Amos 2

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

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;

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

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.

And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →

Amos 2:12

“But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.”

Study Summary

The accusation "but you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy'" articulates Israel's rejection and suppression of the very divine guidance that God has provided, indicating deliberate resistance to the prophetic word. The forcing of wine on Nazirites represents a violation of their vows and a profanation of their consecration to God, suggesting that Israel has deliberately corrupted those dedicated to God's service. The silencing of prophets represents a fundamental rejection of divine communication, as the people have attempted to suppress the messages of those through whom God speaks.

Community Reflections

Omar Hassan (Test User)10h ago

God's sovereignty revealed — Amos 2

God is faithful in every circumstance.. I love how this passage doesn't shy away from the difficulty of obedience. The promise here is not conditional on our strength but on His character.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. The early church would have heard this very differently than we do today. What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. This connects directly to the promise made to Abraham. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This connects directly to the promise made to Abraham. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God…

Read the note →