Amos 1:1. Amos mentions “the earthquake” here as though we should know about it. What earthquake was this?
Zechariah mentions the same one, which occurred during the days of Judah’s King Uzziah (Zechariah 14:5). Some would tie in Isaiah 5:25 with it, where the prophet tells us that God was so angry with his people that “the mountains quaked…” Isaiah prophesied during the days of Uzziah and could possibly see the cause and effect.
Other than that we do not know the specifics of this obviously stupendous occurrence in God’s special land.
Amos 1:6, 9. What does it mean that both Gaza of the Philistines and Tyre of the Phoenicians “delivered up an entire population to Edom”?
There is general agreement that in the cruelty of the day, these enemies of Judah actually captured Jewish citizens and sold them as slaves to Edomites, as a final humiliation. In this way the two nations could not only destroy their enemy, but make a profit on them at the same time.
Amos 6:10. What is the meaning of this prophesied incident?
Houses are going to be burned, with all their occupants. Then the dead bodies will be carried out. The one doing the work will run across a survivor and ask him, “Are you the last one?” And that one will indicate that he is.
Some go on to suggest that the survivor will then begin to praise God that he was spared, and will be hushed by the enemy, saying that the Lord’s name is not to be mentioned. Others say that the lone person will simply begin to swear by Jehovah that he is the last one, and that oath will be cut off.
Whichever it is, the plight of Israel is remarkably sad here.
Amos 7:8. What is a “plumb line” and why is it mentioned here?
Amos has successfully interceded for his people twice in this chapter. God listens to his prophet and calls off the destroying of all vegetation via locusts, and then the devastation of an all-consuming fire. But then comes the plumb line, and Amos cannot pray, for God says, “I will spare them no longer.”
There are several possible definitions of “plumbline” but the most basic and the one that will certainly fit the context here, is simply a cord with a weight attached to it. Placing a plumbline next to a building lets the builder – or destroyer – know what is perfectly straight and what is not.
Not straight needs to come down. That’s the message. God has had enough. Here is My law, My way, My Word. Measure up or be destroyed.
Obviously there was quite a lot that did not measure up. For example, “The high places of Isaac will be desolated and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos 9:11-15. List the clues as to the Kingdom/Millennial nature of this final word to Amos?
David to be central.
Great prosperity.
The hills will flow with flow with God’s blessings.
Israel is to be planted, not just placed, in their land.
They will never be rooted out from their land again.
Unfortunately they were rooted out after the first exile. And they may be rooted out again. But when Messiah returns and Israel has a new heart, the happy situation is permanent.
OBADIAH
Obadiah 1:15-17. Is there any clue as to when these awful prophecies against Edom will take place?
Perhaps we underestimate God’s feelings about this little nation formed by the brother of Jacob so many centuries ago. Here is an entire book of your Bible, with its own prophet, denouncing Edom once more. You will recall that the major prophets usually included Edom in their list of rejected nations. And for the most part the judgment was considered final, irrevocable.
Yet here is Edom again, and if we understand aright the verse referenced above, Edom is one of many nations that will live to suffer its ultimate failure in the very end of time. For in that day, says the prophet, on Mount Zion will be great deliverance. Holiness will be present. “Jacob” will possess what belongs to it. And while the houses of Jacob and Joseph prosper, “the house of Esau shall be stubble.”
One final clue is in the verses following, mentioning Jewish settlements in the area once covered by Edom. (19-20)
“And the Kingdom shall be the Lord’s” when deliverers (assigned saints?) come to Mount Zion to pass judgment on the mountains of Esau.
JONAH
Jonah 1:17. How long was Jonah in the belly of a whale?
Not one second. This is a trick question. Jonah was not swallowed by a whale. Let’s set the record straight. It was a “great (large) fish” that took Jonah in. Probably a shark. Whale’s bellies cannot handle a whole human being at once, or so I am told.
Jonah 3:3. What is a “3-days” journey?
Walking, perhaps 10-20 miles per day? Three days would give us a distance for greater Nineveh of anywhere from 30-60 miles. Nineveh had been the capital of a mighty Empire. It was a huge and well-populated urban area.
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