Amos predicted that things would become so bad for israel that. Social justice can mean something different depending on who you are talking to. But since amos word is from god and has been preserved for us in scripture, perhaps we had better measure its true success not by its effect on the cows of bashan 4. The words of amos reveal jehovahs mercy towards an unworthy people. The kings and inhabitants of the northern kingdom had turned their back on jehovah and therefore could no longer be entitled to his promises. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.
Scholars judge his use of language as particularly expressive, vivid, and forceful. Also its worth noting that for amos there was only death he did not know resurrection. And yet they thought that no evil could come upon them, as they were the people of god. Best amos commentaries updated for 2021 best bible. Bad lawmakers, deniers of prophecy, everything god has said is evil. Hosea, joel, amos, you remember the way it all works from your song or whatever might have been that helps you to remember these things. Here the prophet amos forecast the lords judgments upon the syrians see. Social injustice and moral corruption were widespread 3. The old testament is organized 5 12 5 5 12 five books of moses, 12 books of history, 5 books of poetry, 5 books of the major prophets, and 12 books of the minor prophets. Several times he uses the phraseology, for three sins transgressions of gods law, 1 john 3. Find out what true worship looks like in the book of amos. Amos was a contemporary of hosea, isaiah, and jonah. Amos is the first of the prophets to write down the messages he has received. May 16, 2020 the book of amos was a compilation of his prophecies put together after the earthquake.
Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. Book of micah overview insight for living ministries. Oct 18, 2000 amos in at least three occasions reminds the reader of his roots. Thus, amos has something to say to ancient israel as well as to the whole worldeven to us. Amos definition is a hebrew prophet of the eighth century b. Here the lord appealed to fallen israel to repent and mend her evil ways. Songs turn to wailing, solid ground begins to tremble, the land acts like. Since most of the prophecies of amos concern coming judgment on either the nations surrounding israel or judgment on israel itself, he was a man with a burden. Amos does not say bad things about priests or other prophets.
Amos begins his prophecy by articulating god s anger against syria, gaza, ammon and moabmideastern nations that anciently bordered israel and judahand whose descendants remain in that general area even today. It is difficult to give the proper meaning in a translation. Lets look at amos from the prospective of learning more about god, about his ways, his message, and what he would have us do and to be. I wonder if the usa will be among those god calls his own. In spite of withering opposition, he fearlessly indicted the nation for its hollow, meaningless piety, social injustice and general immorality. Amos religious and theological studies loras college library at. He was the earliest prophet to have a book of the bible named for him. Lessons from the book of amos, part i steps to life.
He was a man of humble birth, neither a prophet nor a prophets son, but a herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees. In reality, the prophecy made no mention specifically of. When the usa goes into the sieve, what will fall out. Amos is one of those minor prophets, meaning its a shorter book, and it comes right after the book. Because of the distrust between the two peoples, it is ironic that god sent a jew to warn the israelites of their impending judgment. In a play on words which amos uses many times in his book the words summer fruit also mean the end if spoken and viewed from gods perspective. Amos was an israelite native of tekota, the modern tekoa tuqu or teqoa, a town about 12 miles southeast of bethlehem. The opening chapters of the book of amos chronicle the war crimes of six non.
Aug 26, 2015 amos begins with the justice of god, then, and shows how that relates to justice in society. The lord reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets. Life is not divided into secular and sacred for amos. But do not seek bethel, nor enter gilgal, nor pass over to beersheba. As punishment for her spiritual and moral decay, israel was invaded by assyria in 721 bc and crushed in a devastating war. The poor of the land and the pride of jacob desiring god. It is a short book full of passion and anger whose subject matter is a protest in the name of god against social injustice, complacency and hypocrisy. A number of parallels could be drawn between the israel of amos day and our time, but it is sufficient to say that the nation had deteriorated spiritually to the point where they did wicked things to provoke the lord to anger 2 kings 17. The book of amos is a prophetic book of the hebrew bible largely dating to the 8th century bce and considered to be scripture by modernday.
