Get Ready
Amos prophesied during one of the few times of peace in the divided kingdom, but he spoke out strongly against the injustice and inequality of a society that used its prosperity to oppress the poor and ignore God’s commandment to love their neighbor and care for the “widows and orphans.”
Author
The prophet Amos identifies himself as the author of this book [1:1]. His name means “burden bearer” in Hebrew. Amos was a farm worker – he herded sheep and “dressed” sycamore trees [7:14] from Tekoa, a village south of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Sycamore figs were inferior to ordinary figs but a common food of the poor, so Amos was familiar with the poverty that he spoke against in his prophecy.
Context
Amos also tells us he prophesied when Azariah was king in Judah and Jereboam II was Israel’s ruler, which puts his ministry around 760 BCE. He prophesied primarily in the northern kingdom, Israel, even though his home was in Judah.
Jereboam’s reign was largely peaceful and prosperous once he captured Damascus. However, the peace and prosperity led to the injustice and insensitivity to the poor that Amos spoke against. Jereboam also set up religious sites at Bethel and Gilgal as alternatives to the temple in Jerusalem, which was not available to the northern kingdom citizens. He also included pagan fertility rites that polluted the worship of God, partly as a political gesture to appease the nations that surrounded Israel.
Structure
After a brief introduction, this book has three major sections:
- The first section includes God’s judgment of the nations that surround Israel – Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon and Moab – then against Judah, and lastly against Israel itself [1:2-2:16].
- The second section is a series of sermons judging Israel – for apostasy and idol worship, for refusing to repent and follow the law, for exploiting and ignoring the poor, and for amassing great wealth while cheating others [3:1-6:14].
- In the last section the prophet presents a series of visions of God’s judgment on the nation, all portending disaster [7:1-9:10]. The possible consequences include locusts (again), a firestorm, and famine.
The book ends with Amos’ prophesy [9:11-15] that God will restore Israel following the period of judgment (which is similar to many of the other prophets: God’s grace will follow his judgment if the people repent).
Major Themes
Many scholars refer to Amos as the “Prophet of Righteousness,” because he insists throughout his book that righteous actions are the mark of true faith (which also makes him the Old Testament precursor to James).
Amos prophesied during a time of prosperity and peace in Israel; but it was also a time of economic disparity and injustice. The wealthy were very wealthy and took advantage of the poor. They sold “the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals,” [2:6], and “afflicted the righteous, took a bribe, and pushed aside the needy in the gate,” [5:12].
In response to this maltreatment God said, “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings, I will not accept them,” 5:21-22]. The Israelites were going though the ritual motions called for in the law, but their daily actions toward one another demonstrated their hearts were far from obedience.
God’s judgment ends with the call to “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” [5:25].
Amos concludes his book by reminding the people that God is constant even though they are not. God will “raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,” [9:11]. God will be faithful to his covenant even thought the Israelites have broken it.
Get into the Word:
1. Who is the author of this book? What do we know about the author? What was his occupation? Why might this be important to his message to Israel?
2. When did the prophet do his work? Who were the rulers at this time? What was the political and military situation at this time? Why was this unusual? How was the king involved in the people’s sin? Why did the king make these concessions to idol worship?
3. What are the major parts of this book? Who are the nations included in the judgments in the first section? Why do you suppose the prophet included these kingdoms? Why is God judging these nations?
4. What does the second part of the book deal with? What sins is God judging Israel against? Why do you think the prophet focuses on these sins?
5. What does the prophet present in the last major section of the book? What will happen to the kingdom? What will happen to the people? Why will the nation be destroyed?
6. What is the overall theme of the prophet’s work? What does he say about “correct” actions? What New Testament writer takes a similar view?
7. How were the people actually acting toward each other? What did God say in response to the people’s action? What did he say about the people’s offerings for sin? What kind of action did God want from the people?
8. How does the book end? What vision does the prophet give the people about their ultimate future? What does this say about God? How do you suppose the people felt about this vision?
Notes . . .
A very literate farmer . . .
Amos was a farmer and shepherd, but his book shows he was also an eloquent writer.
