THE LORD SPEAKS; WHO CAN BUT PROPHESY?
Amos 3:1-15
The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— who can but prophesy? (8)
chapter 3
1. Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the LORD has spoken against you - against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2. "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins."
3. Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?
4. Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?
5. Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there? Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?
6. When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
7. Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8. The lion has roared - who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken - who can but prophesy?
9. Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people."
10. "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, "who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted."
11. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses."
12. This is what the LORD says: "As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch."
13. "Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob," declares the LORD, the LORD God Almighty.
14. "On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
15. I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished," declares the LORD.
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1. The rest of the book of Amos is spoken against the nation of Israel. The Lord was especially hard on them because they were the people who had received God’s call. This meant they had a special responsibility toward him. The Lord asked Israel several questions which were meant to illustrate a cause-and-effect relationship between God’s judgment and the people’s sin. Why do the people tremble? Because the trumpet sounded. Why do the people prophesy? Because the Lord has spoken. Why has God’s judgment come to them? Because they had sinned against him. God cannot abide with sin. When he sees unrepented sin, he punishes it.
2. The sins of Israel that the Lord rebukes through Amos are the sins of opulence and greed. Their greed caused them to plunder and loot, filling their fortresses with ill-gotten gain. The Lord called on Philistia (Ashdod) and Egypt as witness against Israel (9). So the Lord would send Assyria to plunder Israel’s wealth. Their judgment would lead to their destruction as a nation. When we hear the Lord’s voice, we should listen and prophesy to others.
Prayer: Father, help us to repent our greed for wealth. Bless our nation to turn to you and hear you when you speak.
One Word: The Lord speaks, who can but prophesy?