Results 1 - 2 of 2
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Thus says the LORD, For three transgress | Amos 1:1 | Mawsjams | 8038 | ||
What did the Lord mean when he said Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four |
||||||
2 | Thus says the LORD, For three transgress | Amos 1:1 | Makarios | 8046 | ||
Actually, your question focuses on Amos 1:3 instead of 1:1. :) For Amos 1:3, The MacArthur NKJV Study Bible suggests, "'For three transgressions...for four.' This rhetorical device is repeated in each of the 8 messages, differing from a similar pattern used elsewhere. They are specific mathematical enumerations (e.g., Prov. 30:15,18,21,29), emphasizing that each nation was being visited for an incalculable number of infractions. With 3, the cup of iniquity was full; with 4 it overflowed. This judgment was to fall on Syria, whose capital is Damascus." Ryrie's Expanded Study Bible states, "'I will not revoke.' I will not interfere with. The Arameans of Damascus literally threshed and mangled the bodies of prisoners under heavily studded threshing sledges. In the case of the surrounding nations on which Amos pronounced doom, only one sin is named; in Israel's case, seven are listed (2:6-8, 12)." Nelson's NKJV Study Bible adds, "'For three . . . and for four': This stylistic device indicated the exhaustion of God's patience- the Syrians had continued to sin, again and again. This device is repeated as Amos speaks God's words against nation after sinful nation. The transgressions of the neighbors of Israel and Judah were against the general revelation, or "law of nature," that all people recognize and acknowledge. Since the neighboring nations had not received God's special revelation, as Israel had at Mount Sinai, Amos's oracles did not call them to account by that standard, but by the standard they had received. Damascus was the capital of Syria (also called Aram), a powerful kingdom that had been a frequent adversary of Israel throughout its history. Israelites listening to Amos would have been glad to hear of God's punishment of Damascus. Gilead was the region on the east side of the Jordan from the Yarmuk River to the Dead Sea. It had belonged to Israel since they had taken over the land, but Aram often had fought Israel for possession of northern Gilead, gaining control there in Israel's times of military weakness. Threshed . . . with implements of iron indicates extreme cruelty and inhumanity in warfare." |
||||||