Seek the lord that you may live, or he will break forth like a fire. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. A level notes on the book of amos by mberengwa norman issuu. In the delivery of his prophecy he is very courageous while being unusually stern and severe. He was a shepherd and tended to sycamore fig trees. The prophet amos lived during the long reign of king jeroboam ii. God will judge all people, including his chosen people. Sep 25, 2016 the book of amos is one of the shortest prophetic books with only nine chapters.
He was active c 750 bc during the reign of jeroboam ii. More than any other prophet, amos describes this coming day of judgment in terms of darkness. The prophetic books include most of the ots greatest themes, preserving in written form for future generations the reasons israels history happened as it did. Structure of and literary features in the book of amos 22. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c.
The prophet gains the attention of his audience by pronouncing judgment on israels enemies before delivering the main burden of judgment against israel herself. While the last 27 chapters of isaiah focus on comfort and the coming of the messiah, bearing a likeness to the themes of the 27 new testament books. Although amos is from judah, his prophetic message was directed at israel. A study of the major and minor prophets of the old testament. Amos is a shepherd and a fruit picker from the judean village of tekoa when god calls him, even though he lacks an education or a priestly background.
Apr 30, 2012 amos tackles perennial issues such as the extent the nations are responsive and responsible to gods law, and offers one key scriptural source for understanding the serious call that gods people have for caring for the poor among them. The prophets denounced moral decay and false piety as directly responsible for the social injustice that outrages god. Amos attacks two major areas of sin commonly indicted by the prophets. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. Thankfully, we do not have to pick one purpose for jonah, but can focus instead on prominent themes that run throughout the book. The book of amos is gods message to his people to repent and reform, as he is angered by the israelites unfaithfulness, perversion and distortion of religion.
Other major ideas proposed in the book of amos include. Although hosea is believed to have arrived a little later on the prophetic scene, hosea did marry a prostitute, which, scholars believe, is a lot spicier than anything that amos ever did. God expects his people to reflect his own character by being just. The book of amos is a prophetic book of the hebrew bible, one of the twelve minor prophets. Amos is the first prophet to use the term the day of the lord. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. Amos was a humble sheep raiser and nipper of figsamos 1. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. The book of amos by the minor prophet amos 1 words 5 pages. Despite the fact that he lived in the southern kingdom of judah, god sent him as his prophet to the northern kingdom of. Although the book of jonah is not about world missions, the theme of gods mission to. Amos mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, israel. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. The book of amos is one of the shortest prophetic books with only nine chapters.
During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. The major themes in the book of amos include denunciation. This lecture studies the literary features and major themes of classical israelite prophecy as evidenced in particular in the book of the eighthcentury northern prophet amos. The old testament prophets were adept at luring hostile audiences into. Unifying themes in the prophetic books of the old testament. What were the major themes in amos preaching answers. The message of amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it. The book of amos is one of the books of the neviim hebrew.
Amos tackles perennial issues such as the extent the nations are responsive and responsible to gods law, and offers one key scriptural source for understanding the serious call that gods people have for caring for the poor among them. The theology of the book of amos old testament theology. Amos prophecy was a judgement message to a few nations, but primarily against the 10 tribe kingdom of israel, warning of gods judgement against them for their false worship, immorality. The major themes of hoseas message are sin, judgment, and salvation.
Amos was the first biblical prophet whose words were recorded in a book, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah. Amos was apparently a peripatetic prophet who kept repeating a basic message, the summary for which is given by amaziah in 7. Amos denied being a prophet, or at least a full time prophet. Many scholars believe that amos was the earliest of all of the biblical prophets to have his words put in writingminor, major or somewhere inbetween. Rather, he was a grower of sycamore figs as well as a shepherd amos 7. Social justice, true religion and social justice must go hand in hand. He predated hosea by a few years, and so its only fitting, i guess, that we do go ahead and get into the book of amos. If you would like to read this first prophetic book of the bible, please click the link to the chapter you would like to read and all of. What common theme is present in all the major and minor.
Although the book of jonah is not about world missions, the theme of gods mission to the world is definitely present in the book. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of gods laws. The main themes of the book of amos are social justice, god\s omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The prophet amos lived among a group of shepherds in tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of jerusalem. The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the sin of gods people, repentance are not easy subjects.
Nov 02, 2016 so in terms of the way it is in the bible, were out of sync there, but actually, amos, as a prophet from a time perspective, was actually the first of the minor prophets. Amos was an unwelcome southerner as far as the priests of israel were concerned and amaziah rushed to report him to king jeroboam hoping to get him kicked out of the country. The central idea of the book of amos is that god puts his people on the. What is the meaning of this prophets name and why is this significant for a. Israels root problem was its false religion having a form of godliness but denying its power 2 tim.
