It seemed like the best of times. The King of Israel, the
son of a King, had been ruling for approximately twenty years. He had
expanded the borders of Israel with successful military strategies. He
would rule for another twenty one years.
The people, those who were recognized as the leaders of the cities and the
towns, were living in the luxuries of an uncommon wealth. They dressed in
exquisite apparel with elegant jewelry displaying their prosperity. They
had plenty to eat and their wine chambers were full. It seemed that the
living of life could not be any better.
With new places of worship established at Bethel, Gilgal, and Dan, the
people continually participated in the activities of the houses of God.
Binging their sacrifices every morning and their tithes at the appropriate
times, they kept alive the traditions of their times. They were a deeply
religious people paying homage to their God.
The king delighted in the glories of his kingdom. Things seemed to be
going extremely well. Then, one of his priest sought counsel with him for
there was a new prophet in the land. Alarmingly, this prophet was speaking
a different message.
The priest knew, as did the king, that all matter of prophets roamed the
land, a prophet would come and then he would go. Most of them would speak
to the glory of Israel and to the benevolence of the king. They would
become popular with the people for they would promise the material
blessings of a rich, full life.
This prophet came not from one of the many schools of the prophets. He had
no lineage of prophets in his ancestry. He was not even from Israel. He
was a lowly herdsman of sheep and a tender of sycamore trees in Judah.
What he did have was a consuming fire deep within his breast that
compelled him to prophesy. Arrested by God on the slopes of Judea, among the
sheep of his flock, he could do no other than to go. The call of God
burned within his bosom for he had been told, "Go, prophesy to my
people Israel." He had a burden to bear (the meaning of the name
Amos).
Armed with the truths of five visions he had received from God, Amos went
forth into Israel. He carried the message of the first vision that
grasshoppers or the locust would consume the grass or the crops of the
king. Famine was coming to the land.
The second vision was of God contending with Israel by fire. It would
destroy the "deep." Whether it was a great drought scorching the
earth, a raging fever consuming the people, lightening striking from
heaven to burn the land, or the actual burning of their cities by invading
armies, the destruction would not be light. It would be deeply
devastating.
The third vision of the builder’s plumb line revealed that Israel had
been put to the test. Although the Lord had relented from his destruction
of the locust and the fire, Israel should have returned to God. But, they
did not. Now, God’s plumb line was being held up against Israel and they
were found lacking. God’s judgment would now be completed.
The fourth vision of the basket of summer fruit portrayed Israel as being
gathered and ready to be eaten. They would not last until the autumn.
Destruction was now certain because Israel, as gathered fruit, had been
removed from the source of life. God would not pass by their rejection of
Him any longer. The end had come upon Israel.
The fifth vision of Amos seeing the Lord standing upon the altar is
perhaps the most frightening to the people of God. The vision speaks to
the destruction of the place where man meets God, the altar of God. With
the Altar of God rejected, the people of the covenant now lived as if they
were not the people of the covenant.
Although God had told Israel’s father, Abraham, that He would be their
God and Abraham’s children would be His people, they gave up the
promises of the covenant simply because they did not want God to be their
God. As Jeroboam, they set up their own houses of God, their own altars,
and their own form of worship to protect their kingdom, to protect the
right to control their own lives. They put themselves upon the throne of
the temple of God and showed to themselves that they were God.
With the visions of God burning within his breast, he could do nothing
else but come to Israel and proclaim the destruction of Israel unless they
repented of their wickedness. He was a man with a mission, a man with a
message, and a man with a motive. He came to Israel bringing the hope of
salvation for a doom people. The only problem was Israel did not want to
be saved.
Amos was scorned and rejected. He was a messenger that no one wanted to
here his message. Bearing the burden to save the country he loved, he
became a man without a country. He became a man with no place to call home
in this earthly world. He was a prophet of God.
"Can two walk together, except they agree?" was Amos’ cry to
the people of God. The theme of the book is Israel’s failure to walk
with God, the keeping of the covenant that He had entered into with them
many years prior to their existence. After a brief introduction of Amos as
the prophet of God, the book can be divided into three parts: judgment
against the neighboring nations of Israel; three messages of judgment
against Israel; visions of God’s judgment, and the promise of Israel’s
restoration. God always brings salvation out of judgment.
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