Amos free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. Like all biblical prophets, amos spoke the oracles of yahweh, israels god, to people in a particular context. What we know of amos derives solely from the book that he himself authored. The book of amos, the third of the twelve minor prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the bible from the time it was written 8th century bce down to the 20th century. The entire book of amos shines a powerful light on israelite society, revealing its dishonesty, corruption, and violence. Teachings on social justice in amos and isiah the book of amos is short, exciting, snappy and full of themes which make out for a popular war movie. Prayers and sacrifices do not make up for bad deeds. He has always been admired for the purity of his language, his beauty of diction, and his poetic art. Oct 23, 2016 amos opened his book by pronouncing judgment on the gentile nations for the way they had treated the jews, and this must have made the kingdoms of israel and judah very happy. Amos is a shepherd and a fruit picker from the judean village of tekoa when god calls him, even though he lacks an education or a priestly background. Amos, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. While hosea only prophesied regarding israel amos also prophesied concerning the neighbouring nations of israel. So there is something wrong with the way amos has told his story.
The surviving israelites were taken into captivity where they. More than almost any other book of scripture, the book of amos holds gods people accountable for their illtreatment of others. Second, amos was written with practicality in view. Therefoe the event would have been fresh in the mid of the people when amos wrote in amos 8. Amos synonyms, amos pronunciation, amos translation, english dictionary definition of amos. Several distinguishing features about the life of amos and his ministry mark this book out from the other books in the bible.
The prophet was sent to warn the people and lead them to repentance, but they would not change. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. He was simply saying that things were irrepairably broken. Amos means burdenbearer, and his message to israel, one of continuous judgment and denunciation, was indeed a heavy burden. It is of hebrew origin, and the meaning of amos is to carry. In our first session, we talked the core message of the book. To prove that amos had said this, he quoted something the prophet really did say.
As a contemporary of isaiah and hosea, micah prophesied during the momentous. They were his peculiar people above others, knew his name, and were called by it. Amos was a shepherd from tekoa before god called him to be a prophet to israel 1. God will not do anything without forewarning his prophets. Tekoa was located about twelve miles south of jerusalem. The people of israel had difficulty seeing anything wrong with worshipping both baal. The israelite of amoss time, freed from a sense of responsibility to a righteous god, oppressed the poor, turned to idolatrous practice s, debased himself through immoral practices, and lost all sense of social consciousness. The book is too big this time for me to give an exposition of each section. As with each of the minor prophets, the title comes from the name of the prophet to whom god gave his message 1.
Mays, words about the words of amos, interpretation. Sep 27, 2018 studying the book of the prophet amos is an excellent way to begin a study of the prophetic tradition of israel. If chasing horses when they are carrying stones would be wrong 15. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace gods idea of justice. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. When we read the book of amos, we find it is more than history it is gods word which shows us how to live for god and to do gods will. An easyenglish commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of amos. Astronomical calculations indicate that a solar eclipse occurred in israel on june 15, 763 b. Those things that go up against gods word, for sure.
In all these respects he is isaiahs spiritual progenitor. The book of amos, on the surface, is a gloom and doom and judgment book. During this period, while israel was imploding from the effects of evil and. In order to comprehend the theology of the book that bears his name, one must have a basic understanding of that context. Amos expressed the same idea jesus did in matthew 5. Jul 29, 2010 amos begins his prophecy by articulating god s anger against syria, gaza, ammon and moabmideastern nations that anciently bordered israel and judahand whose descendants remain in that general area even today.
Amos 3 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. I am no prophet, protested amos, nor a prophets son. Scholars have emphasized the importance of amos among the great prophets of the old testament by means of various expressions. Amos refers to with anything approaching certainty. The name is seldom used in this century, perhaps because of lingering negative connotations from the highly politically incorrect radio show amos n andy that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s. There are exegetical commentaries, scholarly and technical commentaries, as well as commentaries that are easy to understand. Motyers book on amos reveals that there is a play on words in the hebrew that is reflected in the niv translation. He was a shepherd and tended to sycamore fig trees. The land tenure system provided at least a means for each individual to.
