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| AMOS |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 2:8 Ruthless Bill Collectors Bankers making loans usually want collateral to back up the promise to repay. In Amos' day poor people resorted to pledging the very clothes on their backs as collateral. Bill collectors who took a debtor's garments flagrantly violated God's law (Exodus 22:25-27). Worse, they were using the clothes as bedding when they went to their shrines to worship God. 4:1 Prize Cows With searing scornfulness, Amos paints a picture of women living in sheer luxury. These "cows" thought only of their pleasure, not of the oppressed poor who made it possible. Amos paints their punishment just as vividly. The brutal Assyrian armies, who later captured Israel and took its people into exile, left monuments portraying their captives being dragged off with hooks in their mouths. 5:20 The Day of the Lord In Amos' day as today, some religious people looked forward to "the day of the Lord," when God will intervene personally in history and save his people. Israelites, assuming that "God is on our side," thought it would be a great day for them. But Amos contradicted their expectations. In a few words he depicted "the day of the Lord" as a nightmare. 7:8 A Plumb Line A plumb line is a weight on the end of a string; builders use it to make certain that their walls stand straight. A wall may look right, but if it doesn't match a plumb line, it is out of kilter. Similarly God will use a plumb line to judge whether Israel is "straight" by his standards. 9:4 An Inescapable God The beautiful verses of Psalm 139:7-12 describe God's inescapable presence as a comfort. Here, in similar poetry, Amos gives the opposite side of that truth. Those whom God opposes can find no refuge. They may hide on top of Mount |