Amos 1

The Man with a Difficult Message from God

Amos

Mark Kirkpatrick

About this book

When Amos lived

Amos came from Tekoa, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. He was a *shepherd and he looked after *fig trees. His home was in Judah. But God sent him away to Israel, which was north of Judah. (At that time, Judah was a different country from Israel.)

We know very little about the life of Amos. We know nothing about his family. And we do not know how long he lived. We do not know where he gave most of his messages. However, he gave one message (perhaps more) at Bethel. This was an important place in the north where people *worshipped. Amos lived when Jeroboam 2nd (782-753 *B.C.) was king of Israel and Uzziah (767-740 *B.C.) was king of Judah. Perhaps Amos gave most of his messages about 760 *B.C., but we cannot be certain about this.

During the time of Jeroboam 2nd the nation of Israel became rich. There were several reasons for this. In 805 *B.C., the *Assyrians beat the *Syrians in war. The *Syrians became weak and so they were not able to fight against Israel’s people. Also, the *Assyrians did not try to take authority over Israel’s people. Because of these things, Jeroboam took the chance to make his borders larger. The country became as big as it had been in the time of Solomon. Perhaps Amos 6:13 shows that the *Israelites became proud of their success in war. Because of this success, they could control the trade routes. The nation became rich by this. The people thought that they would always be wealthy.

What Amos taught

It is possible that Amos sometimes taught in Samaria. He mentions Samaria several times (3:9, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:14). But Amos certainly taught at Bethel. This was a place where people met together. They met to *worship and to *pray to God. Perhaps he saw many people from Samaria in Bethel. If this happened, he would not need to go to Samaria. Amos also mentions other nations. These nations are Damascus (5:27), Hamath (6:14), Calneh, Hamath and Gath (6:2), Crete (9:7), Kir (1:5; 9:7), Edom (9:12) and Egypt (2:10; 3:1; 3:9; 4:10; 8:8; 9:5, 7). God wants to involve himself with all nations. He rules and controls all nations and all people everywhere. No other god has this power.

Several ideas were important to Amos. One idea was that there is only one God. He is the God who rules the nations. Another idea was that God is the judge. The *Israelites were responsible for their actions. They must expect God to decide what to do about their *sins. But Amos says that there is hope. God gave two messages in pictures to Amos (7:1-6). Amos prayed against total judgement and God heard this prayer. God is the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt. He punishes nations but he also saves.

Israel’s people thought that *worship was important. But although they *worshipped God, they did not obey his *law. Because of this, their *worship did not bring anything good from God. Amos compared their behaviour with the behaviour of their *ancestors. Their *ancestors wandered for many years in the desert. This was why Amos spoke about the *sacrifices in the desert (5:25). Some people explain it like this. Amos meant that he wanted no *sacrifices. Instead of *sacrifices God wanted people to behave in a true way. But perhaps Amos actually wanted people to know what was important. *Sacrifices were good. But to behave in a true way was more important.

Amos used parts of songs as a way to say things. 4:13 and 5:8 are examples of this. The songs emphasised the message. Also, God gave Amos five pictures, which begin in chapter 7. The first four of these (7:1-3; 7:4-6; 7:7-9 and 8:1-3) are similar. Amos puts these four pictures together in the same way. The fifth picture (9:1-6) is different. It is less of a picture than the other pictures. It is like Psalms 139:7-12. There will be no escape for the people in Israel. It is a picture of extreme situations.

Amos and the *Covenant

The message of Amos was not new. His messages were the words of God. They were not the words of Amos himself. When the *Israelites were in the desert, God made a *covenant with them. He promised to be their God and to take care of them. But they had to obey his *law. God wanted to be sure that the people in Israel remembered this *covenant. Amos wanted to tell the people that they were not obeying God’s *law. (They were not looking after the poor people, they were not remembering the *Sabbath, and other things.) God was going to punish Israel’s people for these crimes. But he would not destroy them completely. Amos’s job was to remind people about what they already knew.

