Bible Buk Namba 30​—Amos

Man wea Raetem: Amos

Ples Hem Raetem: Judah

Taem Hem Finis Raetem: c. 804 B.C.E.

HEM no wanfala profet and hem no son bilong wanfala profet bat hem man for lukaftarem sheep and for katem olketa fig bilong sycamore tree—diswan hem Amos taem Jehovah kolem hem and sendem hem go for talemaot profesi long nation bilong hem Judah and especially long north kingdom bilong Israel. Hem wanfala long olketa profet wea 2 Kings 17:13, 22, 23 story abaotem. Hem kam from Tekoa long Judah, klosap 16 kilometer south long Jerusalem and for go kasem south spialaen bilong ten-tribe kingdom bilong Israel savve tek klosap wan full day.—Amos 1:1; 7:14, 15.

² Firstfala verse bilong profesi bilong hem sei hao hem startim waka bilong hem olsem profet long taem bilong Uzziah king bilong Judah and bilong Jeroboam II son bilong Joash, king bilong Israel, tufala year bifor wanfala bigfala earthquake. Diswan minim profesi hia kamap insaed 26-year wea start long 829 go kasem 804 B.C.E., insaed diswan tufala king hia rul long semtaem for lelebet taem. Profet Zechariah story lelebet abaotem datfala barava nogud earthquake long taem bilong Uzziah, long datfala taem olketa pipol ranawe from olketa fraet. (Zech. 14:5) Datfala Jew man for raetem history Josephus sei hao wanfala earthquake hem happen taem Uzziah bighed and trae for offerim incense long temple. Bat, luk olsem earthquake wea Amos storyim hem happen long firstfala haf long rul bilong Uzziah.

³ Disfala nem Amos hem minim “Kamap wanfala hevi” or “Karem wanfala hevi.” Taem hem go ahed for karem olketa hevi toktok bilong trabol go long Israel and Judah (and tu for staka heathen nation), hem karem tu wanfala message bilong comfort abaotem hao pipol bilong Jehovah bae kamap gud moa. Planti reason stap for talemaot wanfala hevi trabol long Israel. Gudfala living, richfala living, and olabaot fasin nao pipol barava laekem. Pipol forgetim finis law bilong Jehovah. Gudfala living bilong olketa mekem olketa no lukim hao olketa olsem frut wea ova ripe, olketa gogo for rotten wea bae lead go long wei for finis evribit. Amos talemaot profesi hao insaed tu-thri year nomoa, disfala ten-tribe kingdom bae kamap prisoner narasaed long Damascus. Insaed diswan hem mekhae long raeteous fasin and olmaeti rul bilong Jehovah, wea hem kolem 21 taem olsem “Sovereign Lord.”—Amos 1:8.

⁴ Wei wea disfala profesi and olketa narawan fulfill hem pruvim wei wea buk bilong Amos hem tru. Disfala profet talemaot tu hao olketa enemy nation wea stap raonem Israel—olketa Syrian, Philistine, Tyrian, Edomite, Ammonite, and Moabite—bae evriwan finis evribit. History showimaot hao gogo each wan long olketa ples hia bilong enemy for haed olketa brek. Olketa fasin bilong Judah and Israel hem moa worse from olketa lusim Jehovah and go ahed for duim false worship. Lastfala ples for haed bilong Israel, strongfala taon bilong Samaria, foldaon long year 740 B.C.E. bihaen army bilong Assyria anda long Shalmaneser V stap raonem olketa. (2 Ki. 17:1-6) Judah nating lane from samting wea happen long datfala nation wea olsem sista bilong hem, so hem tu finis evribit long 607 B.C.E.

⁵ Amos tok strong againstim Israel from richfala living bilong hem, from olketa wea rich go ahed for tekem olketa samting bilong olketa wea poor for buildim olketa “haos wea olketa wakem long ivory,” wea insaed long hem olketa kaikai and drinkim wine wea kost tumas. (Amos 3:15; 5:11, 12; 6:4-7) Olketa man for studyim olketa oldfala samting faendem olketa pruv wea showimaot disfala rich living. Olketa faendem planti ivory samting taem olketa dig long Samaria. Disfala Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land hem sei: “Tufala main grup nao stap: 1. Olketa ston wea olketa karvem piksa wea kamaot lelebet long hem, . . . 2. Olketa ston karving wea flat, and olketa putim olketa spesol ston, glass wea kalakala, gold pepa and samfala samting moa for mekem olketa luk naes . . . . Olketa ivory luk olsem hem maet kamaot from Phoenician art, and olketa maet iusim for putim long olketa tebol and chair long haos bilong olketa king bilong Israel. Bible story abaotem datfala ‘ivory haos’ wea Ahab buildim (1 Kings 22:39) and olketa ‘bed bilong ivory,’ wea piksarem rich living bilong olketa long Samaria wea toktok bilong repruv bilong Amos showimaot (6:4).”a

⁶ Iumi no savve daotem wei wea buk bilong Amos hem fit for stap insaed Bible. Samting wea barava pruvim diswan hem wei wea Stephen talem long difren wei, toktok bilong thrifala verse bilong hem long Acts 7:42, 43 and wei wea James talem toktok from datfala buk long Acts 15:15-18.—Amos 5:25-27; 9:11, 12.

