Bible Background with Meredith
The Book of Amos
Amos, considered a Minor Prophet, was a shepherd whom God used to denounce social and religious corruption. During this time Israel was enjoying peace and economic prosperity. This blessing had caused many to become selfish and materialistic. During this prosperous time there was over-taxation and land-grabbing. There was cruelty and indifference towards the poor.
They had become complacent and abandoned their faith in God. They were still pretending to be religious by going through the exercises, superficially.
As you read through Amos, even though it was written for Israel around 760-750 B.C., read it as if Amos was writing to us today as a warning.
The first thing I want you to be aware of is the importance of Amos being a shepherd and not a religious figure. God wants us to know that we don’t have to have a highly spiritual job to be used by Him. There is a saying in the Christian circles, the only ability God requires to do His work, is availability.
Amos was available and he spoke with brutal frankness. He continued the message that God gave him with boldness. Unfortunately, I feel this is a quality we have lost from many who proclaim God’s word every week.
Chapter 1 not only starts by setting up the time and place but immediately starts with the naming of nation after nation that God was about to pronounce judgment on. Each section starts with this phrase: For three sins of… even for four, I will not relent. This is symbolic of the continual sinning these nations have done.
During each section God tells of the offense and then gives the judgment, that is until He gets to the sins of Israel in Chapter 2 starting in verse 6.
God starts out the same way with the mantra of “For three sins of… even for four. I will not relent.” He then lays out their sins, but instead of going next into the punishment, He names all the things He had done for them. “I destroyed the Amorites. I destroyed their fruit. I brought you out of Egypt. I led you. I gave you the land. I raised up prophets from among you.” Then the Lord hands out the judgment.
As I was reading this, I could feel God’s righteous anger continuing to well up as His chosen people (Genesis 12, the covenant with Abraham), had walked away because God had given them ample time to repent. In Chapter 3 God is giving His reasons for Judgment, but in verse 7 He gave warning of His plans for disobedience.
Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
The following are verses giving reference from both New and Old Testament to the fact that God does give us warnings.
Genesis 18;:17 says:
Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
Daniel 9:22
He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding
The whole chapter of John 15 is a warning if you don’t abide in the Lord.
Revelation 10:7
But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
We have no excuse to not heed the warnings, we have God’s Word in written form along with this statement from 2 Timothy 3:16,17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Chapter 4 Israel still has not turned back to the Lord so He starts by calling them cows.
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness: “The time will surely come…
After the Lord speaks of all he has done, He ends each statement with, “…yet you have not returned to me.”
After showing the Isrealistes all the warnings we end chapter 4 with this:
“Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God.” He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind,who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth—the Lord God Almighty is his name.
But yet we see a merciful God who is still calling for repentance for Israel in the beginning Chapter 5.
Seek me and live (vs 4)
Seek the Lord and live (vs 6)
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. (vs 14)
As I was reading the end of Amos 5 verses 18-27, I couldn’t help but hear the Lord speaking to me, even today because over the past few years I have said “ Oh Lord, please come quickly.
Amos 5:18-20 says:
Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light, pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
And He gently reminds me of how many people still don’t know Him in a personal way. They are living and will hear from the Lord, as written at the end of Amos 5, “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.”
Did you know that God hates false worship? If we are living sinful lives and using religious rituals and traditions to make ourselves look good, God will despise our worship and will not accept what we offer.
Jesus actually brings this up in Matthew 7: 22-23
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Chapter 6 starts with complacency and ends with pride:
Woe to you who are complacent.
I abhor the pride of Jacob.
Complacency is defined as: a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.
Pride is a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements.
In the time when Amos was writing, everyone was optimistic, business was booming and people were happy. With all the comforts and luxury, a level of self-sufficiency and false sense of security, the people became prideful and complacent about where everything had come from and that life was meaningless without a relationship with God.
Chapter 7 starts with Amos telling what the Sovereign Lord showed him and Amos cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small. So the Lord relented. “This will not happen,” the Lord said.
After the second time, the Lord was standing next to a wall that had been built true to plumb with a plumb line. The Lord said he was setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
Do you know what a plumb line is? It is still used today in construction. This is a device used to ensure the straightness of a wall. If your walls are not straight, the rest of the house will not be straight and will not be structurally sound.
God has set a plumb line for us as children of His. He gives us warnings and even grants mercy, but He also requires us to be obedient to His Word.
The last 2 chapters (8 and 9) talk about the destruction but Amos ends with Israel’s restoration when God will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them. This is based upon the covenant that God made with David from 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Here are verses 12 and 13.
‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
My prayer is that as you read Amos you will take inventory of your personal life.
Pride
Self-sufficiency
Superficial religious activities
Materialistic
As I stated earlier from 2 Timothy 3, All Scripture is God-breathe and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness. His Word is there for us to read and then place ourselves against His plumb line to see how far from straight we are, so we can get back on track.
