CHAPTER 1

(787 B.C.)

PROPHECIES OF JUDGMENT ON ISRAELS NEIGHBOURS

¹The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, specifies him as a shepherd. The phrase, Which he saw concerning Israel, could very well have been a vision. Mans words cannot be seen, only Gods Words.

In the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, concerns the time of the moving of the Holy Spirit upon Amos, and the delivering of his Prophecy. Incidentally, this was Jeroboam II. Two years before the earthquake, is said by Josephus, the Jewish historian, to be attributed to Gods displeasure at Uzziahs usurpation of the Priests office [II Chron. 26:16].)

²And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter His Voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. (The LORD will roar from Zion, portrays Jerusalem. Here was Jehovahs Throne. The kings of the nations uttered their feeble voices from their governmental centers, but Jehovah roared as a lion from out of Zion.

The phrase, And the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, refers to the coming Judgment of the Lord to be so severe that it would affect every part of Israel, even the peaceful pastures of the shepherds, even to the top of Carmel.)

THE JUDGMENT AGAINST DAMASCUS

³Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron (For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, portrays an abrupt change by the Holy Spirit from His pronouncement of Judgment on Israel to the proclamation of punishment on neighboring heathen nations for their injurious treatment of His Own People):

⁴But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. (This probably referred to Ben-hadad III, the son of Hazael, who was a Monarch of small ability; under his sway, Syria sank into insignificance [II Ki., Chpt. 13]. Incidentally, Ben-hadad is a title corresponding to Pharaoh, Caesar, etc.)

⁵I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him who holds the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, sa ys the LORD. (And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, says the LORD, no doubt, pertains to the invasion some 50 years later of the Assyrian, Tiglath-Pileser, who killed Rezon and sacked Damascus, as well as leading multiple thousands of Syrians into captivity unto Kir, exactly as prophesied.)

THE JUDGMENT AGAINST GAZA (PHILISTIA)

⁶Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom (the phrase, Three transgressions... and for four, is a Hebrew idiom expressive of many. The phrase, To deliver them up to Edom, speaks of the Philistines handing over the captive Israelites to their bitterest enemies, the Edomites, as slaves. Gods Anger, as is obvious here, burns against such treachery and slavery, hence, the judgment on Gaza):

⁷But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof (Gaza is used here as the representative of the five cities of the Philistines):

⁸And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn My Hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord GOD. (Exactly as prophesied, there is no trace of Philistines left at this time, with part of this area presently occupied by the modern Palestinians, who are Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, etc.)

THE JUDGMENT AGAINST TYRUS

⁹Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant (evidently, to warrant this judgment, Tyre, in some way, had gotten its hands on some Israelitish prisoners, whom they delivered over to the Edomites. This cruel conduct was quite unprovoked, as no Jewish king had ever made war against Phoenicia or its capital.

And remembered not the brotherly covenant, refers to the original covenant made with Tyre by David and Solomon [II Sam. 5:11; I Ki. 5:1, 7-11; 9:11-14; II Chron. 2:11]):

¹⁰But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. (The punishments by Sargon of Assyria, and later by Nebuchadnezzar, who besieged the city for thirteen years, as well as its capture and destruction by Alexander the Great, are well-known.)

THE JUDGMENT AGAINST EDOM

¹¹Thus said the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever (now, the Prophet commences his denouncements against the three nations that were more kindred to Israel: Edom, Ammon, and Moab. And he kept his wrath forever, refers to Edoms relentless persecution, inhumanity, savage fury, and persistent anger against Israel. Edom sprang from Esau, and, in effect, is a brother of Israel, i.e., Jacob):

¹²But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

THE JUDGMENT AGAINST AMMON

¹³Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border (Ammon was connected with Israel by being an offspring of Lot, which Moab was, as well! That they might enlarge their border, concerns their greed for more territory, especially in later years when they seized the possessions of the Tribe of Gad a proceeding which brought upon them the denunciation of Jeremiah [Jer. 49:2-6]):

¹⁴But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind (Rabbah was the capital of Ammon, about 25 miles northeast of the Dead Sea, and is the same as present-day Ammon, Jordan):

¹⁵And their king shall go into the captivity, he and his princes together, says the LORD. (All these judgments were occasioned by the persecution inflicted by these heathen nations on Gods People, Israel.)