Who is Amos in the Bible?
Amos stands out among the prophets because he came from nowhere near the religious establishment — a working man from the fields of Judah, sent north to preach in a kingdom that was not even his own. His book asks what God does with a people who enjoy prosperity and religion while justice collapses around them.
A Herdsman from Tekoa
Amos was a countryman, and everything about his book smells of the open air. One writer sketches both his home and the errand God gave him:
Walter ScottAmos (bearer). This prophet was a Jew living in Tekoa, a small town six miles south-east of Bethlehem, and he followed the very humble occupation of a herdsman and gatherer of sycamore fruit (Amos 7). From there he was called to speak "the word of the Lord" in Israel, especially in Bethel, the southern seat of idolatry in the kingdom of the ten tribes (1 Kings 13). The charming simplicity of the prophet's account of himself and of his country life, his striking images and comparisons drawn from nature and the animal world, which he knew so well, are beautiful and very striking.
His dates are fixed by his own opening line. Commentators place his work in the overlapping reigns of two kings, one in the south and one in the north:
Arend RemmersAmos served, by his own statement, during the time of king Uzziah of Judah (791–740 BC) and king Jeroboam II of Israel (793–753 BC). The times when these two kings ruled alone overlapped from 767 to 753 BC, so Amos' ministry mainly falls within this period.
Called Without Credentials
When challenged, Amos refused to claim any training or pedigree. His answer became one of the clearest pictures in Scripture of a calling that rests on God alone:
H. L. RossierAmos was not dependent on a school of prophets, but directly on God, nor was he from the priestly family... The Holy Spirit had chosen Amos from among the shepherds of Tekoa (Amos 1:1), from among the sheep, just as He had earlier chosen David, His anointed. The Lord had said to him, "Go," and he had gone. In Amos we have an example of the ministry that is attached directly to that of Christ.
A Comfortable Nation, a Rotten Foundation
The northern kingdom was doing well financially and felt safe. Amos arrived to say that God had noticed what their success was built on:
Arend RemmersThe kings and people of the northern kingdom had turned their backs on the LORD and so could no longer claim His promises. Yet they thought no evil could come upon them, since they were the people of God. In their hearts they were far from the LORD. Selfishness, showing off, immorality and the crushing of the poor were the order of the day. Justice had become worthless. Into this situation Amos comes with the warning of God's judgment.
Privilege Increases Accountability
Amos begins with the surrounding nations, then turns on Israel itself. The reason he gives is the exact opposite of what his hearers expected — their closeness to God was the ground of their punishment, not their protection:
William KellyBecause they were separated to the knowledge of the LORD, they alone being known as His people, "therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." The measure of relationship is always the measure of responsibility. The nearer one is brought, the stronger the grounds, and the higher the standard, on which one must meet God's claims in obedience.
Silenced by the Religious Authorities
The priest at Bethel tried to get rid of him, first by reporting him to the king and then by telling him to go home and earn his bread elsewhere:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAmaziah, the apostate priest at Bethel, who was in charge of the idol worship, accused the prophet falsely before King Jeroboam. It was a religious-political accusation. The enemy accused Jeremiah in the same way (Jeremiah 37:14-15); he did the same with our Lord and His apostles.
The Famine Nobody Wanted
One of his best-known warnings turns their rejection of God's word into their punishment. What they refused, they would one day search for and not find:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinA great famine is announced. It is not to be a famine for bread, or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. His Word and the light of His revelation are to be completely withdrawn from them... They will wander here and there from sea to sea, from the north to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it.
The Last Word Is Restoration
Amos does not end in ruin. His closing promise was picked up centuries later at the meeting in Jerusalem where the apostles decided how Gentile believers should be received:
Arno Clemens Gaebelein"In that day I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old." This prophecy is quoted by James in Acts 15:15-16... We learn from the passage in Acts that during this age the Gentiles are visited to gather out from among them a people for His Name.
Summary
- Called — A herdsman from Tekoa in Judah, with no prophetic school and no priestly family behind him; God simply took him from the flock and said, "Go."
- Sent — To Bethel, the idol centre of the northern kingdom, under Uzziah and Jeroboam II, to a nation that was rich, religious, and crushing the poor.
- Charged — Being God's own people was the reason for judgment, not the escape from it: nearness to God raises the standard of accountability.
- Resisted — The priest Amaziah answered the message with a political accusation and an order to leave, a pattern later repeated against Jeremiah and against Christ.
- Restored — After the warning of a famine of God's word, Amos closes with the fallen tent of David rebuilt, the promise James used to show that God is now gathering a people from the nations.