Joel & Amos (TOTC) by David Allan Hubbard

Author:David Allan Hubbard [Hubbard, David Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781783592616
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Published: 2009-11-19T16:00:00+00:00

a. Judgment speech: abuse of covenant privileges (3:1–15)1

This speech accomplishes three major tasks. First, it introduces Amos’ chief theme for the rest of the book: Israel’s special covenant privileges, the abuse of which merits special judgment (vv. 1–2). Next, in a series of disputational (rhetorical) questions (vv. 3–8), it both confirms the fact that Yahweh will bring harm to his own people (v. 6) and that Amos the prophet is obliged to announce that harm (v. 8). Finally, it describes the social injustices of Samaria, Israel’s capital city (vv. 9–10), and announces judgment by foreign invasion both on the political capital and on the chief religious shrine, Bethel (vv. 11–15).2

The links should not be missed between chapter 3 and the other parts of the book. They are clues to the careful composition of the final form of Amos’ work: (1) the reference to the exodus (v. 1) echoes and amplifies the divine complaint of grace-rejected of the previous speech (2:10); (2) the lion illustrations (vv. 4, 8, 12) hark back to the theme verse where God’s threat of judgment is likened to a lion’s roar (1:2); (3) the defence of the prophetic ministry and its involuntary character, governed by the sovereign call of God (v. 8), builds on the tensions described when the people stifled the prophets whom God has raised up for them (2:11–12); (4) strongholds punctuates this passage (vv. 9, 10, 11) as it did the first set of judgment speeches (1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5), as though God was mocking the arrogance of his people who thought themselves safe from disturbance in the luxurious fortifications of their palaces and no longer trusted God as refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1); (5) the mutinous, covenant-wrenching crimes of Israel (transgression, Heb. pĕšā‘îm; 2:6) are mentioned again as the summary-word for all the social mayhem Israel has worked (v. 14).

i. Great privilege—great condemnation (3:1–2). This judgment speech serves as an introduction to the remainder of the book. As such it is deliberately general: the accusation (v. 2a), you only have I known (cf. Hos. 2:20; 4:1, 6; 5:3; 6:6), lists no specific crimes and the announcement (v. 2b), I will punish, gives no details of judgment. Amos will see to that. His task in this passage is to make one point: Israel’s great privilege of election by God and of relationship to him through the covenant, expressed in the intimate and powerful verb known (cf. Gen. 4:1; Ps. 1:6; Jer. 1:5) exposes them to judgment rather than exempting them from it.3 Indeed, their greater privilege marks them for greater condemnation—a condemnation in the form of curses that accompany the breaking of covenant (cf. Deut. 27:15–26; 28:15–68).

Israel, in Amos’ view, seems to include Judah as well, since he calls to attention the whole family which enjoyed the exodus deliverance. The closest parallels to this familial language are found in Isaiah 1:2 and Deuteronomy 32:5.

Verse 2 seems to contain a definite surprise. The first line sounds like a compliment, a pledge

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