Amos 9 the chosen get material rewards

 

Introduction to post: If New Testament, CJB online, emphasis in bold or Old Testament from chabad.org, text I emphasize in green; NKJV in magenta; OT in olive. footnotes to CJB in superscript ^{sky blue} using Hebrew Bible; Nomads* discussion in yellow; and my comments in gray. Colored text indicates a repeated phrase, catalogue, or theme. I may use endnotes to cite outside literature or extensive comment.  

*Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Kenny Tipton. In my view, Kenny appreciates and owns opinion in a continuous search to discover the ineluctable truth.

 My evolving statement about Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 82, now from the Hebrew Bible at chabad.org, is at the end of this post: because I accept Genesis 1’s directive to constrain chaos in my way of living, I may personally attempt to develop a god facing death or angelic person (John 10:36 with reference to Psalm 82:6-7).

This series: Kenny is leading a series of 8 lessons on the book of the 12; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Minor_Prophets.

Key points from Amos 9:

V1-4 The god intends to harm the Church, its principals, and their followers.

V6 From Amos 4:13, “the Lord God of Hosts” is his name (and V5).

V6 The god who conversed with chosen people on earth was from heaven.

V7,12 Edomites, Cushites, Israel, Philistiens, and Syrians seem chosen.

V8 The god will destroy the house of Jehu but not the house of Jacob. [Why not “Israel”?]

V9 Because Israel will be dispersed rather than destroyed.

V10, 4 Evil comes soon to non-civic people.

V11-15 But the house of David receives material rewards.

V1-15 There seems to be no promise of after-death reward.

Amos 9

1I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: Strike the lintel, and the sideposts shall quake, and break to pieces those who are at the head of all of them, and their remnant I will slay by the sword; no one of them shall flee, and no one of them shall escape. [Suggests destruction of the Church and its leaders.]

2If they dig down into the grave, from there My hand shall take them, and if they ascend to the heavens, from there I will bring them down.

3And if they hide at the peak of Carmel, from there I will search [them out] and I will take them, and if they hide from before My eyes in the land of the sea, from there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.

4And if they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it shall slay them, and I will place My eye upon them for evil and not for good.

5And the Lord God of the Hosts, Who touches the land and it quakes, and all the inhabitants thereof shall be destroyed, and it shall ascend wholly like the river, and it shall sink like the river of Egypt.

6Who built His upper stories in Heaven and has founded His company on earth; Who calls the water of the sea and pours it out on the face of the earth, the Lord is His Name [From Amos 4:13, “the Lord God of Hosts”.]

7Are you not like the children of the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel? says the Lord. Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and Aram from Kir? [Cushites (Ethiopia), Israel, Philistines (west from Judah), and Aram (Syrians) seem equally Hashem’s chosen people.]

8Behold the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom [The house of Jehu, who tolerated idol worship?], and I will destroy it from upon the face of the earth; but I will not destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord.

9For, behold I command, and I will scatter the house of Israel among all the nations; as it is shaken in a sieve, and not a coarse particle falls to the earth.

10By the sword shall all the sinful of My people perish, those who say, "The evil shall not soon come upon us. "

11On that day, I will raise up the fallen Tabernacle of David, and I will close up their breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and build it up as in the days of yore.

12In order that they inherit the remnant of Edom [kingdom south of Judah] and all the nations [kingdoms] because My Name is called upon them, says the Lord Who does this.

13Behold days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall meet the reaper and the treader of the grapes the one who carries the seed, and the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

14And I will return [In context, “return” seems to indicate “reverse”.] the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild desolate cities and inhabit [them], and they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their produce.

