A. Summary and Overview.
- Amos is the writer of the book as identified in verse 1:1. He was a shepherd and a farmer from the village of Tekoa, which was about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. He wrote about 760 BC during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam, king of Israel. Verse 1 also says that this was about 2 years before “the earthquake”. The reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam overlapped for about 14 years which narrows the time period. The Jewish historian Josephus writes that the earthquake occurred at the time that Uzziah became a leper towards the end of his reign. Uzziah had gone into the temple and was burning incense, a practice reserved only for priests. Leprosy was his punishment from God. Zechariah 14:5b also mentions an earthquake: “And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah”. Furthermore, archeological excavations in that region show a destruction layer from that time period from an earthquake that scientists estimate at 8.2. This explains why it was a memorable event. All of this comes together to prove the validity of Scripture.
- Amos is another of the minor prophets due to the length of the book, which is nine chapters. His ministry was to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to bring God’s chastisement of their sin, corruption, and idolatry. He also chastises the surrounding nations including Judah.
B. Chapters 1 and 2. Amos pronounces judgement on Israel’s neighbors: Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab and Judah before addressing Israel. All these countries form a circle around Israel, which highlights that Amos’s message is predominately for Israel.
C. Chapter 3. Amos declares his role as a prophet of God: “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?” (Vs.3:7-8).
D. Chapters 4 through 9. Amos continues his pronouncement of judgement by God upon Israel due to their injustice, oppression of the poor, corruption, and idolatry. But the book closes with a promise of future restoration under the Messiah: “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,’ says the LORD your God” (Vs. 9:14-15).
E. Discussion Questions, Application and Passing it on.
- Amos was a shepherd and fruit farmer without formal education or training. But God used him. You also may not have a college degree or much training in theology. Do you believe that God can also use you? How can you become more useful to God?
- God has gathered the Jews back into Israel beginning with its re-establishment as a country in 1948. No other people have such a continuous preservation of their identity after destruction of their homeland, which occurred by the Romans in 70 AD. They are back in the land, they have rebuilt their cities, planted vineyards, but they as a people do not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. This will happen when Christ returns. For centuries, Bible teachers believed that the nation would be re-established, yet there was no fulfillment of that prophecy until 1948. How does that give you hope for the fulfillment of the rest of God’s prophecies related to end times?