Amos

Lore & Background

Amos is introduced as a herdsman from Tekoa, not a professional prophet, who received visions concerning Israel (Amos 1:1). His oracles begin with a formulaic condemnation of neighboring nations—Gaza for slave trading (Amos 1:6), Edom for relentless violence against a brother (Amos 1:11), and Moab for desecrating a king's bones (Amos 2:1)—before turning to Israel's own transgressions: selling the righteous and poor (Amos 2:6) and rejecting God's raised-up prophets and Nazarites (Amos 2:11).

Reader's Guide

The sampled passages portray Amos as a messenger of divine judgment who holds Israel accountable for social corruption and empty worship. He accuses the people of turning justice to 'wormwood' (Amos 5:7), taking bribes, and oppressing the poor (Amos 5:12). Their religious offerings are rejected because they are performed without righteousness (Amos 5:22). God has sent plagues and military defeat, yet Israel did not return to him (Amos 4:10). The coming judgment is severe: the 'virgin of Israel' has fallen and will not rise (Amos 5:2), the land will be smitten (Amos 3:15), and the people will go into captivity beyond Damascus (Amos 5:27). A series of visions—grasshoppers (Amos 7:1), a plumb line (implied by context), and a basket of summer fruit—show God relenting at first (Amos 7:6) but ultimately decreeing that Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will be led captive (Amos 7:11). The book ends with a theophany of God touching the land so it melts like a flood (Amos 9:5).

Did You Know?

• Amos was a herdsman, not a professional prophet, when he received his visions (Amos 1:1).
• The book opens with a specific time reference: two years before an earthquake (Amos 1:1).
• God relented from one judgment after Amos interceded, saying 'This also shall not be' (Amos 7:6).
• The prophet predicts a cosmic sign: the sun going down at noon and darkening the earth in daytime (Amos 8:9).