Amos lesson 1

I am filling in as the Adult Sunday School Teacher at our church for the Summer. After preparing this lesson I thought some of you might be interested in reading it, so I posted it. Let me know what you think.

Background to the book (which covers Ch1 vs 1 and 2 as well as other resources)

1. Who was Amos?

   1. Probably not the father of Isaiah, this Amos was a poor herdsman, Isaiah's father was a courtier.

   2. Amos means “Burden” Amoz means “Strong”

   3. Matthew Henry says that “Burden” could refer to a speech impediment or lack of skill in public speaking or the burden, or weight, of the words Amos spoke.

   4. Probably from the tribe of Judah from the area of Tekoa

2. What did he do?

   1. Prophesied

      1. against Israel, the ten northern tribes, and king Uzziah

      2. against the countries round about that did not follow God and had persecuted his people

3. When did this happen?

   1. Contemporary to Hosea, Joel, and Isaiah

   2. 2 years before the earthquake

      1. That is probably the earthquake mentioned by

         1. Josephus, Antiq. 9.225, and says, "By it half of a mountain was removed and carried to a plain four furlongs off; and it spoiled the king’s gardens.’

         2. Zechariah 14:5

         3. Isaiah 6:4

         4. 
            

4. Why did he prophesy?

   1. To call Israel to repentance and show the nations that God is the God of the whole world

   2. The words of Amos which he saw concerning Israel-implies a vision from God

5. Where did he prophesy?

   1. In Israel and concerning Israel as well as Judah and the nations around about.

6. Where was he from?

   1. Tekoa in the tribe of Judah

Chapter 1:3 through 2:3

The form of the passage is a literary device that repeats for each of the nations that God is judging. It follows this layout:

Thus sayeth the Lord, for three transgressions of insert country and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because insert specific charge: insert specific punishment

What does the form of the indictment tell us?

1. From Matthew Henry regarding the nations:

   1. The indictment drawn up against them all is thus far the same, (1.) That they are charged in general with three transgressions, and with four, that is, with many transgressions (as by one or two we mean a few, so by three or four we mean many, as in Latin a man that is very happy is said to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy); or with three and four, that is, with seven transgressions, a number of perfection, intimating that they have filled up the measure of their iniquities, and are ripe for ruin; or with three (that is, a variety of sins) and with a fourth especially, which is specified concerning each of them, though the other three are not, as Prov. 30:15, 18, 21, 29, where we read of three things, yea, four, generally one seems to be more especially intended. (2.) That the particular sin which is fastened upon as the fourth, and which alone is specified, is the sin of persecution: it is some mischief or other done to the people of God that is particularly charged upon every one of them, for persecution is the measure-filling sin of any people, and it is this sin that will be particularly reckoned for—I was hungry, and you gave me no meat; much more if it may be said, I was hungry, and you took my meat from me.

   2. Which means it could be either:

      1. 3 and 4 = 7 which would imply a perfect combination of offenses that God has to judge

      2. Or, it could be three unspecified charges and one (the fourth) specific charge

I am not sure which of these ideas is correct and they could both be correct, but the major point is that these nations had committed crimes against Israel and God chose to judge them for it.

So lets look at the specific countries and the specific charges against them:

1. Country-Damascus

   1. Charge-they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron

   2. Punishment-But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad. I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

2. Gaza

   1. they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver [them] up to Edom

   2. But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

3. Tyrus (Tyre)

   1. they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant

   2. But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

4. Edom

   1. he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

   2. But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

5. Ammon

   1. they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

   2. 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 a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

6. Moab

   1. he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

   2. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, [and] with the sound of the trumpet: And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

   The theme of this poetic passage is God's judgment on nations that have oppressed others. I don't know the exactly the line that these countries crossed, but it is clear that God chose to punish them for their multiple sins.

Galvanized Pancake?

Any guesses what this is?











Here's another view.













Yesterday was the last day of bear baiting season. I didn't set up a bait station of my own this year (I decided to spend that time with the family) but a friend did. He borrowed my bait bucket. When his wife got sick he knew he wouldn't be able to sit on the stand, so he offered to let me. This is what I found. The black bear (the only ones legal to bait) have swatted it around before and left a few dents. But this was done by a big bear. I guess the other hint were the huge tracks on the trail. I sat up in the tree with a video camera so if he came back I could at least get him on video. I was also armed to the teeth in case he wanted to make an issue of things, or a blackie showed up. The stand was set up for Archery so it was a closer than I usually do, so I carried a riot shotgun with Brenneke slugs. All I saw was a herd of Grey Jays.

Father's Day

Coffee Jitters blogged about 5 things she learned from Dad. I thought that was very appropriate, and I agree with her on those five things, but I thought I might talk about some of the things I enjoyed doing with my Dad.

1. Hunting
Mama thinks I'm nuts when I get excited about rain or a hard frost, but those are the best times to hunt. I remember climbing mountains, stopping for wheeze breaks about every 10 minutes, hoping we would have an easy pack back down the hill. We were always successful, but only occasionally filling a tag. Dad taught me to walk softly, listen constantly, always scanning, and check your back trail (thats how he got his first moose in 76).

2. Fishing
I was driving the orange boat while Dad was dipnetting. All the sudden he was nearly jerked out of the boat. As he was rolling over the transom, still holding the net, I slammed the throttle into neutral, which threw him forward, and grabbed him by his vest and pulled him into the boat. Then together we tried to hoist the net into the boat. A 40# king salmon with an attitude in a 16' boat is pretty impressive. Dad asked what we should do, our fish bonker looked pretty silly, so I grabbed the fire extinguisher and hit him with it. Dad and I caught lots of fish together, but he never let that get in the way of having a good time.

3. Wrenching
When I was younger I always wanted a new tool. I loved to work on vehicles and he enjoyed the help. Mechanicing was not one of his gifts, but he was usually able to get the job done. Many times it was only because he just kept trying until he got it right. I am amazed at the kids I work with who try something once and if they don't get it the first time they quit. Dad may not have tried the same thing twice, but he didn't quit the first time until it was done.

4. Farming
Dad was a hobby farmer. We very often had chickens or pigs or sheep or goats and we always had a garden. I sometimes wished I didn't have to take care of the animals or weed the garden, but what do I have now? A garden, 16 chickens, and one rabbit. I loved driving the Kubota and maybe someday I'll have a tractor of my own. In the mean time the Troy-Built is still kicking.

5. Canoeing
Boats are fun, but we could never afford one. We went on many canoe camps and we went hunting by canoe also. It is a joy to paddle with someone who not only knows what they are doing but what you are doing too. Some people seem to try to fight you when you share a canoe, but Dad and I were able paddle in a way that was complimentary. When I got to be about 18 he started to let me have the helm (sit in the stern) and I learned to control the canoe. We were able to communicate where we wanted to go and then we both just did what needed to be done to get there.

So... I've been tagged.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I think this photo is about 10 years old. It was before I got married but after my time in the Army. As for work, I was working 60 hours a week as a manger at McDonald's and pulling 14 credits (made the Deans List twice, and Chancellors list once).

2. What are five things on your list today?

1. Receive a load of lumber (for the addition).
2. Go to work (to pay for the lumber).
3. Layout stakes (so I know where to dig).
4. Kiss Mama (has to be done).
5. Eat roadkill (this is a roadkill blog after all).

3. What snacks to you enjoy?

I enjoy roadkill meat sticks, potato chips, fruits, vegetables, roadkill steak, and cheeseburgers.

4. What places have you lived?

1. Eugene, OR (they let roadkill rot)
2. Kodiak, AK (Dad told a story about a guy who used a roadkill hare to plug a hole in his rusted out Bronco)
3. Palmer, AK (much eating of roadkill)
4. Ft Stupid, GA (they let roadkill rot)
5. Wonju Korea (they have very little wildlife, but they waste nothing)
6. FT Campbell, KY (they let roadkill rot)
7. Soldotna, AK (we eat lots of road kill)

5. What things would you do if you were a billionaire?

I think I would hunt and recover roadkill, although I would probably build a cold room for processing meat.

6. Who are the people you want to know more about?

Any one who will engage me in stimulating conversation, that won't:

1. get angry at my opinions
   
2. always need to tell a bigger story
3. ridicule people who aren't in the conversation
4. always agree with me
5. make scripture fit their theology (instead of making their theology fit scripture)

Now the rules!

Answer all the questions.
Tag 6 people, leave a comment on their blog to inform them that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for rules. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers. (No links for private blogs)

I'm tagging...


mama
altered weapon

I guess that's all for now.

Caribou hoo

If you saw my recent post you know about my Alcan trip. Between Glenn Allen and Tok we came upon a crowd of ravens. As we drove up they cleared out and we found this...



This critter appears to have been hit and then covered by snow (possibly by a snow plow).





I am disappointed that this critter was not recovered for human consumption. However, I don't think it was from neglect. I just know that it was in the middle of nowhere and I suspect it got hidden pretty quick.

Why did the Bison cross the road?

Recently I took a little trip down the Alcan Hwy. Along the way we (my brother, who was sharing driving duties, and I) saw many interesting sights.



One interesting sight was this Bison crossing the road.












He moved pretty slow and did not look both ways before crossing...













I was wondering if this happens often...












And what might happen if visibility was low...












If there were an altercation who would win...













I guess it does happen on occasion.



I'm afraid the Bison didn't win...










Neither did the Toyota...

Equipement For Roadside Use

First of all you need a truck.







I use this beat up old Ford (290,000 miles and still on it's first engine). We call it the Bird Dog. I suppose you could use a car, but it would make a mess and might take several trips. Some folks use a trailer, I have one made out of a 1984 Chevy that I used to pull behind an Astro van.


In Alaska the powers that be would prefer that you use a Whoopie Light. I have many times just used my flashers and no one has ever complained. But if you have one you may as well use it.

















I also find it handy to carry a shovel or two. The flat bladed shovel is handy for scraping guts and hair off the road.
















Part of the deal is that you get to clean up the mess.

















Sometimes the critter is off the road or otherwise inaccessible. Then a rope-along is handy. I prefer this to a come-along because I am not limited on cable length. The rope also does not kink like a steel cable. Replacing the rope is easy.












I usually quarter and dress a moose without ever using a saw. But I do have some and they are handy, especially for the ribs. I carry the small one when I am hunting and use the Ridgid to respond to roadkills.











Knives are critical. From left to right I have 2 general purpose hunting knives. Notice the gut hook on the Winchester. I never use it. Then there are two skinning knives. The Old Hickory seems to hold an edge better, it has high carbon steel, however it does rust easier and requires more maintenance and immediate cleaning. The other skinning knife and the 1st 2 boning knives are Forstner Victorinox, the same people who brought you the Swiss Army knife. These are very nice knives and the hold an edge very well for being stainless steel. The last two boning knives are no-name stainless steel but they work well so I use them a lot.









Once you have the critter quartered, or as you pull the quarters off, they should be put into game bags to keep them clean until you are ready to process them. I prefer heavy duty bags. I reuse them so they do need to be laundered, a hint is to soak them in a bucket with some soap for a while first. I don't like disposable bags because they tear so easily.

I'm not showing any but I also like to use disposable latex gloves, and I change them often as I go. I try to always have clean gloves on as I handle the meat it's self.