Amos was a vigorous spokesman for gods justice and righteousness, whereas hosea emphasized gods love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Were going to move on now to our second literary prophet and this is the prophet hosea. May 27, 2014 the book of amos is a prophetic book of the hebrew bible, one of the twelve minor prophets. The theology of the book of amos in modern times, amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. The territory extended about 20 miles eastward to the shores of the dead sea. If you would like to read this first prophetic book of the bible, please click the link to the chapter you would like to read and all of the bible verses will be listed for your perusal.
We have finished working through the book of amos passage by. Amos contains all of the literary types he described. Hoseas name means salvation and he pictures christ as the healer of he backslider. The earliest prophet to israel, amoss book states the themes that recur throughout the prophets.
The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of. Amos is a contemporary of the prophet hosea and so the social and religious problems that hosea faced were the same. He heals us with his love, as hosea says i led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.
Amos must have subsequently returned to tekoa where he assembled and edited his messages as we now see them in the book. He came from a place called tekoa, situated in the southern kingdom of judah. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Amos was a humble sheep raiser and nipper of figs amos 1. The basis for these predictions is not the rise in power of the assyrian empire, with its threat of invasion from the north, but rather the immorality expressed in the political, economic, and religious life of amos contemporaries. Mar 03, 2012 the prophetic books include most of the ots greatest themes, preserving in written form for future generations the reasons israels history happened as it did. The basis for these predictions is not the rise in. As hosea s main theme was israels adultery against the lord and therefore about broken relationship. The major themes in the book of amos include denunciation of foreign nations for atrocities committed against one.
Amos declared that god was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenantbreaking people. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of jeroboam ii c. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of jeroboam ii, king of israel from 786 to 746 bce. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah isaiah 1. God, amos, jeroboam ii, uzziah and people of isreal. God elected israel and then liberated israel so that he would be known throughout the world. Dec 06, 2012 structure of and literary features in the book of amos 22. External worship apart from right living that reflects a right heart is sickening to god. This summary of the book of amos provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of amos. Thus my anticipation ran high in reading john bartons theology of the book of amos.
Jonahs preaching in nineveh must have been similar. Hosea compared israel to a bunch of choice green grapes in the wilderness that had been spoiled, a vine that grew according to his plan, a trained heifer who loved to thresh grain, and a toddling son. His major themes of justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Though the authors wrote in different times and under different circumstances, their messages are in theological harmony with one another and with other types of biblical books. Differences between deuteronomistic and prophetic interpretations of. The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the sin of.
The coming downfall and the utter collapse of the northern kingdom are two major themes in the book of amos. The worship of assyrian deities and the huge gulf that had emerged between the haves and the have nots. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like. Amos meaning burden or burdenbearer was an inhabitant of the rugged region of tekoa, located in the territory of judah about 12 miles south of jerusalem. Jan 01, 2011 our new study on the book of amos has been combined with our 2009 study on the book of hosea and will be available soon as prophets to the northern kingdom, available on dvd, audiocd, mp3 cdrom, and download. Book of amos, the third of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book under the jewish canon titled the twelve. Two major themes of the book are the social injustice in israel. So in terms of the way it is in the bible, were out of sync there, but actually, amos, as a prophet from a time perspective, was actually the first of the minor prophets.
He lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. Israel woe to you who are complacent in zion, and to you who feel secure on mount samaria amos 6. That is, amos was not a prophet in a professional sense i. Nov 21, 2012 thankfully, we do not have to pick one purpose for jonah, but can focus instead on prominent themes that run throughout the book. Jeroboam the son of joash not to be confused with jeroboam the son of nevat, the first king of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes reigned over the ten tribes of israel for forty years from the year 3114 till 3153 after creation. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. The book of amos, the third of the twelve minor prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the bible from the time it was written 8th century bce down to the 20th century. While the book of amos captures the prophets message to the northern kingdoms of israel, amos 5. Although israel maintained the ritual formalities of the law, and even exceeded them amos 4. Click download or read online button to get a study of the major and minor prophets of the old testament book now. So amos and hosea youre going to associate with the assyrian crisis and they are prophets of the northern kingdom of israel.
As with each of the minor prophets, the title comes from the name of the prophet to whom god gave his message 1. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against israel and judah. Apr 02, 2020 book of amos, the third of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book under the jewish canon titled the twelve. Reading them today we may well be tempted to downplay the force of the message and dilute the challenge it brings. The book of amos, written by the minor prophet amos, is found towards the end of the old testament of the bible. That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah.
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