As we closed yesterday's passage we found the Lord calling upon some of Israel's historically traditional enemies to witness the things going on in the nation. We found Him asking the Philistines and the Egyptians to consider all He had done for Israel and to hear the evidence against those who had turned away from Him. He stated that the people were oppressing their fellow man, which is a theme we will see repeated as we continue moving on through the books of the prophets.
The Lord begins today's text like this: "'They do not know how to do right,' declares the Lord, 'who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted.' Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.'" (Amos 3:10-11) To paraphrase these words, He is saying, "The plunderer will become the plundered."
Who were the Lord's people plundering? According to the prophets of the Old Testament, they were plundering their fellow citizens. They were oppressing the poor and needy Israelites and they were being cruel to peaceful foreigners in their land. Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord accused them of plundering the poor and storing the stolen goods in their houses. He said they were crushing their fellow citizens and grinding the faces of the poor. (Isaiah 3:14-15) He stated they were depriving the poor of their rights and were oppressing the widows and the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:2) He said their clothes were stained with the blood of the innocent poor whom they'd wronged. (Jeremiah 2:34) He said they oppressed the poor and needy, robbed their fellow man, did not return things they borrowed, accepted bribes to shed blood, charged interest to their fellow Israelites (which He had forbidden in the law), practiced extortion, and oppressed the foreigners seeking refuge. (Ezekiel 18:12, Ezekiel 22:12, Ezekiel 22:29) The plundering referenced in the book of Amos and in the other books of the prophets is not the type of plunder a victorious army takes after defeating an enemy army; it's a term used by the prophets to denote unlawful gain.
An enemy will come in and plunder the nation. By the time the enemy is finished, not much will be left. "This is what the Lord says: 'As a shepherd rescues from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.'" (Amos 3:12) I'm reminded of a warning given by the Apostle Paul: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." (Galatians 6:7) Those who plundered the poor and needy, scarcely leaving them anything in their houses, will experience the same fate. An enemy will come and take from them just as they took from others.
The Lord sees how we treat our fellow man. He sees when we oppress those who are weaker than we are, when we take advantage of those who have less than we do, when we mistreat those who aren't in a good position to defend themselves. And He takes action! "He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help." (Psalm 72:12) "The Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy." (Psalm 140:12)
Chapter 3 concludes: "'Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,' declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty. 'On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall down to the ground. I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,' declares the Lord." (Amos 3:13-15) When the ten northern tribes separated from the two southern tribes and chose Jeroboam I to be their king, Jeroboam I set up golden calf altars at Bethel and at Dan. Bethel was the closest altar to his own palace so he and the kings who came after him brought their offerings to Bethel. Thus began the northern kingdom's slide into idolatry, for although originally the calves were intended to represent the Lord who brought them out of Israel, the Lord had forbidden them to fashion any type of image to represent Him. He knew that was a slippery slope into idolatry and, besides that, no image could do Him justice. Anything man could make would "lessen" His glory. Anything man could make to represent God would be similar to the idols the other nations made to represent gods that don't exist. Soon people would begin bowing to other images as well, which is exactly what happened. Here He vows to tear down these sinful altars along with the fine mansions and palaces built from funds that were gained dishonestly.
In closing our study of Chapter 3 I can't help thinking of a parable Jesus taught in Matthew 7. It was a parable about a wise man who built his house upon the rock and about a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The man who built his house upon the rock (the rock symbolizes the Lord---the firm foundation) did not suffer the loss of his home when a fierce storm came. But the man who built his house upon the sand (upon the temporary things of this world) lost everything he had. The majority of the people of Amos' day had built their houses upon the sand. They were worldly. They were interested in carnal things. They had forsaken the Lord in favor of false gods who didn't require holy living. Anything that is not built on the firm foundation of the Lord can be shaken---and will be shaken. This is what is being foretold for the nation.
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