And the secret things, most of the time, are the revealing of HIS Law, Love, Truth, and Word. The prophet Amos told us the LORD will do nothing but reveal HIS secrets to HIS servants, the prophets (Amos 3:7).
HE will not reveal HIS plans to those who do not fear HIM; they will not be a part of HIS covenant. Let us take part in the fear of the LORD, so we may be let in on the secret of the LORD, HIS covenant, which will protect us in the day of trouble.
Amos is a Hebrew name and it means “to carry” or “carried”. This name was given to Amos who carried the messages from God to the people of Israel. He appears on the Biblical Timeline Chart around 750 B.C. He was shepherd from the town of Tekoah in Judah. God called Amos to prophesy during the reigns of King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel. There was an earthquake in the land of Judah and two years before this quake had happened God sent Amos to warn the people about their sins and his judgment.
Divine secrets puts you ahead, keeps you on the right track not just with God but also with man and life in general.
God’s secrets are not for Church goers, neither are they for anyone who just calls himself/herself a Christian, but he reveals His secrets only to his servants, those who fear, and honour him in reverence.
Psalms 25:14 says “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant”.
Verse 7. - This and the following verse apply the foregoing, parables All the evils announced come from the Lord; but he brings none of them on the people without first warning by his prophets (comp. John 13:19; John 14:29). His secret (sod); unrevealed till then. Septuagint, παιδείαν, "instruction;" so the Arabic.
Nation | Reason Mentioned | Significance |
---|---|---|
Damascus (Syria) | They “threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron” (Amos 1:3). | Gilead was part of the land on the east side of the River Jordan inherited by the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (see Deuteronomy 3:10–13). When the Syrians conquered it under Hazael (2 Kings 10:32–33), they evidently treated their captives with barbaric cruelty, crushing them under iron threshing sleds. (A similar incident is recorded in 2 Samuel 12:31.) |
Gaza (Philistines) | They carried away “the whole captivity” to Edom (Amos 1:6). | This passage seems to refer to the time when the Philistines raided Judah under the reign of Joram (see 2 Chronicles 21:16–17). They sold all their captives to the archenemy of Israel, the Edomites. |
Tyrus or Tyre (Phoenicia) | They delivered up the Israelite captives to Edom (Amos 1:9). | Like Gaza, Phoenicia also sold Israelite captives although it may be that Phoenicia bought the captives from other enemies of Israel such as Syria and then sold them to Edom, since there is no record of Tyre capturing Israelites directly. |
Edom (Idumea) | Pursued his “brother” with the sword and kept his great wrath (Amos 1:11). | The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, whose name was also Edom (see Genesis 25:30). Thus, they were closely related peoples (“brothers”) to Israel, but showed only bitter hatred and hostility. The Edomites were some of Israel’s most determined enemies. |
Ammon (Ammonites; Rabbah was the capital of Ammon) | They “ripped up the women with child of Gilead” (Amos 1:13). | The incident mentioned here is not recorded in the Old Testament, but the Ammonites were a fierce desert people who often conquered parts of Israel. To kill pregnant women shows a particularly brutal nature. |
Moab (Moabites) | The king of Moab burned the bones of the king of Edom (see Amos 2:1). | Keil and Delitzsch noted: “The burning of the bones of the king of Edom is not burning while he was still alive, but the burning of the corpse into lime, i.e. so completely that the bones turned into powder like lime. … No record has been preserved of this event in the historical books of the Old Testament; but it was no doubt connected with the war referred to in 2 Kings iii., which Joram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah waged against the Moabites in company with the king of Edom; so that the Jewish tradition found in Jerome, viz. that after this war the Moabites dug up the bones of the king of Edom from the grave, and heaped insults upon them by burning them to ashes, is apparently not without foundation.” (Commentary, 10:1:250.) |
(8-7) Amos 2:4–16. The Punishments of Judah and Israel
The reasons for the punishment of Judah and Israel differ from those for the punishment of the gentile nations. No acts are mentioned except for the forsaking of the Lord and turning to wickedness. Israel had been given the law of God. Therefore, more was expected of them.
Panting “after the dust of the earth upon the head of the poor” (v. 7) refers to the people being general oppressors of the poor, showing them neither justice nor mercy. The idea is that the people longed to see the poor in such a state of misery that they threw dust on their heads (a sign of mourning). Verses 11 and 12 refer to the Nazarites, who were instituted by the Lord to show the spiritual nature of His religion (see Numbers 6:2–21). Amos condemned Israel for polluting the Nazarites by giving them wine to drink. He also chastized them for commanding the prophets not to prophecy. Apparently, Israel would have liked to set these servants of the Lord aside so that they could live every man according to his own way and feel comfortable in doing so.
(8-8) Amos 3:1–8. God Will Not Do Anything without Forewarning His Prophets
Amos spoke to the whole of Israel, all twelve families or tribes. Using the metaphor of a husband, the Lord reminded Israel that He had chosen no other (see Amos 3:2; Deuteronomy 7:6). He spoke of Himself as a faithful husband and reminded Israel of her covenant relationship with Him (see Jeremiah 3:19–20). In verse 3 He asked Israel to remember the need for unity in her relationship with Him. It is necessary, if they are to walk together, for them to be in agreement. The images are all chosen to express the same thing: God, has foreknowledge of all calamities (see vv. 2–6), but He never sends a calamity unless He first notifies His prophet of it (see v. 7; see also 2 Nephi 30:17; Jacob 4:8). Prophecy comes by direct revelation. God has knowledge of all His children and their doings and justly warns and threatens with His judgments. The fact that the prophets prophesy correctly is an indication that they are in communion with God and that they do indeed walk together.
Amos 3:7is a clear statement concerning the role of prophets. President N. Eldon Tanner said: “There are many scriptures which assure us that God is as interested in us today as he has been in all his children from the beginning, and thus we believe in continuous revelation from God through his prophets to guide us in these latter days. The Prophet Amos said, ‘Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1975, p. 52.)
(8-9) Amos 3:9–11. What Is the Significance of the Mention of Ashdod and Egypt?
“Ashdod, one of the Philistian capitals, is mentioned by way of example, as a chief city of the uncircumcised, who were regarded by Israel as godless heathen; and Egypt is mentioned along with it, as the nation whose unrighteousness and ungodliness had once been experienced by Israel to satiety [fulness]. If therefore such heathen as these are called to behold the unrighteous and dissolute conduct to be seen in the places, it must have been great indeed.” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 10:1:262–63.)
Amos 3:11says “an adversary there shall be,” which means there should be no escape. Wherever the people turned they would meet a foe, for God’s judgments and retributions are sure.
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