Amos 5:25-27
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.
Tag: Idol Worship Demands Judgment
In the above passage Amos, spoken to Israel, could be paraphrased as follows:
“Hey Israel, you are about to go into judgment because you replaced the correct sacrificial offerings, meant for God, with false worship. You worshiped gods that are really not gods, but, rather, made up idols, made by the hands of man..”
God tells them, as a result of worshipping false gods (Skkuth and Kiyyun) they would be taken into captivity “beyond Damascus.” Damascus was in the north-northeast corner of Israel. The country “beyond Damascus” was Assyria. That is who would take them captive.
To make sure they understood that this WOULD happen, God reminds them of His name (somewhat mocking the names of the gods they were worshipping). Amos ends the statement with, “... says the Lord, whose name is the God of Hosts.”
Amos will go on to use that same name for God throughout the rest of the book (Amos 6:8, 14; 9:5). The phrase means that God is the Lord of all the armed of heavens. The use of the name is meant to remind Israel that God has the power to do what He is saying He will do. It is used over 250 times in the Old Testament. God has the power to punish and put into captivity those who worship worthless idols. It is the LORD of Hosts, who should be worshipped. When we put other things in our lives we should always know that God has the power and will use His power to discipline. He is the LORD of Hosts. Not things we produce with our hands. He deserves our worship, not the idols we put in front of us.
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