There is not very much hope in the book of Amos. God is angry with Israel’s people and he is going to punish them. He will use war, *exile, and terrible things to do this. But at the end of the book Amos gives a message of hope.

The big *sin of Israel’s people was that they *worshipped *idols. The *worship of *idols was against God’s *covenant. This happened everywhere in Israel. Amos mentions *idols in 5:26 and 8:14. Bethel and Dan were important places where there was *idol *worship. The people *worshipped animals made from gold there. There was also false *worship at Gilgal and Beersheba. Much of this *worship became another religion. And Amos is clear that this was wrong (3:14; 4:4-5; 5:4-5). But there was also another kind of *worship. This was like the true *worship of God (5:21-28; 8:3). But the people did not follow the rules that God had given them. They used this *worship to gain an advantage over other people. They also thought that their behaviour did not matter very much.

Amos does not say bad things about *priests or other *prophets. Hosea does say bad things about them (Hosea 4:4-9; Hosea 5:1-3). So, in one way, there is more hope in Amos.

Amos and money

God cared about the poor people. God also had many things to say about the rich people. The rich people had too much. God did not like that. We can see these ideas in much of Amos’s book. He also speaks about that fact that people sold other people as slaves (2:6). Some people became rich in this way. In Samaria, many people used money to get an advantage over other people. They wanted to make sure that other people stayed poor (3:9, 10). Some farmers had big debts. So the leaders took their property away. They gave it to the people who lent the farmers money (2:6, 8; 5:12). This was against the *law of Moses. Often the *laws in Israel did not protect the poor people. So the nation deserved the punishment of God.

Chapter 1

v1 This is the message of Amos, who came from Tekoa town. He looked after sheep. Two years before the *earthquake, God showed him things about Israel. This was during the time that Uzziah was king of Judah. It was also when Jeroboam son of Joash was king of Israel.

v2 Amos said,

‘The *Lord roars from *Zion.

He shouts loudly from Jerusalem.

The people who look after sheep have green fields now.

But these fields will become brown and the grass will die.

Even Mount Carmel will become dry.

Verses 1- 2 Amos is probably a short name for Amasiah. We can see the name in 2 Chronicles 17:16. The book of Amos gives us some information about Amos. This is much more information than other *prophets give about themselves. Jeremiah (1:1) also tells us about his home and his work. Amos probably had several jobs. We know that he looked after sheep. But probably he bought and sold farm animals too. Perhaps the *earthquake happened about 760 *B.C. An *earthquake is when the ground moves a lot and buildings fall down. This means that it is quite easy to tell when Amos wrote.

Amos 1:2 is a series of messages that are against the nations. First, he gives judgements against these nations. He writes about the terrible things that they have done. Then he says something to his own people who live in Israel and Judah. God will bring his judgement on them too. Verse 2 gives the main idea of the book of Amos. God is like a lion. He announces, by Amos, that he wants to cause death to his enemies. It is like the sound when there is lightning in the sky. But there will be no rain and all the plants will die.

God’s judgement on Israel’s neighbours

Punishment for Aram’s people

v3 This is what the *Lord says: ‘The people in Damascus have *sinned again and again.

I will certainly punish them for this.

I will punish them because they were very cruel to the people in Gilead.

They used sharp iron tools against them.

v4 So I will start a fire at the house of King Hazael.

And that fire will destroy the strong places of Ben Hadad.

v5 I will also break open the gates of Damascus.

I will kill the king who is in the valley of Aven.

I will remove the ruler of Beth-Eden.

The people in Aram will go into *exile to Kir.’

The *Lord God says these things.

Verse 3 Damascus was the capital of Aram. It was north and east of Israel. Damascus was Israel’s main enemy at this time. Aram was very cruel to the people in Gilead, and this was not necessary. Amos is referring to machines. People used these machines to separate grain. The *Arameans were cruel to Gilead’s people. It seems that the *Arameans used these iron machines to hurt them.

