Amos and Hosea lived at the same time. Hosea was very upset by what awful judgments were ahead for Israel, but Amos also tells of what will happen to some of the nations surrounding Israel.
Amos not only heard the words of the Lord, but he saw them; that is, he saw what the words meant. This prophet is writing to the ten tribes before they were taken away captives; they’ve never been heard of since. They’re known as “the lost ten tribes,” and are here called the kingdom of Israel.
God kept a record of all the things which the enemies of Israel did. There are five paragraphs or divisions. Each one starts with the same words. “For three transgressions and for four.” The number “three” tells us that God had enough proof. The number “four” in the Bible means that whatever is being spoken of goes out in all four directions. Like east, west, north and south. In other words, it is for all. We call it “universal.” You shall see eight separate judgments which are yet to fall on these nations surrounding Israel and Israel itself.
V.3-5 The first one is about Damascus. It was the capital city of Syria the country to the north of Israel. God has not forgotten what that nation did to His people.
V.6-8 Next, Gaza: these days in the news, we hear a lot about the “Gaza strip.” It was the center of the land of the Philistines. They were the bitter enemies of Israel in the days of King Saul and King David, and they are again today. Of course, the official leaders didn’t like to have to listen to an ordinary herdsman (cattleman) bringing the Word of God to the nation (Amos 7:1010Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. (Amos 7:10)). However, God is not influenced by what the officials think.
V.9-10 City of Tyre. It has been conquered by three world empires in succession.
V.11-12 Now follows Edom. This was on the other side of the river Jordan. The Arabs are still fighting Israel. God remembers that they are guilty.
V.13-15 Ammon was very cruel. God does not forget. All this tells us that God has a perfect record of the complete life of every person.