YOU DID NOT LISTEN
In the first two chapters of the Book of Amos, we are brought face-to-face with one of the Bible’s most powerful themes: the judgment of the nations. These judgments are not isolated passages hidden within the Scriptures. They form a prophetic pattern that many prophets speak of.
These prophecies indicate that, whereas in the past the nations surrounding Israel attacked individually or, at times, in groups, as we saw in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and again in the conflicts of 2005–2006, a final moment is still coming when these nations will unite for one last great attack against Israel. At that point, it would be difficult, even impossible, for Israel to defend itself.
This is precisely what we read in Psalms 83, where a confederation of nations declares, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.” Then comes this chilling statement, “For they have conspired together with one mind.”
This is what they have attempted before, but they will succeed in the end: they will gather all their forces against Israel. This is still future, and the way things are going, it seems these nations are now being prepared for this assault, which will trigger the Second Coming. Some of these very nations that will rise in the future, six of them, are mentioned in Amos. For each one, God reveals not only their evil intentions but also the coming judgment awaiting them.
And one more time, before we look more deeply into these future events, we remember that these prophecies were not written merely to predict destruction. They were given to reveal something about the God of the Bible Himself. Behind the noise of politics, wars, alliances, and world leaders, there is a greater plan unfolding, a prophetic path the nations are following, often without even realizing it.
And this is where we, who believe in the Scriptures and in the God who gave them, find refuge, peace, and certainty. This is the message we want to share with the world and with Israel, which finds itself increasingly isolated because the prophetic judgments of Amos do not stop with the nations. It also turns directly toward Israel herself.
And there, Amos asks a question that still echoes today: Why is Israel the way it is? What happened to this nation? And more importantly, what is the solution? Amos is about to answer all these questions.
And this brings us to the very heart of today’s message. After denouncing the six nations surrounding Israel, the Book of Amos suddenly turns its attention toward Judah. And here Amos exposes one central problem, a problem that has followed the people of Israel from the very beginning. We read in Amos 2:4, “Thus says the LORD, ‘For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they rejected the Torah of the Lord…’. Here lies the core of the issue: the rejection and disregard of the pure Word of God.This same problem is repeatedly addressed throughout the Scriptures, from Moses through the prophets and by nearly all the writers of the New Testament.
And this is not merely a Jewish problem; it is also the problem of the visible church. In fact, the last church described in Scripture, Laodicea, appears to follow the same path Israel did throughout history, leaving only a small remnant faithful. It is this very point that Amos will continue to develop in the coming chapters.
And something important emerges here: when the Lord speaks of rejecting the pure Word of God, the Torah, He is speaking first and foremost of the written Torah, not the many additional laws and traditions later added to Judaism, nor the traditions and systems later added to Christianity. Anyone who truly seeks God will ultimately find Him in His Word, for this is where He reveals Himself more clearly than in any other experience or human system.
Later, Isaiah echoes the same warning when he says in 5:13, “My people have gone into captivity because they have no knowledge.” Knowledge of whom? Knowledge of God, as He reveals Himself through His Word. Less than thirty years after Amos gave his warning, the northern kingdom of Israel went into captivity in 721 BC. That is a close time in prophecy , however, consider Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Assyria in chapter 8 with the mention of the child Maher -shalal-hash -baz. Before the child would grow up, the Assyrians would conquer Samaria. This campaign under Tiglath-Pileser III began around 732 BC, just a few years later. Whereas Amos’ prophecy was approximately a generation before and in times of prosperity, Isaiah’s warning is addressed when threats were not just notional, but were in the very near future.
Later, judgment came again with the greater exile in 586 BC and the Diaspora in 70 AD. Indeed, the judgment pronounced in Amos 2:5 says, “So I will send fire upon Judah, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.” Did this not happen in 586 BC? And again in 70 AD? Yet the prophecy of Amos has not fully finished speaking, because there is much calamity ahead for the Jewish people before the Messiah returns.
The warnings of the prophets still echo today. Other prophets also speak of another future dispersion and time of judgment, a prophecy many today are desperately trying to avoid or reinterpret. And perhaps one of the saddest parts of this passage is the word Amos uses for “rejected.” The Hebrew word is: מָאַס (māʾas). It means: to reject, to despise, to cast away with disdain and abhorrence.
And this same rejection ultimately reminds us of the rejection of Yeshua Himself, the One who perfectly embodied the Torah, fulfilled it completely, and lived it without sin.
And then we have Hosea 4:6, at almost the same period of biblical history, adding this, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The Hebrew word for destroyed may be too strong; the word nidmu means cut off, silenced, and the reason for this sad state is a lack of knowledge of God. Is this why Israel has not yet fulfilled the reason for its election, to be a light to the Gentiles; that is, to promote and proclaim the words of the Torah to the nations? If you ever wondered why Israel is the way it is, ask the prophets.
And why is there such an aversion to the written Word of God today? As the ancient Israelites had that problem then, i.e., not wanting to hear the doom ahead, we might ask why we so easily dismiss the many prophecies of the end times and those pertaining to Yeshua.
Could it also be because the prophets speak of difficult end-time realities that stand in direct contrast to the optimism so common today, both within parts of Judaism and within churches influenced by replacement theology? Modern man has many reasons for resisting the written Word of God. Yet Amos reminds us that the rejection of God’s Word has always led to confusion, captivity, and judgment, while returning to it leads to truth, life, and restoration. The remaining portion of the book is a deep call from God to Israel and to all to come back to Him.
Go to the video – The Book of Amos Part 3 – Why is Israel the Way It Is?