![]() They were sea-faring people who traded with countries on the Mediterranean Sea such as Egypt. Zephaniah 2:4-7 calls them "sea peoples". Many scholars believe the Philistines descended from Cyprus or Crete (Amos 9:7). Who were the people of Gaza? What was their issue with the Israelites? Why did they continually harass and harm them, the people of the LORD? How did it make you feel knowing someone cared enough to fight your battles?.Do you remember a time when your parent, guardian, or teacher stood up for you to make bullies or hateful people cease harassing you?.Besides Amos, other prophets pronounced God’s judgment on the Philistines, whom Gaza represented in Amos’ prophecy- 1 Samuel 6:17, Jeremiah 47:1, 4-5, Ezekiel 25:16 and 35:5 2 Chronicles 21:16-18 Joel 3:6 Obadiah 1:11. The LORD would challenge them with their aggravation of Israel and pronounce judgment on them because they continually harmed and harassed the Israelites. Gaza’s history with the Israelites showed their antagonism of the Israelites throughout generations. This week we will learn about God’s judgment on Gaza. In this case, Aram fought against Israel and stole some of the land so the LORD defended them and their covenant with Him by pronouncing His judgment against them. Because He is faithful to His covenant with the Israelites, He would protect and defend them against other nations and people. God’s judgment then was against the whole nation. When God charged Damascus, the capital city of Aram, He charged the whole nation of Aram. ![]() The people of Aram, of which Damascus was the chief city, battled Israel and forcibly took lands in Gilead, east of the Jordan River and part of the Promised Land. God charged Damascus with “threshing Gilead with implements of sharp iron” in Amos 1:3-5. In our study, we will realize Amos used this pattern for each of the eight prophecies in this book. It means they had multiplied sin upon sin and God would most assuredly execute His judgment on them. He used the words, “for three transgressions and for four I will not revoke its punishment.” In biblical numerology, three plus four equals seven and seven is a number denoting completion. ![]() Amos used a familiar prophetic pattern denoting completion. In last week’s lesson, we learned of Amos’ prophecy to Israel about God’s judgment of Damascus. They were the sixth and seventh prophets sent by the LORD to Israel. Amos spoke to the Israelites during the reigns of King Jeroboam II of Israel and King Uzziah of Judah between 760-750 BC. God called Amos, a man from the southern kingdom of Judah, to deliver prophecies to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was a shepherd and a sycamore fig grower/caretaker. In our first two Bible studies on the book of Amos, we learned Amos was from Tekoa, a small town ten miles from Jerusalem.
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