How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! …Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. (NRSV Amos 6:1, 7)
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! … Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be
removed. (KJV Amos 6:1, 7)
Maybe Israel and Judah have been complacent because they think that the covenant will protect them regardless of how they’ve been conducting their lives. That’s what some of the false prophets have been telling them. This passage in the book of Amos killed the Minor Prophets’ sponsorship deal with La-Z-Boy recliners and Craftmatic adjustable beds, and it’s easy to see why.
Quote #5
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, the LORD your God. (NRSV Amos 9:14-15)
And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. (KJV Amos 9:14-15)
God’s covenant with Israel is said to be eternal, and the breach of covenant complaints in the Minor Prophets typically include a promise of eventual restoration. God’s people will return to the land and it will be fruitful. In fact, this passage from Amos compares Israelites to plants and promises that they won’t be pulled out of the ground again.
Quote #6
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. (NRSV Obadiah 1:17-18)
But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it. (KJV Obadiah 1:17-18)
Getting back the land and wiping out the invaders remain the top two items on Israel’s and Judah’s to-do lists for centuries. The references to the some of the original players in the covenant—Jacob, Joseph, and Esau—demonstrates God’s long memory. Obadiah excoriates Esau for how he treated his little brother Jake, and his descendants are paying the price.