Commentaries and Podcasts

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 6

In the first two chapters of Amos, we saw judgements pronounced upon the people of Israel and Judah, and also upon the surrounding nations as well. These other nations are the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Philistines and the Syrians of Damascus. Some of these people of the surrounding nations were from the accursed tribes of Canaan, or from of the inbred descendants of Lot. Others were Adamic peoples closely related to the Israelites. Many of the people in these nations were evidently Israelites themselves who had been both residing in and even mixing with these nations ever since the period of the Judges, and especially since the time of the division of the Kingdom when Israel was turned to paganism by their political leaders. 

It is perfectly evident in 2 Samuel chapter 8, that the Syrians of Damascus, the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites were all subjected to Israel in the days of King David, and that his kingdom did indeed stretch from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates, and that David's sons were delegated rulership over parts of this territory. These things are truly not noticeable in inscriptions or often even in the Bible, because in the Bible the original names of these lands were kept, the lands were mostly named after the original occupants, and later on those who inhabited these lands were often called after these names no matter what tribe they were from. That the children of Israel had indeed begun to mingle with these subject people is evident throughout the Biblical narrative, that they went “a whoring after the heathen” (i.e. Ezekiel 23:30) and begot “strange children” (i.e. Hosea 5:7).

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 5

Over the past four segments of this presentation on the prophecy of Amos, we have discussed the ancient Mesopotamian inscriptions and their evidences of the existence of and the demise of the ancient kingdoms of Damascus, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and then Judah. In the past two segments of this, we also witnessed some of the Greek historical attestations of the founding of the ancient Kingdom of Israel by Moses, as it was recounted by both Strabo the Geographer and Diodorus Siculus. Discussing the oracle of Amos against Judah last week, we saw three ancient witnesses attesting to the facts and circumstances concerning the history of the ancient Kingdom of Judah as they are outlined in the Old Testament. These were the Lachish Ostraca, the Taylor Prism containing the Annals of Sennacherib, and various Babylonian inscriptions attesting to the presence of the household of Jehoiachin the King of Judah in captivity in Babylon. All of these things are more than sufficient proof witnessing to the historicity of the books of the Old Testament. Here we shall see further evidence from ancient inscriptions verifying the truth of the historical circumstances found in the writings of the Bible, and of this prophet.

6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. 9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. 12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: 15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 4

In closing the last part of this presentation on Amos, we discussed some of the historical evidence of the ancient kingdom of Israel. Early in that presentation we had seen the attestation of the text of the ancient Moabite Stone. In it we see the tribe of Gad mentioned explicitly, connected to the “king of Israel”, and in some of the same locations that the Hebrew Bible also places them.

Where the Moabite Stone says “Now the men of Gad had al­ways dwelt in the land of Ataroth, and the king of Israel had built Ataroth for them”, it agrees with the Biblical Book of Numbers at chapter 32, verses 1 through 4. This same inscription also mentions the Israelite king Omri, as the Assyrian inscriptions also often do. The Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian inscriptions verify the historicity of many things in the Bible, which we shall see as this presentation unfolds. To imagine that all of the inscriptions attesting to the historicity of the Bible are somehow spurious is ridiculous. There is no doubting the veracity of a great number of these inscriptions, for the accounts concerning their discoveries are well recorded.. The people that made such inscriptions were pagans, and had nothing extraneous to gain by them, and could not have imagined that over 2,500 years later these things would be dug out of the ground and found to verify the accounts in an unrelated book which was to be passed down over so many centuries.

The opening remarks to this program are not directly related to the subject matter, and are therefore published at the Christogenea Forum. 

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 3

The prophecy of Amos begins with oracles against both Israel and Judah, and also against the Edomites, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites and certain of their cities. We have already discussed the fates of many of these places, and presented much of what can be seen of the contemporary history of these places from ancient Assyrian inscriptions. This helps to demonstrate that the Biblical account of the history of this period certainly is true, and also to show that these prophecies indeed had the beginning of their fulfillment in the years subsequent to the time of the prophet. Here we shall commence with Amos chapter 2, continuing with the utterances against Moab, continuing with our theme from the last two segments.

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 2

The prophecy of Amos begins with oracles against both Israel and Judah, and also against the Edomites, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites and certain of their cities. In the first segment of our presentation of the Book of Amos we began to discuss the fates of these places, and presented much of what can be seen of these things from ancient Assyrian inscriptions. This helps to demonstrate that the Biblical account of the history of this period certainly is true, and also to show that these prophecies indeed had the beginning of their fulfillment in the years subsequent to the time of the prophet. Here we shall repeat these oracles against Damascus and against Gaza, and continue with our theme from last week.

3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: 4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. 5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

The Prophecy of Amos, Part 1

Many students of the Bible fail to realize, or at least easily forget – and I also at times have probably been guilty of this same thing – that the promise to Abraham that his seed would possess all of the land from Egypt to the Euphrates was indeed fulfilled in the days of King David. Even the Jews often deny the fact of this fulfillment, hoping themselves to be the heirs of this land in modern times and pointing to the prophecy in order to justify their treachery – and in spite of the fact that they are not genetic Israel. Here it is in Genesis 15:18-21: “18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Now it is clear from Scripture that the children of Israel did not exterminate all of the tribes of Canaan as they were so commanded. But that does not mean that they did not possess the land. The fulfillment of this promise of Genesis 15:18 is evident in 2 Samuel chapter 8...