Those Who Swear by Samaria's Sin Amos 8:14

Amos the “herdsman prophet” continued to share how there would be a famine of “word of the LORD” which would cause “the young virgins” and “young men” of Israel to be thirsty for God's word everywhere, but not find it. In chapter eight and verse fourteen of his prophesy, Amos shared about those who “swear by the sin of Samaria” where we read:

They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Your god, O Dan, lives;

and, The manner of Beersheba lives; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

The verse begins, “They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Your god, O Dan, lives;” Amos began with the words, “They that swear” or “the people who adjure and take an oath” “by the sin” which means “guiltiness, offense and wrong-doing” “of Samaria” which means “watch mountain” and was “the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 10 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam”, “and say” or “utter, proclaim or declare”, “Your god” which refers to “the fair virgins and young men's ruler and divine judge” “O Dan” which means “a judge” and refers to “the fifth son of Jacob and his descendants”, “lives” or “is alive, flowing, fresh, lively and active”. Amos referred to the people within Israel who rather than seeking the LORD, “swore by the sin of Samaria” and relied upon “the god of Dan” whom they proclaimed to be alive.

The verse goes on to say, “and, The manner of Beersheba lives; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.” Amos continued, “and” which is an inclusionary conjunction that means an addition to the statement just written, “the manner” or “the way, road, distance, journey and path” “of Beersheba” which means “well of the sevenfold oath” and was “a city of the south edge of Israel” “lives” or “is alive, flowing, fresh, lively and active”; “even they shall fall” or “lie, be cast down, fail, be knocked down or overthrown”, “and never rise up again” or “never stand, arise, come on the scene, be established and confirmed”. Amos shared how these people also relied upon the god of “Beersheba” whom they thought “alive” and their demise would be so complete they would never “come on the scene again”.

When we think through these words of Amos, we see how the people of Israel replaced and worshipped the false gods of “Dan” and “Beersheba” for the one true God, and the LORD declared how they would “fall” and “never rise again” when He brought judgment upon them. Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father, (“I am the way, the truth and the life … John 14:6), and all other gods shall fall before Him. May all who read these words take heed and believe in the One and only way to heaven (Jesus Christ) before whom all other gods fall.

Next time we begin the final chapter of Amos' prophesy and see how Amos saw “the Lord standing upon the altar”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.