You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to theLord. R : The whole plain is filled with these singular aqueducts, some of them running for 2 or 3 miles underground. 1:93. , Leviticus 19:19 You shall keep my statutes. . Neglect a relationship and just like a field left unplowed, weeds will overrun everything and whatever was planted will die. Thanks John Mark. and four times who were slain, In Atreus' cause, upon the Trojan plain.". 3 Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. For the prophet had no mission to them; he only declares to Israel the ground of the visitation which was to come upon them. It was rich in pasture (Numbers 32:1) and famous for its balm (Jeremiah 8:22). Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they have threshed Gilead This is what the LORD says: "The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! vii., c. 6: ; "Those men shall be thrice and four times happy.". Notice that the illustrations that Jesus needed to make His points were literally all around Him. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. The identification of the sin becomes the key element of the oracle itself with its subsequent consequence. And he told them many things in parables, saying: A sower went out to sow. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window). Amos specifically notes one defining cultural sin. P It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. Damascus (Syria, also called Aram) "threshed" Gilead. Soul-murder is worse than physical murder, and requires more devilish art. All is vanity. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.Leviticus 19:23-25 When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. : the drag (or board), under the same name rtz (properly something sharpened) which it has in Amos 1:3, in Isaiah 28:27, "For not with a sharp threshing-board is Nigella-seed [Tristram, N. H. B. p. 444] trodden out; nor is the wheel of a (threshing-) wagon turned about upon cummin," Job 41: . Others believe the threshing is a metaphor for Israels defeat at the hands of Syria (cf. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. All rights reserved. J Taught by the face of creation around them, where the course of every tiny rivulet, as it burst from the rocks, was marked by a rich luxuriance, the Damascenes of old availed themselves of the continual supply from the snows of Hermon or the heights of Anti-libanus, with a systematic diligence, of which, in our northern clime, as we have no need, so we have no idea. In the days of Jehu, Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel from Jordan eastward; all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Arorer which is by the River Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan 2 Kings 10:32-33; in those of Jehoahaz, Jehus son, he oppressed them, neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing 2 Kings 13:7. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. In similar fashion, Damascus had threshed Gilead with their instruments of war. All these nations fall under the divine judgment because each has committed offenses against the holy God. On the west and north the city was far and wide fenced by orchards, like thick dense woods, which stretched four or live miles toward Libanus. Specially shod animals walked around on the stalks until the grain separated from the hulls. If Amoss preaching bears witness to his insistence that nations need to acknowledge their sin, should not our preaching do the same? Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. N Such an attraction caused the Arameans to thresh the Israelites of Gilead with implements of sharp iron. He wept because he knew the evil that [Hazael] will do to the people of Israel. In particular, Hazael will set their fortresses on firekill their young men with the sword, dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their pregnant women (2 Kings 8:12). It is likely that the formula was used as a rhetorical device to emphasize the fact that the cities or nations committed crime after crime, thus deserving Gods judgment. Amos does not express it. As a result of God breaking the gate bar of Damascus, the people of Aram would go exiled to Kir. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. The unexamined field soon becomes unusable. There Elisha announces the coming death of Ben-hadad but weeps over the future that Hazael will bring to Israel. Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Here, Damascus represents the entire nation of Aram (or Syria). The Arameans have crushed [the people of] Gilead with iron-spiked threshing sledges. The city of Gilead was an Israelite region located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, just south of Damascus. at least and that is a COMPARED TO WHAT The punishment is first denounced upon their enemies, and that, for their sins, directly or indirectly, against themselves, and God in them. In ancient Israel, gates and doors were usually locked with a bar made of wood or metal that slid into openings in the posts. Of the situation of this place, and the delightfulness of it; see Gill on Jeremiah 49:25; and of its founder, and the signification of its name; see Gill on Acts 9:2; to which may be added, that though Justin says it had its name from Damascus, a king of it before Abraham and Israel, whom he also makes kings of it; and Josephus would have Uz the son of Aram the founder of it, to which Bochart agrees; yet the Arabic writers ascribe the building of it to others; for the Arabs have a tradition, as Schultens says, that there were Canaanites anciently in Syria; for they talk of Dimashc the son of Canaan, who built the famous city of Damascus, and so it should seem to be called after his name; and Abulpharagius says, that Murkus or Murphus, as others call him, king of Palestine, built the city of Damascus twenty years before the birth of Abraham: from this place many things have their names, which continue with us to this day, as the "damask" rose, and the "damascene" plum, transplanted from the gardens that were about it, for which it was famous; and very probably the invention of the silk and linen called "damasks" owes its rise from hence. : A native, Adad, having gained great power, became king of Damascus and the rest of Syria, except Phoenicia. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. In pagan poetry also, as a trace of a mystery which they had forgotten, three is a sacred whole; from where thrice and fourfold blessed stands among them for something exceeding even a full and perfect blessing, a super-abundance of blessings. Tyre also sent whole communities into slavery. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. So each individual sinner, who dies impenitent, will be punished for all which, in his whole life, he did or became, contrary to the law of God. God commissioned Amos of Tekoa to proclaim His words to the Arameans to let them know that He took note of their transgressions, their offenses, and would judge accordingly. Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. "Thrice happy Greeks! And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. For we are Gods fellow workers. And God saw that it was good., John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek theLord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.1 Corinthians 3:6-9 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Here in Amos, we see that the people of Damascus rebelled against the LORD because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away. Z. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Hesed, , John 4:35 Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Joel 3:4-8; Ezekiel 27:13). Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, English Standard Version Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Likewise, the unexamined life soon becomes useless for service in the kingdom. So Paul speaks of those who treasure up to themselves wrath against the Day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God Romans 2:5. Kings who entered treaties with each other typically thought of themselves as brothers (cf. He, having carried war against David, king of Judaea, and disputed with him in many battles, and that finally at the Euaphrates where he was defeated, had the character of a most eminent king for prowess and valor. . of God pictures Syria's cruelty toward Gilead (in northeast Israel) as a threshing sledge being run over His people. 2Kings 10:32-33.). instead of the traditional point of view because of our westernization of the good news. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. It had then doubtless, beside the population of its plain, large nomadic hordes dependent upon it. Amos condemns violent aggression (perhaps even torture and wanton killing), enslavement of populations, and the slave trade. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. And God separated the light from the darkness. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to theLord. It is here put for the whole country of Syria, and the inhabitants of it, for whose numerous transgressions, signified by "three" and "four", the Lord would not turn away his fury from them, justly raised by their sins; or the decree which he had passed in his own mind, and now made a declaration of, he would not revoke; or not inflict the punishment they had deserved, and he had threatened. Humanity continues to witness these atrocities at the hands of those who rule the nations. We need only look at the history of nations, including the United States, to know that these kinds of atrocities have happened over and over. A good tree doesnt produce bad fruitsconsider a grain of wheata sower went out to sowin story after story, Jesus Christ made use of scenes from everyday farm life to explicitly illustrate His points about the gospel and the kingdom of God. Here in Amos, we see that the people of Damascus rebelled against the LORD because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. Tyre was an important commercial center in the Ancient Near East (cf. If you go into your neighbors standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbors standing grain., Micah 4:12 But they do not know the thoughts of theLord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.Amos 1:3 Thus says theLord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.Leviticus 19:9-10 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. After he is created by God, he is placed in charge of the Garden of Eden. T Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, , Psalm 104:14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earthLeviticus 19:19 You shall keep my statutes. Benhadad at once broke his league with Baasha at the request of Asa in his later mistrustful days 1 Chronicles 16:2-7, and turned against Baasha (1 Chronicles 16:2-7 and 1 Kings 15:20). (LogOut/ It lay on the best route from the interior of Asia to the Mediterranean, to Tyre, and even to Egypt. So, He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee Job 5:19. If God is for us, who can be against us? And the whole crowd stood on the beach. (3) Three transgressions . Every day, just like the farmer, we must show up and do the work. They are a good reminder of what is required from us every day of our own lives. I will not turn away the punishment thereof - Literally, I will not turn it back. What was this, which God would not turn back? The other things cannot be satisfied; the fourth, fire, grows fiercer by being fed. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of theLord, and their descendants with them. Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Many people were farmers or at least very familiar with farming. The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four, because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges. The LORD was the one who gave His words to His prophet. We are encouraged to Work Hard and keep ourselves busy. Vv. What is the Biblical Perspective on Agriculture, Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture, Why Jesus Talked So Much About Agriculture. God was and is seeking usfor He will separate usable grain from the waste straw or chaff. " (Cf. The stream thus collected is led off to a lower level, where it comes to the surface. It is worth noting that each of the oracles begins with the formula For three transgressions of [name of city or state], even for four, though Amos only listed one transgression for each nation, except for Israel which received all four of them (Amos 2:616). Abijam was in league with the father of Benhadad 1 Kings 15:19. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, TheLordhas done great things for them. TheLordhas done great things for us; we are glad. The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. L 3. Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. 13:3, 2225). Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Fewer and fewer of us grew up on farms, and thus, we miss a lot of subtle points Jesus is making in some of His stories. Hazael not only took from Israel all east of Jordan 2 Kings 10:32-33, but made the whole open country unsafe for the Israelites to dwell in. I will not turn away the punishment thereof. What then shall we say to these things? Gaza represents the alliance of Philistine citiesAshdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron [Gath is not named here]in southwestern Palestine. The Barada (the cold) having joined the Fijeh, (the traditional Pharpar, a name which well designates its tumultuous course ), runs on the north of, and through the city, and then chiefly into the central of the three lakes, the Bahret-el-kibliyeh, (the south lake;) thence, it is supposed, but in part also directly, into the Bahret-esh-Shurkiyeh (the east lake ). Israel heard and readily believed Gods judgments upon others. E They reach nearly to Anti-libanus westward, and extend on both sides of the Barada some miles eastward. Without the Barada, says Porter, the city could not exist, and the plain would be a parched desert; but now aqueducts intersect every quarter, and fountains sparkle in almost every dwelling, while innumerable canals extend their ramifications over the vast plain, clothing it with verdure and beauty. God authorized human government in Genesis, where He said, Whoever sheds mans blood, by man his blood shall be shed, forin the image of God He made man (Genesis 9:6). 1 Kings 9:13the brotherhood between Hiram of Tyre and Solomon of Israel). 5 I will p break the gate-bar of l Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of q Aven, 4. and him who holds the scepter from r Beth-eden; "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Will the sun really be turned to darkness and the moon to blood (Joel 2:31). summed up by the word. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. The cities will be razed to the ground by an invading force. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.Deuteronomy 28:8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. The moral majesty of a king is obviously greater than the rest. They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. It is a probable conjecture that Jehu, by his political submission to Assyria, drew on himself the calamities which Elisha foretold. Damascus and Samaria (Israel) fought over this area for a hundred years or more. Proverbs 12:11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.Proverbs 28:19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands.