Amos 3:14
On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions
This phrase sets a solemn tone, indicating a specific time of divine judgment. The Hebrew word for "punish" is "pāqad," which can mean to visit, attend to, or reckon with. In this context, it implies a divine reckoning or accounting for Israel's sins. Historically, Israel had been warned repeatedly through prophets about the consequences of their disobedience. The "transgressions" refer to their covenant violations, idolatry, and social injustices. This phrase underscores God's justice and the certainty of His judgment, reminding believers of the importance of living in obedience to God's commands.

I will visit the altars of Bethel
The "altars of Bethel" were significant because Bethel was a center of idol worship in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew word "bāqar" for "visit" in this context implies a thorough examination or inspection. Bethel, meaning "house of God," had become a place of false worship, contrary to its intended purpose. This phrase highlights God's intention to confront and dismantle the idolatrous practices that had taken root there. It serves as a warning against the corruption of true worship and the dangers of syncretism, where the worship of God is mixed with pagan practices.

the horns of the altar will be cut off
The "horns of the altar" were projections on the altar's corners, symbolizing strength and refuge. In ancient Israel, they were considered sacred and a place of asylum. The Hebrew word "qārān" for "horns" signifies power and might. By stating that these will be "cut off," God is declaring the removal of any perceived power or protection that the altar might have offered. This act symbolizes the end of false security and the dismantling of idolatrous systems. It serves as a powerful reminder that no false refuge can stand against the judgment of God.

and fall to the ground
The imagery of the horns falling to the ground signifies total destruction and humiliation. The Hebrew word "nāphal" for "fall" conveys a sense of collapse or defeat. This phrase emphasizes the complete overthrow of the idolatrous practices at Bethel. It illustrates the futility of relying on anything other than God for security and salvation. For believers, it is a call to examine their own lives for any idols or false securities and to place their trust solely in the Lord.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Amos
A prophet from Tekoa, called by God to deliver messages of judgment and repentance to Israel.

2. Israel
The Northern Kingdom, often straying from God's commandments and engaging in idolatry.

3. Bethel
A significant religious site in Israel, where idolatrous practices were conducted, including the worship of golden calves.

4. Altars of Bethel
Central to Israel's idolatrous worship, representing the nation's spiritual apostasy.

5. Horns of the Altar
Symbolic of strength and sanctuary, their removal signifies the end of false security and divine protection.
Teaching Points
Judgment on Idolatry
God’s judgment on the altars of Bethel underscores His intolerance for idolatry and false worship. Believers are called to examine their own lives for modern-day idols that may take precedence over God.

False Security
The cutting off of the altar's horns symbolizes the removal of false security. Christians should place their trust in God alone, rather than in material or worldly assurances.

Repentance and Restoration
The prophecy serves as a call to repentance. Just as Israel was warned, believers today are encouraged to turn from sin and seek restoration through Christ.

God’s Sovereignty
The passage highlights God’s control over nations and His ability to execute judgment. This should inspire reverence and awe, reminding believers of the importance of aligning with God’s will.

Historical Context and Relevance
Understanding the historical context of Israel’s idolatry helps believers appreciate the relevance of God’s timeless principles and the importance of faithfulness.
Bible Study Questions
1. What were the specific transgressions of Israel that led to God’s judgment as described in Amos 3:14, and how can we identify similar patterns in our own lives today?

2. How does the destruction of the altars at Bethel serve as a warning against idolatry, and what are some modern-day idols that can distract us from true worship?

3. In what ways does the removal of the altar's horns challenge us to reconsider where we place our security and trust?

4. How can the themes of judgment and repentance in Amos 3:14 be connected to the New Testament teachings on grace and redemption through Jesus Christ?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced a "cutting off" of false security in your life. How did this experience draw you closer to God, and what lessons did you learn?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Kings 12:28-33
Describes the establishment of the golden calves at Bethel by Jeroboam, highlighting the roots of Israel's idolatry.

Hosea 10:8
Speaks of the destruction of high places and altars, reinforcing the theme of judgment against idolatry.

