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TRfZCK THROUGH THE RTBLE
Sy G. CHHPSELL MORQAN, Westminster Chapel, London, England.
Appearing Ebery Week During 1907. (Copyright American Serial Rights applied Tor by The Golden Site Publiehint Co. All Righto Resorbed.)
AMOS—NATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
A. Declamations, i., ii. B. Proclamations. iii.-vi. C. Revelations, vii.-ix. 10 D ’ Restora^oa
ix. 11-15
I. Damascus. (Syria.) i. 3-5 I. Jehovah’s Verdict and I. The Locusts. I. Preliminary.
...... Sentence. iii. Judgment threatened and 11-13
11. Gaza. (Philistia.) 1. 6-8 j The Privileged to be restrained. vii. 1-3 i. “I will.”
111. Tyre. (Phoenicia.) punished. 1, 2 ii. “That they
«n in ii. The Prophet’s Vindica- • rhe F re ‘ may.”
tion of himself. 3-8 Judgment threatened and
IV. Edom. 11, 12 iii. The Punishment of the 1 estrained. vii. 4-6 11. Progressive. 14
V. Children of Ammon. Privileged and its Rea- m. The Plumbline. ii'“Thlyshall ”
i. 13-15 SOn ' 945 Judgment determined. 1 iney snalL
... ... •• 1 o I*- Jehovah’s Summons. iv. vii - HI- Permanent. 15
VI- Moab. 11. 1-3 . The Indictment of the (Historical Interpolation. i. “I will.”
VII. Judah. 4, 5 Women. 1-3 I
WIII , , ’ _ The final Summons to IV . The Basket f Summer
VIII. Israel. 6-16 the People. 4-13' Fruit
111. Jehovah’s Judgment, v., vi. Judgment imminent. viii.
i. The Lamentation, v. 1, 2 y. Jehovah.
ii. The Sequence of Expla- Judgment executed, ix. 1-10
nation. v. 3-17
i
iii. The double Woe.
v. 18-vi. i
fa—————————
THE PROPHECY OF AMOS.
A
MOS was practically co-temporary with
Hosea. In the reign of Jeroboam he
came out of Tekoa to Bethel. In all
probability his messages were delivered
during the short period when Jeroboam
was king of Israel and Uzziah king of
Judah. The latter years of the reign
of Jeroboam were characterized by
great material prosperity on the one
hand, and, on the other, by the prevalence of in
justice, oppression and vice. The poor were ground
down under the heel of the rich. This material
prosperity was construed by the people as evi
dence of divine protection, while yet they were
forgetful of the requirements of the law.
National accountability is the burden of the mes
sage which he delivered in a series of declamations
against the nations as such; in set addresses to
the chosen people; in a series of visions which deal
with the coming judgment; and in a brief final
word prophetic of ultimate restoration.
The book falls naturally, therefore, into these
divisions:' Declamations (1,2); Proclamations
(3-6); Revelations (7-9:10); Restoration (9:11-15).
A. DECLAMATIONS.
The second verse of the first chapter gives us the
key to the book. Jehovah declared Himself in
judgment. Beginning at the point furthest from
Israel, the prophet delivered his messages to the
nations as such. Each in turn is seen to pass be
fore Jehovah and receive sentence.
The sin of Syria had been that of cruelty. Je
hovah ’s patience had been manifested. At last
sentence was uttered. The flame would devour.
All defence would be useless, and the people would
be driven into captivity. The sin of Philistia had
been that of the slave trade. Here, as before, and
as in each subsequent case, the form of the declara
tion reveals the patience of God. Philistia would
be visited with the devouring flame; her inhabi
tants be cut off. and even the remnant perish.
Phoenicia’s special guilt had been that, in spite of
the covenant made, she had acted as a slave agent,
Edom was doomed for determined and revengeful
unforgiveness. The children of Ammon were spe
cially denounced for cruelty based upon cupidity.
Moab’s chief wickedness had been her shocking
and vindictive hatred.
Having thus uttered the word of God concern
ing the surrounding nations, thereby revealing the
fact of His government over all, the prophet turned
to Judah, and declared that she also was to share
the doom of the other nations, because she had de
spised the law of Jehovah, and had not kept His
The Golden Age for September 12, 1907.
statutes. Finally, he spoke to Israel. All the fore
going had been in preparation for this. lie de
scribed the sins of Israel in detail, and with al
most startling directness. He charged the people
with injustice, avarice, oppression, immorality, pro
fanity, blasphemy and sacrilege. Moreover, he
declared that their sin had been greatly aggravated
by the privileges which they had enjoyed. They
had seen the Amorites destroyed before them for
the very sins which they themselves had subse
quently committed. They had been brought up
out of Egypt, and so knew the power of Jehovah.
They had raised up sons for prophets, and young
men for Nazarites. These sons they had corrupted,
having given wine to the Nazarites, and silenced the
prophets. The sentence against them was that of
oppression and judgment, from which there should
be no possibility of escape.
