The Messenger:

The prophet Amos came from the small town of Tekoa, a few kilometers southeast of Bethlehem. He raised cattle and farmed there (1:1, 7:14). His profession is always clearly evident in his speeches. His inconspicuous livelihood must have been an offense to the flashy, exploitative, and unjust class of people that the prophet sharply denounced. Amos worked in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah (791-740 BC), and Jeroboam II, King of Israel (793-753 BC). He began his ministry two years before a severe earthquake, to which he alluded several times (1:1; 5:9; 6:11; 8:8; 9:5). His clearly structured prophecy is written in expressive, vivid, and easily understandable language.

The Message:

In the first two chapters, judgment is announced: first on the three neighboring peoples of Syria, Philistaea, and Tyre. Then on the three tribally related neighboring peoples of Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and finally on Judah and Israel itself. Chapters 3 – 6 contain four addresses to the people. The first three begin with the words “Hear this word” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1) and the last with a “Woe” (6:1). Chapters 7 – 9:10 focus on five visions of judgment: the vision of the locusts (7:1-3), of the rain of fire (7:4-6), of the plumb line (7:7-9), of the ripe fruit (8:1-3) and the LORD standing at the altar (9:1-4). In the last verses of this book (9:11-15), the prophet describes the restoration of Israel and the blessings of the kingdom of peace.

Glimpses from the Prophecy of Amos – A Wake-up Call Against Arrogance and for Determination.

“’I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?’ says the Lord. ‘But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’” (Amos 2:11, 12)

Amos begins his message with threats of judgment against the neighboring peoples who had transgressed against God’s people. The listeners or readers of the time were happy to hear this. The measure of the sins of these nations was full, and the prophet explained what their particular guilt consisted of. He lists one neighboring nation after the other, whereby the offense denounced seems to become ever greater: the Syrians had oppressed the inhabitants of Gilead (1:3), the Philistines had handed over large numbers of Israelite captives to Edom (1:6), while the Tyrians added a breach of covenant to the same sin (1:9). The Edomites cruelly persecuted the Israelites with the sword (1:11), the children of Ammon even slashed pregnant women for selfish motives (1:13), and the Moabites dared to publicly burn the bones of a king to lime (2:1). But this is not the height of guilt. It is the people of God themselves! The prophet accuses Judah (the two tribes) of not having observed the law of God (2:4). And Israel (the ten tribes) – to whom he was mainly speaking – he accuses of a sevenfold failure and announces a sevenfold judgment (2:6-12).

Why do the sins of God’s people weigh so heavily? Because they have a special responsibility. And this is conditioned by their privileges: Only Israel was the chosen people that God brought out of Egypt and into the Promised Land (v. 10, 11).

However, God worked not only for the people but also for the people: He raised Nazirites and prophets in their midst. Prophets spoke from God to the people. Nazirites separated themselves from the people for God. God also used the Nazirites in their consecration as special instruments for the benefit of the people. Think of the Nazirites Samson and Samuel, who became important forces in the battle against the Philistines. Nazirites had to observe certain regulations, which we find in Exodus 6. During the time of their consecration, they were

• not drink strong drinks or partake of the vine (v. 3, 4),
• not to cut their hair (v.5) and
• touch a dead body (v.6).

This life of devotion was a thorn in the side of Amos’ pleasure-loving contemporaries. They, who were very fond of alcohol (cf. ch. 4:1; 6:6), felt accused by the consecration of the Nazirites. They, therefore, tried to destroy it by giving the Nazirites wine to drink. It is not difficult to draw a parallel to the present day. Christians who renounce “earthly pleasures” – which is what the wine refers to – for the sake of the Lord are not necessarily welcome in our experience-oriented times (cf. 2 Tim. 3:4). Have we perhaps also felt disturbed by “Nazirites” in our often tranquil discipleship? And do we then try to dissuade them from their determination so that we can shake off the calls of conscience for more devotion? We would be making the same sad mistake as the Israelites. It would be much better to be spurred on by “Nazirites” to put our priorities and habits to the test.

At that time, people wanted neither the silent accusation of the Nazirites’ lives nor the loud accusation of the prophets’ words. So the prophets were simply forbidden to speak (cf. chap. 7:10-15).

If someone convicts us today through the word, seriously rebukes and admonishes us – are we prepared to put up with it (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2, 3)? Or do we reject those who draw our attention to certain undesirable developments? In doing so, we would ultimately close our ears to the voice of the Lord and make ourselves useless and unhappy.

We have thus briefly examined two verses from the prophet Amos in context – and hope that it will be an incentive for some to explore the other 144 verses of this wake-up call …