For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
The Day of the Lord
- They were not prepared to meet their God (4:12)! And yet they longed for the Day of the Lord, which would be their undoing. Amos is correcting a misconception (Day of Lord) probably developed at Bethel (5:5-6, 7:13).
- “In fleeing from the lion of the present, such persons will bump into the bear of the future” (Craigie 164).
- As mentioned earlier, lions inhabited Palestine until about 1300 AD.
- Bears (2 Samuel 17:8, Proverbs 17:12, Hosea 13:8) survived until the beginning of the 20th century.
- “The desperate, more detailed pictures of the Day in the prophets (e.g. Is. 13:6-16; Joel 2:1-2, 30-31; Zp. 1:7-16) take their dark colours from Amos’ palette” (Hubbard 180).
- Yet why the stern, dark, severe, judgment?
The Lord's demand for righteousness
- “I cannot stand” || Revelation 3:16. God will no longer take any pleasure in aroma of their sacrifices, which is sickening, not pleasing.
- Sacrifice without obedience is meaningless ritual (1 Samuel 15:22-23, Psalm 51:16-17, Isaiah 1:10-17, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Jeremiah 7:21-26, Malachi 1:6-14).
- These were not "solemn assemblies," but noisy festivals. Archaeologists have discovered in Egypt evidence of harps (v.23; see Psalm 33:2) of 10+ strings. Some stood 10-12’ high!
- The best-known verse in Amos is v.24.
- Righteousness mustn't just stop and start like a desert stream (wadi); it must be consistent, continuous.
- God's people should be righteous all the time, not just on special occasions.
- Justice is one of the fundamental attributes of God.
Exile is certain!
- Concerning the "good old days," Israel exhibited general devotion, despite periods of complaint, rebellions, especially in contrast to the present corruption, which make the earlier era appear more righteous. Jeremiah 2:2-3 and Hosea 2:14-15 also look back on those days of relative devotion.
- Israel will be sent into exile, the ultimate punishment for the covenant people of God.
- Loss of land, loss of sovereignty, state of being cursed.
- Opposite of Abrahamic promises (Genesis 12): land, statehood, blessing.
Application
- Don't get caught up in end-time speculations. The day of the Lord is doomsday (doom = judgment in older English). For most this will not be a time of rejoicing. We can only be ready by living right (walking justly -- see also Micah 6:8). For more on this, listen to the audio series Revelation and the End of the World, and also hear the podcasts in the Last Things category.
- We must be careful not to equate noise and exertion with true zeal. Religion can never take the place of righteousness.
- There are times for self-reflection, and even for corporate reflection. Yet it is much easier to feel safe in the group. That's why the trumpet blast is so vital; that's why the roar of the lion has a chance to shock us, to bring us back to spiritual reality.
- I should be praying for the Lord to develop in me a strong sense of social justice. For we will be judged on the basis of our faithfulness to our mission, which is two-pronged: help the poor (Matthew 25) and preach the word (Matthew 28). Neither one of them is optional.
Advanced
- Dark / light (v.20) refer to danger/safety; there are no necessary moral overtones.
- Does 5:25 suggest the possibility that Israel didn't bring sacrifices in the wilderness? (There is little mention of the sacrificial system in the days of the Tabernacle.) In his speech in Acts 7, Stephen embellishes – changing "beyond Damascus" to "beyond Babylon," thus adapting the passage to the reality of Israel’s history.
- In Acts 15, "the remnant of Edom" has been modified to "the rest of mankind" (citing the LXX). This change enhances the theme of the universalization of the church.
- Two NT citations of Amos 5:25-27 cited quoted in Acts 7:42-43, and 9:11-12 in Acts 15:16-17.
- The same two passages quoted in the NT (5:25-27 and 9:11-12) are also cited in the DSS: CD 7:14-15 and CD 7:16, 4QFlor 1:12 respectively.
- In v.26, two Assyrian astral deities are mentioned, Kaiwan and Sakkuth. The Hebrew vowels have been deliberately changed to heighten the seriousness of the charge of idolatry.