Gaza

Bible Study

Amos 1:6-8 ESV

Today we look at the promise God gave Gaza for their transgressions. We have to remember that the prophecy of Amos was on various nations and that included Israel. We must also be cognizant that ancient city references are not always a match to identifying cities today. The main focus in these verses was on the Northern Kingdom of Israel and their leaders for not caring for their sins and for neglecting the poor. Gaza deported an entire population. Today it would be akin to leaders gathering a group of people they didn’t like and exiling them.

Amos 1:6-8, “Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom.

So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,  and it shall devour her strongholds.

I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,  and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;I will turn my hand against Ekron,  and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”says the Lord God.”

The place ‘Gaza’ spoke of was know as the area of Philistia. Gaza was the capital of Philistia and was well known. Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron in verse 8 are also located in Philistia. These ancient cities were located on the coast of modern Israel today.

In addition to the punishment, once again God told Amos it would be a punishment of three transgressions and four did not refer to actually three plus four or even three times four.

The reference was to the continuous pattern of sin. In other words, they committed sin on top of sin.

The grievous sin referred to the capture of the people. Some translations use the word ‘thresh’ or captured en masse the heart of Israel. The threshing sled was used to separate the grain from the chaff. In other words the metaphor gave us the idea they were totally changed forever.

As a result God pledged to send fire on the wall of Gaza. To the heart of the matter of God’s anger, Gaza was involved in slave-trading. This was more than simple capturing people. They were selling them off.

It wasn’t as if selling the men into slavery was enough. Even though Gaza didn’t need slaves, they sold them so they could gather ‘amass’ more wealth. They sold Israeli men, women, and children (the young and the old) so they could be wealthier. They were greedy.

Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron were cities in Philistia. God promised because of their extreme cruelty to Israel they would receive the fire or wrath of God in return. Simply put, they would reap what they had sown.

The promise of God was clear. God was angry for good reason and Gaza would pay the price for what they did to the people in the north.

We are reminded that prophesy is prophesy and can apply through the ages.

In God, Deborah/

acrazyjourney.com