Daily Bible Reading Saturday 22nd March 2025
Amos 2
2:1 Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,1
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill all its princes2 with him,”
says the LORD.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the LORD:
“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the LORD.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain his strength,
nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself,
nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the LORD.(ESV)
Teaching by Rev. William Moody
The judgement on Moab (v1-3), was tied to the burning of bones of the King of Edom (v1).This was an act of great contempt and was tied to a false superstition that this would deny the person peace in the after-life.
The judgment on Judah (v4-5) is short but serious. It is tied to rejecting the law of God and failing to keep His statutes.
Israel receives the most attention here when it comes to judgment (v6-16). There is great cruelty against people and a devaluing of life (v6-7a), shocking immorality (v7b) tied with idolatry (v8).
The Lord reminds them that it was He who destroyed the Amorites for their sin (v9), the original occupiers of this land. It was the Lord who delivered Israel from Egypt (v10). God needs to be respected as He is both judge and deliverer, we need to be careful not to reject this awesome God.
Israel had been blessed with Nazarites (v11-12; Numbers 6 v1-21) and prophets, but the people of Israel preferred to corrupt them. The people’s reliance on self (v13-16) will bring them down.