Verse 4 Hazael of Damascus took power in Aram by killing Ben-Hadad. 2 Kings 8:7-15 describes this. Later, when Hazael’s son became king, he used the name Ben-Hadad. However, God’s fire would destroy their palaces and strong places.

Verse 5 The gates of Damascus had a huge wooden bar, which kept them shut. God would destroy this bar and these gates, so that the enemy could come in. We are not sure about the position of the Aven valley. It might be a valley in Lebanon (Joshua 11:17). Beth-Eden was probably a city that was north and east of Damascus. Kir was the country that the people in Aram came from. The people in Aram would never achieve anything again.

Punishment for the *Philistines

v6 The *Lord says this: ‘I will certainly punish the people in Gaza for the many crimes that they have done.

I will do this because they made slaves of a whole nation. And they sent them to Edom.

v7 So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza.

This fire will burn down its strong places.

v8 I will kill the king of Ashdod and the ruler in Ashkelon.

I will punish the people in Ekron.

Then all the *Philistines who are still alive will die.’

The *Lord God said those things.

Verse 6 Gaza was a *Philistine city. It guarded the way between Egypt and Israel. The *Philistines’ crime was that they forced many people to leave their villages. They then sold them as slaves to Edom. The *Edomites then sold the slaves to other buyers. To sell slaves was legal (Exodus 21:2-11; Exodus 21:20-21; Exodus 21:26-27). But God hated the way that nations stole people.

Verse 7 Therefore God would punish Gaza. Gaza would not continue to be a city. This happened in 734 *B.C. when Tiglath-pileser from Assyria defeated them.

Verse 8 Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron were three more cities that were in the *Philistine group of cities. These places also would not continue to be cities. Sargon from Assyria defeated Ashdod in 711 *B.C. and Sennacherib, king of Assyria defeated Ashkelon and Ekron in 701 *B.C. Amos is really sure that God wants to bring judgement to these cities. The people in these cities wanted big profits from the slave trade. God hated this.

Punishment for Tyre’s people

v9 This is what the *Lord says: ‘I will certainly punish the people in Tyre for all their *sins.

I will do this because they made slaves of an entire nation. And they sent them to Edom.

They did not keep the agreement that they had with their brothers (the people in Israel).

v10 So I will start a fire at the walls of Tyre.

That fire will burn the strong places (in Tyre).

Verse 9 The people who lived in Tyre were famous for commerce. But they had very little honour. In this way, they were like the *Philistines. The people in Tyre did not care if they did not keep an agreement. They also did not care how they made a profit. The ‘agreement’ may refer to agreements between the king of Israel and the king of Tyre. These were in the time of David. They were also in the time of Solomon (1 Kings 5:1; 1 Kings 5:12; 1 Kings 9:13) and Ahab (1 Kings 16:30-31).

Verse 10 Tyre was an island. It was a very difficult place to take in war. The people in Tyre were proud of their security. But Nebuchadnezzar defeated Tyre’s people in a long battle (585-573 *B.C.) So Tyre, too, came to an end.

Punishment for Edom’s people

v11 This is what the *Lord says: ‘I will certainly punish the people in Edom for the many *sins that they have done.

I will do this because Edom was like a man who chased his brother (Israel) with a sword. Edom’s people showed no *mercy.

They were very angry for a long time.

They did not stop being angry.

v12 So I will start a fire at Teman.

This fire will burn the strong places in Bozrah.’

Verse 11 Amos was angry with Edom’s people as well. Edom had been an enemy of Israel for a long time (Numbers 20:14-21). In Moses’ time the people in Edom did not want the *Israelites to go through their land. Both Saul and David won battles against Edom (1 Samuel 14: 47; 2 Samuel 8:12-14). But Hadad from Edom continued to fight against Solomon (1 Kings 11:14-25). Later, in the time of Jeroboam (853 *B.C.), Edom was often the enemy of Judah. The *Edomites came from Esau, who was a brother to Israel (Jacob). And so, the *Edomites and the *Israelites were members of the same family. But Edom did not care about this fact.

