Amos and Obadiah

 I have mentioned before that I listen to several podcasts each week about the Come Follow Me curriculum.  I often listen to Talking Scripture first by Mike Day and Bryce Dunford because Bryce has such interesting historical and linguistic insights and comments.  Then I listen to Lynne Wilson and John Cho in Book of Mormon Central, and then Come Follow Me Insights with Taylor and Tyler.  I usually listen to Follow Him with Hank Smith and John Bytheway next because they have really good guest speakers.  I leave Unshaken Jared Halverson to the end because I don't feel as bad if I don't happen to get to it. His podcasts are really long, and he tends to say the same things over and over.  They are good things, but he is a bit repetitive. 

So it was a bit surprising this week that I got my best insights about Amos and Obadiah "Unshaken".  Overall, I felt like Amos and Obadiah were a bit of a slog. We have had several weeks in a row that were prophets predicting Israel's demise and this is more of the same.  The one interesting thing that Jared Halverson pointed out was from Amos 3. The Lord is stating all these contradictions, "Will a Lion roar in a forest when he hath no prey ?" (v.4)  "Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him?" (v. 5)  "Shall a trumpet be blown in a city and the people be not afraid?" (v. 6)  The answer to all these is, of course, "no".  Then there is the famous scripture "Surely the Lord God with do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (v.7) In other words, as surely as a lion roars when he catches a prey, or a bird gets away if there is not trap, or people fear when a warning trumpet is blown, the Lord will warn his people of impending doom before it befalls them.  In the verses that follow the prophet  gives the warning that the people have to repent or they will be destroyed. 

Then comes this obscure verse, "As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of a lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch." (v. 12).  Jared Halverson pointed out that this refers to a part in the Law of Moses (Exodus 22:13) that if a shepherd loses a sheep, he will be charged for the cost of the sheep unless he can prove it was taken by a predator.  If he comes back with the bits the predator left behind, he is absolved from paying for the sheep. What the Lord is saying in verse 12, is that the destruction of Israel will be so complete, it will be like when a Lion eats a lamb and only leaves bits of it behind.  In this case, the "bits" are the corner of a bed in Samaria, and a couch in Damascus.  But the image goes further than that.  In Amos 1:2, Amos says, "The Lord will roar from Zion,"  then in Chapter 3 he refers to lions a couple of times.  In other words, the Lord is the lion.  He will destroy Israel, and will leave the ruined bed and empty couch as proof that they brought the destruction on themselves by not heading his warnings.  Just as the shepherd who brings back the sheep bits is guiltless, the Lord is guiltless because he gave ample warning. 

I realize this isn't the most life-changing insight, but it is nice to take a really odd verse and figure out the reference.  Thanks, Brother Halverson.