Shabbat Shalom, everyone. I hope you have your Bibles with you. We're going to open our Bibles to the prophet Amos today. Amos in English, Amos in Hebrew. And I would like to read today the first chapter, to finish chapter 1 from verse 3 into chapter 2 and verse 3. So we're reading Amos 1 verse 3 to Amos 2 in verse 3. And I would like you to follow me as I'm reading the scripture. And so we read, Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Damascus, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because they have threshed gil'ad with threshing instruments of iron. But I will send fire into the house of Chazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Chadad.

I will break also the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitants from the plain of Avin. And him that holdeth the scepter from the house of Eden. And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Gaza, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because they carried away captive the whole captivity, To deliver them up to Edom. But I will send fire on the walls of Gaza, Which shall devour the palaces thereof. And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, And him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon.

And I will turn mine hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God. Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Tyre, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And remembered not the brotherly covenant. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour the palaces thereof. Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Edom, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because he did pursue his brother with the sword, And did cast off all pity, And his anger did tear continuously, And he kept his wrath forever.

But I will send a fire upon Taman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because they have ripped up the women, With child of Gilad, That they might enlarge their border. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabah, And it shall devour the palaces thereof, With shouting in the day of battle, With a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, And their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together saith the Lord. Amos chapter 2, And verses 1 to 3. Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Moab, And for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.

But I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kiriot, And Moab shall die with tumulet, With shouting, And with the sound of trumpets. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, And I will slay all the princes thereof, With him saith the Lord. Now I don't know about you, But reading such a passage like this, From the word of God, Makes you wonder, Why is it that God is speaking so strong, When he presents before the people of Israel, The coming judgment, That will fall upon the surrounding nations of Israel. And you just, I want you to realize, Here is a man by the name of Amos.

If you remember when we began the study of the prophet Amos, In chapter 1, The first two verses we read, The words of Amos, Who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, Which he saw concerning Israel, In the days of Uzziah, The king of Judah, And in the days of Jeroboam, The son of Yoash, The king of Israel, Two years before the earthquake. And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, And utter his voice from Jerusalem, And the habitation of the shepherd shall mourn, And the top of Carmel shall wither. And then we read the passage that we have before us today, In Amos 1 verse 3, To Amos 2 verse 3.

Now Amos was a man that was raised among the people of Israel, And he was part of the southern kingdom of Israel, Of Judah that is, He was a little bit further south through the city of Jerusalem, And Amos was there as a man that was a shepherd among the people of Judah. He grew up somewhere there, South of the people of the city of Jerusalem, Further south of the town called Beit Lechem, Where Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel was born. And Amos was raised by God, In order to declare a punishment, That is going to come upon the northern kingdom of Israel. You see, God had chosen the people of Israel as one nation, He gave them the promised land, the land of Israel, But what happened, the people of Israel have divided into two kingdoms.

There was the northern kingdom called the kingdom of Israel, There was the southern kingdom called the kingdom of Judah, And now instead of having one nation under the God and father, Or you would say the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, You have two nations. Now these two nations, Israel and Judah, Went further and further and further from the God of their fathers. In fact, the condition among the people of Israel had been so bad, Beloved brothers and sisters, That the northern kingdom, Instead of coming into the city of Jerusalem to worship the God of their fathers, They built golden calves in the north of Israel, In a place called Bet El, And in a place called Dan.

And instead of coming to the city of Jerusalem where the temple was, This northern kingdom, The ten tribes of Israel went to worship all the way in the north of Israel, And they were worshiping golden calves, Just the same as Aaron and the people of Israel build the golden calf When Israel came outside of the land of Egypt. What a condition, beloved brothers and sisters, Israel as a nation have fallen into. Not to remember, These are the chosen people, The people of God. The purpose that God brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, Is that Israel will be a testimony to the whole world of the true and living God.

