The Twelve Minor Prophets Amos: Prophet of Justice and Righteousness

God finds people almost anywhere to serve Him. Most of the leaders in scripture had no formal training. God showed little interest in a person’s occupation, position, or success. God simply looks for the right heart. No better example is found than the prophet Amos. A lowly shepherd called out by God to deliver a mighty message.

Background and Setting Both Israel and Judah were experiencing a season of ______and ______at the time of Amos’ prophecy. Jeroboam II of Israel (evil) had overcome the Syrians, and recovered the original territory of his kingdom from Hamath in the extreme north to the Dead Sea (2 Kings 14:25, 28). Uzziah King of Judah (good) had subdued the restless Edomites and Philistines, reduced the Ammonites to subjection; and, while largely encouraging agriculture and the arts of peace, he raised a powerful army, and strongly fortified Jerusalem (2 Chron. 26.). Prosperity in both kingdoms had produced its too common fruits—______, luxury, ______, 1 oppression. ​ Although there was a time of unprecedented peace, a more significant spiritual war was taking place through the ______and ______decay (4:1, 5:10­13, 2 Kings 14:24).2

Author and Date Nothing is known about the prophet Amos apart from what can be learned from the book bearing his name. He was from the village of Tekoa, south of Jerusalem in the territory of Judah, but his ministry took him north to the Israelite shrine at Bethel (7:10, 1 Kings 13). His preaching is focused primarily on the ______and ______of the northern kingdom. His own descriptions of himself as a sheepherder, a cattleman, and a dresser of figs point to his agricultural background but not necessarily to the popular image of him as a poor farmer and laborer called out of the fields to prophesy against Israel. His withering critiques of the injustice of the wealthy have also lent weight to the assumption that Amos was among the poor. The terminology used for Amos’ agricultural work, however, lends itself to the image of a wealthy 3 breeder of flocks and herds. The broad limits of a possible time frame for the ministry of Amos, when both kings were reigning, would be between 783 B.C. and 746 B.C. The specific clue about the date of the ​ ​ ​ ​ prophet’s ministry is the reference to “two years before the earthquake.” That reference probably pinpointed the date for the first audience, but for the modern reader it is less helpful because of the uncertainty about when “the earthquake” occurred. It was apparently a memorable event, one with which the audience would have been familiar. Some have suggested that what made it memorable was that it was accompanied by another event, perhaps an ______of the sun (8:7–9). Such an eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 B.C. that would have been visible in Palestine. Whether ​ ​ for that reason or another, it probably was the same quake that was remembered near the end of the sixth century B.C. (about 520 B.C.), to which Zech 14:5 refers as “the earthquake in the days of ​ ​ ​ ​

1 H. D. M. Spence­Jones, ed., Amos, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls ​ ​ Company, 1909), i. 2 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Nashville:Thomas Nelson, 2005), 992. ​ ​ 3 John D. Barry, Michael S. Heiser, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, ​ ​ 2012), Am 1:1. Uzziah king of Judah.” Archaeological evidence has also been found of an earthquake at Hazor dated between 765 and 760 B.C. So perhaps we can narrow the time of Amos’s preaching to 4​ ​ sometime in the early 760s.

Key People affiliated with Amos th 1. King Uzziah: The 10 ​ King of Judah, also called Azariah. Scripture records that ​ Uzziah was made king at age ___ and reigned for ___ years (2 Kgs 15:2; 2 Chr 26:3). However, it is debated whether he reigned until his death or whether his son replaced 5 him as king. ​ Uzziah is the King remembered by the prophet Isaiah who included the remembrance of Uzziah’s death in the same year he was called as a prophet (Is. 6:1) 2. King Jereboam II: Also known as Jeroboam II. Grandson of Jehu and son of Joash. The 14th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Reigned ___ years, ca. 786–746 BC. ​ ​ Successful politically and militarily—he extended the ______of the northern kingdom (2 Kgs 14:25, 28) but “did evil in the sight of God” (2 Kgs 14:24). 6 Jeroboam’s reign is contained only in 2 Kgs 14:23–29.

Outline of Amos I. Yahweh’s judgment upon the nations, 1:1–2:16 A. Prelude: the day of wrath at hand, 1:1–2 B. Judgment of God upon the heathen neighbors for their various crimes of inhumanity (all of these are to suffer fire and destruction), 1:3–2:3 1. Damascus, 1:3–5 2. Gaza, 1:6–8 3. Tyre, 1:9–10 4. Edom, 1:11–12 5. Ammon, 1:13–15 6. Moab, 2:1–3 C. Wrath upon both the covenant nations for neglecting God’s Word, 2:4–16 1. Judah, having turned from God to false teachers, likewise to suffer fire and destruction 2:4–5 2. Israel also to suffer overpowering destruction for sins of exploiting the poor, and tolerating of incest, showing thanklessness toward God, and persecuting the faithful 2:6–16 II. Offenses of Israel and warnings of God, 3:1–6:14 A. Judgment unavoidable because of Israel’s complete depravity, 3:1–15 1. The greater the privilege, the greater the accountability, 3:1–3 2. Amos’ credentials as God’s messenger, 3:4–8 3. Israel’s crimes of oppressing the poor, their luxuries and self­indulgence to be punished by devastation and depopulation, 3:9–15

4 Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, vol. 19B, The New American Commentary ​ ​ (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 23–24. 5 Lowell K. Handy, “Uzziah, King of Judah,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary ​ (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). 6 John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2013, 2014, ​ ​ 2015). B. God’s challenge to the stiff­necked pleasure seekers, 4:1–13 1. Their pursuit after pleasure and wealth and their carnal forms of worship to seal their doom, 4:1–5 2. The unheeded warning of the plagues; judgment will surely come upon them, 4:6–13 C. Lamentation and final appeal, 5:1–27 D. The doom of exile for the pleasure­seeking upper classes, 6:1–14 III. Five visions of Israel’s fate, 7:1–9:10 A. Locusts—restrained, 7:1–3 B. Fire—restrained, 7:4–6 C. Plumbline—all to be leveled flat, 7:7–9 (Interlude: the clash with Amaziah; his doom foretold, 7:10–17) D. Late summer fruit—the end at hand, 8:1–14 E. The smitten temple (of Bethel); Israel to be treated like heathen, 9:1–10 IV. Promises of restoration, 9:11–15 A. Preliminary: the New Testament age, 9:11–12 7 B. The millennial consummation, 9:13–15

Key Verses in Amos 1. Amos 2:6–8: The charges against Israel were substantial, The rights of the poor had been violated. Gross immorality was multi­______. Israel literally “rested” upon the cloak’s improperly confiscated (cf., Deut. 24:12­13). Wine that had been extorted as taxes or fines from the poor was used in the very centers (wrongly) set aside to worship God! Thus, even ______was made to seem a party to oppression. This explanation of 8 the cause of judgment on Israel draws attention to the causes of God’s wrath. 2. Amos 5:12: God’s demand focused not on restoring the appropriate forms of worship, but on returning again to His ______. A people who worship God acceptably must share 9 God’s commitment to do right by all. 3. Amos 5:14–15: It is the ______of man with which God is concerned. In turning away from God, Israel lost touch with the divine values. Rejecting righteousness and justice, God’s people abandoned themselves to wealth and pleasure and to oppression of the 10 poor.

7 Gleason Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3rd. ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), ​ ​ 351–352. 8 Larry Richards and Lawrence O. Richards, The Teacher’s Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, ​ ​ 1987), 463. 9 Ibid., 464. 10 Ibid.