Exodus 27:2
Details the construction of the altar with horns, emphasizing their significance in Israelite worship and sanctuary.
Ignorance Hinders ReligionAnthony Horneck.Amos 3:9-15
Safety in RighteousnessVincent W. Ryan, M. A.Amos 3:9-15
The Spoiler SpoiledJ. Telford, B. A.Amos 3:11-15
National JudgmentsD. Thomas Amos 3:13-15
Retribution Upon the Altar and the PalaceJ.R. Thomson Amos 3:13-15
People
Amos, Israelites, Jacob
Places
Ashdod, Bethel, Egypt, Samaria
Topics
Altar, Altars, Bethel, Beth-el, Charge, Charging, Cut, Destroy, Fall, Fallen, Ground, Horns, Israel's, Laid, Punish, Punishment, Sins, Transgressions, Visit
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Amos 3:14

     4654   horn
     6026   sin, judgment on
     7302   altar

Amos 3:13-15

     5508   ruins

Library
April 21 Evening
Enoch walked with God.--GEN. 5:22. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Having made peace through the blood of his cross . . . You, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.--In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Walking with God
Genesis 5:24 -- "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Various are the pleas and arguments which men of corrupt minds frequently urge against yielding obedience to the just and holy commands of God. But, perhaps, one of the most common objections that they make is this, that our Lord's commands are not practicable, because contrary to flesh and blood; and consequently, that he is an hard master, reaping where he has not sown, and gathering where he has not strewed'. These
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

On Public Diversions
"Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?" Amos 3:6. It is well if there are not too many here who are too nearly concerned in these words of the Prophet; the plain sense of which seems to be this: Are there any men in the world so stupid and senseless, so utterly void of common reason, so careless of their own and their neighbours' safety or destruction, as when an alarm of approaching judgments is given,
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Preparation for Revival
I trust that most of us who are here met in the name of Jesus, feel a deep, sincere, and constant agreement with God. We have been guilty of murmuring at his will; but yet our newborn nature evermore at its core and center knoweth that the will of the Lord is wise and good; and we therefore bow our heads with reverent agreement, and say, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." "The will of the Lord be done." Our soul, when through infirmity she is tempted to rebellion, nevertheless struggles after complete
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Whether God is a Cause of Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that God is a cause of sin. For the Apostle says of certain ones (Rom. 1:28): "God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not right [Douay: 'convenient']," and a gloss comments on this by saying that "God works in men's hearts, by inclining their wills to whatever He wills, whether to good or to evil." Now sin consists in doing what is not right, and in having a will inclined to evil. Therefore God is to man a cause of sin. Objection 2: Further,
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Angels Know the Mysteries of Grace?
Objection 1: It would seem that the angels know mysteries of grace. For, the mystery of the Incarnation is the most excellent of all mysteries. But the angels knew of it from the beginning; for Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. v, 19): "This mystery was hidden in God through the ages, yet so that it was known to the princes and powers in heavenly places." And the Apostle says (1 Tim. 3:16): "That great mystery of godliness appeared unto angels*." [*Vulg.: 'Great is the mystery of godliness, which . .
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether by the Divine Revelation a Prophet Knows all that Can be Known Prophetically?
Objection 1: It would seem that by the Divine revelation a prophet knows all that can be known prophetically. For it is written (Amos 3:7): "The Lord God doth nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets." Now whatever is revealed prophetically is something done by God. Therefore there is not one of them but what is revealed to the prophet. Objection 2: Further, "God's works are perfect" (Dt. 32:4). Now prophecy is a "Divine revelation," as stated above [3663](A[3]). Therefore
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether a Good Life is Requisite for Prophecy?
Objection 1: It would seem that a good life is requisite for prophecy. For it is written (Wis. 7:27) that the wisdom of God "through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls," and "maketh the friends of God, and prophets." Now there can be no holiness without a good life and sanctifying grace. Therefore prophecy cannot be without a good life and sanctifying grace. Objection 2: Further, secrets are not revealed save to a friend, according to Jn. 15:15, "But I have called you friends, because all
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Supreme Good, God, is the Cause of Evil?
Objection 1: It would seem that the supreme good, God, is the cause of evil. For it is said (Is. 45:5, 7): "I am the Lord, and there is no other God, forming the light, and creating darkness, making peace, and creating evil." And Amos 3:6, "Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord hath not done?" Objection 2: Further, the effect of the secondary cause is reduced to the first cause. But good is the cause of evil, as was said above [431](A[1]). Therefore, since God is the cause of every good,
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Carcass and the Eagles
'Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! 2. Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? 3. Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; 4. That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

