Amos 1 Bible Study
AMOS TIMELINE:
A commonly agreed date for the writing of the Book of Amos is between 760-750 B.C. The first verse of the book informs readers that Amos‘ book opens during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel, two years before the earthquake. The earthquake must have been a significant one because it was also mentioned by the prophet Zechariah in his writing (Zec 14:5) around 250 years later.
MAP (TAKOA):
LIST OF THE PROPHETS:
Joel - Unknown
Amos - 760–750 BC
Hosea - 750–721 BC
Jonah - 750 BC
Isaiah - 740–680 BC
Micah - 701 BC
Zephaniah - 630–620 BC
Jeremiah - 627–580 BC
Nahum - 612 BC
Habakkuk - 610–600 BC
Ezekiel - 592–571 BC
Daniel – 606-539 BC
Obadiah - 587 BC
Haggai - 520 BC
Zechariah - 520 BC
Malachi - 430 BC
OUTLINE:
INTRODUCTION (1:1):
Verse 1 introduces us to God’s prophet, Amos.
It does not seem that Amos had any formal theological training before he was called as a prophet, he was a shepherd and a cultivator of figs (see 7:14-15).
He was from Takoa, a town 10 miles (16 km) south of Jerusalem. Though he was from the southern kingdom of Judah, God called him to prophesy primarily to the northern kingdom of Israel.
GOD ANNOUNCES JUDGEMENT ON THE NEIGHBORS OF ISRAEL (1:2-15):
Verse 2 launches the reader into Amos’ prophetic preaching.
He described God’s voice roaring from Jerusalem and announcing judgement on 7 nations that surrounded Israel, before ultimately announcing judgement on Israel itself.
The first nation condemned by God was Syria (Damascus), Israel’s neighbor to the north. They had committed merciless violence against the people of Gilead, and as punishment God was going to destroy their cities and unseat their leaders.
The second nation condemned was the Philistines (Gaza). Their sin was that they had participated in sending an entire nation into exile. Their fate would be similar to that of Damascus.
The third nation/city condemned was Tyre. They angered God when they “delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. God was going to send fire against the walls of Tyre and burn up their fortifications.
The fourth nation condemned by God was the nation of Edom. They were relatives of the people of Judah and Israel, but they hated them. They had mistreated them by violence and by the sword. Their punishment would match Tyre’s.
The fifth nation, and the final nation condemned by God in this chapter, was the Ammonites. They had committed unnecessary violence to expand the borders of their nation. God was displeased with them and Amos prophesied their downfall.
APPLICATION:
I really like the way Amos introduces himself in his book. His self-introduction is very humble. He isn’t trying to posture himself as some great religious teacher or to give himself authority through a list of credentials.
The authority he claimed to have didn’t come from himself; it was only based in the things that God showed him.
This is a good pattern for us to follow today.
Christians shouldn’t be trying to gain legitimacy in the eyes of others by posturing themselves as experts and flexing their credentials.
A Christian’s legitimacy should only be based on the good fruit they bear and their ability to handle the words of God correctly.
What I’ve found to be generally true is that true fruit-bearing Christ-like disciples often take little time introducing themselves, while those who bear little fruit often spend significant amounts of time reciting their rehearsed resume to make others believe the fruit they’re bearing is more significant than it actually is.
When you are assessing a person’s character, a humble introduction like Amos’ often says much more than what is verbally expressed.