So the time has come, The northern kingdom are going to be taken captive by the Assyrian. So what God does, He raised a man by the name of Amos. Amos, Amos name means loaded or heavy burden, Loader of a heavy burden. And he was carried this burden. And now he's going to speak all the way. He's going to the north of Israel to preach the message of the judgment That is coming upon the nation of Israel, That God is going to disperse the nation of Israel in the coming days. When Amos spoke, He preached at about 765 B.C. When the people of Israel were taken captive by the Assyrian, It was 722 B.C., 40 years later, The children of Israel were taken captive by the Assyrian.

But the time hadn't arrived yet. And God sent Amos in order to preach to the northern kingdom. Now imagine, He was a Jewish man from Judea. He was a man that was a shepherd. His father was not a prophet. His father was not a prophet. He was not a son of a prophet nor a prophet. But God raised him to become a messenger for himself. And he traveled all the way to the north from the south to give this message of judgment. When you and I read that we say, Who want to read such a message? Who want to hear even such a message of judgment?

We like to hear about the love of God. We like to hear about the grace of God. We like to read about the forgiveness of God. We don't like to hear about the judgment that comes. And you remember what the apostle said, That the judgment must begin at the house of God. And if judgment began with us, What shall be the end of those that obey not the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah? So Amos is now beginning with the pronouncing of judgment. But it's so interesting that while the whole book of Amos, There's these nine chapters, Is actually speaking about the judgment that's going to come upon the people of Israel, The northern kingdom.

Yet Amos began by declaring the judgment of God upon the surrounding nations That surround the people of Israel. You will notice he's going to speak about Damascus, Which is the capital city of Syria. He's going to speak about Gaza, Or we call it in Hebrew 'Aza, Which is the capital city of the Palestinian, Or the Philistine. He's going to speak about Tyres, In Hebrew we call it Soh, Which is where Lebanon is present day today, But it was the capital city of the Phoenicians, Biblical days. He's going to speak about Edom, Which is in the south of Israel. And Edom is the country that descended from Esav, The brother of Jacob.

He's going to speak about Amon, Right above here. And Amon also, And Moab, Were those two children that were born to Lot, The nephew of Abraham our father. And you notice, Beloved brothers and sisters, That all these nations, Six of these nations, Surrounding the people of Israel. The only border that have no enemies, You might say, Is the Mediterranean Sea, Where the only place where there was Israel, Was not surrounded by any of its own enemies, That constantly fought with the nation of Israel. So I really wanted you to visualize, Beloved brothers and sisters, Amos, a shepherd, Going north to speak to the kingdom of Israel, About the coming judgment.

But he began by telling them, About the judgment that are going to come, Upon six nations, Where the enemies of Israel, Past, And present, And will be in the future, During the tribulation period, When God eventually going to send Yeshua the Messiah, To come, And restore Israel, To himself. Now you might say, Brother Gideon, I don't want to hear about all these judgments, That are going to come, In a future day. I like to hear a message of love, A message of grace, A message of forgiveness. I want you to be sure, To understand that I would love to hear this as well, But God is holy.

And because God is holy, Justice must come to pass. And because God is holy, He sent the Messiah, Yeshua, To die for our sins. And if our sins are not paid for, Eventually, Judgment has to come. And that's why, God spoke to Israel again, And again, And again. And when Israel refused to submit to his word, The time has come, And Israel is going to experience, His own discipline. He will discipline his very own people. But he first noticed, It is extremely interesting, That he began, In the order of presenting the judgment of God, He first of all, Presented with the three nations. Damascus is Syria.

Then Azzah is Gaza, He is Philistine. And thirdly, He is going to speak about Saul, Which is the Phoenicians, A nations that do not have any blood tie with Israel. Then he is moving a little bit further, Or closer, And he is going to speak about the three nations, Namely, Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three nations, Have a blood tie, You might say, Relationship to Israel. You remember, Edom, Is Esav, A brother, A twin brother of Yaakov. Moab and Ammon, Are the two sons, That came, Out of a, Wrong relationship, Between Lot, And Lot, And his daughters, Who got him drunk, In Genesis chapter 19, And had these two children, Who became enemies of the people of Israel.

