Amos
(1:1 Amos, 7:14,15)
(C3204-3284, 800-720 BC)
His name comes from the Hebrew ?a^mo^s which means "heavy."
At the beginning of his book of prophecies, which takes his name, he reports that he was born in Tekoa, a small town in the kingdom of Judah, situated almost on the border with Israel, which included the ten separated northern tribes.
Amos was a shepherd of sheep and cattle, and gatherer of sycamore; he was not a prophet or the son of a prophet, so he would not be recognized by people as a leader or teacher of religion. Hosea, a prophet born in Israel, was his contemporary and testified against the apostasy of the ten tribes and the coming of their trial.
Jeroboam II reigned in Israel. Under the reign of Jeroboam II, the kingdom of Israel flourished as never before, or after. There was great external prosperity. In his prophecy the prophet mentions the rich, their wealth and luxury, their pride and self-confidence, and their oppression of the poor. But there was also a terrible moral corruption, the result of false worship.
In this state of immorality, prosperity and false worship, they not even dreamed that they would see any kind of calamity. Such were the days when the farmer of Tekoa was suddenly summoned by God to cross the frontier and go to the capital of the kingdom of Israel to deliver the message that He gave (chapter 7:14,15).
Amos began his ministry two years before the great earthquake of the year 750 BC, which he forecast (chapters 8:8, 9:5). The earthquake was so great that it is mentioned two centuries later by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 14:5).
His message is ponderous, involving the sins and punishment not only of the ten northern tribes, but all of Israel (chapter 3:1), as well as the neighbouring peoples.
These were Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon and Moab: this reminds us that God judges the nations. Although at the age in which we find ourselves the great God has the purpose of calling people to the name of His Son Jesus Christ that does not mean that He is alien to this world today. He still makes judgment on the nations today, and in Amos we have a tremendous message to that effect.
Their sins, mentioned by Amos, were:
1. Syria, referred to by the name of its capital, Damascus, would be punished because of their brutality with the neighbouring tribes of Israel;
2. The Philistines, represented by Gaza, for having sold Israelites as slaves;
3. Phoenicia, with its capital at Tyre, because they had broken the covenant made with Israel, which came from the times of King David;
4. The Edomites (descendants of Esau), with their capital Bozrah (Petra), because of their jealousy and vendetta against Israel;
5. The Ammonites, located west of the Jordan River, because they had committed atrocities against two and a half tribes of Israel in order to increase their territory;
6. The Moabites (Lot's descendants) would be judged for having burned the bones of the king of Edom, an indication of their cruelty and vindictiveness.
7. Israel, divided into two kingdoms, for bribery, adultery, idolatry, and sacrilege.
All that was prophesied concerning the punishment of those countries came to pass, proving that the message actually came from God.
Amos made three speeches against Israel in chapters 3-6, all starting with the warning "Hear". They point to social disorders, cruelty to people, corruption of the leaders and prediction of doom, demanding that the people of God be made holy and righteous, to avoid divine judgment. In chapter 4 "cows of Bashan" are mentioned and later the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. This scenario possibly indicates that men were acting as if they were women, a characteristic perversion of the idolaters. Each nation will answer to God, how much more Israel, with its greater privileges?
The priest of Bethel, Amaziah, sent a conspiracy charge against Amos to the king, and wanted to frighten Amos so he would flee.
But instead of being frightened, Amos made ??a terrible prophecy against this priest " Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; your land shall be divided by survey line; you shall die in a defiled land; and Israel shall surely be led away captive from his own land.' "(chapter 7:17).
Amos also revealed divine punishments described in the visions of plagues of locusts, fire, plumb line, devastation, destruction and war, but ended with a prophecy of the final restoration, as an eternal promise. We know through the enlightenment made by other prophecies that this is the kingdom of Christ in the millennium.
The style of Amos is peculiar because of the number of allusions to natural objects and agricultural issues. Other allusions show also that Amos was a student of the law, and observer of nature.
These phrases were used solely by him:
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"Cleanness of teeth", that is, lack of bread (chapter 4:6): it is not oral hygiene, but lack of food. It was God's punishment, yet it did not correct their own spiritual condition "’Yet you have not returned to Me’, says the Lord."
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"The pride of Jacob" (chapters 6:8, 8:7): Jacob ("supplanter") here is the name given to his descendants in the northern kingdom. Pride was their philosophy of a “new" moral, which included freedom of worship, lust, gluttony, drunkenness, degrading music (chapter 5:23), treading down the poor (cap.5: 11), etc... God said that He abhors and hates such things. With this, that kingdom had become a godless nation. These are things that lead His people away from Him.
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"The high places of Isaac" (chapter 7: 9) these were places of idolatry that were placed "high". All would be devastated and would be destroyed and "the sanctuaries of Israel" in the cities, which were desecrated.
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"The house of Isaac" (chapter 7: 16) included not only Israel but also Esau, whose descendants, the Edomites, were traditional enemies of the Israelites but were completely destroyed.
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"He who creates the wind" (chapter 4:13): wind was a little understood phenomenon in antiquity. Because it is invisible, but its effects are clearly seen, it was common to be considered a spiritual creature with powers over the matter and will. This is not how it is seen in this prophecy and the word "create" here can be understood as "doing." God certainly has power over the so-called "natural phenomena", as the Lord Jesus demonstrated when He was on earth.
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“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? You also carried Sikkuth your king and Chiun, your idols, the star of your gods, which you made for yourselves. Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus” (chapter 5:25 -27): This text was quoted by Stephen in Acts 7:42,43. Here we see that Sikkuth was the infamous god Molech and the Sttar of their gods was Remphan, identified as the planet Saturn.
In the prophecies of Amos we see the responsibility that all people have towards God, and it makes us understand the reasons for the disasters that fall on those who follow the path of idolatry and persecution to God's people. He is still Lord of the universe.
These examples serve as a warning to us.