Amos

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Amos

• Burden-bearer
• 11 216

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Outline

• The book divides easily into three sections
• 11 216 Oracles
• The sins and judgments against 8 nations
• 31 614 Sermons
• Concerning the sins and judgments against Israel
• 71 915 Visions
• Regarding the sins and judgments against Israel

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Introduction

• Amos was a simple shepherd who also gathered figs
• He was called to be a prophet around 760 750 BC
  in the reign of Jeroboam II
• Same king for whom Jonah prophesied 30 years
  earlier
• Jeroboams rule was considered a second golden
  age for Israel
• Much wealth, luxury, power, etc.
• A simple shepherd called to confront the
  materialism of his day

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Amos, the man

• Amos 11-2
• From Tekoa in Judah
• But sent to Israel (the enemy)
• A shepherd and fig-gatherer (Am 714)
• Not going to sympathize with the lazy,
  materialistic Israelites
• Character No nonsense, straight talking
• No weeping for Israel, they will get what they
  deserve
• Often compared to John the Baptist

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The Message

• A message of anger and condemnation
• The Lord roars from Zion
• He will denounce the wicked nations
• He will denounce the wicked in Israel
• Remember what we learned from Jonah
• Even if the message is negative, if the condemned
  nation repents, God can and will forgive

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 13-5 Damascus (Syria)
• SIN Threshed Gilead with sharp iron
• Means they had cruelly attacked Gad, East
  Manasseh, and Reuben
• God had used Syria to punish Israel, but Syria
  went beyond merely attacking and plundering
• Threshed like they beat every last bit they
  could get out of Israel
• JUDGMENT Destruction and captivity
• FULFILLED By Assyria (2 Kgs 165-9) 735 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 16-8 Gaza (Philistia)
• SIN Slave trafficking
• JUDGMENT Total devastation
• FULFILLED By Greece 332 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 19-10 Tyre (Phoenicia)
• SIN Slave trafficking covenant-breaking
• A reference to the covenant of brotherhood made
  by Solomon and Hiram (1 Kgs 512)
• JUDGMENT Destruction
• FULFILLED By Greece 332 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 111-12 Edom
• SIN Cruelty to brethren
• Same sin as Obadiah spoke of (Obad 110-12)
• JUDGMENT Destruction of Teman (capital) and
  Bozrah (large city)
• FULFILLED By Nabateans 300 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 113-15 Ammon
• SIN Murder of pregnant women in Gilead greed
• JUDGMENT Destruction of Rabbah (capital) and
  captivity
• FULFILLED By Babylonians ca 600-570 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 21-3 Moab
• SIN Burned bones of the king of Edom to lime
• Perhaps digging up bones to show contempt (2Kgs
  2316)
• Perhaps having killed the king, then burning the
  bones to prevent burial
• Perhaps offering the king as a living human
  sacrifice as Moabites did (2Kgs 326-27)
• JUDGMENT Destruction of Kerioth (capital)
• FULFILLED By Babylonians ca 600 570 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 24-5 Judah
• SIN Apostasy from the Law
• JUDGMENT Destruction of Jerusalem
• FULFILLED By Babylonians (2 Kgs 258-10) 587 BC

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Oracles against the nations

• Amos 26-16 Israel
• SINS a whole list . . .
• Social injustice (slavery, abuse of poor)
• Immorality (prostitution)
• Idolatry (foreign gods)
• Rebellion against God
• JUDGMENT Will be unable to fight or flee when
  destruction comes
• FULFILLED By Assyrians (2 Kgs 175-23) 722
  BC

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Lessons from the Oracles

• God holds all nations accountable
• Not just people who believed in Him
• Sometimes the punishment came quickly
• Sometimes the punishment came hundreds of years
  later
• But none escaped facing the judgment prophesied
• Jesus now holds all authority (Mt 2818 Rev 15)
• Nations are still accountable to God

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Lessons from the Oracles

• Apostasy and cruel murder are equal sins
• Both were condemned by God
• Both received the same punishment
• All sin is worthy of death (Rom 132, 623)
• Gods word is the standard by which all are
  judged
• Didnt matter if cruelty was the accepted
  practice of warfare
• God condemned it, and they had to meet His
  standards
• As do we (Jn 1248)

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Conclusion

• God is the righteous judge of all the world
• For the faithful, that can be a source of
  confidence
• 2 Cor 510-11
• For the wicked, it should be a source of fear
• Heb 1031
• Are you ready to face the judgment of God?

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