So he began by dealing with nations, Who are further than Israel. You might say, No, Not having any blood relationship with Israel. And then he gets closer, And he says, Not only them, But also those who are, You might say, Families of the people of Israel. Edom, Moab, I will deal with them, And then he will continue, To speak directly to Judah, And ultimately to the people of Israel, In judgment, That is going to come upon them. So please follow me, As I'm going through these verses, And you can see, What God is declaring through Amos, The prophet from, A place called Tekoa. By the way, The word Tekoa, Comes from the Hebrew word, Litkoa, And Litkoa, And Litkoa means to blow the shofar, To blow the horn, The ram horn, Pronouncing the judgment of God, That is falling upon those six nations, Which surround the people of Israel.

And he began, Notice, He began with Damascus. Damascus is the capital city of Syria. And you notice that Israel and Syria were rivals, From generation to generation, Until today. If you travel to the land of Israel, You're going to go to the border between Israel and Syria. And you will even hear some sounds of bullets flying, Bullets flying, Or bombs even today, In the days in which we live in. But notice, He is speaking here at about 780 or so, 760 or 70 B.C. When Amos is saying. And notice what he said in verse 3. First of all, In verse 3, He shows us the most terrible sin of Damascus.

What did they do? Notice that. He says in verse 3, Thus says the Lord, For three, Transgression of Damascus. And for four, I will not turn away the punishment. Thereof. Now he gives us the reason. Because, What's the reason? Because they have threshed Gilad, With threshing instruments of iron. I didn't write this. This is the word of the Lord. Now Damascus, Again, I would like you to see that. Damascus in the north of Israel. In the map, You can see Damascus in the north of Israel. And if you will notice, That on the eastern side of Dead Sea, In the Jordan River, There were two and a half tribes, Who did not enter into the promised land.

If you remember, It was half of the tribe of Menashe. As we read in the days of all. And it was Naphtali and Dan. There were two and a half tribes that didn't enter into the promised land. And to these two and a half tribes who remained there, They remain in the area that is called Gilad. Gilad in the north and northeast of Jordan River. And look what they have done to these people in the land of Gilad. It says there in verse 3, That they have threshed Gilad with threshing instruments of iron. They ran over the bodies of the dead individuals that remained there from the conflict.

And like they are threshing wheat in the garden. After there was a warfare and a conflict. After there was a warfare and a conflict. And those people of Gilad from the two and a half tribes remained dead on the ground. Do you know what Damascus have done? What Syria have done? Here what the Lord is saying here. They have threshed Gilad with threshing instruments of iron. They ran over the bodies of the dead individuals that remained there from the conflict. And like they are threshing wheat in the gardens. Or in the field. They were going with it as their machinery you might say. And they were cutting to pieces the bodies of those who remained dead on the ground.

That was an awful sin of Damascus. In other words, it was the sin that rose up as it says here. A horrible sin that they have committed. Now there were many other sins that they have committed. Because it says in verse 3. Three transgressions of Damascus. And the four will not turn away the punishment of God. In other words, there were many sins that they have already committed. But as it were, the cup was running over. And the time has come is to discipline Damascus and the people of Syria who behave in such a way. And so what God is saying in verses 4 and 5. It says the punishment, the judgment that is going to come upon Syria is found in verses 4 and 5.

Listen, it says here. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Chadad. Verse 5. And I will break also the bar of Damascus. And I will cut off the inhabitants from the plain of Avin. And him that holdeth the scepter from the house of Eden. And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord. In other words, the Lord says, look, because of multiplication of sins that Syria, the Damascus have committed. It came to the point of, you might say, no return. And the time will come and I will have to judge the people of Syria.

And God promised them a few things. Number one, he promised that fire will enter into the house of Hazael and devour the palaces of Ben-Chadad. You know, usually in the capital city you have all these palaces. All those places where they have, say, the king of Syria live. And the time of judgment has come. And God was going to bring this fire into Damascus. And the judgment of God will come upon them. And notice verse 5. He says, I will break also the bar of Damascus, the protection of Damascus. And I will cut off the inhabitants from the plain of Avin. And him that holdeth the scepter.