WEI WEA HEM HELPEM IUMI

¹³ Olketa wea readim Bible distaem savve kasem gud samting taem olketa luksavve long reason for olketa warning wea Amos talemaot long Israel, Judah, and olketa wea stap raonem olketa. Olketa wea rejectim law bilong Jehovah, tekem olketa samting long laea wei and putim bigfala hevi long poor pipol, olketa greedy and garem nogud fasin, and go ahed for worshipim olketa idol, Jehovah bae nating acceptim olketa. Bat Jehovah savve forgivim olketa wea tanawe from kaen samting olsem and repent, and hem savve showimaot mercy long olketa. Iumi bae wise sapos iumi separate from olketa nogud kaban long disfala wicked world wea savve spoelem iumi and lisin long disfala kaonsel bilong Jehovah: “Lukaotem mi, and go ahed for laef.”—5:4, 6, 14.

¹⁴ Long taem wea hem redy for dae, Stephen talem toktok bilong Amos. Hem remindim olketa Jew hao hem from wei bilong Israel for worshipim olketa idol bilong olketa difren god, olsem Moloch and Rephan, wea mekem olketa kamap olsem prisoner. Waswe, olketa Jew hia kasem eni gud samting taem olketa herem hem talem moa toktok bilong Amos? Nomoa! From olketa barava kros fogud, olketa sutim Stephen witim ston gogo hem dae wea diswan mekem olketa bae kasem moa trabol long taem wea Jerusalem distroe long 70 C.E.—Amos 5:25-27; Acts 7:42, 43.

¹⁵ Iumi savve kasem gud samting sapos iumi ting long wei wea olketa profesi bilong Amos fulfill, no just olketa wea fulfill long wei wea Israel, Judah, and olketa nara nation kasem panis nomoa bat tu long olketa profesi bilong wei for kamap gud moa. For barava fitim toktok bilong Jehovah thru long Amos, olketa bilong Israel wea prisoner kam bak long 537 B.C.E. for buildim and stap bak moa long olketa taon bilong olketa wea emti evribit and for plantim moa olketa vineyard and garden.—Amos 9:14; Ezra 3:1.

¹⁶ Bat, wanfala nambawan wei wea profesi bilong Amos fulfill hem long taem bilong olketa aposol. Taem hem storyim wei wea olketa hipimap olketa wea no Israelite insaed Christian kongregeson, James, anda long spirit bilong God, showimaot klia hao Amos talem diswan finis long profesi long Amos 9:11, 12. Hem showim hao datfala ‘wei for buildim moa smol leaf haos bilong David wea foldaon’ hem fulfill long Christian kongregeson, “mekem olketa man wea stap savve barava lukaotem Jehovah, witim pipol bilong evri nation, pipol wea olketa kolem long nem bilong mi, Jehovah hem sei.” Diswan nao hem pruv from olketa Scripture for saportim disfala niu samting wea kamap, olsem Simon Peter storyim—hao God tekem aot from olketa nation “wanfala pipol for nem bilong hem.”—Acts 15:13-19.

¹⁷ Long samfala scripture hem storyim Jesus Christ wea Hed bilong disfala Christian kongregeson olsem “son bilong David” wea bae kasem “throne bilong David dadi bilong hem” and bae rul for olowe. (Luke 1:32, 33; 3:31) So profesi bilong Amos point go long wei wea covenant witim David for wanfala kingdom hem fulfill. Olketa toktok bilong Amos for finis hem no just givim wanfala nambawan vision bilong gudfala living long datfala taem bilong wei for buildim moa “datfala smol leaf haos bilong David” bat olketa showimaot tu wei wea Kingdom Bilong God bae stap olowe: “‘And bae mi plantim olketa long graon bilong olketa, and no eniwan bae aotem olketa from graon bilong olketa wea mi givim olketa,’ Jehovah God bilong iufala hem talem.” Earth bae fulap witim olketa blessing bilong olowe taem Jehovah mekem gud moa “datfala smol leaf haos bilong David”!—Amos 9:13-15.

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