Any of the, really, the whole prophets are anything but minor. But then the prophet announced that israel and judah would be punished for the sins they had committed against the lord. Social justice in amos the good book blog biola university. Lessons from amos the institute for creation research. The list of sins and condemnations in amos preaching can become tedious for the student of his book, but chapter 7 brings a distinct, even refreshing, change in the type of material amos presents. He calls all this the evil that you will do to the people of israel, and he weeps aloud. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah isaiah 1. The most common definition of social justice is a policymaking theory that tries to ensure that all members of society are treated fairly and that all have the same opportunities to partake of and share in the benefits of society. Amos message must not be lost on our modern generation. That which the prophet has to say to them is to let them know that the lord has something to say against them, v.
David guzik commentary on amos 5 describes the coming exile and captivity of. Far from being an illiterate shepherd, the prophet was a man of refinement and substance, aware of past events and current conditions in israel and judah, as well as in the surrounding nations. And even though tekoa is in the southern kingdom of judah ten miles south of jerusalem, amos delivered his message to the northern kingdom of israel. The book of zephaniah, the early discourses of jeremiah, and 2ki 2123 furnish a vivid picture of the social, moral, and religious conditions in judah at the time zephaniah prophesied. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. Or perhaps the verse means that god will drag a cart over ripe grain. Ive heard about teachers who have all sorts of rules that the students think are too harsh. The irony is that in the popular view the harvest of summer fruit at the end of the long dry season is the moment when gods people anticipate the immediately coming autumn rains with their. This means there will be plenty of shepherds leaders. We find two quotations from the book of amos in the acts of the apostles. May 22, 2019 indeed, the book of amos is filled with the details of amos s social world. One of amos favorite literary devices was the grouping of seven things. It sits uniquely amongst the other books of the bible and in particular amongst the prophets.
He did not wish to set up a good king in the place of a bad one. Amos, herdsman of tekoa, was sent from god with a powerful message of correction for the ancient house of israel. This means that god is strong enough to save, but also plenty strong enough to. The format of the book of amos is accessible, and the book is relatively short. Zephaniah, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. This sermon was preached at forge road bible chapel, in perry hall, md on 6312.
Amos described the consequences that would come on people who had turned their backs on god. Amos is part of what we call the minor prophets, but amos is anything but minor. Through amos wisdom, we discover that doing the right thing and loving others is more important than sacrifice to god, who desires to renew the hearts of. The nations become culpable for actions which they knew t.
This list of commentaries is intended to help the reader understand and apply the authors message in the book of amos. We are in the second part of a three week study from the book of amos, and we will start this morning in amos chapter 5. That being the case, god is perfectly right to bring the overwhelming disaster of which amos speaks. Book of amos with a view to its religious ideas, to mark its contribution to the. Ive also heard of teachers who have the students make up the rules.
The ethics of amos in light of its ancient near eastern. Amos is one of the twelve minor prophets of the old testament, the author of the book of amos, which speaks against greed, corruption and oppression of the poor. He has been referred to as the first of the classical prophets, 1 philip hyatt, the book of amos, interpretation, iii, no. The ethical teaching of amos, its content and relevance. He is allowed to see five visions from god regarding the future of israel, and he relates those visions. Amos meaning burden or burdenbearer was an inhabitant of the rugged region of tekoa, located in the territory of judah about 12 miles south of jerusalem.
Prophet amos leaves judah and goes to the land of israel to preach. The terrible descriptions of israels sins in this book appear all the worse because. The figure of god as judge dominates the book of amos, though the. In the hebrew bible and christian old testament, amos hebrew. Judging from the book s language and style, amos was also well educated. Amos warnings were not meant only for his day, but also for today. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled by the priest in charge of this royal sanctuary 7. The book of amos amos was a sheepbreeder of tekoa in judah, who delivered his oracles in the northern kingdom during the prosperous reign of jeroboam ii 786746 b.
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