Amos 3

Witnesses against Israel

¹Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

²“Only you have I known

from all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.”

• AMOS 3:2[NOTE]ONLY YOU. Being chosen by God did not mean a free pass. It meant God would hold them to account.

³Can two walk together

without agreeing where to go?

• AMOS 3:3[NOTABLE]A famous line, often used for marriage and friendship: people who walk together need to agree on the way. In Amos it is the first of his riddles that show nothing happens without a cause.
• AMOS 3:3[NOTE]CAN TWO WALK TOGETHER? The KJV says except they be agreed. Amos's riddles all make one point: nothing happens for no reason, and when God speaks, a prophet must speak.

⁴Does a lion roar in the forest

when he has no prey?

Does a young lion growl in his den

if he has caught nothing?

⁵Does a bird land in a snare

where no bait has been set?

Does a trap spring from the ground

when it has nothing to catch?

⁶If a ram’s horn sounds in a city,

do the people not tremble?

If calamity comes to a city,

has not Yahweh caused it?

⁷Surely the Lord Yahweh does nothing

without revealing His plan

to His servants the prophets.

• AMOS 3:7[NOTABLE]God does not act in secret. He warns before He judges.

⁸The lion has roared—

who will not fear?

The Lord Yahweh has spoken—

who will not prophesy?

⁹Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod

and to the citadels of Egypt:

“Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;

see the great unrest in the city

and the acts of oppression in her midst.”

¹⁰“For they know not how to do right,”

declares Yahweh.

“They store up violence and destruction

in their citadels.”

¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

“An enemy will surround the land;

he will pull down your strongholds

and plunder your citadels.”

¹²This is what Yahweh says:

“As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion

two legs or a piece of an ear,

so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued

having just the corner of a bed

or the cushion of a couch.

• AMOS 3:12[NOTE]TWO LEGS OR A PIECE OF AN EAR. A shepherd brought back what was left to prove a lion took the sheep, Exodus 22:13. Only scraps of Samaria will be left.

¹³Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,

declares the Lord Yahweh, the God of Hosts.

¹⁴On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,

I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel;

the horns of the altar will be cut off,

and they will fall to the ground.

• AMOS 3:14[PROPHECY]The altars of Bethel would be destroyed and the horns of the altar cut off → 2KI 23:15MEDIUM
• AMOS 3:14[DEMONIC]God will destroy the altars of Bethel

¹⁵I will tear down the winter house

along with the summer house;

the houses of ivory will also perish,

and the great houses will come to an end,”

declares Yahweh.

• AMOS 3:15[ARCHAEOLOGY]Ivory inlays and ink written pottery found at Samaria fit Ahab's ivory palace and the houses of ivory in Amos 3:15
• AMOS 3:15[NOTE]HOUSES OF IVORY. Carved ivory pieces have been dug up at Samaria. See The Samaria Ivories, 1 Kings.