He links God’s judgments against Israel’s neighbors, as well as Israel itself, with a common introduction: “Thus says the Lord: for three transgressions . . . and for four . . .” Amos then identifies the sinful action and God’s response. The effect of the repeated opening builds until first Judah and then the nation of Israel is the accused.
Amos also uses an elaborate play on words to describe the coming judgment of Israel. The Hebrew word for “summer
fruit” sounds like the word for “end.” In chapter 8 Amos links a vision of ripe summer fruit with the coming end of the kingdom, which was “ripe” for judgment (the Assyrians defeated Israel within thirty years).
God’s Name . . .
Old Testament writers used “YHWH” to represent God’s name [Exodus 3:14-15], but they felt it was too holy to actually pronounce. So they used “adonai” (“Lord”) as God’s personal name or “’elohim” as a general name. The NRSV uses “Lord” in the first case and “God” in the second. When Amos puts YHWH with adonai, the NRSV uses “Lord God.”
41: Locusts, fire, a plumb line & ripe fruit –Amos 7:1- 8:12
Get Ready
How do you feel about your current financial situation? Does it seem like your resources are “just enough” for your needs, or “not enough” to get by, or perhaps “more than enough?” How do you respond to receiving some “extra” money or needing to make an unanticipated expenditure?
The Word . . .
7This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings). 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
“O Lord God, forgive, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
3 The Lord relented concerning this; “It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord God, cease, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand? He is so small!”
6 The Lord relented concerning this; “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
[. . . Amaziah the priest complains to the king . . .]
8This is what the Lord God showed me a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,
“The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.
3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the Lord God;
“the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!”
4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt? 9 On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro,
seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. Who is involved in this prophecy? Who is speaking? What are the two individuals talking about? Why is this so important to the prophet?
2. What is the first image of God’s judgment? Why is this an appropriate symbol? How does the prophet react to this image? How does God respond?
3. What is the second image God presents to the prophet? How does he react to this concept of judgment? What is God’s response this time?
4. What does God present next? Why is this symbol appropriate to Israel’s situation? What does God say he will do with the plumb line? What will happen to the king? How does the prophet respond this time?
5. What does God show the prophet next? How does this image fit with Israel’s situation? What does God say he will do regarding the people? Who does God direct his judgment against? What have these people done? Who have they harmed? What images of their sins does the prophet use in this judgment?
6. What other disasters will God bring on Israel? What is the ultimate judgment God has for the people? Why is this so terrible?
Get Personal
What is your concept of justice and fair treatment? How difficult is it for you to understand the situation of others? How has God helped you “do for others” as you would like others to do for you.
Notes . . .
7:1. King’s mowing — evidently the king was entitled to a share of the grass for military support.
7:2. Finished eating — the locusts would have eaten all the grass, leaving people and animals to starve.
Jacob stand . . . so small — Amos uses “Jacob” as the name of the kingdom. Even though the kingdom was prosperous at this time, it was helpless against the locusts (and against God’s judgment) and would not survive [also in v. 5].
7:3. Relented — this is another of the few times God responds directly to a human plea [two others are Abraham’s defense of Sodom [Gen18:23-33], and Moses’ intercession after the people’s sin with the gold calf [Exodus 33:12-23].
7:4. Shower of fire — the combination of heat and drought makes wildfires inevitable which would lead to the same result as a plague of locusts [check Deut 32:22].
7:7. Plumb line — a rope or cord with a weight on one end – when held against a wall it would show if the wall was straight and vertical. God could be referring to the Law as the plumb line to determine if the people were upright and righteous. NOTE: some translators argue the Hebrew word actually means “tin,” which would be a very weak covering for a defensive wall [compare the “bronze wall” in Jer 1:18].
7:9. I will rise — God does not give Amos a chance to plead this judgment.
8:1. Summer fruit . . . the end — the Hebrew words also mean “ripe fruit” and “ripe time” or “end time,” respectively; in other words God is saying “the time is ripe for judgment.”
8:11. Famine of hearing the words of the Lord — the locusts and fire would have led to a famine of food, but God’s judgment will mean the people will no longer hear God’s word.
Memory Verse
Let justice role down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream, [Amos 5:24].
Next Lesson
Obadiah 1: Edom’s judgment.
