Amos was a shepherd from Judah. God sent him to prophecy in Israel about 750BC during the reign of Jeroboam II. His message was to warn them and their neighbors that they were facing severe punishment if they didn’t repent. Due to their overwhelming wealth, they didn’t listen to him.
1 These are the words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
There is archeological evidence for a magnitude 8 quake in the time of Amos. This was a major, memorable event. God sent warning two years before hand that He was sending punishment.
2 And he said, "The I AM will roar from Zion, and and His voice will thunder from Jerusalem, and the shepherd's houses will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.
Trouble’s a commin’.
3 This is what the I AM says; Because of three sins of Damascus, and because of four, I will not turn away from its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
The term "three transgressions…and for four" was a poetic way of saying many, many.
Damascus was the capital of Syria. They had been oppressive to Israel, attacking them frequently over the course of many years. God will punish them.
"Threshing" is when you beat the grain to loosen the husk around it.
4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which will devour the palaces of Benhadad.
Hazael was the founding monarch of Syria while Benhadad was the current ruler.
5 I will also destroy the gates of Damascus, and kill off the people from the plain of Aven, as well as the king Eden, and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir, says the I AM.
We don’t know for sure where Kir was. “The house of Eden” and the “plain of Aven” were places of idol worship in Syria, major communities.
6 This is what the I AM says; Because of three sins of Gaza, and because of four, I will not turn away from punishing them; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them to Edom:
Gaza was one of the leading cities of Philistia. The Philistines captured many Israelites and sold them to the neighboring nation, Edom.
7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which will devour the its palaces,
8 And I will cut off the citizens of Ashdod, and him that holds the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the rest of the Philistines will perish, says your Boss GOD.
Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron were the other leading cities of Philistia that remained at this point in history (There were five leading cities in the time of David, but one, Gath, had already been destroyed by Hazael of Aram Damascus [II Kings 12:18]). God is saying He will wipe out the rest of the Philistines.
9 This is what the I AM says; Because of three sins of Tyrus, and because of four, I will not turn away from their punishment; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and didn't remember their brotherly covenant:
Tyrus was the capital of Phoenicia. This nation had made a treaty with David and Solomon which Judah and Israel had never broken. Phoenicia had, however, participated in selling Israelites off as slaves.
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which will devour its palaces.
Their expensive buildings will be destroyed by Alexander the Great.
11 This is what the I AM says; Because of three sins of Edom, and because of four, I will not turn away from their punishment; because he did chase his brother with the sword, and threw away all pity, and his was continually torn up with anger, and he kept his wrath for ever:
Edom, who was descended from Jacob’s brother Esau, had attacked and plundered Israel. They had simply disregarded their relation to them.
12 But I will send a fire on Teman, which will devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Teman and Bozrah were the royal cities of Edom.
13 This is what the I AM says; Because of three sins of the children of Ammon, and because of four, I will not turn away from their punishment; because they have ripped open pregnant women of Gilead, so they could make their own country bigger:
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour their palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind:
Rabbah was the capital city of Ammon. Ammon was descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot.
15 And their king will be captured, he and his princes together, says the I AM.
God will destroy them for their cruelty to Israel over the course of the last few hundred years.