Amos

Hypocrisy and spiritual indifference defined the days of Amos in his ministry to northern Israel, basked in an apparent sense of peace and prosperity. But underneath the appearance of health and wealth, the nation was rotten to the core and ripe for judgment.

A herdsman and keeper of sycamore trees by profession, Amos was called by God to leave his rural hometown in Judah with a message to Israel's aristocrats and nobilities, including their well-dressed and well-fed socialites whom he dubbed 'the cows of Bashan'.

Under the reign of Jeroboam II who won several battles and extended Israel's borders, abundance and affluence gave rise to apathy and atrocities. The rich and powerful displayed callousness towards God and cruelty towards the poor. These social elites had abused their positions and privileges instead of reaching out to help their fellow men in need.

Amos saw through the outward religiosity and false piety and confronted the corrupt leaders and landlords with a series of prophecies and well-crafted messages. He first disarmed them by pronouncing judgments on the surrounding nations, making them think he was on their side. And before they realized it, he zoomed in on their sins of injustice and idolatry, proclaiming God's judgment on the nonchalant nation, which came to pass forty years later by the hands of the Assyrians.

True worship of God should always lead to a right relationship with fellow humans, backed by concrete actions that safeguard justice and looks after the well-being of the underprivileged. Amos message is just as applicable today as it was then:

5:24 Let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

OUTLINE OF AMOS

1. Eight Judgments (1:1-2:16)
a. Amos' Background (1:1-2)
b. Against the Surrounding Nations (1:3-2:3)
Damascus | Gaza | Tyre | Edom
Ammon | Moab
c. Against God's People (2:4-16)
Judah | Israel
2. Three Sermons (3:1-6:14)
a. Israel's Present (3:1-15)
Judgment Deserved | Described
b. Israel's Past (4:1-13)
Judgment Deserved | Demonstrated
c. Israel's Future (5:1-6:14)
Judgment Deserved | Determined—Double Woes
3. Five Visions (7:1-9:10)
a. The Nature of Judgment (7:1-6)
Locust | Fire
b. The Standard of Judgment (7:7-17)
Plumb Line | Opposition of Amaziah
c. The Maturity of Judgment (8:1-14)
Rotten Summer Fruits
d. The Certainty of Judgment (9:1-10)
Smitten Doorpost
4. Three Promises (9:11-15)
a. Reinstate the Davidic Line (Messiah)
b. Renew the Land (Kingdom)
c. Re-establish the People (God's Elect)