Verse 12 Teman and Bozrah were important cities in Edom. When their enemies destroyed them, they would have no more power.

Punishment for Ammon’s people

v13 This is what the *Lord says: ‘I will certainly punish the people in Ammon for all their *sins.

I will do this because they tore open the bodies of the *pregnant women in Gilead. They did this because they wanted to take land from Gilead. They wanted to make their country larger.

v14 So I will start a fire at the walls of Rabbah.

This will burn down the strong places in Rabbah.

Then there will be shouts on the day of battle.

These shouts will come like a very strong wind on a stormy day.

v15 Rabbah’s king and his leaders will go into *exile. They will go together.’

The *Lord says these things.

Verse 13 Ammon was east of the Jordan river. It was between Moab in the south and Gilead in the north. Ammon’s people, too, wanted to make their country larger (Judges 11:4-5; 1 Samuel 11:1-11). We do not know all the details of Ammon’s terrible behaviour. But we do know that soldiers did not care much then about poor people. In wars, they often behaved very badly towards them.

Verse 14 Rabbah was the capital of Ammon. In the *New Testament, it is called Philadelphia. Today it is called Amman and it is the capital of Jordan. God himself will make sure that Rabbah will fall. Perhaps he himself will start the fires. He will come quickly, like a strong wind.

Verse 15 As a result, the leaders will go into *exile. But Amos does not tell us where they will go. Jeremiah also says later that the people in Rabbah will be very sad, and they will cry out (Jeremiah 49:3).

shepherd ~ a person who looks after sheep.
fig ~ a type of fruit.
worship ~ a way to act when we are with God.
Assyrians ~ people who came from a country called Assyria.
Syrians ~ people who came from a country called Syria.
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
pray ~ to talk to God.'sin, sinful ~ when people do bad things against God or other people.
law ~ the rules that God or rulers make.
ancestors ~ member of our families who lived many years ago. They are now dead.
sacrifice ~ to give a gift to God of an animal or food. Usually people burnt all or part of this gift. This may be a way to thank God, or to ask him to forgive us.
sacrifice ~ to give a gift to God of an animal or food. Usually people burnt all or part of this gift. This may be a way to thank God, or to ask him to forgive us.
covenant ~ special agreement, especially between God and the Israelites. The covenant that God made with Moses was that he would take care of the Israelites. But they must obey his law.
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
law ~ the rules that God or rulers make.
covenant ~ special agreement, especially between God and the Israelites. The covenant that God made with Moses was that he would take care of the Israelites. But they must obey his law.
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
law ~ the rules that God or rulers make.
Sabbath ~ the seventh day of the week. On this day the Jewish people were not allowed to work.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
exile ~ the time when the Israelites had to leave the land of Israel. (They went into exile.)
Israelites ~ people living in Israel, sons of Jacob.
idol ~ a false God; something that we love more than God.
priest ~ a man who gave gifts and burned animals as a sacrifice to God for the Jews.
sacrifice ~ to give a gift to God of an animal or food. Usually people burnt all or part of this gift. This may be a way to thank God, or to ask him to forgive us.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
prophet ~ a man or woman who was able to speak God’s words to the people.
earthquake ~ the ground moves a lot and buildings fall down.
Lord ~ a special name for God. God told the Jews that this was his name. Some Bibles use ‘LORD’ for this special name. There is another word ‘lord’ which means someone with authority. This is why I have translated as ‘the Lord the ruler’ the title that really is ‘lord LORD’.)
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Zion ~ the holy mountain in Jerusalem; another name for Jerusalem.
Arameans ~ people who came from a country called Aram.
Philistines ~ people who came from a country called Philistia.
Edomites ~ people who came from a country called Edom.
mercy ~ giving help to someone who is in difficulty; when God does not punish a person who deserves punishment. God’s love and goodness.
pregnant ~ a woman is pregnant when she has a baby inside her.'New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after Christ’s birth.