61: AMOS…ONLY A HERDSMAN

Based on the Book of Amos (Am)…Read more there [1]

Amos, an animal herder is called by YHWH God to be a Prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam 2nd (783-743 BC). This is a time when that part of David’s & then Solomon’s once united kingdom is doing incredibly well, thank you very much! Well, the rich & powerful are, but not the poor, & not YHWH! [2] Amos’ message surely speaks of & to today’s society divided into haves & have-nots & without a ‘spiritual compass’. Motyer, quoted in the notes below, thinks what we have in the book that bears Amos’ name may in effect be his abbreviated ‘sermon notes’ & not a complete coverage of all he addresses to his hearers.

Ch.1 & the first part of Ch.2:1-3 are tirades against neighbouring countries & their treat-ment of the Hebrews. But from Ch.2:4 to the end of Ch.6 Amos turns a similarly blistering & unwelcome spot-light first, briefly, on the Southern Kingdom of Judea, then on the people of Israel for dallying with foreign ‘gods’. Israel also cops it for failing to care for the vulnerable (the ones Jesus later refers to as ‘little ones’) in society as YHWH God has always expected of His people. Perhaps at this point we might note the three brief hymns of praise interspersed through-out Amos. They occur at Ch.4:13, Ch.5:8-9, & Ch.9:5-6, the last not unlike a psalm. 

Starting with Ch.7, & featuring a series of visions, the language towards Israel softens a little & offers hope once more - providing the things God is complaining of are put to rights. But in Ch.7:10 Amaziah ‘priest of Bethel’ - there shouldn’t have been any priests of Bethel; the true Temple is in Jerusalem - hijacks the series by reporting Amos to the king. It is interesting that Amaziah  doesn’t accuse Amos of being a false prophet (that might be a pot calling a kettle black!) & strangely, we’re not told the king’s response. Amaziah, needless to say, cops a blast from Amos & writes himself into history as an example of church leaders who prefer the status-quo, secular or religious, to godly reform! By the way, it’s highly likely this section of the book, in prose unlike the poetry of the rest of it has been contributed by supporters of Amos. We aren’t told Amos’ fate, but he seems to have just slipped quietly back to his former calling of herdsman.

After being interrupted by the Amaziah incident, it’s time to return to the rest of the book! Beginning at Ch.7:1 the visions are all fairly easy to come to terms with. The 1st of them is of another plague of locusts; the 2nd, of a drought; the 3rd, of a plumb line; & the 4th, after  the Amaziah incident, of a basket of fruit. Ch.9 starts with a 5th & final vision, the bringing down of a sanctuary (probably that at Bethel) & others set up to worship idol-gods. Hot on the heels of this last vision comes a hymn of praise to YHWH (see para.2 above) & then the book concludes with a fine Isaiah-like ‘vision’ of hope.  

 And still they come…62: Obadiah & Jonah…Poison(!) & Parable (?)

Notes: [1] Some scholars think Amos has been added to in parts. [2] ‘Amos saw a society & church on its last legs, but nobody else did. It was a time of affluence, political strength & national stability & expansion.’ (J.A. Motyer, The Day of the Lion, p.16, IVP, London, 1974) 

Q: Does it take much to imagine Amos speaking to our day rather than to almost 3000 years ago?