Unlike most of the Old Testament prophets, Amos reveals his primary occupation. Right from the first verse of the book we learn that Amos is a herdsman from Tekoa. He also tended sycamore trees. Tekoa is a small village about 10 miles south of Jerusalem in the Judean highlands.
Amos faced opposition from the religious establishment in Bethel. The priest Amaziah criticized Amos for his prophecy, claiming it was politically motivated and part of a Judean conspiracy to overthrow Jeroboam.
(Amos 7:12-13 NASB) "Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! [13] "But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.""
Amaziah saw Amos' proclamations against the false religion of Bethel as a threat to the king. This was not an unreasonable assumption. The golden calf worship was instituted by the Jeroboam I so as to discourage the Israelites from making pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The northern kingdom was in continual fear that the worship of Yahweh in the capital of Judea would cause the people to turn their sympathies to the southern kingdom.
Amos responds by restating his occupation and making a point of the fact he was not a professional prophet, but was only following God's call. Professional prophets were common throughout the history of Israel. They would proclaim oracles from God for prophet, or attempt to divine the future for a fee. Most were false prophets who only proclaimed what the people wanted to hear (Jeremiah 6:13-14). Not only was Amos not a professional, but he was not even a student (or “son of a prophet”) of a prophet.
Instead, Amos was given a special call by God. This is a repeated theme in the Old Testament prophets. God selects the prophets. He gives them a very specific call and a very specific message to share.
(Amos 7:15 NASB) ""But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'"
Amos, like most of the prophets, did not chose to be God's agent. He had his own responsibilities back in Judah. But he responded to God's call, at great personal sacrifice and became willing to proclaim God's word to a hostile audience.
The concept of God's call did not end with the prophets. God still asks us to proclaim his message, and calls us to specific situations. We, very likely, don't receive this calling through visions and revealed oracles. But through the scriptures and the prompting of the Holy Spirit God does call us to proclaim His message.
The book of Amos is the only place we have that contains information about the life of Amos. This prophetic book starts with a serious of oracles from God proclaiming the sins and punishments of various nations. The oracles follow a very specific pattern. But as interesting as what is part of the formula is what is not part of the formula. As has been discussed before, prophetic judgments nearly always include a call for repentance. The purpose of prophecy is always to move people to change their ways to avoid punishment. But these judgments on the nations do not make a call for repentance.
For that reason, many Biblical scholars believe this is because these messages were not actually spoken to the various nations. Rather, this is part of Amos' message to Israel. The structure and message of the book would tend to support this belief. The nations chosen are all the nations surrounding Israel. The primary sin mentioned for each of the nations is their inhuman treatment of people. In each case, punishment was inevitable and irrevocable.
The Israelites would have been drawn in to these prophecies, agreeing with Amos' conclusions and welcoming the punishment. When Amos completes this set with the condemnation of Israel, his listeners would be forced to make the same conclusion: they had sinned in their treatment of people and that punishment would be inevitable and irrevocable. These are the major themes of the book.
Amos then elaborates on this condemnation of Israel in the succeeding chapters. He proclaims God's Word against Israel, detailing their sins and detailing their impending punishment in chapters 3, 4, the last half of 5, and chapter 6.
In the middle of this, in Amos 5:1-15, Amos takes shares a lament for Israel's destruction, and then calls the people to repent. The lamentation (verses 2-3) follow a specific Hebrew poetic form called the elegiac measure. This form is used in dirges and other laments, and follows a pattern of beats in each line which require a slow and deliberate reading.
Then Amos gives his invitation to repentance. This is his only invitation in the book, and is placed strategically in the center of the book. The call is to Seek the LORD and live (Amos 5:4, 6, 14). Punishment may be imminent and inevitable. But here Amos states that by seeking God and forsaking the pursuit of false religion, the punishment may be revocable.
The book finishes with a series of five visions revealed to Amos. After the first two visions (locusts and fire), God relents after Amos' plea for mercy. In the second two visions (plumb line & summer fruit), Amos does not make a plea, nor does God relent. The people are off the plumb line and now the LORD refuses to relent. The final vision, that of the Lord himself at the altar, proclaims their destruction, and then finishes with the hope of restoration.
Amos faced opposition from the religious establishment in Bethel. The priest Amaziah criticized Amos for his prophecy, claiming it was politically motivated and part of a Judean conspiracy to overthrow Jeroboam.
(Amos 7:12-13 NASB) "Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! [13] "But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.""
Amaziah saw Amos' proclamations against the false religion of Bethel as a threat to the king. This was not an unreasonable assumption. The golden calf worship was instituted by the Jeroboam I so as to discourage the Israelites from making pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The northern kingdom was in continual fear that the worship of Yahweh in the capital of Judea would cause the people to turn their sympathies to the southern kingdom.
Amos responds by restating his occupation and making a point of the fact he was not a professional prophet, but was only following God's call. Professional prophets were common throughout the history of Israel. They would proclaim oracles from God for prophet, or attempt to divine the future for a fee. Most were false prophets who only proclaimed what the people wanted to hear (Jeremiah 6:13-14). Not only was Amos not a professional, but he was not even a student (or “son of a prophet”) of a prophet.
Instead, Amos was given a special call by God. This is a repeated theme in the Old Testament prophets. God selects the prophets. He gives them a very specific call and a very specific message to share.
(Amos 7:15 NASB) ""But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'"
Amos, like most of the prophets, did not chose to be God's agent. He had his own responsibilities back in Judah. But he responded to God's call, at great personal sacrifice and became willing to proclaim God's word to a hostile audience.
The concept of God's call did not end with the prophets. God still asks us to proclaim his message, and calls us to specific situations. We, very likely, don't receive this calling through visions and revealed oracles. But through the scriptures and the prompting of the Holy Spirit God does call us to proclaim His message.
The book of Amos is the only place we have that contains information about the life of Amos. This prophetic book starts with a serious of oracles from God proclaiming the sins and punishments of various nations. The oracles follow a very specific pattern. But as interesting as what is part of the formula is what is not part of the formula. As has been discussed before, prophetic judgments nearly always include a call for repentance. The purpose of prophecy is always to move people to change their ways to avoid punishment. But these judgments on the nations do not make a call for repentance.
For that reason, many Biblical scholars believe this is because these messages were not actually spoken to the various nations. Rather, this is part of Amos' message to Israel. The structure and message of the book would tend to support this belief. The nations chosen are all the nations surrounding Israel. The primary sin mentioned for each of the nations is their inhuman treatment of people. In each case, punishment was inevitable and irrevocable.
The Israelites would have been drawn in to these prophecies, agreeing with Amos' conclusions and welcoming the punishment. When Amos completes this set with the condemnation of Israel, his listeners would be forced to make the same conclusion: they had sinned in their treatment of people and that punishment would be inevitable and irrevocable. These are the major themes of the book.
Amos then elaborates on this condemnation of Israel in the succeeding chapters. He proclaims God's Word against Israel, detailing their sins and detailing their impending punishment in chapters 3, 4, the last half of 5, and chapter 6.
In the middle of this, in Amos 5:1-15, Amos takes shares a lament for Israel's destruction, and then calls the people to repent. The lamentation (verses 2-3) follow a specific Hebrew poetic form called the elegiac measure. This form is used in dirges and other laments, and follows a pattern of beats in each line which require a slow and deliberate reading.
Then Amos gives his invitation to repentance. This is his only invitation in the book, and is placed strategically in the center of the book. The call is to Seek the LORD and live (Amos 5:4, 6, 14). Punishment may be imminent and inevitable. But here Amos states that by seeking God and forsaking the pursuit of false religion, the punishment may be revocable.
The book finishes with a series of five visions revealed to Amos. After the first two visions (locusts and fire), God relents after Amos' plea for mercy. In the second two visions (plumb line & summer fruit), Amos does not make a plea, nor does God relent. The people are off the plumb line and now the LORD refuses to relent. The final vision, that of the Lord himself at the altar, proclaims their destruction, and then finishes with the hope of restoration.
Would you like to advertise your business or ministry on LHF? Please contact us via e-mail and ask about our advertising options at: WalterBlackwood@LHFministries.com