Amos - Merrylands Anglican Church

27 Pages·2014·1.34 MB·English

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Amos 1:1-2 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of
Tekoa-- what he saw concerning Israel two years before the
earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam
son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 He said:

"The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from
Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel withers."
INTRODUCTION
The book of Amos is from the part of the Old Testament called the Minor Prophets.
These prophets spoke at a time when “God’s people” were moving further and further away
from Him. God then raised prophets to warn the people of the coming judgements if they did
not repent and turn back to Him. Amos was one of these prophets. A shepherd who came
from the town of Tekoa, five miles south of Bethlehem in Judah (a southern tribe), Amos was
called by God (Amos 7:15) to prophesy to Israel (the northern tribes).
This was a scary time in Israel’s history. The nation had begun with God calling one
man, Abraham, to Himself. God made promises to Abraham of land, descendants, fame, and
blessings and cursings (Gen. 12:1-3). Things started slowly with Isaac, Jacob and then Joseph.
Joseph became an important figure in Egypt and the descendants of Abraham remained in
Egypt for 400 years. However, Egypt made slaves of the Israelites and God sent Moses to
bring them out of Egypt. After Moses died, Joshua lead Israel into the Promised Land and a
cycle of sin and salvation under Judges continued until the time of Saul and the establishment
of the Kingdom. The high point of Israel was under King David and the first part of King
Solomon’s reign. The promises seemed to be fulfilled and God’s people were living in the
Promised Land under God’s good authority.
However, it wasn’t long before the kings of Israel began to forget about God and his
promises of blessings and curses. The kings ignored God and the kingdom was divided into
two. At the time of Amos’ ministry the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Benjamin was known
as “Judah” and was ruled by King Uzziah. The Northern Kingdom was made up of the other
ten tribes and was known “Israel”. Israel was ruled by King Jeroboam II.
This means that Amos’ ministry must have been around 790-753BC and was primarily
directed to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos prophesied God’s judgement on Israel (the
northern tribes) because of their diluted (and therefore false) worship of God. God was to
also judge them for their social, political and religious injustices. Ultimately, Israel was judged
because of their lack of repentance and they were destroyed by the Assyrians in 722BC. A
timeline on the next page (used with permission) doesn’t actually have Amos’ name on it but
you can see when his ministry was according to the dates.
The book of Amos is full of dramatic prophesies which uses strong language and will
not always be easy to read. From a Christian perspective it will also challenge us as we
confront the holy and righteous God who will also judge us.
In terms of an outline for the book of Amos, there are several different detailed
outlines you can look at but here is the most memorable one that I have seen. It is by no way
perfect but it points out the basic flow of Amos’ message in a simple way.1

Judgement of the nations and Israel Amos 1-2
Reasons for God’s Judgement Amos 3-6
Results of the Judgement Amos 7-9:10
Restoration of a Remnant Amos 9:11-15

1 Based on an outline found at https://bible.org/seriespage/amos cited 15.1.2014.
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Amos (790-753)
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THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: TO THE NATIONS - AMOS 1:1-2:3
INTRODUCTION
Amos was a great preacher. Amos was about to preach to the northern tribes of
Israel and this prophecy was going to be really hard for them to listen to. Amos enticed his
hearer/reader from Israel into his sermon by pronouncing judgements on Israel’s neighbours
and enemies. The Israelites would have cheered as they heard about how God was going to
bring judgement upon these neighbours but, as we will see in a few weeks, Amos would then
turn the tables on his hearers/readers and suddenly the judgements would be upon them.

JUDGEMENT ON THE NATIONS AMOS 1:1-2:3
 Fill out the table below; noting the Nation Amos referred to and what the Judgement
was for. Note that when Amos said, “For three sins... even for four...” he was
indicating that God’s patience was running out. Their sinfulness was nearing
completeness.
Verses Nation Judgement for
1:3-5

1:6-8

1:9-10

1:11-12

1:13-15

2:1-3

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 Have a look at who was being judged (check out the map on page 6). What is so
significant about who is being judged?

