AMOS
Author:
Amos means “One who carries a load”. He was a shepherd, and evidently a poor man who earned money by looking after sycamore trees. His village Tekoa was about 9 kilometers south of Bethlehem, 18 kilometers south of Jerusalem.
Date:
Sometime about 760 BC.
Theme:
God is faithful to His people, so they must obey His commands and live in accordance with them; the condition of society as a whole is a reflection of the condition of the individuals who live in it; God is the Supreme Ruler of the world and will punish evil nations; He will also punish His own people who are unfaithful and disobedient to His covenant; because of Israel’s sin God will use other people to uproot them from their land; but He gives a promise of eventual redemption for Israel.
Contents:
The prophet introduces himself and shows
the condition of the land 1:1-2
God pronounces judgment on other peoples 1:3—2:3
On Damascus 1:3-5
On the Philistines 1:6-8
On Tyre 1:9-10
On Edom 1:11-12
On Ammon 1:13-15
On Moab 2:1-3
Judgment on Judah 2:4-5
Judgment on the northern kingdom of Israel 2:6-16
The greater the privileges the greater the
responsibilities 3:1-3
God speaks through the prophet 3:4-8
The people of Israel, afflicting the poor
and living in luxury, will in fact bring punishment 3:9-15
Israel’s wealth, their detestable worship,
their coming punishment 4:1-5
Former punishment had not produced good results 4:5-13
Lamentation, and a call to repentance 5:1-6
Seek the LORD and live 5:4-6
Wealth gained by afflicting the poor will be
destroyed 5:7-13
Seek good, otherwise wailing will be heard
in the streets 5:14-17
The Day of the LORD will be full of darkness 5:18-20
Criticism of Israel’s religious ways 5:20-27
Israel’s pride and arrogance 6:1-14
Visions concerning the disasters coming on Israel 7:1-9
The ruin to come on Amaziah the priest 7:10-17
Visions 8:1—9:10
The basket of summer fruit 8:1-14
The destruction of the temple at Bethel 9:1-10
A promise of the future restoration of Israel 9:11-15