Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Amos 3

• Learn by God’s Punishment on His People. Know there is a God that doesn’t turn His eyes away from unrighteousness.
• Amos lived in Judah but prophesied in Israel during the time of Jeroboam II King of Israel (#32 on the chart at the end of the chapter).

Authority of the Prophet’s Message

The Blessing of God for His Chosen:

Amos 3:¹ Hear this word that the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

A One-Sided Bad Relationship:

Amos 3:² “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

• God has been a faithful husband to the Jews, but they acted the harlot, worshiping idols.

Amos 3:³ Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

• The name of God “El” means “God is like an ox, a burden bearer, who yokes Himself to man in order to carry man’s burdens.” (the ancient Hebrew letters are a pictograph of an ox head and the yoke).
  Ox head (E or A) Yoke (L)
  
• The Hebrews keep pulling themselves away from God.

Be Assured These Punishments Come From Your God

Amos 3:⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion cry (Lit. give his voice) out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

Amos 3:⁵ Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap (bait or lure) for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?

Amos 3:⁶ If a trumpet (ram’s horn) is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) have done it?

Amos 3:⁷ Surely the Lord God (‘ăḏōnāy Yᵊhōvâ) does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Amos 3:⁸ A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God (‘ăḏōnāy Yᵊhōvâ) has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?

Punishment of Israel’s Sins

Amos 3:⁹ “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod (Or oppression),
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria (In Israel);
See great tumults in her midst,
And the oppressed within her.

• Samaria was not founded until about 880/879 BC, when Omri made it the new capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel and named it Samaria. It remained the capital until its destruction by the Assyrians in 722 BC.
  Britannica Encyclopedia
• See map v14 below

Amos 3:¹⁰ For they do not know to do right,’
Says the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ),
‘Who store up violence and robbery (Or devastation) in their palaces.’ ”

Amos 3:¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God (‘ăḏōnāy Yᵊhōvâ):

“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”

Amos 3:¹² Thus says the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ):

“As a shepherd takes (Or snatches) from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!

• Those who are easy prey are at the outside edge from the masses and are taken first.

Amos 3:¹³ Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God (‘ăḏōnāy yᵊhōvâ), the God of hosts (‘ĕlōhîm ṣāḇā’),

Amos 3:¹⁴ “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel (calf idol – north of Jerusalem);
And the horns (power) of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.

• History: Back when the nation split into Israel and Judah, the first Jeroboam’s “sin” was creating two calves of gold, and sending one to Bethel as a worship site in the south of the Kingdom, and the other to Dan as a worship site in the north, so that the people of the northern kingdom would not have to continue to go to Jerusalem to worship (See: I Kings 12:26–30).

Amos 3:¹⁵ I will destroy (Literally: strike) the winter house along with the summer house;
The houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ).

• “Some of the most important remains of the Israelite period include a valuable collection of ivory carvings, which were probably from the palace of King Ahab (~874–c. 853 BC), and a series of ostraca (pottery or limestone inscription fragments) from the time of King Jeroboam II (8th century BC).”Some of the most important remains of the Israelite period include a valuable collection of ivory carvings, which were probably from the palace of King Ahab (~874–c. 853 BC), and a series of ostraca (pottery or limestone inscription fragments) from the time of King Jeroboam II (8th century BC).”
  Britannica Encyclopedia
  

• Ahab’s House of Ivory:
• 

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{1 of 2} Amos 3 – “House of Ivory”
{2 of 2} Amos 3 – “Hamas! A Secret Plan” [Amp Bible vs. 2,7,10,14]

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