Amo 2:6 | KingComments | STEP | Maybe Israel started to be suspicious when Amos was talking about Juda. The accusing finger of the prophet is coming more and more in their direction. They nodded violently when they heard him speak about the judgment on the nations around them. They also nodded approvingly when they heard him speak about the judgment on their brother and southern neighbor Judah. They may have openly expressed their joy at the judgment that will affect the nations and have a secret joy when they think of the judgment that will come over Judah. But if the accusing finger of the prophet is now pointed directly at them, their joy is over. The majority of those present in the market square of Bethel will have been Israelites. They will be the last and most extensively confronted with their own situation. Now they themselves are the object of God’s judgment. The accusation of Judah has been formulated in terms of violating principles of what God has said in the law. Israel’s transgressions are clearly stated. Judah despises the law; in Israel there is a total lack of fear of God. 1. Israel’s crimes are described in . 2. In the prophet refers to God’s actions in favor of them in the past. 3. In , Amos concludes his speech with a vivid description of the punishment they will receive for their behavior. Israel’s sins are measured widest. It is not enough to describe a single sin as a model for all sins, as it were, and in which the other sins are represented. There appear to be four transgressions: greed, trampling of the poor, an unnatural form of fornication, and idolatrous pleasures. What they do with righteous people, they will also do with the Righteous One. The Lord Jesus is sold by Judas. He is also the Poor One. The righteous is he who has the law at his side, so righteous in a legal sense. Because of corrupt justice and his poverty, the righteous is nevertheless declared guilty for the benefit of those who have money and respect. In selling, we can imagine that a poor person has become a serf of someone from whom he has had to borrow money and with whom he is therefore in debt. He may have had to buy a pair of sandals, of which he was unable to pay the price, and therefore was enslaved ( ; ). In the case of ‘selling’ one can also think of handing over to the arbitrariness of the other party.

‏ Amos 2:6

Judgment on Israel

Maybe Israel started to be suspicious when Amos was talking about Juda. The accusing finger of the prophet is coming more and more in their direction. They nodded violently when they heard him speak about the judgment on the nations around them. They also nodded approvingly when they heard him speak about the judgment on their brother and southern neighbor Judah. They may have openly expressed their joy at the judgment that will affect the nations and have a secret joy when they think of the judgment that will come over Judah. But if the accusing finger of the prophet is now pointed directly at them, their joy is over.

The majority of those present in the market square of Bethel will have been Israelites. They will be the last and most extensively confronted with their own situation. Now they themselves are the object of God’s judgment. The accusation of Judah has been formulated in terms of violating principles of what God has said in the law. Israel’s transgressions are clearly stated. Judah despises the law; in Israel there is a total lack of fear of God.

1. Israel’s crimes are described in Amos 2:6-8.

2. In Amos 2:9-11 the prophet refers to God’s actions in favor of them in the past.

3. In Amos 2:12-16, Amos concludes his speech with a vivid description of the punishment they will receive for their behavior.

Israel’s sins are measured widest. It is not enough to describe a single sin as a model for all sins, as it were, and in which the other sins are represented. There appear to be four transgressions: greed, trampling of the poor, an unnatural form of fornication, and idolatrous pleasures.

What they do with righteous people, they will also do with the Righteous One. The Lord Jesus is sold by Judas. He is also the Poor One. The righteous is he who has the law at his side, so righteous in a legal sense. Because of corrupt justice and his poverty, the righteous is nevertheless declared guilty for the benefit of those who have money and respect.

In selling, we can imagine that a poor person has become a serf of someone from whom he has had to borrow money and with whom he is therefore in debt. He may have had to buy a pair of sandals, of which he was unable to pay the price, and therefore was enslaved (Lev 25:39; 2Kgs 4:1). In the case of ‘selling’ one can also think of handing over to the arbitrariness of the other party.