Minor Prophets 03 Amos - Prophet of Social Justice

(Sources include The Wiersbe Bible Commentary and the ESV Study Bible.)

Name: “Burden bearer.” Amos was a herdsman and a cultivator of sycamore trees (1:1; 7:14) whom God called and sent as a prophet. He was a humble farmer and shepherd, not a trained professional. He lived in Tekoa, about eleven miles from Jerusalem.

Primary audience: North Israel. Date: “two years before the earthquake” (1:1). Based on king list, probably ca. 767-753 BC.

Setting: Both Judah and Israel were enjoying prosperity and security. Luxury abounded (3:10-15; 5:1-6), and “religion” was popular. Israel flocked to the royal chapel at Bethel (4:4-5), and Judah kept the feasts enthusiastically (5:21-22), but the sins of both nations were eroding the moral fiber of the people. Making money was more important than worshiping God (8:5). The rich exploited the poor, the judicial system was corrupt, and injustice flourished (5:11-15, 24; 8:4-6).

Outline:

Look Around and See God’s Judgment. (chs. 1-2)

          The Lion Roars!

Judgment on the nations: Amos begins with Gentile nations near Israel. Next he moves closer home, to Israel’s sister nation, Judah. Then finally he preaches against the sins of Israel herself.

Note “ascending numeration.” “For three sins … no, make that four!”

Syria (1:3-5)

Philistia (1:6-8)

Tyre (1:9-10)

Edom (1:11-12)

Ammon (1:13-15)

Moab (2:1-3)

Judah (2:4-5)

Israel (2:6-16)

Look Within and See Your Corruption. (chs. 3-6)

          Listen to God’s Warning (3:1-15)

God Called Israel. (3:1-2)

God Called Amos. (3:3-8)

God Calls Witnesses. (3:9-10)

God Calls for Judgment. (3:11-15)

          Sins in “Good Standing” (4:1-13)

Luxury. (4:1-3)

Hypocrisy. (4:4-5)

Obstinacy. (4:6-13)

In spite of God’s expressions of discipline:

Famine. (4:6)

Drought. (4:7-8)

Destruction of crops. (4:9).

Sicknesses. (4:10a)

Defeat in war. (4:10b)

Catastrophe. (4:11)

Therefore God would bring about …

Ultimate judgment. (4:12-13)

          How to Avoid the Storm (5:1-17)

Hear God’s Word! (5:1-3)

Seek the Lord! (5:4-6)

Seek the Good! (5:7-15)

Instead of …

Promoting injustice. (5:7)

Rejecting rebuke. (5:10, 13)

Oppressing the poor. (5:11-13)

Being arrogant and self-confident. (5:14-15)

          Woe to the Sinners! (5:18—6:14)

Woe to the ignorant! (5:18-27)

Woe to the indifferent! (6:1-2)

Woe to the indulgent! (6:3-7)

Woe to the impudent! (6:8-14)

Because of their sin God would bring about …

Death. (6:9-10)

Destruction. (6:11-13)

Disgrace and defeat. (6:14)

Look Ahead and See the End Coming.  (chs. 7-9)

          Stop—Look--Listen!

Five visions of judgment (7:1—9:10)

The prophet pleads with God: “Please pardon!”

1. The locusts (7:1-3)

2. The fire (7:4-6)

3. The plumb line (7:7-9)

Amaziah the priest in Bethel accuses Amos of conspiracy and tells him, “Go home!”

Amos responds: “God called me to preach here! Heed God’s warning!”(7:10-17)

4. The basket of summer fruit (8:1-14)

The end is coming. (8:1-3)

Why the end is coming. (8:4-6)

How the end is coming. (8:7-14)

5. The ruined temple (9:1-10)

God says, “I will strike!” (9:1)

God says, “I will search!” (9:2-4)

God says, “I will destroy!” (9:5-10)

God says, “I will restore!” (9:11-15)

A vision of the glorious kingdom (9:11-15)

In Acts 15 the early church faced the question, “Should we accept uncircumcised Gentiles as Christians?” After hearing from Peter, Barnabas, and Paul, James spoke. He quoted Amos 9:11-15 to support the inclusion of the Gentiles (Acts 15:13-18).

Principle: in most cases the OT prophecies pointed to the first coming of Christ and its effects, not the second. Amos 9:11-15 does not predict some 1,000-year millennial kingdom on earth, headquartered in Jerusalem, after Jesus returns! Rather, it predicts what was accomplished by His first coming. As the new David Jesus now reigns. In the church God has rebuilt David’s fallen booth and allowed the Gentiles to participate.

Key verses from Amos:

Am 3:3 “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”

Am 3:7 “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. 8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”

Am 4:12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Am 5:21 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Am 8:5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”