears quite early in the Bible, where it is related that God ‘cursed the ground for Adam’s sake’, Genesis 3:17, a curse which has never been repealed and is still in effect.’
Amos now declares God’s judgment on seven of Israel’s neighbours, Jeremiah 12:14. Each judgment begins in the same way, ‘this is what the Lord says’, Amos 1:3 / Amos 1:6 / Amos 1:9 / Amos 1:11 / Amos 1:13 / Amos 2:1 / Amos 2:4 / Amos 2:6. So the Lord’s hand is behind this.
The next sentence in each case starts, ‘for three sins of even for four’, Amos 1:3 / Amos 1:6 / Amos 1:9 / Amos 1:11 / Amos 1:13 / Amos 2:1 / Amos 2:4 / Amos 2:6. This signifies a full and complete number of sins.
In other words, sin has multiplied, so much so that God’s patience has run out. He is going to act against them, and He will not reverse the punishment. Some commentators suggest that the three transgressions represent God’s legal limit for their sins. The fourth represents the tipping point for God.
What His people had failed to learn through His mercy and His grace, they would have to learn through His judgment and then His wrath. Damascus, the capital of Syria, will not escape the judgment of God, Amos 1:3.
It was about one hundred and thirty-five miles northeast of Jerusalem. Their sin is specified, ‘she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,’ Amos 3:3. Gilead was occupied by the half-tribe of Manasseh, Deuteronomy 3:13 / Numbers 32:40 / Joshua 13:8-32.
The threshing sledges were used for the threshing of grain, so we see the excess cruelty of the Syrians. They weren’t threshing grain; they were threshing the people. The Syrians are being condemned for their excessive cruelty, 2 Kings 10:32-33 / 2 Kings 13:7 / 2 Samuel 12:31.
Amos says that God will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, Amos 1:4. Elisha wept as he talked to Hazael because he knew that Hazael would replace Ben Hadad, 1 Kings 20:1 / Isaiah 17:1-3 / Jeremiah 49:23-27 / Zechariah 9:1-4, as king of Syria, that is, Aram, and as king, he would bring harm to the Israelites, 2 Kings 8:7-15 / Isaiah 17:1-14 / Jeremiah 49:23-27.
Hazael murdered Ben Hadad and took over as king, 2 Kings 8:15. He himself had a son whom he called Ben Hadad, 2 Kings 13:3 / 2 Kings 13:24-25. The names mentioned by Amos are the representatives of the ruling house; he warns them of God’s judgment to come.
Because the gate of Damascus will be broken down, Jeremiah 51:30 / Amos 1:5, this would open up the way for the invasion, Lamentations 2:9 / Amos 1:5. Aram was conquered by Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria during the reign of Judah, 2 Kings 16:9 / Isaiah 7:8 / Isaiah 8:14 / Isaiah 8:17 / Jeremiah 49:23.
This judgement was fulfilled in 732 B.C. 2 Kings 16:7-9 tells us that the Assyrians attacked Syria because King Ahaz of Judah asked Tiglath-Pileser for help. The Assyrian king destroyed the royal family, captured Damascus and carried its people captive into Kir, Amos 9:7.
Gaza was one of the Philistine cities, and they had continually been an enemy of the Israelites from the time they were established in the land of promise. They took captive whole communities of people, and they were involved in a slave trade with Edom, Amos 1:6 / 2 Kings 18:82 / 2 Chronicles 21:16 / Joel 3:4.
God’s judgment is coming to Gaza, Ashdod, Zephaniah 2:4, Ashkelon, Zephaniah 2:4, and Ekron, all the main cities of Philistia, and all will suffer, Jeremiah 25:20 / Jeremiah 47:5 / Jeremiah 47:7 / Zephaniah 2:4 / Zechariah 9:5.
King, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Of the five cities in which the Philistines live, four are mentioned. As a possible reason for not mentioning Gath, it has been suggested that this city has not restored itself from the destruction that King Uzziah brought upon it, 2 Chronicles 26:6. Also, in later lists of the Philistine cities, Gath does not occur. Jeremiah 25:20 / Zephaniah 2:4 / Zechariah 9:5.’
The completeness is shown in the words, ‘till the last of the Philistines are dead’, Amos 1:8. The judgment against them is going to be harsh; they would perish as a people, Amos 1:7-8.
