Amos begins his prophecy by condemning the nations that surround Israel. There are 8 oracles announcing the imminent action of God against the enemies of God’s people. He begins by promising punishment on Damascus. Amos 1:3 says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.” There will be seven more oracles against different nations and each time the prophecy begins with the same refrain. It’s almost like a song. The literal Hebrew rendering of this chorus would be, “for three sins and for four…” But this idiom probably means “again and again.” 1:3 says, “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 6 says, “The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” Verse 9 says the same thing about Tyre, and then comes Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Each passage begins with the exact same phrase.
If Amos were a popular singer, he would have received a rousing round of applause. The Jews would delight in their enemies meeting with God’s judgment. Everyone was in favor of God judging their evil neighbors, Damascus. However, God didn’t restrict His judgment on Israel’s enemies as we’ll see. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was especially alienated from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The next chorus would have aroused an even greater response from the northern Kingdom. “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” The crowd would have exploded with cheers! Then, however, dead silence would fall as Amos, sang the last verse in 2:6. “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not turn back my anger.” But Amos 1:3 focuses on the particular sins of Damascus. “Special mention is made of the crimes committed against the people of Gilead. The Aramean state of Syria, whose capital was Damascus, was located east of Gilead, and many of the battles between the kings of Israel and the kings of Syria took place in Gilead.”[1] I’ve often wondered if the song, “There is a balm in Gilead” found its source in the fact that Gilead felt the brunt of God’s judgment for their sins.
In all the modern revenge movies, we just love to see people get what they deserve! Right? It’s not that way with God. He does not take pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, rather, he delights in forgiving sinners! There is a “balm” in Gilead. That “balm” is forgiveness. It’s a rare ointment, however. We all like our revenge or enjoy seeing the failure of our enemies. God does not like us rejoicing over the fall of others. He deeply dislikes us playing God. Using the similar Hebrew phrase about “turning away His anger, God tells us in Proverbs 24:17-18 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” The force of this proverb includes the idea that joy at the fall of others turns God’s attention from them to you. This is what Amos was telling Israel. In fact, God used one of the most wicked of these surrounding nations as his instrument of Judgment on Israel. An extra-biblical account of the excessive brutality of the Assyrians was recorded in the account of the King of Assyria. He said, “I burnt many captives from them. I captured many troops alive; I cut off of some their arms [and] hands; I cut off of others their noses, ears, and extremities. I gouged out the eyes of many troops. I made a pile of the living [and] one of the heads. I hung their heads on trees around the city. I burnt their adolescent boys [and] girls.”[2] How can I rejoice at such carnage even if poured out on my enemy? May the Balm of Gilead pour out over my heart and soul.
[1] Smith, Gary V. 1998. Amos. Mentor Commentaries. Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.
[2] Smith, Gary V. 1998. Amos. Mentor Commentaries. Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.