THEMES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT (a) Outline four out of the punishments Amos warned Israel about. (b) List three out of the sins Amos condemned which are prev...

(a) Four punishments Amos warned Israel about

The prophet Amos declared that because of Israel's persistent sins the Lord would visit them with severe judgement. Among the punishments he warned about were:

1. Defeat in war and destruction of their strongholds. Their fortresses and palaces would be plundered, and an enemy would surround the land and bring down their defences (Amos 3:11).
2. Exile and captivity. The people would be taken away captive beyond Damascus into a foreign land, dragged out with hooks and fish-hooks (Amos 4:2-3; 5:27).
3. Famine, drought and natural disasters. God would send famine, withhold rain from their cities, strike their crops with blight, mildew and locusts, and bring pestilence upon them (Amos 4:6-10).
4. A famine of hearing the word of the Lord. He warned of days when God would send not a hunger for bread nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, so that people would wander seeking it and not find it (Amos 8:11-12). The destruction of the altars and high places of Bethel was also foretold (Amos 3:14).

(b) Three sins Amos condemned which are prevalent today

• Oppression and exploitation of the poor. The rich trampled the needy and crushed the poor, a wrong still common in unjust societies today.
• Bribery and corruption in judgement. They took bribes and turned aside the needy at the gate, denying the poor justice, just as corruption perverts justice today.
• Dishonest trade and cheating. They used false balances, made the measure small and the price great, and sold the refuse of the wheat, which reflects the cheating and fraud in trade today. (Empty religious worship without righteousness and love of luxury were also condemned.)