Some commentators suggest this prophecy was fulfilled when Uzziah and Hezekiah invaded Philistia, 2 Chronicles 26:6-7 / 2 Kings 18:8 / Isaiah 14:29, and when a succession of Assyrian conquerors captured these towns. Some suggest it was completely fulfilled during the Maccabean period, 169-134 B.C., when the Philistines ceased to exist.
Other commentators suggest it was partially fulfilled by the Assyrian, Tiglath-Pileser III, who attacked Gaza in 743 B.C., 2 Kings 16:7-9, and many years later, its complete fulfilment came when Nebuchadnezzar totally destroyed Philistia, her cities, kings, and people, Jeremiah 47:5.
Tyre is the representative city here. It was an important trading centre and port, Ezekiel 27:12-25. There are two aspects here to remember.
1. They were guilty of the same sin as the Philistines, the slave trade with Edom, Amos 1:6 / Amos 1:9.
2. They did not remember the covenant of brotherhood, Amos 3:9.
Even on this, there are some differences of opinion as to the ‘brotherhood’.
In 1 Kings 5:1-12, we read of the disagreement between Hiram, king of Tyre, and Solomon, 1 Kings 9:12-13. We must note that a covenant is not specified. Again, we read the warning that God’s judgment is coming, Amos 1:10.
Because Tyre lived in luxury and trusted in its trade, it will be destroyed by fire. They came under the control of the Assyrians, then the Babylonians. Finally, the city of Tyre was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
Edom, the descendants of Lot, Genesis 19:30-38, and Esau, Genesis 36:1-36, are going to be punished because of their hatred and cruelty. They were continually at odds with their brother, Jacob, Genesis 25:29-30 / Numbers 20:14 / Deuteronomy 2:4 / Deuteronomy 23:7 / Obadiah 1-10.
Judgment is coming upon the cities of Teman and Bozrah, chief cities of Edom, Genesis 36:33 / Jeremiah 49:7 / Jeremiah 49:20. God’s judgment against them was to make the Edomites cease to exist as a nation of people, Amos 1:12.
Ammon is being condemned because of their excessive cruelty, 1 Kings 11:7. They ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend the borders, Amos 1:13. This practice of ripping open pregnant women is mentioned in 2 Kings 15:16.
Dean, in his commentary, says the following concerning the ‘walls of Rabbah’, Amos 1:14.
‘The massive walls, some of which remain in ruins, rise from the precipitous sides of the cliff. I bent over them and looked sheer down about three hundred feet into one wady, and four hundred feet into the other. I did not wonder at its having occurred to King David that the leader of a charge against these ramparts would have met with certain death, consequently assigning the position to Uriah!’
Rabbah will be consumed by fire, and the king and the people will go into exile, Amos 1:14-15 / Jeremiah 49:3 / Ezekiel 21:28-32. They, too, would cease to exist as a nation.
Note that the Ammonite ‘king’, Amos 1:15, could be speaking about Milcom, Moloch, Molek, the name of the national God of the Ammonites, 1 Kings 11:5 / Jeremiah 49:3.
Poole, in his commentary, says the following concerning the word king.
‘The idol of the Ammonites, so it signified, as well as king. I suppose the prophet may intend both, their god as well as their king shall be carried captive, as was customary with conquerors, 1 Samuel 5:2 / Isaiah 46:2.’
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This happened when Tiglath-Pileser III invaded Ammon in 734 B.C., but Ammon’s final demise came when Nebuchadnezzar sacked Rabbah and took many of Ammon’s citizens captive to Babylon around 586 B.C. The last reference to them is the Ammonites’ defeat by Judas Maccabeus in the second century B.C. 1 Maccabees 5:6-7.’
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The cuneiform inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser, the great Assyrian king, relate how Ahaz of Judah, “Sanipu king of Ammon”, both appear in a list of kings who paid tribute to him. Also, some forty years later, “Buduilu of Ammon (along with others) paid Sennacherib tribute and kissed his feet.” Both of these destructions of Ammon occurred at substantial time periods subsequent to Amos’ prophecy. “Their last stand seems to have been against Judas Maccabeus, 1 Maccabees 5:6.”’