Introduction: This week we begin a new study which turns our
attention to the Old Testament book of Amos. Amos is known
as one of the “minor” prophets of the Old Testament. His
book is only nine chapters long.
If this makes you think Amos is unimportant, consider that
the decision to study this book at this time was made long
ago. Yet, as I read through Amos this week, I was struck by
the “hard” lessons it contains for us today. Amos 9:1 is
eerily familiar. It says, “Strike the tops of the Temple
columns so hard that the foundation will shake. Smash the
columns so the roof will crash down on the people below….
No one will escape!” (NLT) Are recent events a call to us in
America to repent? We will see. Right now, let’s dive into
our introduction to this important little book!
- Amos the Shepherd
- Let’s read Amos 1:1 and 7:14-15. What kind of a job
did Amos have? (He was a shepherd and a fruit
picker/tree tender.) - Was he the “head” shepherd? (No. Amos 1:1
tells us he was just one of the shepherds in
this one town.) - What kind of status did a shepherd have? How
about fruit pickers? Were these the leaders of
a country? Were these the intellectuals of the
day? Thought leaders? ( Genesis 46:33-34
indicates that Egyptians detested shepherds.) - Do you think Amos thought it was odd that he
was called to speak for God? (Let’s read the
context for Amos 7:14. Read Amos 7:13-15. When
Amos is told by the priest of Bethel to go
somewhere else, Amos essentially says, “Look,
this wasn’t my idea. I’m not a prophet or even
the son of a prophet. But God told me to do
this.”) - How do you react when someone with less education
and less “sophistication” than you tells you what
to do? - We don’t have any farmers or fruit pickers in
our local church. What if a fruit picker
wandered into your church and then started
telling you how to run it? How would you
react? - Tekoa, Amos’ home, was located in Judah (the
Southern kingdom). The text we just read from
Amos chapter 7 has him giving warnings for the
king of the Northern kingdom. What if a
stranger came to your church and told you that
you needed to change things all around? Let’s
say a layman from your pastor’s or priest’s
old church or parish showed up one day and
started making changes in your church. How
would you react? (That actually happened in my
church. The “old friends” decided to re-arrange the platform of the church. They
decided that we needed “racially diverse”
pictures in the church lobby (we had no
pictures at all)- even though the “old
friends” come from a place where there is no
racial diversity at all. The general reaction
to this “help” was “What do they know about
our aesthetics and our approach to harmony?”) - Amos the Messenger
- Why do you think God picked Amos to give His
message? (He might not have had an extensive formal
education, but he was gifted. R.K. Harrison notes
that Amos was not an ignorant peasant. His style of
writing “exhibited poetic gifts, and his oracles
are models of articulate speech….” (Elwell,
Evangelical Commentary, p. 625) God gave Amos His
message because he was willing and he was able –
even though he did not have high “status” here.) - Let’s go back to Amos 1:1 again. What do you
understand Amos to mean when he writes “the words
of Amos” and then says that “he saw” things
concerning Israel? (He is telling the people he has
a message from God.) - Read Amos 1:2. What would be your reaction if
someone said they had a prophetic message in which
God “roared” and “thundered?” Would this be a
message you should put off? One you could ignore? - Amos says the pastures of the shepherds dry up
and the top of Carmel withers. What does this
mean for the people? What is in store for
them? (A drought – tough times.) - What level of importance would you attach to
this message? (God comes roaring in with
disaster in mind. I’d being paying close
attention.) - Conditions in Israel
- Let’s look at some texts that give us a view of
conditions at the time of Amos’ prophecy. Read Amos
3:10. What is wrong here? - Is being rich the problem? (The problem is
getting the wealth unjustly.) - Our text says that God’s people “do not know
how to do right.” Did they once know? How did
they get to this point? (Sin is a gradual
progression. You keep walking away from God
until finally your sense of what is right is
so corrupted you do not know how to do right.
These people were far from God.) - Our text says that they get their wealth
unjustly in “their fortresses.” What does that
add to our picture of the times? (This seems
to say it was “official policy.” The “thought
leaders” of the day were doing it.) - Let’s add Amos 3:9 to verse 10 to get a better
insight. Are Ashdod and Egypt historically
nations which were under God’s special care?
(No! These are the “enemy” of Israel and
Judah.) - What is God telling Israel’s enemies to
do? (He is telling them to come over and
observe the sin and then watch what is
going to happen.) - What is going to happen? (Read Amos
3:11. It says that God is going to
punish His people.) - Why would God want their enemies to
watch? (This is something we do not
always realize. God uses His people
as an object lesson to the world. His
dealings with us are in part a
witness to the world.) - Read Amos 5:10-11. Who “reproves in court?”
(Generally, it is the judge who does that.) - What sins do we see described here? (The
people hate honest judges and honest
witnesses. We see a picture of a people who
are working to corrupt the judicial system.) - Read Amos 5:12. Are they successful in
corrupting the judicial system? (Yes.) - What is the problem with giving and taking
bribes? Who gets hurt in such a situation?
(The decision of the judge is not made
based on what is just, as opposed to who
is richer.) - Read Amos 5:4-5. What other evil was done by God’s
people? (They were not worshiping Him. As we
continue our study of this book we will see that
this is a reference to cities where other gods were
worshiped.) - A God Who Gives Advance Warning
- Read Amos 3:3. Here is a famous text. What is your
answer? - Read Amos 3:4. What is your answer to these
questions? - Read Amos 3:5. What are your answers here?
- Read Amos 3:6. What answer do you have here?
- Why does God ask all of these questions? What
is God’s point? - Go back over each of these verses and tell
me what you think God’s “point” is on
each? (Verse 3: Unless the people and God
agree, they are not going to be walking
together. Verse 4: God is making all of
this “noise” because He has a real problem
with the people. He is not just talking.
Verse 5: The people have fallen into evil
by deciding to turn to evil things. Verse
6: God is in charge of events. Since God
is warning them of their evil ways,
shouldn’t they be paying attention?!) - Why doesn’t God just get “to the point”
instead of asking all of these questions? (By
linking His “point” to real life experiences,
God hopes to get them to understand the truth
of what He is telling them.) - Read Amos 3:7. Another famous text. Does this give
you comfort? Do you think this applies to our
current situation in the U.S.? (Whenever you have
the “intersection” of disobedience to God and
trouble, you should always ask yourself: “Is this
God’s judgment for our correction?” It may not be,
but you should always consider this question.) - Does this apply to God’s people everywhere?
(Yes! In every place God interacts with His
people and warns them when they turn from
Him.) - Friend, if recent events have gotten you attention,
continue to study with us as we try to understand
God’s lessons for today in Amos. - Next Week: Sins of the Neighbors
