The text of the whole book
of Amos must be read carefully. For the purposes of study it is helpful to
rearrange the material according to topics, as the contents of the book are not
arranged either topically or chronologically. This also applied to other
prophetic books, which are collections of material freely arranged.
Amos 1: 1 gives the
information that he was a shepherd from Tekoa in Judah; 7: 14 adds that he also
tended a type of fruit tree and that he was not a 'professional' prophet. His
call to be a prophet of God is described briefly in 7: 15: 'But the LORD took
me from my work as a shepherd and ordered me to go and prophesy to his people
Israel.' His rural background is reflected in some of his utterances-2: 13;
3:4,5,12;5:19,24;6:13;8:1.
Chapter 1: 1 refers to the
kings of Israel and Judah, whose reigns overlapped. Jeroboam II of Israel
reigned from 786-746 B.C. and Uzziah reigned from 783-742 B.C. in Judah. The
prophetic ministry of Amos may be dated during the years 760-750 B.C.
Unfortunately, we do not know the date of the earthquake referred to which
would otherwise give us an exact date for the beginning of the ministry of
Amos.
Chapter 7: 10-17 tells us
that Amos was not sent by God to preach in his own country of Judah but to go
north into Israel. He preached in Bethel and aroused great anger because he
prophesied exile for the people of Israel. Amaziah, the priest of the temple at
Bethel, ordered Amos to leave Israel and go back to Judah, but Amos replied to
the priest with a prophecy of his death and the destruction of his family. The
implications of this passage are that the calling by God of a Judean shepherd
to go and be God's spokesman in Israel was an emergency measure, because there
were no true prophets to be found in Israel. The prophecies of Amos were a
horrible shock to the wealthy ruling class who lived in Bethel because they were
not used to hearing true prophecies. The worship offered at Bethel had become
so empty and meaningless (5:21) that no true prophet could be found there.
The sense of compulsion to
prophesy, which Amos experienced after his call by God, is described in 3: 3-8.
The climax of the passage comes in verse 8-'When a lion roars, who can avoid
being afraid? When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can avoid proclaiming his
message?' After his call, Amos knew that God was about to act in Israel and it
was the compelling duty of the prophet to proclaim this. Israel must understand
the significance of the events which lay just ahead in the future and through
which the righteousness of God and his judgement on Israel's sin would be
revealed. 'The Sovereign Lord never does anything without revealing his plan to
his prophets.'