Prophet Amos
Introduction
Amos is one of the prophets God sent to Israel to warn the people because of their evil ways. Politically, the nation of Israel had become rich, creating distinct social classes: the rich and the poor. The rich began oppressing the poor.
Socially, the gap between the rich and poor widened. The rich exploited the poor. Merchants sold poor-quality food, charged high prices, and used false measures.
Religiously, the Israelites had turned away from God and were worshiping false gods. Syncretism was practiced. Priests were paid, and God’s prophets were rejected.
It was in this situation that Amos was called through visions.
Amos is one of the canonical or writing prophets. The book of Amos is a compilation of oracles spoken by the prophet on different occasions. After King Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel split into two, ruled by Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The northern kingdom, called Israel, was ruled by Jeroboam and inhabited by ten tribes. The southern kingdom, called Judah, was ruled by Rehoboam and inhabited by two tribes. Amos came from Judah and prophesied in Israel.
Prophet Amos’ Work in Israel (Read Amos 1:1)
1. The Call of Amos (Amos 1:1, 3:8, 7:10–15)
Prophet Amos was born in Tekoa, a village in Judah, the southern kingdom. Before his call, Amos was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees. He was not a professional prophet, but God called him to be one. He received his call through a vision around 758 BC. Amos responded obediently to God’s call and felt a deep compulsion to prophesy (Amos 3:8). God directed him to deliver His message to the people of Israel, the northern kingdom (Amos 7:15). He was to speak the will of Yahweh and foretell punishment if the Israelites did not repent. His message was opposed and challenged by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel.
3. Religion
The Israelites worshiped Yahweh alongside other gods. Idolatry was present, a practice called syncretism. There was religious hypocrisy, with emphasis on external religious observances rather than internal sincerity. Priests were paid for religious services, and those who could not pay were excluded. The poor bore the cost of religious ceremonies. God’s prophets were rejected.
4. Social, Economic, and Political Situation
When Amos prophesied, King Jeroboam ruled Israel, the northern kingdom, while King Uzziah ruled Judah. Amos prophesied mainly in Bethel and Samaria, the capital city and main worship centers of Israel.
At the start of Amos’s prophecy, there was peace and prosperity in Israel and Judah. Both kingdoms were wealthy, but wealth did not reach the poor. Power and wealth were concentrated in the king, his family, officials, and wealthy merchants. Consequently, society was divided into rich and poor classes.
The rich lived in luxurious houses, drank wine, and used expensive perfumes. They acquired wealth at the expense of the poor, whom they oppressed and exploited. Merchants were dishonest, selling bad wheat and overcharging customers with false scales.
Due to inflated prices, the poor borrowed money from the rich at high interest rates to buy basic things like food. Bribery and corruption were widespread in society and law courts.
The poor lacked basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing. It was during this time that God sent Amos to prophesy to Israel.
Q. How did the rich oppress the poor in Israel?
Visions of Amos
Read Amos 7:1–9, 8:1–3, 9:1–4
A vision is a mental image of a future event. Amos was shown many visions by God.
Lesson Outcomes
- Analyze all the visions.
- State the message of each vision.
- Summarize things that God condemned through Amos.
1. The Vision of the Locusts (Amos 7:1–3)
Amos saw a swarm of locusts sent by God to destroy all plants and food crops. The locusts symbolized disaster and punishment for Israel’s disobedience. Amos prayed for forgiveness, and God relented.
2. The Vision of a Great Fire (Amos 7:4–6)
Amos saw a supernatural fire burning the land. He prayed for forgiveness, and God stopped the punishment.
3. The Vision of a Crooked Wall / The Plumb Line (Amos 7:7–9)
Amos saw the Lord standing beside a wall, checking it with a plumb line. The wall represented the Israelites, who had stopped observing their covenant with God. God found them disobedient and promised to destroy Israel’s holy places.
4. The Vision of a Basket of Ripe Fruits (Amos 8:1–3)
Amos saw a basket of ripe fruits, harvested at summer’s end. This meant Israel was ripe for punishment due to refusal to repent. Amos did not pray for forgiveness; God would no longer withhold judgment. The time for repentance was over.
