Amos

Amos

Finding the Context:

Amos who was a shepherd wrote the book of Amos. He was also a care giver of sycamore-fig trees. He was from Judah and had no formal training (1:1; 7:14). He was a simple man who God called to deliver a message to Judah and Israel. However it appears that it was more specifically intended for Israel (3:1; 4:1; 5:1; 6:1; 7:10-13).  The book of Amos was written to give a cry out to stop injustice. Injustice is one of the biggest themes found in the book of Amos (1:3,9,11, 13-15; 2:6,7; 5:10-12; 8:4-6;). God is stating specific injustices that various groups of people have committed that He is now planning to punish. There is also a theme of the nations found in this book. Several nations are mentioned including people of Damascus (1:3), people of Gaza (1:6), people of Tyre (1:9), people of Edom (1:11), people of Ammon (1:13), people of Moab (2:1), people of Judah (2:4) and  the people of Israel (2:6). God is interested in working in all the nations, not just Israel and Judah. You also see God asking Israel if they are more important than the Ethiopians (9:7). He goes on to explain how He not only delivered Israel but He has also delivered others. You also see a recurrence of visions in this book. Amos is given several visions that he is to convey to others (7-9).

Theme Tracing:

      What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

Amos reveals that God is a Communicator. In 3:7 it says that God never does anything until He reveals his plans to His servants the prophets. God is an amazing communicator and the fact that He would only act AFTER He has conveyed to His prophets what He is about to do is amazing.

You also see God’s intimacy and His desire to love and be loved in 3:1-8. He states that the reason He has to punish Israel and Judah is because he has chosen them, out of all the families on earth as the ones He desires to be intimate with. God is not judging and bringing punishment out of a desire to hurt, but rather because He longs for intimacy with His chosen people. He loves to love and be loved in return.

        What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

You see part of God’s redemptive plan at the closing of the book in His promise to bring His exiled people back from the distant lands that He has sent them into. He says that they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. He promises to firmly plant them in their own land and promises that they will never be uprooted from their land again (9:14,15). You see God remaining faithful to His promise to Abraham even hundreds of years later. Even though Israel has sinned, God promises to restore the land that belongs to them in order that He might use them to bless the rest of the world as He has intended to from the beginning.