Amos 2 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:
GOD’S ANNOUNCEMENTS OF JUDGMENT CONTINUE (2:1-5):
Chapter 2 continues where chapter 1 left off, with God’s condemnations against Israel’s neighboring nations. Chapter 1 addressed Syria, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and the Ammonites.
The sixth nation condemned by God was the nation of Moab. The sin that God held against the Moabites was that they “burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.” The exact act that this refers to is unknown. As punishment, God would send fire against Moab, He would unseat their ruler, and kill their princes.
The seventh nation condemned by God was Judah, some of God’s own people. While Judah wasn’t as evil as Israel, they had rejected God’s instructions, refused to walk in His ways, and embraced the sins of their fathers. Like the foreign sinners, Judah would also be punished with a fire that would consume their fortifications.
GOD’S JUDGEMENT ON ISRAEL ANNOUNCED (2:6-16):
After rebuking all of Israel’s neighbors, God turned His fierce attention to the northern nation of Israel.
They had no lack of sins, and Amos lists some of them in the following verses.
Israel mistreated the righteous, the poor, and the afflicted. They trampled them down instead of helping them.
They were sexually perverse, with fathers and sons sometimes sharing the same woman.
They laid down by the altars of false gods on garments taken in pledge (God’s law forbid keeping garments taken “in pledge” overnight, Exo 22:25-27).
They worshipped idols even though it was God who had delivered them from all their historical troubles. It was God who saved them from slavery in Egypt, from the giant Amorite people who lived in Canaan, and it was God who won their salvation during the times of the judges and prophets when He raised up leaders and Nazarites to save them from the hand of foreign oppressors.
But in Amos’ day, God’s prophets and Nazirites were despised.
Because the people disrespected Him, God was going to press them down under the weight of His judgements. He would take away the strength of their strong men, the speed of their swift men, and bring them all to ruin.
APPLICATION:
A righteous man or woman will neither ignore the poor nor take advantage of them.
Burying your head in the sand when the poor need help isn’t acceptable to God.
Making money off the poor or taking advantage of their difficulty isn’t an acceptable way to enrich oneself.
So, if you can’t ignore them and you can’t use them for personal gain, that leaves you with only one option… You need to help them.
Think about your life, your acquaintances, and your circumstances. Are there people that need help that you’ve been ignoring? Are you making money off anyone in an ungodly way? Do you treat the poor like Israel did? Or are you an advocate for those in need?