Who is the one who holds the scepter? That's the king. The king will, the king of Syria, he eventually with his people will go into captivity and to kill, saith the Lord. In other words, judgment is going to come upon the city of Damascus, which is the capital city of Syria, because of what happened in their activities that they have done to the people of Gilad. Please turn with me to 2 Kings, chapter 10. 2 Kings, chapter 10, verses 32 and 33. Look where we read. 2 Kings, chapter 10. It says in those days. It says in those days, the Lord began to cut Israel short. And Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel.

And listen to verse 33. From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilad, the Gadites, this is the tribe of Gad, and the Rubanites, this is the tribe of Reuven, and the Menasheites, this is half of the tribe of Menashe, from Arroer, which is by the river of Arnon, even Gilad and Bashan. Now, chapter 13, and verse, listen to the next verse, verse 7. Chapter 13, verses 3 to 7. And there you find out what really happened. In verse 3, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, all their days.

Verse 4. Verse 4. And Yoachaz besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. And the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrian, and the children of Israel dwelled in their tents as before time. Then verse 6. Nevertheless, listen, Israel, even though God delivered Israel from the hand of Syria, they still failed to submit to the Lord. Nevertheless, they departed not from their sin, the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but they walked therein, and there remained the grove also in Samaria.

This is the terrible idols that they were worshipping in Samaria. Then verse 7. Neither did he leave the people to Yoachaz, but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for, and here is the word, for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them, listen to this, listen to this, like the dust by threshing. See what the king of Syria did? Because Israel did not obey the Lord, the king of Syria rose up against Israel, and as we read in Amos chapter 1 and verse 3, He had threshed Gilad with threshing instruments of iron. How terrible behavior it was that God said judgment is coming.

And that's why in Amos chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, the judgment of the Lord was upon Damascus. Fire will come, and eventually their king and their people will be taken to become captive themselves, because of the manner whereby they have treated the people of Israel. So we are speaking, if we look at the map again, we are speaking about Damascus, which is north of Israel, and specifically in the area of Gilad, which is on the eastern side of Jordan River. That's where the two and a half tribes of Israel remain, who did not enter into the land when Joshua brought the people of Israel into the promised land.

So he began with Damascus. But now, beloved brothers and sisters, he is going down from Damascus in the north, and he is speaking about Gaza, which is in Hebrew Gaza, which is part that belonged to the tribe of Judah, which is in the southwest border of Israel. And up till today, there is still a problem between Israel and Gaza. Just yesterday, a rocket was shot from Gaza into the southern part of Israel, and the Israel Iron Dome have blocked that rocket. But many people live there, and for months and months and years and years, they are under the danger of being every time killed by all those rockets and things like that that happen today.

But we are going back now over 2,700 years, beloved brothers and sisters. And we are going now, notice this, in Amos chapter 1, verses 6 to 8. Here, we learn of the judgment that's going to come upon Gaza, which is one of the cities of the Philistines. And so we read, notice in verse 6, Amos chapter 1, verse 6. Thus says the Lord, "For three, transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof." And then he gives us the reason in verse 6b. Because, why? Because they carried away captive, the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom. What happened in those days, when Amos was speaking to the northern kingdom of Israel?

In those days, the people of Gaza, of Gaza, here on the southwest part of the land of Israel, by the Mediterranean, what did they do? According to verse 6 of Amos chapter 1, they carried away captive. This is a Jewish captive. And they carried them as slaves, and they delivered them to those people that are called Edom, right here, next door, the neighbors on their south. In other words, already in those days, the people of the Philistines were one of the greatest enemies of the people of Israel throughout Israel history. If you remember, it was Shemshon, Samson. Who, instead of marrying within the nation of Israel, what did he do?

He went and he took to wife a Philistine woman. And then he ended up, if you remember, having Delilah to be his wife. And you remember how Delilah betrayed him. And ultimately, she said to him, "The Philistines is upon you." And she cut the hair of his head. He was a Nazarite. And as a Nazarite, his strength was in his devotion to the Lord. And by violating the Word of God, and allowing the Philistines to have influence upon him, Shemshon, Samson, who was a man that's supposed to bring sunlight to the nation of Israel, ended up to be defeated. And the Philistines cut his eyes, if you remember, made him to walk in circles and led by a young boy.

