Difference between revisions of "Amos"

Revision as of 09:03, 15 May 2012

Historical setting

The prophet Amos was a shepherd and gatherer of sycamore fruit at Tekoa, a small town 5 miles southeast of Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom of Judah (7:14-15). But two years before a large earthquake occurred, while Uzziah ruled in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel (1:1; also Zechariah 14:5), Amos received the word of the Lord and went on a preaching trip to the Northern Kingdom, probably to the capital Samaria (Amos 3-6) and the principal religious sanctuary at Bethel (Amos 7) (Map), probably during 765-760 BC.

Jeroboam II was a wicked king. But the great powers of the region, Egypt and Assyria, were occupied with problems in other directions. Syria, Israel's larger neighbor to the north, was also recovering from a recent invasion by Assyria. Because these larger powers were otherwise occupied, Jeroboam II enjoyed military success and was able to expand the Northern Kingdom’s borders. The kingdom appeared prosperous, secure and ascendant. The destruction that Amos prophesied could thus be easily dismissed by his audience in the Northern Kingdom. But Assyria did eventually move southward again. In 723 BC Assyria conquered Syria. Two years later in 721 BC, forty years after Amos' ministry, Assyria also conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Unable to invoke the Lord’s protection, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and its people were carried off to become the Lost Ten Tribes.

Outline and brief summary

The book of Amos can be outlined as follows:

I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1:1-2:16)

• Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)

• Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)

• Woe to: Judah & Israel for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)

II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3:1-5:17)

• Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)

• Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)

• Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)

III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5:18-6:14)

• Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)

• Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)

• Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)

IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7:1-9:15)

• Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)

• Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)

• Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)

• Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)

• Vision of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)

In the first major division (Amos 1-2), Amos teaches that guilty nations get punished, whether those nations are the enemies of Israel or are Israel itself. And the Northern Kingdom of Israel is guilty of social injustice and empty religious ceremony.

In the second division (Amos 3-5a), Amos reiterates the Lord’s loyalty to Israel and recounts the chastisements that have failed to bring Israel back to him. In the pivotal final chapter of this division (Amos 5a) Israel is invited to seek the Lord and live. And in the climactic middle verse of that chapter Amos states that the Northern Kingdom must either seek the Lord or fall (5:6).

The central question presented by Amos is whether the Northern Kingdom of Israel will seek the Lord and live. If not, then as stated in the third and fourth divisions, Israel will be destroyed (Amos 5b-9) except for a remnant that will eventually be restored (3:11-12; 9:7-15).

Amos does not merely predict that the Northern Kingdom will be afflicted, but that it will completely disappear (5:6; 9:1-4). This is a significant statement: that after hundreds of years in the promised land, God’s covenant protection is about to end for most of the tribes of Israel. Amos takes care to explain that it is not the Lord’s power or loyalty that have changed, but rather Israel’s claim upon that power and loyalty. The Lord has been loyal (Amos 2-3). He has tried repeatedly to bring Israel back (Amos 4). He would still welcome Israel back today (Amos 5a). And in the future, after Israel is sifted and cleansed, it will again be established in the Promised Land (Amos 9:7-15).

Amos also teaches that the forms of religious ceremony are worthless unless accompanied by righteous living (5:4-13, 21-27).

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on these pages • Amos 1:1-2:16 • Amos 3:1-5:17 • Amos 5:18-6:14 • Amos 7:1-9:15

Detailed discussion

Amos favors Israel over foreign nations, but less than most other prophets. Moab is punished for mistreating not Israel, but Edom (2:1-3). The prophecies against the foreign nations have nothing to do with Israel’s deliverance, but emphasize the punishment that likewise awaits Israel (1-2). And the foreign nations are called as witnesses against Israel’s iniquity (3:9-10).

There are three hymns in Amos (4:13; 5:8-9; 9:5-6).

Questions for further thought and study

• Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions

Footnotes

Additional sources and links

• Finley, Thomas J. Joel, Amos, Obadiah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990. (ISBN 0802492622) BS1575.3 .F56 1990

• Guenther, Allen R. Hosea, Amos: Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 1997. (ISBN 0836190726) BS1565.3 .G84 1997.

• LDS Church Education System. Amos: The Lord Reveals His Secrets to His Servants the Prophets. In LDS Institute Old Testament Student Manual, Vol. 2, p. 89-96. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

• Nyman, Monte S. The Twelve Prophets Testify of Christ, p. 207. In A Witness of Jesus Christ: the 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament, p. 200-222. Richard D. Draper, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990. (ISBN 0875793622) BS1171.2 .S67 1989

• Ogden, D. Kelly. The Book of Amos. In Studies in Scripture, Vol. 4, p. 52-60. Kent P. Jackson, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983. (ISBN 087579789X) BS1171.2 .A15 1993

• Smith, Billy K. and Frank S Page. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah: The New American Commentary, Vol. 19B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. (ISBN 0805401423) BS1585.3 .S64 1995

• Smith, Gary V. Amos: A Mentor Commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1989. Revised edition, Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 ITW, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1998. (ISBN 1857922530) BS1585.3 .S63 1998