Monday 07 May 2018

Psalm: Psalm 55:1- 8

Background

Amos was not a professional prophet, but a sheep breeder and tiller of sycamore-fig trees who came from a small village of Tekoa in the Southern Kingdom. He may have been a semi-nomad, a tent dweller moving on from time to time. Or his sheep-breeding might suggest a man of some wealth. He was one of the first prophets to have his words written down. Dating the prophecy to an earthquake perhaps suggests that Amos was only active for a short time, perhaps for one festival in Bethel in the Northern Kingdom around 750BC.

At times of national conflict, prophets were regularly called on to proclaim God’s blessing on the cause and to curse their enemies. In this passage, Amos followed the expected line of condemnation using stereotypical phrases to rouse the righteous indignation of his hearers against the sins of Israel’s neighbours for their atrocities in war.

Amos will go on in the next chapter to point the finger at Judah (Southern Kingdom) and Israel (Northern Kingdom) for their own sins, showing his ability to critique his own people and hold them to account. This was a surprising twist in the normal pattern of ancient prophecy.

Amos compared God to a roaring lion presenting a fierce, angry, judging image of God (verse 2). The judgement pronounced over each neighbour is a judgement of fire, a symbol of the divine wrath. Mount Carmel is traditionally a lush area.

In verses 3-5, Damascus, the capital of Syria, was condemned for its cruelty toward Gilead (in northeast Israel) pictured as a threshing sledge run over God’s people. (Hazael is a common name among Syrian kings). Amos may have lived to see this prophecy come true as Damascus fell to the Assyrians in 732BC.

In the following verses, other places faced harsh words:

• Gaza represented the whole of Philistia. It was condemned for deporting a whole band of exiles, which may have been an allusion to slave-trading (verses 6-8).
• Tyre was condemned for the same crime as Gaza (verses 9-10).
• The Edomites were condemned for pursuing their brother, usually meaning Israel. This looks like a later insertion into the oracles, reading back the fall of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) (verses 11-12).
• The Ammonites were condemned for a common atrocity against women in ancient warfare. The “storm on the day of the whirlwind” (v. 14) is likely to suggest the tempest which accompanies the appearances of God in judgement (verses 13-15).

To Ponder

• What makes you angry or disturbed about how other nations conduct their affairs?
• If you had lived in Gaza and heard of Amos’ oracles against you, what might you have said?
• How comfortable are you with the idea of God’s judgement? Why/why not?