And eventually, Samson received one final strength from the Lord and destroyed the whole building, as we read here in the book of Judges. But the Philistines and Israel had conflict continuously. But one of the highest crimes of the Philistines was that they carried away the people of Israel, the people of Judah, and of the northern as well, captive. And they delivered them up to Edom to become slaves there. And so God is saying this and is reminding of the fault of Philistines. So now, here is the judgment that will fall upon the city of Gaza, but not only Gaza, the other cities that belong to the Philistines.

Notice, and I'm reading now verses 7 and 8. And there we have the judgment of the Lord upon Gaza. Fire will come upon Gaza's wall and the perishing of the Philistines, as we read in those two verses. I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, God is saying, which shall devour the palaces thereof. And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon. And I will turn mine hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God. Now you notice that he is mentioning here four towns: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron. But he is missing one city of the Philistines called Gat.

And apparently already Gat was taken over earlier, already was destroyed earlier in the earlier days. But here is the punishment of Gaza, of Gaza, because of what they have done. They have sold the people of Israel to be slaves to the land of Edom. So again, beloved brothers and sisters, look once again. We have Damascus is the first one on the northeast of the land of Israel. Gaza is on the southwest. And these are nations that surrounded Israel in the days when Amos was speaking, as it is indeed today, in the days in which we live in today. So let's move along. Because thirdly, in verses 9 and 10, there is the judgment that is going to come against Tyre.

Tyre today, in Hebrew we call it Sor, and this is present-day Lebanon today. Today, thank God, there are many Christians in Lebanon. And I remember years ago, we used to have in Israel, we used to have a gate when many of the Lebanese Christians came into Israel to get help from the people of Israel. The military, the Israeli army, opened the door for many of the believers from there to come in and be protected from the problem that they have had. And I'm speaking about now, years ago, in the 70s and 80s. But when we are looking back now over 2700 years ago, the conflict between Tyre and Israel was there.

But Tyre was somewhat different because Tyre, Sor in Hebrew, used to have an agreement with King David and an agreement with King Solomon, his son. So, to them, notice what it says here, in the next verses, Amos 1, verse 9. Here is the sin of Tyre. What is the sin of Tyre, verse 9? Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyre, and for four I will not turn away the punishment. Thereof. Now, notice the word because. Why? Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom. In other words, they identify somewhat with what the Philistines have done in Gaza. By turning the captivity to Edom, the Jewish people, to become slaves.

But look at the next thing that was said. It's because it says, and they remember not the brotherly covenant. Now, you see, brothers and sisters, please turn with me for a moment to the book of 2 Samuel. Just for a second. 2 Samuel, chapter 5. In 2 Samuel, chapter 5, the king of Israel, David, could not build the temple for the God of Israel because he was a bloody man. But look what David did. David, in 2 Samuel, chapter 5, had an agreement with the king of Tyre, with the present-day Lebanon, you might say. It says here, in verse 9, 2 Samuel, chapter 5, and verse 9. David dwelt in a fort and called it the city of David.

And David built round about from Milo and inward. And David went on, and he grew great, and the Lord of hosts was with him. And look at this, verse 11. And Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house. King Tyre and the king of Israel had a great relationship, and there was an arrangement between them. And King Tyre was sending to David cedars in order to build his house. Now turn to the book of 1 Kings also for a moment. Chapter 5, 1 Kings chapter 5, not only that David had a good relationship with Hiram, the king of Tyre, But King Shlomo, Solomon, and King Hiram had an agreement, had a covenant between themselves.

As it says here, and I'm reading now, 1 Kings chapter 5, and verse 12. In fact, I'll read verse 10. And Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 measures of wheat for food to the household, to his household, and 20 measures of pure oil. Thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. Shlomo, the king of Israel, was providing for Tyre, for the king of Tyre, all sorts of things such as, as we read here, certain measures of oil, and so on, and food for his household. And look what it says in verse 12. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him, and there was peace between Hiram and Shlomo.