5. The Vision of the Destruction of the Altar (Amos 9:1–4)
Amos saw the Lord standing by the altar, ordering the temple’s destruction. The shrines of Dan and Bethel, centers of idolatry, would be destroyed. No one would escape punishment, no matter where they hid.
Summary of Issues That God Pointed Out to Israel Through Prophet Amos
a. Lack of Social Justice
There was a lack of social justice and responsibility by Israel’s king. Social justice means dealing fairly with others and showing concern for their needs.
b. Lack of Responsibility
This refers to rulers and people being accountable for their actions, fulfilling their duties to God and others.
c. Practice of Hypocritical Religion in Israel
The Israelites were insincere in worship. They made empty sacrifices and worshiped idols alongside God. They profaned God’s name (Yahweh) by making idols of Baal and offering sacrifices to them. This syncretism is forbidden by God.
d. God’s Judgment Against Israel and Other Nations
God promised to destroy Israel but leave a remnant for restoration.
e. Oppression of the Poor by the Rich
God condemned King Jeroboam’s rule due to oppression of the poor, government corruption, and bribery. Officials sold the righteous for silver and the needy for sandals, akin to slavery. The rich trampled and despised the poor, placing no value on them. The poor gave garments as loan security, which should have been returned before sunset according to God’s law. Samaritan women were “fat like the well-fed cows of Bashan,” lived luxuriously, and were unkind to the poor. The rich took excessive shares of farmers’ harvests. Rulers loved luxury, arrogance, and material things, using expensive perfumes.
f. Corruption and Bribery
Judges were corrupt and accepted bribes. There was a conspiracy between the rich and judges against the poor.
g. Pride in Material Possessions
Samaria, Israel’s capital, was built on a mountain called Bethel, also a place of worship. The land was prosperous, and Israelites prided themselves on riches and possessions. Amos warned God would destroy their wealth.
h. Dishonesty
Dishonesty involved lying, cheating, and unjust means to gain advantage. Wealthy merchants eagerly awaited the end of holy days to engage in business. They cheated the poor using false scales and sold bad wheat mixed with good grains to unsuspecting customers.
i. Sexual Immorality
Sexual immorality was common. For example, a father and son would have sex with the same girl. Temple (cultic) prostitution made the temple unholy.
j. Drunkenness
The Israelites engaged in excessive drinking while the poor lacked basic needs. They forced Nazirites to drink wine, accepting drunkenness.
k. Profaning the Name of God
Israelites disrespected God’s name by forcing Nazirites, who were set apart to serve God, to drink wine and cut their hair, violating God’s commands.
l. Hypocritical Religion and Idolatry in Israel
Hypocrisy is pretending to be different from one’s true self or saying one thing and doing another. Israelites performed religious rites according to Moses’ laws but were unjust, corrupt, and oppressed the poor. They observed external religious activities while their hearts were corrupt. Amos condemned this hypocrisy, characterized by insincere worship and syncretism—a mixture of Yahweh worship and idol worship, especially Baal.
m. Empty Sacrifices
The Israelites made elaborate offerings and sacrifices, but God desired sincere worship and freewill offerings, not mere sacrifices and tithes. “Take away from me the noise of your songs” (Amos 5:21–23).
God’s Judgment Against Israel and Other Nations
Read Amos chapters 1 and 2
i) Israel
Israel committed crimes condemned by Amos: injustice, disobedience, breaking the covenant, idolatry, hypocrisy, and other sins. Punishments included exile, earthquakes, famines, fires, oppression by foreign kings, epidemics, and destruction of holy places.
ii) Syria
Capital Damascus. Syria committed war crimes, showing excessive cruelty and murdering prisoners. Their punishment was destruction by fire and exile to Kir.
iii) Gaza and Philistines
They captured people and sold them into slavery. God’s punishment was destruction of Gaza’s city walls by fire and severing association with them.
iv) Tyre
Tyre violated a treaty by exiling a whole nation to Edom. God would destroy Tyre and its fortress by fire (Amos 1:9–10).
v) Edom
Descendants of Esau, Edom was ruthless to Israelites. God would destroy them by fire for this cruelty.
