Background
Who? – Amos was a shepherd, herdsman, and cultivator of sycamore figs. He traveled a great deal with these jobs and learned much of the rich and poor alike. Amos was not a “professional” prophet, but the Lord called him out from his shepherding and told him to prophesy to the people. He was not even a citizen of Israel, but of Judah and still took the Lord’s message to the people of Israel. This was all to show that it wasn’t Amos who was important, but the message of the Lord was important. We need to watch how quickly we attribute great things to great prophets, for if it were not for the grace of God they would have followed the world as well. There was not in Amos the sympathy, warm love, and feeling of the statesman or citizen, but a cold sense of justice and right. He was the stern prophet of justice and righteousness. Some last descriptions of Amos – rugged convictions and an iron will; sturdy moral fiber and fearlessness; a layman molded in the harsh terrain of the wilderness of Tekoa.
When? – 760-755 BC – It happened during the reigns of King Uzziah (792-740 BC) and King Jeroboam II (793-753 BC). It is more precisely dated two years after the earthquake, that is when he began his mission to Bethel.
What was going on? – Israel was at one of its peaks of prosperity and peace again, with the borders almost spread as far as the Davidic Kingdom. Israel and Judah had long warred against each other, but were now working together and even trading with each other. The people were rich – they had summer houses and winter houses; ate and drank their fill; Amos 6:1 characterized them by being “at ease in Zion”. The problems here were that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. There was great corruption in the legal system and the basic cause of all of this was the appearance of religion in all people, but the lack of spirituality. Amos rejected the idea that quantity, numbers, and external show was really religion. Religion flourished, but it was not the true religion that God had called His people too, it was based upon legalism, pride, and lack of spiritual devotion with an increase in ritual.
2 Comments:
One cool thing that I picked up was the importance of being a cultivator of sycamore figs. This is because it produced a fruit that was only eaten by the poor. It had to be cut and mashed before it was eaten and left those who prepared it with stained hands. . . Thus all those who saw Amos's hands would know that he was only a poor farmer. It is awesome to see the faith of Amos to apporach Kings and the nobles and not have any worries. I pray that I can have a bold faith like that.
That is really good. That also makes me think that we as people should be more like figs too. We need to be broken before God will use us very well and we should attempt to leave a mark on peoples' lives wherever we go.
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