The first two verses of Amos are the
introduction of the prophet and set the mood of the rest of his book. To a
shepherd like Amos, the roar of a lion would be just about the most frightening
sound he could ever hear. The Lord wanted to be the Shepherd of Israel, but
because of their behavior he would now be a lion that roared before he devoured
their nation.
What follows over the next chapter
and some of the next is a round-robin of condemnation. The inspired prophet turns
his accusatory word towards the nations which surrounded Israel on every side.
As expected, none of these neighbors had especially good relations with Israel,
and most if not all of them were openly hostile.
Each of these short passages has the
same pattern: The Lord (speaking thru Amos) says that “for three sins. . .even
for four,” he'd punish the nation/group in question, then proceeded to name
both their crime and their punishment. The term “for three sins. . . even for
four” was a Hebrew idiom that indicates that a careful count has been made and
we can be sure of it. Up until the “third” sin the Lord had been patient, but
the “fourth” sin is roughly equivalent to saying “but this is the last straw.”
So what did Damascus do that was so
horrible? Damascus was the capital of Aram, now modern Syria. Israel and Aram
clashed, and the Arameans brutally attacked Israel’s territory east of the
Jordan, especially Gilead. For people like me who have zero experience with
farming, threshing was the process of separating grain from straw, done in that
day by driving a wooden sledge with sharp teeth over the cut stalks. Damascus
“threshed” the people of Gilead like wheat, either figuratively or possibly
literally: It certainly wouldn’t be out of character for them to literally run
the sledge over the peoples’ bodies.
Basically the Lord is condemning them for cruelty and brutality in their
conquest.
As we’ll see hammered home over the
next few days as we read Amos’s accusations of the nations, there’s an
underlying issue. God revealed
thru the Torah that all people are created in his image. This truth should
inform all our dealings with others. People die in warfare—that’s a given. But
there’s a difference between killing soldiers in the midst of a battle and
displaying cruelty towards people whom you’ve conquered. All people are to be treated
with respect and some measure of dignity, just because they’re image-bearers of
our Creator.
And whatever else he is, the Lord is
just. They disregarded basic human decency towards those they’d conquered, and
he would revisit this crime back onto their heads. Hazael was the name of one
of their great kings, the father of their current one. The “house” which he had
built up, his dynasty, would go up in flames like gasoline-soaked kindling in
the summertime, and this fire would spread to the fortresses of Ben-Hadad, the
current king. Their gates would be broken down, and the king—the symbol of
their nation and strength—would be destroyed.
So how can we apply this? Most of us
aren’t soldiers, and the ones I’ve known would never even think about committing
war crimes against enemy soldiers, much less non-combatants. But notice what
the people of Damascus were putting their faith in: Their king and his dynasty,
and military resources like fortresses and gates. And since they weren’t
following the Lord, they’d see for themselves just how fragile these defenses
could be.
And do I see other people as created in the image of my Lord? I might not cut with a literal sledge, but my
tongue can be just as sharp at times.
As we’ll see over the next few days,
before I write off those pagans as being barbaric and cruel, I might want to
think twice about myself.
Father God, everyone around me is
created in your image, and as such carries infinite value and worth. May my
words and thoughts reflect that, please.
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