Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally Amos —8; ; ; —12; —6.
Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.
With the people of Israel in the north enjoying an almost unparalleled time of success, God decided to call a quiet shepherd and farmer to travel from his home in the less sinful south and carry a message of judgment to the Israelites.
However, while their outer lives gleamed with the rays of success, their inner lives sank into a pit of moral decay. Rather than seeking out opportunities to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, they embraced their arrogance, idolatry, self-righteousness, and materialism. His prophecy concludes with only a brief glimpse of restoration, and even that is directed to Judah, rather than the northern kingdom of Israel — Do you find yourself falling into that trap at times—prioritizing prayer over service?
Polish Polski. Swahili Kiswahili. Swedish Svenska. God calls a Judean shepherd named Amos to confront the wrongdoing of the people of Israel, offering them one more chance before facing God's judgement. What's Next? Learn More. Share Download. How to Read Biblical Poetry. Israel has been unfaithful to Yahweh. One Last Chance God is grieved by how far Israel has fallen.
Dive Deeper and Explore More. Read the Blog. Read More. Reading Plan. Popular Books. Academic Books. God's past punishments for unfaithfulness were forgotten, and his patience was at an end -- which he sent Amos to announce. With Amos, the messages of the prophets began to be preserved in permanent form, being brought together in books that would accompany Israel through the coming debacle and beyond. Since Amos was a contemporary of Hosea and Jonah, see Introductions to those books. The dominant theme is clearly stated in , which calls for social justice as the indispensable expression of true piety.
Amos was a vigorous spokesman for God's justice and righteousness, whereas Hosea emphasized God's love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Amos declared that God was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenant-breaking people. Despite the Lord's special choice of Israel and his kindnesses to her during the exodus and conquest and in the days of David and Solomon, his people continually failed to honor and obey him. The shrines at Bethel and other places of worship were often paganized, and Israel had a worldly view of even the ritual that the Lord himself had prescribed.
They thought performance of the rites was all God required, and, with that done, they could do whatever they pleased -- an essentially pagan notion. Without commitment to God's law, they had no basis for standards of conduct. Amos condemns all who make themselves powerful or rich at the expense of others. Those who had acquired two splendid houses , expensive furniture and richly laden tables by cheating, perverting justice and crushing the poor would lose everything they had.
God's imminent judgment on Israel would not be a mere punitive blow to warn as often before; see and note , but an almost total destruction. The unthinkable was about to happen: Because they had not faithfully consecrated themselves to his lordship, God would uproot his chosen people by the hands of a pagan nation.
Even so, if they would repent, there was hope that "the Lord God Almighty would have mercy on the remnant" ; see , In fact, the Lord had a glorious future for his people, beyond the impending judgment.
The house of David would again rule over Israel -- even extend its rule over many nations -- and Israel would once more be secure in the promised land, feasting on wine and fruit The God of Israel, the Lord of history, would not abandon his chosen people or his chosen program of redemption. The God for whom Amos speaks is God of more than merely Israel.
He also uses one nation against another to carry out his purposes He is the Great King who rules the whole universe ; ; Because he is all-sovereign, the God of Israel holds the history and destiny of all peoples and of the world in his hands.
Israel must know not only that he is the Lord of her future, but also that he is Lord over all, and that he has purposes and concerns that reach far beyond her borders.
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