Daily Devotions
Amos
"The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir"
Text: Amos 1:5d
THE DIVINE WILL OF GOD
The Divine will of God was not fulfilled by King Ahab. Instead of serving justice and executing Ben-Hadad, he had released the wicked Syrian king with a treaty. God determined that His sovereign will would be fully executed!
“‘The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,’ says the LORD.”
Amos 1:5d
1. “The Valley of Aven”
a) They would try and flee to the Valley of Aven.
b) The Valley would provide no protection at all.
c) Aven means “nothingness” or “vanity”.
d) But Syria would have no protection from God’s judgment.
2. “Sceptre from Beth Eden”
a) The king may try to regroup somewhere.
b) He would promise them that under his sceptre, life would be like Eden.
c) Life would be pleasant.
d) But this would be a vain promise.
3. “‘The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,’ says the LORD”
a) This was a prophetic word.
b) This was what the prophet Amos solemnly proclaimed.
c) The wicked Syrians would one day be captives.
d) They had made many their captives.
e) They would experience for themselves what it means to be captives.
4. “Kir”
a) This could be a reference to Kir of Moab.
i) The Syrians would be captives of Moab.
ii) The Moabites were quite powerful then.
b) This could also be a prophecy looking further into the future.
i) Kir was a city that the Assyrian empire established to hold prisoners of war.
ii) In 2 Kings 16:9 we read about how the King of Assyria would take the Syrians captive to the city of Kir.
God’s prophetic word would be fulfilled either by king Ahab or the Assyrian king in the future.