How Does Modern-Day Gaza Differ from the Gaza of Bible Times?

This is the message which Amos delivered for Gaza:

The offense here is that they “carried into exile a whole people.” And they sent them to Edom. To what this is referencing, there is some debate. It could mean that a relatively peaceful people were captured and taken off into exile. Or it could be referencing the common practice of capturing a nation through military conquest and then exiling them to another land.

We also do not know their identity. What country were the enslaved originally from? Is this referring to what happened to the Israelites or Judah? Is this another nation this has happened to? We cannot know for certain. Perhaps the lack of specifics here is intentional. It is not a specific act that is in Amos’ mind but rather the act of slave trading itself. Smith says it well:

God will judge all man-stealing. Anytime we treat other humans as if they are not made in the image of God, we fall under His ire. This practice of which the Philistines, among other nations, were guilty, would not go unpunished.

Certainly, one way we respond to this passage is by acknowledging the sinfulness of slavery. When we fight for the eradication of this evil—whether it be the chattel slavery of our past or modern-day sex trafficking—we are fighting against evil, which God hates.

God responds to their action of enslaving an entire people by speaking of the same fiery judgment that would fall upon Damascus. God is holy and good and will not tolerate the evil of positioning ourselves above other humans. Slavery is an abomination to God. And he will not turn a blind eye to this injustice.

I don’t want to minimize the horrors of slavery by likening it to something like an unjust boss. But there is a connection here between those in power who inflict evil upon those in their charge. When we are on the receiving end of these injustices, a verse like this can be encouraging. God will vindicate those who have been unfairly treated—and those who have had precious things taken from them. It is good to know that God will judge those who have harmed us.

But Amos’ primary concern isn’t really the sin of Gaza. He is doing something else with the people of Israel. He is activating their sense of justice. The Israelites are perhaps on the receiving end of having precious people among them kidnapped and deported. If they haven’t already experienced this at the hands of the Philistines, they will experience it from the Assyrians and then the Babylonians.

Amos is invoking their sense of horror at this practice, but he is going to turn it in a moment. They will need to apply this same horror when they look at their sin against God. God not only doesn’t turn a blind eye to the man-stealing of their neighbors—he won’t turn a blind eye when they, too, are debasing those made in the image of God.

This is ultimately a call to repentance, not only for Gaza but also for the Israelites. It is only in the mercy of God that any nation can find healing and forgiveness. God will not overlook any of our sins. We must flee to God for refuge and mercy.

To continue reading Amos' messages to the nations, click here.

Sources:
Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 51.

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