He was only a humble shepherd, but God gave Amos a profound vision of the future, and told him to take His message to Israel, the northern kingdom. Amos obeyed. He was a man of God. I think this teaching and the study of this book will take a few posts. And as we read and meditate on this book, we really need to listen; perhaps even put ourselves in the shoes of the Israelites who initially heard these words from God. Perhaps we need to silently ask ourselves… Have we grown self-satisfied and smug? Have other concerns taken God’s place in our lives? Do we ignore those in need or oppress the poor? Amos was bold and brutally truthful in denouncing sin. He wasn’t intimidated by priests or kings. Sad but true… many of the conditions in Israel during Amos’s time are evident in today’s society.This book opens as God is giving a message to Amos. First let me set the stage and give you a little background on the condition of Israel at this time: They were politically at the height of their power, and enjoyed peace and economic prosperity. Idolatry and hypocritical religious notions replaced true worship. They were morally and spiritually bankrupt! They had become a selfish, materialistic society, who ignored the needs of others and were totally indifferent to God.
The message God gave was an announcement of judgment – First condemning all of the nations who had sinned against Him and His people, and then – pronouncing judgment on the nation of Israel itself! So can you imagine being one of the Israelites hearing Amos’ rendition of God’s message? How they must have enjoyed hearing words of God’s denunciation on Aram, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. I can almost hear the Israelites shouting, “Amen!!” How the tables must have been turned when Amos suddenly turned to the people of Israel and pronounced God’s judgment on them! Unlike the pagan nations who were condemned for what they had done to other peoples, Israel’s sins were committed against fellow Israelites. They had taken men into slavery for nonpayment of debt and foreclosed on mortgages of petty amounts. And they had done all this in spite of God’s efforts to teach them righteous ways.
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They have rejected the instruction of the Lord, refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors.
So I will send fire on Judah, and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”
This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals.
They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name.
At their religious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their God, they drink wine bought with unjust fines.” Amos 2: 4-8
Wow, these words should be taken as a warning to our society also. The Israelites were greedy and unjust, and they took advantage of the helpless. This reminds me of something my friend and I were talking about last night… she was telling me that some of the well-known Pharmaceutical companies grossed billions and billions of dollars in profit last year! That is enough to break your heart when you realize that all or most of that money is gained on the backs of helpless and hurting people:( Today is just an introduction to this book. We can get many insights here. More to come on Amos…