And they too made a league, a covenant together. But you see what happened? That's amazing. They broke that covenant. And that's why the Lord is mentioning this through Amos. In this first chapter, in verse 9, he says, here is the sin of Tyre. What Tyre have done, according to verse 9, they deliver up the whole captivity to Edom and remembered not the brotherly covenant. Now, brothers and sisters, listen. It was such a wonderful relationship between the two kings, Shlomo and Hiram, David and Hiram. But when they broke the covenant, and they have ended up identifying with the people of Gaza, here in the southwest, and delivering the people of Israel to become slaves, they broke the relationship that they have had.

And notice the consequence of this sin. It does say in verse 10, the judgment of the Lord will be upon Tyre. And the judgment will be very similar. There will be fire that's going to come. And I'm reading again verse 10. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which shall devour the palaces thereof. Apparently, because of the fact that there was this brotherly relationship between Israel and Tyre, you don't read so much, you might say, a strong judgment that I mentioned elsewhere. But yet you do see in verse 10 that God will send fire. He will devour the palaces. And again, the palaces is where the king was sitting, and the judgment of the Lord would fall upon the king of Tyre.

Number four. The next nations are no longer a distant nation that had no blood relationship like Damascus, like Aza, and like Tyre. Those three nations have no blood link with the people of Israel. But now you notice, beloved brothers and sisters, as the judgment of coming is now he's going to deal with another three nations on the eastern and southern side of Israel. Nation that had actually, you might say, blood relationship with Israel. You know, most of the problem that is going on today in the Middle East are problems that existed between cousins, between family members. In fact, in the body of Christ, in the body of Messiah, most of the problems that exist among believers is between believers who are both born again, both belong to the Lord.

But for some reason, one reason or another, they fight each other and have constant conflict and dividing themselves instead of enjoying love relationship, enjoying the things of the Lord. And here we can see that even family ties is not available unless you are treating one another in a godly way, guided by the Holy Spirit of God. And so we read in verses 11 and 12. And there he's speaking about the people of Edom. And so we read about the sin of Edom. Listen to that. In verse 11. In verse 11. Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof.

Why? Verse 11. Because. Because. Because he did pursue his brother with the sword. And did cast off all pity. And his anger did tear continuously. And he kept his wrath forever. But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. But the reason that God is accusing now the land of the people of Edom, he called them, notice that, because he pursued his brother with a sword. You remember when Yaakov and Esav were born. They were born. They were twins. When Rivka came to the Lord and asked her, "What's going on? It seems to be that there is something going on in my stomach." And the Lord had to tell her, "There are two nations in your stomach, in your belly.

One is stronger than the other, but the elder shall serve the younger." And you remember she gave birth to Yaakov and to Esav. Esav was born first. And Yaakov held the heel of Esav. His name was called Yaakov. Because he was a heel holder. And the meaning of Yaakov also is supplenter, which is showing the nature of all humanity. But what happened? Since the time that Yaakov and Esav were born, there was constantly conflict between the two brothers. And if you remember, one time. Esav was hungry and he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob, Yaakov. For a little bit of food. Esav did not value the birthright that he had.

But Yaakov took this birthright. Yes, he was crafty. But God had already planned to give this to him. As he had already said before they were born, the elder shall serve the younger. But from the time that they were born, they had conflict with each other. And then Jacob, Yaakov, took the birthright. He fled because his brother was going to kill him. And when Esav came to his father Isaac and he said, Father, please bless me also. And his father told him, already from the beginning of his life, that he will constantly be with a sword in his hand. In fact, I want to read for a moment in Genesis chapter 25, verses 25 and 26.

Listen to these words that we have there in Genesis chapter 25. In verse 25 we read, and the first, as it says here, the first was red. The first came out red all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esav. He was red colored. And the name Adom in Hebrew, Adom means simply red. In chapter 27 and verse 38 we read, and Esav said unto his father, "Has thou but one blessing, my father?" And he said, "Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esav lifted up his voice and he wept because he lost the birthright. So Isaac, his father, answered and he said unto him, "Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth." And of the dew of the heaven from above.