B. PROCLAMATIONS.
Having thus uttered the declamations of Jeho
vah’s judgment upon all the nations, the prophet
proceeded to deliver his special message to Israel.
This was done in a series of three discourses. In
each, the introductory word is, “Hear this word.”
The first discourse consists of a statement of Je
hovah’s verdict and sentence. It opens with a sim
ple declaration that the privileged people were to
be punished. Their privileges were named, and
their punishment announced. In view of the prob
ability that the people would object to his message,
the prophet, in an interpolation, defended himself.
By a series of seven questions, he illustrated a
principle which may thus be stated—an effect proves
a cause. The illustrations may thus be summarized •
Communion proves agreement. The lion, roaring,
proves the prey. The cry of the young lion proves
the prey possessed. The fall of a bird proves the
bait. The springing of the snare proves the bird
to be taken. The trumpet proves alarm. Calamity
in the city proves Jehovah. From this principle
the prophet deduced an application. Jehovah hath
roared; therefore fear. Jehovah hath spoken;
therefore prophesy. Turning back to the main ar
gument, Amos proclaimed the punishment of the
privileged, and declared its reason. The reason was
stated to the heathen, who were invited to witness
the justice of the doom.
The second discourse consists of Jehovah’s sum
mons to the people. It commences with a severe
and terrible indictment of the women. He ad
dressed them as “ye kine of Bashan,” which de
scription reveals the fact of the degradation of
womanhood to mere animalism. The prophet de
scribed their doings, declaring that they oppressed
the poor, crushed the needy, and said unto their
lords. “Bring and let us drink.” Their doom
would be that they would be taken away with
hooks —that is, in shame and helplessness —and, in
the presence of judgment, would take refuge in
wild flight. He then uttered the final summons to
the people. In this call there was a piece of sting
ing-satire. They were to come to Bethel to trans
gress; to Gilgal to multiply transgression. Their
sacrifices they were to offer every morning, instead
of once a year; their tithe every third day instead
of every third year; their sacrifice was leavened;
they made freewill offerings and published them.
He then described God’s patience and theii per
versity. He had spoken to them by famine, by
drought, by blasting and mildew, t»y pestilence and
sword, by earthquake. After each description the
prophet declared, ‘‘Yet have ye not returned unto
Me.” All this culminated in a great call, “Pre
pare to meet thy God.”
The third discourse is a description of Jeho
vah’s judgment. This opens with a lamentation
of the virgin of Israel: “She shall no more rise:
she is cast down upon her land: there is none to
raise her up.” Following this, the prophet ut
tered a sequence of explanations, each commencing
with the words, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Finally he pronounced the double woe. Two
classes of the sinning people were addressed. First,
those w T ho desired “the day of the Lord”; that is
most evidently, according to the description, the
hypocrites. They were religionists who kept feasts,
observed solemn assemblies, brought burnt, meal,
and peace offerings, sang songs and made melody
with viols, but who, nevertheless, were living the
life of sin. With tremendous force the prophet
described God’s attitude toward such: “I hate,
I despise .... I will take no delight . . . .
I will not accept .... neither will I' regard
. . . , I will not hear.” Jehovah’s call was for
righteousness and judgment. The “day of the
Lord” for the hypocrites would be one of darkness
and destruction. The second class were the in
different—those “that are at ease in Zion ” The
prophet described them as living in luxury and
abandoned to animalism, declaring that against
them Jehovah would proceed in swift and terrible
judgment.
C. REVELATIONS.
In this division the prophet gave a five-fold vision
of judgment, introduced in the first four cases by
the words, “The Lord God showed me.” The last
vision was that of Jehovah Himself. The vision
of the locusts declared judgment to be threatened
and restrained in answer to intercession. The
prophet saw the locusts eating up the grass, and
made intercession on behalf or* the people. In
answer to this Jehovah repented, and judgment
was arrested. The vision of the fire had the same
significance. The prophet saw* the devouring fire,
and interceded. His intercession was answered by
Jehovah’s repentance, and the judgment was re
strained. The vision of the plumbline is different.
Jehovah was seen standing by a wall testing it
with a plumbline. Having done so, He appealed
to the prophet. No charge was made, but it is
evident that, as Amos beheld,, he realized all the
irregularities the plumbline revealed. There was
no intercession. Doom was determined.
So long as prophecy was mingled with messages
of mercy it was tolerated by the people. Directly
that element was missing hostility broke forth, and
we have an interpolation upon the revelation, giv
ing the story of the opposition of Amaziah and the
answer of Amos. This Amaziah was an impostor,
and yet held the position of priest of Bethel. He
reported to Jeroboam what Amos was saying, ad
vising his exile. He, moreover, attempted to ap
peal to the fear of Amos, and --advised him to fiee
to Judah. The answer of Amos was full of
dignity born of the consciousness of the divine au
thority of his commission. He declared that he
was no prophet, but that Jehovah had taken him
find spoken to him; thus he had become a prophet
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