Amos, Obadiah

Amos was one of two “prophets” who ministered to the northern nation of Israel (the other one was Hosea). Amos was from the small village of Tekoa in Judah where he tended sheep and grew figs. He was what we might call a layperson. He was not employed as a religious figure (priest or prophet). His real job was growing figs and tending to sheep.

One day God tapped him on his shoulder and said, “I’ve got a job for you to do, it won’t take long.” So, Amos must have found someone to take over his chores and he headed north to Israel.

Amos 1:3 Amos starts his message to Israel by attacking eight of the neighbors surrounding Israel. He attacks Damascus, Syria, located to the northeast, for their cruelty. Later they would be led into captivity by the Assyrians. 

Then he attacked Tyre, Phoenicia, located to the northwest, for their cruelty and slave trading. They were later destroyed by the Babylonians and Alexander the Great. 

Next on his list was Edom, located to the southeast, for their cruelty to their Israelite brother (Edomites were descendants of Esau, brother of Israel). The Edomites were destroyed by the Nabateans in 400 B.C. 

Ammon, to the east was condemned for their cruelty which included murdering pregnant women. The Babylonians destroyed them. 

Moab, located to the east, south east, was condemned for desecrating the dead, specifically for burning the bones of Edom’s king. The Babylonians would later attack them. 

Then he attacked Judah, to the south, for their apostasy from the Law.

Imagine how you might have responded to his message if you were in his audience. I imagine we would be nodding our heads in agreement. Perhaps there would be an “AMEN” shouted from the back of the room. We would want to know if he had any DVD’s for sale in the lobby or if Amos had a website so we can learn more about him and his message. 

The mood changed rather quickly when he turns his guns on Israel!

Amos 2:6 He condemns the Israelites for selling the righteous and needy for silver, corrupting the Nazarites and demanding the prophets of God to shut up (2:12), not knowing right from wrong (3:10), rich women taking advantage of the poor (4:1), bribing officials (5:12), and cheating people in business (8:5). 

Yet these folks were outwardly very religious. Notice they tithed (4:4), kept the Sabbath (8:5), they observed the Holy Days and offered burnt offerings (5:21). They were what we would today call “good church people.” But their devotion to God was only superficial.

So, how do you think Amos was received after delivering the second half of his message? 

Amos 7:12, the religious authority told Amos to “GET OUT! “Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.”

Amos responded in verse 14, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, and prophesy to my people Israel.'”

He then compares Israel to a basket of ripe fruit, ready for God’s judgment. Now earlier, in chapter 4, it says that the Israelites ignored God’s discipline when he sent a famine (4:6), then a drought (4:7-8), pestilence (4:9) plague and war (4:10) and an earthquake (4:11). So now Israel is going to be destroyed, but not completely. Of course, this happened when the Assyrians invaded in 721 B.C. 

Apparently when he was done with his “short-term mission trip” he returned to Tekoa and resumed his life tending sheep and raising figs. He must have had some great stories to tell his grand-children.

There are a couple of lessons that we can take away from Amos. One is that we should plan our lives, but keep in mind that at any time God can tap us on the shoulder and say, “Come with me, I’ve got something for you to do.” And we can’t say, “But I’ve never been to Bible College or Seminary? I’ve never been ordained or licensed?” If God chooses you, you are qualified!

A second lesson is that God is not impressed with dead religion that consists of rituals and outward appearances if it is divorced from ethical living. We can sing in the choir, serve on committees, teach Sunday school, wear “I love Jesus” pins on our lapels and have crosses and Christian art displayed in our homes. But, if we are not living a life that reflects the character of God, He isn’t impressed. He is not impressed if we whisper a beautiful prayer on Sunday but with the same lips whisper gossip and slander about someone on Monday. He isn’t impressed if we warmly shake someone’s hand on Sunday but with the same hand steal from our employer on Tuesday. 

Consider James 1:27, which says that TRUE religion that God finds acceptable is to take care of widows and orphans in their distress and to keep their lives from the corruption of the world.

Micah 6:8; says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Notice there are few commendations for observing rituals and church traditions. The most elaborate worship is but an insult to God when offered by those who have no mind to conform to His ethical demands.

OBADIAH

THE DESTRUCTION OF EDOM WHO HAD MISTREATED THE ISRAELITES

Before you read these notes you might want to go to the Frequently asked Questions section and read, "How did you like my book?"

This book is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Much like telegrams, which were very brief in their messages and usually delivered bad news, Obadiah is a brief message delivering bad news of Edom’s doom. So, who were the Edomites and what did they do to deserve such a fate? The Edomites were descendants of Esau, half-brother of Isaac. Do you recall the "sibling rivalry" they had where Esau sold his birthright to Isaac, etc. in Genesis 25-27? Well, the Edomites were constantly mistreating the Israelites. For instance, when Moses wanted to lead his people through Edom, their request was rejected (Num 20:14-20). Not only was passage denied, the actually came out against Moses with a large and powerful army. And when Jerusalem was being attacked, the Edomites not only stood by and watched, they gloated over Israel’s devastation.

In verse 4, God says, "I will bring you down."  This is not an e-mail message that I want to get from God.

Why would God want to destroy these people? Verses 10-15 say, "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune. You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble. The day of the Lord is near for ALL nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head."

What is happening to Edom will in time happen to all nations. Judgment is coming, for the entire world.

There are a couple of passages in Scripture which indicate that there is a priority to our concerns for others. Our first responsibility is to our immediate family. In I Tim 5:8 Paul wrote, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." God expects us to take special care of our families, not bring harm to them as the Edomites did to Israel.

But, our concern should extend beyond our families. Gal 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to ALL people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." So, it appears that our first priority is to our immediate families; then to our church family and then to all others.



God expected better behavior on the part of Edom towards their brothers, the Israelites. Because they were so cruel to them, God sent Obadiah to declare their doom.