And listen to this. "And by thy sword shalt thou live and shalt serve thy brother. And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." And Esav hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him. "By thy sword shalt thou live." And so we read in Amos and in chapter one about the condition and the evil that Adom have done. And so we read, "Because he pursued his brother with a sword and did cast off all pity in his anger." And then he says, "And he did this continuously and he kept his wrath forever." Esav was constantly angry with Yaakov, his brother.

It is so interesting that we are taught in the scripture not to be angry with one another. We are often taught in scripture because anger brings about desire to harm one another. In fact, the epistle of John said if you are angry with your brother, just like you have murdered your brother. If you hate your brother, just the same as you have committed the sin of murder. And therefore notice the evil of the people of Edom, which are descendants of Esav, of Esav, whose name was Edom. And so we read now, and I'm reading the judgment that's going to come upon Edom, who was a brother nation.

It says in verse 12, "But I will send a fire upon Taman." Taman was the grandson of Esav, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. And Bozrah is another city. The two cities in Edom called Taman and Bozrah. And beloved brothers and sisters, when the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah is going to come at his second coming. He's going to come to Edom, according to Isaiah 63. And there in Edom, he's going to come, and we read of the judgment that's going to come at the second coming of the Messiah. And he's eventually going to come and restore the remnant of Israel back unto himself. Please bear with me and turn to Isaiah chapter 63.

Isaiah chapter 63 speaks about the future day at the end of the tribulation. When Yeshua the Messiah is going to come at his second coming. And the prophet Isaiah looking forward for the second coming of the Messiah. And in chapter 63 and verse 1, he used the name of Edom and he used the city of Bozrah. And we read, who is this that cometh from Edom? Verse 1. With dyed garment from Bozrah. This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength. I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. And they asked him in verse 2. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel? Why do your garment is red?

And notice it says, and thy garment like him that treadest the wine press. In verse 3, he's answering, I have trodden the wine press alone. And of the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury. And their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garment. And I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart. And the year of my redeemed is come. You see, Isaiah is now looking forward for the second coming of the Messiah. He came once as a lamb and he went to the slaughter. And he died as a substitute for those of us who have accepted him.

But at his second coming, he's going to come in judgment. And it's again, he's going to come from Edom. Here is the desert area in the southeast of Israel. It's present day Jordan today. He's going to come to Edom where the remnant of Israel will flee in the future day to hide from the Antichrist in the tribulation period. And the Messiah is going to come according to Isaiah 63 at the second coming. He's going to land in the area that is called Bozrah in Edom. And he will judge the enemies of Israel, the Antichrist. And he will deliver the people of Israel and bring them back into the promised land, the land of Israel.

It is so interesting to connect this. But the judgment that Amos is speaking about already happened long before the time that you and I speak about the tribulation period. It happened already many years ago. But yet there is one more judgment that is yet to come. So two more nations. And I'm going to stop with the judgment after judgment. Notice in chapter one of Amos verses 13 to 15. Here is judgment upon nation number five. And again, beloved brothers and sisters, this nation is a nation that have a blood tie with the people of Israel. This nation, according to verse 13, is Amon. Present day, Rabat Amon is today in Jordan, the capital city of the nation of Jordan.

But in those days, they were descendants of Amon, who was a son of Lot from his own daughter. And so we read in verse 13. Thus says the Lord, for three transgression of the children of Amon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Why? Here's the reason. Because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilad, that they might enlarge their borders. Now here's another evil thing that the people of Amon have done. In other words, they have done many sins that God was aware of. The three transgressions of the children of Amon have already passed. Now the fourth one, God says, I will not turn away the judgment that is coming.

And you know what they have done? The people of Amon, who are blood relative to the people of Israel. Sadly, it says here, in Hebrew, it says, "Bikam harot Gilad" in Hebrew. They ripped up the women with child, the children of Gilad. In other words, they were women who were pregnant. And in order that there will not be a multiplication of families, they ripped them up and they killed them before they gave them birth. And the purpose for that in order that they will enlarge their borders. So the people of Israel will not enlarge their borders, but that they will have less people to deal with.

