Hi James and Ellen,
Amos is a doomsday prophetic transcript. The Amos judgment document was given the name of its author. Amos articulated his dire warnings over 2,760 years ago. Amos lived in the town of Tekoa in the country of Judah. Amos was a tree grafter, herdsman, historian and prophet. Tekoa was a mountain village located about ten miles south of the city of Jerusalem. The village of Tekoa was situated in a fertile area that was conducive for growing sycamore and fig trees as well as for caring for herds of sheep and goats. Amos’ day jobs were dressing sycamore and fig trees and being a sheep and goat herdsman. Amos was a radical. Even though Amos’ ominous, calamitous forewarnings were prophetic, Amos scribed that he did not have any allegiance with the pool of prophets who were doing their thing in Israel’s southern and northern kingdom’s land areas. Even though his foreboding, catastrophic pronouncements could be construed as being political, Amos scribed that he was not aligned with Uzziah – who was at this time the king who was ruling over the guys and gals who live in Isreal’s southern kingdom – which was the land of Judah. Even though Amos’ tent home was in the village of Tekoa – making Amos a Judah land area dweller, Amos’ declarations that are in the Amos Book’s nine chapters were principally for the guys and gals who lived in Israel’s northern kingdom – which was using the name of Samaria. Amos lived during a prosperous epoch. When Amos realized that prosperity was the primary cause for the social corruption by the guys and gals who lived in Israel’s northern kingdom – or in Samaria, Amos audibly and adamantly took on denouncing the ungodly lifestyles of these guys and gals. Because of Amos’ perceived bizarre doom pronouncements, Amaziah – who was Isreal’s northern kingdom’s high priest, accused Amos of sedition. Amaziah – a Levi tribal clan high priest, had been at this time assigned to administer the sacrificial offerings to God in the town of Bethel even though he was known to be an idol worshipper of Baal.
Amos’ enlightening, God-driven oracles were not just focused on God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area that He gave them 650 years or so earlier for them to always have to live in as their very own land if . . . but also to the people groups or nations of guys and gals who lived in land areas that neighbored the land of Canaan – which is the land area that God gave to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals, for them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . the country of Aram – which is known as Syria today, was the first nation to be told by God – through Amos, that because of what it had done to His specially chosen guys and gals, that He was no longer going to hold back from doing a serious number on them. Guys and gals who were living in the countries and/or land areas of Philistia – which is known as Palestine today, in Phoenicia – which is known as Lebanon today, in Edom – which is the land area where Jacob’s twin bro – Esau, put roots and in Moab and Ammon – which were countries in what is known as Jordon today, were told by God through Amos that their pending ruin was due to how badly that they maltreated His specially chosen guys and gals.
While God – through Amos, did mention to the guys and gals who were living in Israel’s southern kingdom that they would have to endure a similar fate that the country of Aram was going to be facing because of their abject rejection of His mandated laws, God – through Amos, really jumped all over the guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern kingdom. Because of living during a flourishing period, guys who were living in Israel’s northern kingdom were able to accrue wealth which was leading these guys – along with their families, to live luxurious, careless lifestyles that showed no fear of God’s promised punishment against flippant behavior. As an earthbound representative of God, Amos was particularly upset with the elaborate offerings that Israel’s northern kingdom guys were ritually giving to the shrines that were in the towns of Beersheba and Gilgal. Amos – as God’s spokesman, vigorously through scribed words and probably vociferously through spoken words, passionately urged his Israelite people group compatriots living in Israel’s northern kingdom to repent from their wicked, rebellious ways before God has the nation to their east – which was the country of Assyria, unmercifully overrunning them just as He said that He would if . . . Amos – whose name means burden-bearer, used his vocation – which was essentially being a farmer, to circulate a scribed message to his Israelite people group ancestors to renew their spiritual relationship with God and to begin to redress the social inequalities that they were fomenting. Because your grandpaa grew up on a farm located one mile west and two miles north of Volga, South Dakota, your grandpaa can relate to Amos when Amos uses rural germane examples in his intense missive. Because God has hardwired your grandpaa with the gift of administration, your grandpaa is motivated to help other guys sow His word in prepared soils – who are guys, gals and kids who God has embedded in them an innate craving for Him. Just as Amos 2,760 years ago knew that Israel was in a downward moral spiral, your grandpaa knows that there is today in the United States a diminishing, dumbing-down knowledge especially of God’s infinitude, immensity, omnipresence, perfection, justice, grace, etc.
Amos