Amos

• Historical Situation
• • During the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel (786-746 B.C.E.)
  • • Time of the height of Israel (northern tribes) in the realms of prosperity and territorial expansion
    • Most people believed these blessings were a sign of God's pleasure with them
  • Prosperity was limited to a few - there was a great chasm between the rich and the poor with no middle class - abuse of the poor by the rich was common
  • Religion
  • • The great shrines were filled with worshipers who offered a profusion of sacrifices - yet sacrifice was assumed to be all that was required - sacrifices could fulfill the requirements for righteous living
    • Worship of God had become polluted with Ba`al religion - thus it was now geared more to fertility and wealth
• The Prophet
• • Not a prophet by trade (7:14)
  • • Two professions
    • • Shepherd (1:1, 7:14)
      • • One term (1:1) used suggests he was a sheep-breeder or cattle-breeder and may have been employed as a consultant for strengthening flocks and/or herds - thus he would have been fairly well off
        • The other term (7:14) suggests he was employed as a simple caretaker for flocks or herds by the owner of the flock or herd - he would have been fairly poor
      • A dresser of sycamore trees (7:14)
      • • Some suggest he may have owned sycamore trees
        • More likely he was employed to pinch the sycamore fruit making it ripen quicker and sweeter - as such he would have been an unskilled laborer
    • Amos was probably a poor individual who had to make a living through working at two unskilled jobs - his job as a dresser of sycamore trees took him to various places where he saw the condition of the poor and of the worship of God and his job as a shepherd/herdsman provided him ample to think
    • He was not part of a royal, cultic, or ecstatic prophetic community
  • Was from Judah but preached his message to Israel - later expelled by Amaziah, the priest, at Bethel and sent home to Judah (5:12-13) - the words of Amos probably reached written form in Judah
• Message of the Book
• • Introduction
  • • Begins with prophecies against the nations (1:1-2:5) - Amos had a word against all the neighbors of Israel including Judah - this certainly grabbed the attention and enthusiasm of his Israelite audience
    • The rest of the book (2:6-9:15) concentrates on Israel and preaches against them - his audience was not prepared for or appreciative of such words
  • The sin of Israel
  • • Social sin
    • • The rich abused the poor rather than protected them (2:6-8, 5:10-13, 8:4-6) - the poor were viewed as a way to make money rather than as brothers and sisters created in God's image
      • Rich women were also intent on abusing the poor to get more luxury for themselves (4:1) - they had become accustomed to the "good life" and wanted to enjoy it more fully
      • The rich were more concerned with their own personal comfort than with justice being done for all of God's people (6:4-6)
    • Religious sin
    • • Worship of God had become polluted with the worship of other gods (2:8, 5:26)
      • Those who engaged in a syncretistic religion refused to allow those who were committed to God to express their commitment (2:12)
      • Worship had become an empty ritual (4:4-5, 5:21-23) - sacrifices had taken the place of a vital, daily commitment to God - this kind of religion is sin (4:4)
  • Warnings to Israel (4:6-11)
  • • God had sent a number of plagues upon Israel (famine, drought, crop disease, military disasters, natural disasters) hoping that Israel, perhaps out of fear, would turn back to God, recognizing that it was God, not Ba`al, who controlled fertility - but Israel did not
    • Such plagues seemed to be aimed not simply at punishing or destroying Israel but at getting Israel's attention so Israel might respond to God's call (compare the plagues in Egypt) and at encouraging Israel to reject Ba`al
  • Repentance still open for Israel (5:4-15)
  • • Repentance is not more religion - Israel was already involved heavily in worship activities (5:21-23)
    • Repentance involved a radical change of heart and deepened commitment to God - God must work in all of life and for Israel at this time this meant Israel must seek social justice (5:14-15,24)
    • If Israel repented, judgment might be tempered so that a remnant might be saved (5:15, 9:11-15)
  • Inevitable judgment
  • • The coming judgment would be harsh (8:9-14) and unavoidable (9:2-4) - it would be a time of great destruction and God would be silent
    • Amos, like Moses before him (e.g., Exod. 32:31-35), interceded for Israel - Amos was able to prevent judgment by locust and fire (7:1-6) but he could not prevent the coming judgment by sword (7:7-9)
    • Assyria and Egypt would be the instruments of God's judgment (3:9-11)
  • Hope (9:11-15)
  • • There would be hope beyond judgment when God would restore the Davidic kingship of a united Israel and restore Israel's land and fertility
    • Such restoration would not be because the people bribed God with sacrifices or righteous acts or promises but because God turned back to His people in grace
  • Theological twists
  • • Day of the Lord (5:18-20)
    • • Israel expected the Day of the Lord to be a day of victory for them over their enemies - God would again fight for His people like He did at the time of the exodus and the conquest of the land
      • Amos said it would be a day of destruction for Israel - Israel who should have followed God because He had chosen and cared for them, had rejected Him - Israel was God's greatest enemy because they had squandered their faith
    • Sacrifices
    • • Sacrifices do not automatically work apart from commitment and obedience to God (5:21-24) - sacrifices are not bad, but they are useless and bad without righteous living on the part of those who offer the sacrifices - God wants lives given to His service more than animals offered on an altar
      • Amos stated that sacrifices were not required or offered while Israel was in the wilderness (5:25) - Israel had known a time when sacrifices were not a typical part of worship
    • Israel as a people led by God is not unique (9:7)
    • • God stated He not only led Israel but He also led the Philistines and the Syrians, Israel's enemies - Israel was not the only nation with whom God worked - God worked with all nations whether they recognized Him or not
      • This statement was a direct attack on a self-centered theology - the statement that others had been chosen and led by God would have been quite upsetting to Israel

Artwork by Guy Rowe from the BIble Picture Library of Photo Art (c) Christian Computer Art, 1994-97