"But it is Good for Me to Draw Near to God: I have Put My Trust in the Lord God, that I May Declare all Thy
Psal. lxxiii. 28.--"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works." After man's first transgression, he was shut out from the tree of life, and cast out of the garden, by which was signified his seclusion and sequestration from the presence of God, and communion with him: and this was in a manner the extermination of all mankind in one, when Adam was driven out of paradise. Now, this had been an eternal separation for any thing that
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation
"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). In the last chapter when treating of the Sovereignty of God the Father in Salvation, we examined seven passages which represent Him as making a choice from among the children of men, and predestinating certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son. The thoughtful reader will naturally ask, And what of those who were not "ordained to eternal life?" The answer which is usually returned to this question, even by those who profess
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Letter xxxvi (Circa A. D. 1131) to the Same Hildebert, who had not yet Acknowledged the Lord Innocent as Pope.
To the Same Hildebert, Who Had Not Yet Acknowledged the Lord Innocent as Pope. He exhorts him to recognise Innocent, now an exile in France, owing to the schism of Peter Leonis, as the rightful Pontiff. To the great prelate, most exalted in renown, Hildebert, by the grace of God Archbishop of Tours, Bernard, called Abbot of Clairvaux, sends greeting, and prays that he may walk in the Spirit, and spiritually discern all things. 1. To address you in the words of the prophet, Consolation is hid from
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?] If God be for us, who can be against us? T he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty, when attempting to excite
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Christian Perfection
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect." Phil. 3:12. 1. There is scarce any expression in Holy Writ which has given more offence than this. The word perfect is what many cannot bear. The very sound of it is an abomination to them. And whosoever preaches perfection (as the phrase is,) that is, asserts that it is attainable in this life, runs great hazard of being accounted by them worse than a heathen man or a publican. 2. And hence some have advised, wholly to lay aside
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Homiletical.
Twenty-four homilies on miscellaneous subjects, published under St. Basil's name, are generally accepted as genuine. They are conveniently classified as (i) Dogmatic and Exegetic, (ii) Moral, and (iii) Panegyric. To Class (i) will be referred III. In Illud, Attende tibi ipsi. VI. In Illud, Destruam horrea, etc. IX. In Illud, Quod Deus non est auctor malorum. XII. In principium Proverbiorum. XV. De Fide. XVI. In Illud, In principio erat Verbum. XXIV. Contra Sabellianos et Arium et Anomoeos.
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

Purposes of God.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What I understand by the purposes of God. Purposes, in this discussion, I shall use as synonymous with design, intention. The purposes of God must be ultimate and proximate. That is, God has and must have an ultimate end. He must purpose to accomplish something by his works and providence, which he regards as a good in itself, or as valuable to himself, and to being in general. This I call his ultimate end. That God has such an end or purpose,
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He Continues Free from Every Taint.
1. The carnal mind the source of the objections which are raised against the Providence of God. A primary objection, making a distinction between the permission and the will of God, refuted. Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God. This proved by examples. 2. All hidden movements directed to their end by the unseen but righteous instigation of God. Examples, with answers to objections. 3. These objections originate in a spirit of pride and blasphemy. Objection, that
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Use to be Made of the Doctrine of Providence.
Sections. 1. Summary of the doctrine of Divine Providence. 1. It embraces the future and the past. 2. It works by means, without means, and against means. 3. Mankind, and particularly the Church, the object of special care. 4. The mode of administration usually secret, but always just. This last point more fully considered. 2. The profane denial that the world is governed by the secret counsel of God, refuted by passages of Scripture. Salutary counsel. 3. This doctrine, as to the secret counsel of
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

"But Whereunto Shall I Liken this Generation?"
Matth. xi. 16.--"But whereunto shall I liken this generation?" When our Lord Jesus, who had the tongue of the learned, and spoke as never man spake, did now and then find a difficulty to express the matter herein contained. "What shall we do?" The matter indeed is of great importance, a soul matter, and therefore of great moment, a mystery, and therefore not easily expressed. No doubt he knows how to paint out this to the life, that we might rather behold it with our eyes, than hear it with our
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the Enjoyments of the Heavenly World.
John iii. 3. John iii. 3. --Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. IN order to demonstrate the necessity of regeneration, of which I would fain convince not only your understandings, but your consciences, I am now proving to you, that without it, it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God; and how weighty a consideration that is I am afterwards to represent. That it is thus impossible, the words in the text do indeed sufficiently prove: but for the further illustration
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

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