15And I will plant them on their land, and they shall no longer be uprooted from upon their land, that I have given them, said the Lord your God. [V14-15 seem materialistic more than moral.] [Genesis 1:26-28, chabad.org: I read to consider and apply perhaps 5500 year old Sumerian political philosophy, religiously referenced by Semite (pre-Israel) scribes of 3900 years ago, in Genesis 1:26-28, in my paraphrase and extension to civic integrity:   Female-and-male-human-being may and can choose to practice the power, the authority, and the responsibility to pursue goodness and constrain wickedness on earth. Civic citizens may and can develop statutory justice. Political and religious philosopher Yeshua affirmed Genesis 1:26-28, contributing ideas in each Matthew 18:18 (no peace-power above humankind), Matthew 19:3-8 (mutual spousal-loyalty and unity not to be divided), Matthew 5:48 (in good behavior, pursue personal perfection, which also affirms Deuteronomy 18:13), Matthew 19:4-6 (don’t divide/lessen goodness), John 10:34 (humans who resist and avoid wickedness are gods facing death, as in Psalm 82:1-7), and in other direct dialogue, such as “go and sin no more”. Psalm 82 says nothing about resurrection, which could be church doctrine only. Discussion I think Genesis 1:26-28 informs humankind to flourish in goodness rather than accommodate badness and allow evil. Quoting chabad.org below, And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and they shall rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heaven and over the animals and over all the earth and over all the creeping things that creep upon the earth." And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth." Accepting the power, the authority, and the responsibility to have dominion over life on earth is human being (verb). Reliable human-beings discover and practice goodness to actual reality. Sumer-mythology holds that 3 goddesses and 3 gods -- Namma, An, Ki, Enki, Ninhursag, and Gestu – both created and activated existence. A list of major Sumerian gods and relation to primitive opinion about the beginning follows: Name Gender Earth/Psychology Feature Power Offspring 1 Nammu goddess* primeval waters creation An and Ki 2 An god* sky universal authority, kings gods &godesses 3 Ki goddess* earth gods &godesses 4 Enlil god wind, air, storms creator,father,caring judge Nanna & Utu 5 Nanna god moon light,divine justice plants 6 Utu god sun,justice,truth,morality light,divine justice plants 7 Inanna goddess love,beauty,eros,justice,war escaped the underworld 8 Ereshkigal goddess death,doom Underworld 9 Enki god* water,male fertility,wisdom Prophesied Great Flood civilization.art 10 Gula goddess healing Doctors surgery 11 Ninhursag goddess* mountains,rocky ground royal guardian wildlife 12 Gestu god* blood of humankind intelligence ^ Sumer mythology suggests that 6 gods and goddesses created & activated existence   The pronoun and plurality change in Genesis 1:26-28 may be an artifact of the ancient scribe’s confusion if not weakness in transitioning primitive thought to the monotheistic version. Genesis 1 marks discovery by polytheistic Sumer civilization, which I call “The Sumerian Preception” and transitions to a Semitic-speaking faction’s pursuit of monotheism, which leads to Israel’s Hashem then on to Christianity’s blood sacrifice. Note: unlike chabad.org, quoted above,  OJB uses “Elohim” in Genesis 1 and 2, excepting “G-d” in 1:24-31. V 27 seems to equate the two entities. Septuagint uses “ὁ θεὸς”, or God throughout Genesis 1. I use “The phrase, the god or whatever constrains human choice”, hoping to express religious humility to whatever the god is. Again, since theism is a human construct, I use the phrase, “the god, whatever it may be”, to express objection to any doctrinal God yet reserve humility to ineluctable evidence and remaining unknowns about that which constrains the consequences of human choices. Make no mistake, I write opinion, because I do not know the ineluctable truth.] New practice, recording the cover message: Dear Nomads, This is my last post to Your Excellence. Please don’t fret my decision; I’ve been here before. Today, the first “All Saints and Souls Day” after Cynthia’s passing, UBC convinced me that their church is more important to them than Yeshua’s influence on friends. And my life features only one passing of my better half. Slighting her slights me, unbearably. In Matthew 19:5, Yeshua volunteered: an authentic man leaves responsibility to Mom and Dad and unites to his wife and the 2 become one (Genesis 1:26-28). Yeshua adds, “what God has joined together, let no one separate”. The UBC church chose to recognize members who passed last year, excluding friends, perhaps to coerce friends to conform to church rules. I do not know the ineluctable truth but think UBC seems corrupt and cannot brook their offenses in the name of church. I eternally appreciate Nomads’ friendship and impact on me. I hope to see you and other UBC members at Perkins Road Park. Sincerely, Phil