And therefore they ripped up the women with child of Gilad. What a sad thing. How evil the human heart can be. That's including us. We all have a sin nature. The capability that men can do. And therefore the judgment of God is surely going to come. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, in the next verses. In verses 14 and 15, we have the judgment of the Lord upon Amon. And notice that I'm reading this. But I will kindle a fire. In the wall of Rabbah. And it shall devour the palaces thereof. With shouting in the day of battle. With the tempest in the day of the wild wind.

And their king shall go into captivity. He and his princess together saith the Lord. Now there will be a consequence to Amon's activity. And eventually God is going to send them captive. And he's going to send fire upon the wall of Rabbah. And their palaces as well will be destroyed. If we can look at this one more time, beloved brothers and sisters. Now again, I would like you to bear with me the surrounding nations. Only on the west we have the Mediterranean all around Israel. We have nations that are constantly opposing Israel. The man of Amos, by the name of Amos was from Judea. He's going north to speak judgment upon Israel.

And he will. And he will. The whole book of Amos is judgment upon the people of Israel. But before he began to speak against the departure of Israel from the Lord. He speaks about those six nations. Three of them are not having any blood relationship with Israel. But three of them, Edom and Amon, and now Moab, have a direct link with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now let me read the final judgment upon the nation that is called Moab. Amos chapter 2, verses 1, 2, and 3. Thus says the Lord, verse 1. For three, transgression of Moab. And for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Why? Because, verse 1, he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime, into mortar.

Now, notice what happened here. In this case, the king of Moab and the people of Moab, what did they do? They took the bones of the king of Edom and they burned it in such a way that they made out of it, in Hebrew we call it seed. And seed simply means they make cement from that in order to use it to build certain things. In fact, it was a disrespectful treatment of the body of the king of Edom. And that was not the only sin that they have committed, but their sins were multiplied for three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not turn away the punishment, God said to them.

And so this evil deed that they have done brought about the necessity for God to punish Moab as well. And notice verses 2 and 3 of Amos chapter 2. "I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kiriot, and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and I will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord." And so with this final judgment upon the people and the nation of Moab, God, you might say, concludes with the pronouncing of the judgment which will fall upon the surrounding nations around the people of Israel.

He began with Damascus, which is the capital city of Syria. He moved to Gaza or Gaza, which is the capital city of Philistia. He continued with Tzor or Tyre, which was the capital city of Phoenicia. He continued with Edom, which is a brotherly nation, Isa, a twin brother of Jacob, of Jacob. He continued with Moab, and he concluded with Ammon, and he concluded with the people of Moab. Now, what is the lesson, beloved brothers and sisters, in conclusion for this ministry meeting today? The lesson is important for us to grasp. You see, God loves humanity. God loves mankind, and he is not willing that any should perish.

God, yet on the other hand, he is a holy God. He is a holy God who created the human race for his own pleasure. But men turned away from him. And he elected the nation of Israel to be a nation, to be a testimony for him. But even his very own people have violated his word and disobeyed him. And God have to discipline even his own people. The book of Proverbs and the book of Hebrews. We read, "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and he scourges every son whom he had received." And so judgment has to fall upon human race, humanity. Not because God hates man.

It's because when men violate the word of God, God will have to come in judgment upon humanity. For the time is come the judgment must begin at the house of God. 1 Peter 4:17 And if it first began at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? If God is going to judge his own people, what shall be the end of those that obey not the gospel? The good news of God's great salvation that he provided through his son, the Messiah, Yeshua himself, who came from heaven in order to pay the price for us, for our own sins. So I trust, beloved brothers and sisters, as we read and we study the prophet Amos, we understand this is the word of the Lord.

God's word will never change. God's word will remain true because God is holy and he presented his word for the benefit of humanity. And I trust the Lord that you and I have learned something from the ministry today of the judgment of God upon these six nations that surround the people of Israel. God surely will and have fulfilled the promises of the judgment to come. May the Lord help us to adhere to his word, to accept the Messiah, to follow after him and to live for him here in this world. Can we say amen to that? Amen to that.