Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Amos Chapter 2
Metaphysically Interpreting Amos 2:1-16
2:1Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: 2:2but 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; 2:3and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah. 2:4Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk: 2:5but I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 2:6Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes- 2:7they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name: 2:8and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined.
2:9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. 2:10Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 2:11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. 2:12But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 2:13Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. 2:14And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; 2:15neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; 2:16and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
October 30, 1927: Amos 2:4-12
What does Amos the prophet represent? The name Amos means "vigor, virility, and vitality being born." Amos represents the beginning of a new spiritual life consciousness in man. Amos the prophet was one of the earliest Hebrew writers to call the Israelites to a higher realization of God's law of righteousness.
What do Judah and Israel represent? Judah represents the spiritual consciousness of man manifesting through the head - Israel represents spiritual consciousness manifesting through the heart. Both Judah and Israel had fallen away from a certain illumination that they had previously received; in today's lesson the prophet recalls them to the illumination.
According to Amos' prophecy, one who ceases io follow the light of Truth is to meet with dire punishment from Jehovah. Explain. Jehovah does not send punishment, but the law of cause and effect in man's thought is responsible for the punishment that seems to come from a higher source. Every thought produces results according to its character; if one does not change his evil thoughts and does not repent them, such thoughts bring him evil results.
What are some of the transgressions or sinful thoughts from which men suffer? The prophet mentioned several such transgressions. Selfishness and abnormal acquisitiveness cover nearly all of them. The Israelites sacrificed justice, charity, and mercy so that they could possess shoes and clothes; they disposed of righteousness so that they could get silver; also they gave way to appetite and passion in their bodies -- the houses of God.
The prophet said that Jehovah had destroyed the Amorites. Explain. The Amorites represent the giants of sensuality that seem to oppose man's entry into the Promised Land, or the larger expression of Divine Mind. Even when man's sensuality has been transmuted to higher planes of consciousness and no longer opposes his spiritual ongoing, his little transgressions stand in the way of his progress.
What is the meaning of the verse, "Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite"? Egypt represents the most material part of body consciousness and includes the functions of all organs below the diaphragm. In regeneration this region is affected and its thought people are enlightened, trained, and disciplined under divine law. When this discipline is finished the physical forces become spiritualized "Amorites," or giants of efficiency.
Transcribed by Mark on 11-30-2013