 What type of judgement was to be handed out to the nations? What was significant
about this type of judgement and can we learn anything from this judgement handed
out to the Nations?

 What was so clever about Amos starting his sermon or book like this?

TODAY
 How do you respond to the idea of corporate judgement? Is it something we should
still be considering today or should we only be concerned about individual
judgement?

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THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SAYS: TO HIS OWN - AMOS 2:4-3:8
INTRODUCTION
Last study we saw God’s warning of judgement to the surrounding nations. God was
pictured as a Lion roaring ready to strike down its prey and so God’s judgement on these
nations was imminent and they would not be able to escape.
If we look carefully at Amos’ sermon we can see how his judgements are circling ever
smaller, a bit like a shark circling its prey (sorry about the change of animal metaphor). He
begins with judgement against the pagan nations (Syria, Philistia and Tyre) and then circle’s in
closer to the related nations (Edom came from Esau’s line, Ammon and Moab were
descendants of Lot). Amos begins to close the circle smaller as he called judgement on Judah,
Israel’s fellow brothers who were brought out of Egypt with them. No doubt the Israelites
were cheering on as Amos called all these surrounding nations to judgement for their crimes.
As God’s chosen people Israel felt immune to God’s judgement, they had become
apathetic to God’s righteousness and grace. In tonight’s study we will see how God judges his
people.
JUDGEMENT ON JUDAH AMOS 2:4-5
 Who was being judged and what were they being judged for?

 What was the difference between Judah’s judgement and the other surrounding
nations?

JUDGEMENT ON ISRAEL AMOS 2:6-16
This is where the circling stops and the full force of judgement was set upon Israel. In
many ways they were suckered in by Amos’ sermon, not expecting the final outcome. But
they only had themselves to blame as God had done so much for them and revealed so much
of himself to them.
 What were the Israelites being judged for in Amos 2:6-8?

 Was there any real difference between Israel and the pagan nations?

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 What themes are found in the way that God had related to Israel in the past? How
did this relate to their judgement? (v9-12)

 Fill out the table to highlight how Amos used imagery to describe Israel’s coming
judgement. (v13-16)
Image Portrayal and Meaning

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JUDGEMENT IS COMING AMOS 3:1-8
There is an overlap between the first part of the prophecy and the second part but
we will look into that further in the next study when we explore the rhetorical questions
found in 3:3-6. For now, concentrate on these two basic questions.
 Who was going to be judged? (3:1-2)

 Read Amos 1:2 and 3:8. How do these two verse work as book ends?

TODAY
 God declared that he would judge his own people if they did not repent. Should we
ever fear God’s wrath and judgement if we have been saved as Christians?

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ONLY A PIECE OF AN EAR – AMOS 3:1-15
INTRODUCTION
In the last study we saw how the lion roared in Amos 1:2 and 3:8, creating a set of
book ends that indicate the beginning and an ending of a particular section in Amos’
prophecy. And yet, the beginning of chapter 3 seems to introduce something new, as if the
next part of the prophecy had started before the previous section finished. Notice the way in
which the first verse of chapters 3, 4 and 5 all start with “Hear this word”; another feature of
prophecy to indicate the beginning of a new section. So, it seems that there is an overlap
between where Amos ends one section of his prophecy and begins a new one. Therefore, this
study will begin at chapter 3:1.
THE OPENING STATEMENT AMOS 3:3-7
Read Amos 3:1-15. This section can be looked at as being like a case presented in
court. Amos is the prosecutor and is bringing the charges against Israel; God’s chosen people.
 Amos began his case with a series of rhetorical questions, how were they to be
answered and what is their conclusion?
Question Reasoning Answer
Q1. Two walking
together

Q2&3. The sound of
a lion in the thicket
and/or den

Q4&5. A trap

Q6. Warning
Trumpet in a city

Q7. Is disaster God’s
fault?

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