The Bible – Book of Amos – 4th February 2017“But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”(Amos 7:15).

We can learn from Amos 1:1 which identifies the author of the Book as the Prophet Amos. The Book of Amos was likely written between 760 and 753 B.C. The phrase "two years before the earthquake" helps to narrow the book's date. Archeological findings unearthed at Hazor in northern Palestine show that an unusually strong earthquake occurred about 760 BC. If so, Amos prophesied in about 762 BC.( "two years before the earthquake").The phrase seems to limit his prophesying to this particular year, suggesting that his prophetic activity was very short.

The prophet hailed from Tekoa, a small town about thirteen miles south of Jerusalem in the Wilderness of Judah. Since he was not from a large cosmopolitan city like Jerusalem or Samaria, Amos, shaped by his rural experiences, had a clearer perspective of the evils that he saw as he walked through the cities of Israel. While the Israelites accepted their lifestyle as normal, the prophet recognized it as a perversion and an abomination to God. Amos means "burden-bearer," and his message to Israel, one of continuous judgment and denunciation, was indeed a heavy burden.

Because of the distrust between the two peoples, it is ironic that God sent a Jew to warn the Israelites of their impending judgment. God obviously sent the best man available to do the job, though he was not a formally trained prophet. "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet," he explains, "but I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel'" as we can read from Amos 7:14-15, “ Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Amos was a shepherd and a fruit picker from the Judean village of Tekoa when God calls him, even though he lacks a priestly background. Amos' mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, Israel. His messages of impending doom and captivity for the nation because of her sins are largely unpopular and unheeded, however, because not since the days of Solomon have times been so good in Israel. Amos' ministry takes place while Jeroboam II reigns over Israel, and Uzziah reigns over Judah.

Amos can see that beneath Israel's external prosperity and power, internally the nation is corrupt to the core. The sins for which Amos chastens the people are extensive: neglect of God's Word, idolatry, pagan worship, greed, corrupted leadership and oppression of the poor. Amos begins by pronouncing a judgment upon all the surrounding nations, then upon his own nation of Judah, and finally the harshest judgment is given to Israel. His visions from God reveal the same emphatic message: judgment is near. The book ends with God's promise to Amos of future restoration of the remnant. The book ends with a glorious promise for the future; “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God” (Amos 9:15).

The practical application that we can receive from Amos for Christians is that sometimes we think we are "just-a…very ordinary person"! We are just-a salesman, just-a farmer or just-a housewife likewise... Amos would be considered a "just-a shepherd." He wasn't a prophet or priest or the son of either. He was just a shepherd, a small businessman in Judah. Who would listen to him? But instead of

making excuses, Amos obeyed and became God's powerful voice for change. God has used very ordinary people such as shepherds, carpenters, and fishermen all through the Bible. Therefore as Christians we must always bear in mind that whatever you are in this life, God can use you. Amos wasn't much. He was a just-a shepherd…but was made as " an important" servant for God. It is good to be God's "just-a..."

Key Verses: Amos 2:4, "This is what the LORD says: 'For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed."Amos 3:7, "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets."Amos 9:14, "I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit."