AMOS

Eight hundred years before the birth of Jesus, God called a very busy man out of his field while he still had a shepherd’s crook in his hand. Although Amos was just a rugged worker and formally uneducated, he received divine training directly from God while tending a herd of sheep in the wild uplands of Judah.

His writing indicates a definite supernatural skill as a layman. Amos poetically illustrates hillside life like another shepherd named David. He also gazed upon the stars and pondered the beauty of their Creator. Isaiah was a courtier, Jeremiah was a priest, Joel was a baker, and then God chose Amos. This unlikely candidate was a diligent shepherd who was not a man accustomed to the noise of the city or its ongoing complaining chatter. He delivered His words point blank! God gave Amos a vision about what was to happen and it was up to him to pronuonce God’s judgement on the nation that had abandoned God. Four chapters describe the sins of Israel and God’s message is as relevant today as it was then. The wealthy and powerful people had become greedy and unjust in their prosperity. Immoral sex trafficking, land grabbing and cruelty and indiffernce to the poor. People pretended to trust God with a superficial religion. Complacency was rampant as everyone was optimistic as business went on as usual. All the comfort and luxury resulted in their self-sufficiency with a false sense of security. God demands our loyalty not a performance or our showy eternal rituals of church attendance. Our Creator knows the contents and motives of our hearts and He is not impressed with a wobbling, weak trust in His Word or in His justified ways.

Amos chapter 1 “The Lord roars and says “I will not relent from punishing”…I will send fire, I will break down the gates, I will cut off the ruler, and the people will be exiled. I will not turn back My wrath because entire communities have been taken captive and sold. Nations have sinned against God: 1) They deny God in government and schools. 2) Murdering the unborn by abortion. 3) June is celebrated as a time to be proud of men becoming women and visa versa. 4) Changing God’s Word via “AI”. 5) Mutilating children with transgender operations. 6) Lying and killing the innocent with mandatory vaccines that destroy life. Chapter 2 “I will not relent”…you commanded the prophets to not prophesy, I am about to crush you in your place, escape will fail the swift, the strong one will not prevail, and the brave will not save his life. I will punish you for all your iniquities, indeed the Lord does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants. A Lion has roared who will not fear? Chapter 3 “An enemy will surround the land. Look the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks. I caused the stench of your camp to fill your nostrils, yet you did not return to Me. Prepare to meet your God! The One who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, the One who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name and He knows all.” Chapter 5 “There will be wailing in the streets…woe to you who long for the DAY of the Lord! Chapter 6 “Woe to the complacent, you notable men of the foremost nation. I abhor pride! I will deliver up the city and everything in it! Chapter 8 “And in that day, this is the declaration of the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, I will darken the land in the daytime, I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. Hear this! The days are coming… when I will send a famine through the land, NOT a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east seeking the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.”

Wisely Amos did not preach over the heads of the common people. With great understanding and compassion he cleverly delivered his message by judging the enemy, not the people. He had a certain rough way of speaking the truth, but the common people found his words refreshing. How much do we value truth today? God fearing people prefer to hear the truth over the lies of the Liar. Amos was a humble man, who feared God, but not man, king or priest. INSIGHT: Today God still balances power through His chosen voices across the globe. The light of Truth will continue to test all governing powers as God holds them accountable.

The Bible testifies to God’s love for His people in many ways. Today we are blessed by the continuing stream of the messengers He commissions to share the Truth with His people. In our current generation, we have the added benefit of reading and hearing the Word of God spoken in our own language. “Faith comes from hearing the message” Romans 10:17. God’s Word has never been wrong as it never returns empty, His will is being done and all things except His Word will pass away.

Wihtout a doubt, Amos knew the prophet Jonah and possibly even Elisha. Hosea was a peer who was working in Israel at the same time. These two characters were selected by God as His ambassadors during a wild time of history. Amos prophesied while Uzziah was on the throne of Judah and Jeroboam II was the king of Israel. It was a peaceful and prosperous time for both kingdoms (2 Chron 26 – 2 Kings 14:25) It was also a time when the people of Israel were seeking every pleasure to be had. God sent His two emboldened messengers, Hosea and Amos to warn His people.

King Jeroboam had made Israel flourish and he was not receptive to the courageous words of Amos. The king had the finest cavalry of horses so when this lowly, most likely foul smelling shepherd thundered “And the horseman will not save his life”, the king was furious! Amos also boldly proclaimed that a shepherd would save Israel from the lion’s mouth. (Amos 3:12)

Amos is known as the Prophet of Justice. During a time of prosperity, Amos spoke out for the needs of the poor. He was disrespected among the rich as his words convicted their hard hearts. Amos was not the son of a priest or a prophet. Obediently, he drew a hard line between good and evil. A priest in Bethel told Amos to go back to the land of Judah as his voice was unwanted in the courts. Heart changing repentance is what our holy God seeks so that we may be reconciled. The Lord will not forget anything we have done, but in His mercy, He will forgive those who return to Him. God said that He will turn their religious feasts into mourning and all their singing into weeping.

In chapter 9 Amos speaks HOPE as he voices God’s promise. “I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.” (Amos 9:14)

As His church, we are to stand as His voice and pray for those God places in power. We are His chosen ambassadors today and He commands us to speak the truth without fear. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corin 5:20 Isaiah

“Behind the Curtain” is a 100 page summary of the New Testament. Ebook 99 cents on Amazon.