vi) Ammon
Committed brutal killings, including ripping open pregnant women in Gilead. God’s punishment was destruction of Rabbah’s fortress and walls by fire; their king and officers would go into exile.
vii) Moab
Mishandled the body of Edom’s king by burning his bones to ashes. God’s punishment was destruction of Kerioth by fire; people and leaders would be killed in battle.
viii) Judah
- Failure to obey God’s commands
- Despising God’s teaching
ix) Samaria, Egypt, and Ashdod
Committed dishonesty and filled their mansions with things taken by crime and violence (Amos 3:10). Women of Samaria were drunken and oppressed the weak and poor. Their punishment was destruction of land, mansions, and army. A remnant would survive captivity, like two legs or a piece of an ear of a sheep rescued from a lion (Amos 3:12).
x) Amaziah, the Priest of Bethel
Amaziah opposed Amos and told him to prophesy in Judah. Amos said God sent him to Israel. Amaziah’s punishment was that his wife would become a harlot, his children would die in war, his land given to others, and he would die in a foreign land (Amos 7:14–17).
Lessons to Learn from God’s Judgment of Israel and Other Nations
The Assyrians attacked Israel, occupied their land, and exiled many. God is universal, hates sin, cares for His people, is merciful, and spares a remnant.
xi. Israel’s Election (Amos 2:9–11, 3:1–2, 9:7)
Election is choosing a person or group for a purpose. Israel’s election refers to God’s choice of the Israelites to be His people, a holy nation, and a light to the world. God made a covenant with them, leading them from Egypt to Canaan. He chose prophets and Nazirites from among them.
Despite God’s favor, Israelites rebelled and sinned. They were reminded that God cared for all nations equally and would punish disobedience. They were neither superior nor better than others but disobeyed repeatedly.
xii. The Day of the Lord
Amos taught that the day of the Lord would be a day of severe judgment, not joy or victory. It would bring darkness, terror, disaster, mourning, defeat, famine, and God’s word.
xiii. The Remnant and Restoration
Remnant means a small number of survivors who remain after punishment. Restoration is reinstating things or people to their former state. God promised to preserve the righteous few, raise David’s fallen dynasty, and restore the people to their land to rebuild cities. There would be a great harvest and overflowing grapes.
xiv. Duty of Christians
Christians, as God’s chosen people, should: live holy lives; use their position to serve God and others; have a moral responsibility to spread God’s word; care for the needy; and be the light of the world.
xv. The Day of the Lord (Read Amos 5:18–20, 6:3–5, 8:7–13)
In the Old Testament, the day of the Lord was when Yahweh would make Israel victorious over other nations, establishing His rule. It was believed to be a day of prosperity and favor for Israel.
In the New Testament, the day of the Lord is the Day of Judgment (Parousia), the second coming of Christ. Everyone will be judged. Those who obeyed God’s laws will receive eternal life. God’s kingdom will be established, and Christ will reign forever.
xvi. Relevance of Amos’ Teachings to Christians Today
Amos’s messages remain relevant because God is universal. He chose Israel but punished her for disobedience, as He did other nations like Syria and Gaza.
God’s hatred of hypocrisy is clear. Christians should be truthful and sincere in worship. Other messages include:
- Justice: Christians should be just and fair in dealings with others.
- Self-indulgence: Christians should avoid luxury and self-indulgence when others lack basic needs.
- Bribery: Christians should condemn bribery and corruption and uphold justice.
- Punishment: Christians should remember that God will punish every evil.
- Wealth: When Israel became wealthy, they departed from God’s covenant. Christians should share wealth with the needy and acquire it justly.
- Hypocritical religion: Amos condemned hypocrisy, such as empty sacrifices. Christians should be sincere and focus on internal well-being rather than outward religious observances.
- Drunkenness: Christians should avoid activities that divert faith from God and repent if they do.
Revision Exercise
- List the visions that Amos saw.
- Explain the evils that Amos condemned in his teachings.
- Give reasons why Prophet Amos condemned idol worship in Israel.
- List evils in society today that Amos would condemn.
