The prophet Amos was a shepherd who lived in Judah just south of Jerusalem in the 8^th century BC. He prophesied during the reigns of King Jeroboam II in Israel, and King Uzziah in Judah.

Amos had visions that included prophecies for the nations that surrounded Judah and Israel, but the major focus was upon Israel. Less than two hundred years after King Jeroboam set up the golden calves in Bethel and Dan, God was going to deal with Israel because they had forsaken him for idols.

Why did idolatry make God so angry? Here are a few reasons why God was jealous when his people worshiped gods made of metal or wood.

• Being devoted to idols alienated the hearts of God’s people from him. Worshiping idols led to spiritual adultery.
• Idols were based on the imaginations of sinful people and worshiping them usually led to sinful, degrading practices including illicit sex, human trafficking, and even child sacrifice.
• The morals and ethics practiced by idol worshipers fell far short of the righteous standards of God’s law. Idolatry went hand in hand with injustice toward the weak and poor.
• Since only God could grant forgiveness for sin, directing people away from the sacrificial system of atonement at the temple left them spiritually lost, separated from God, and in despair.

It’s no wonder that God went to war against idolatry and punished the nations who practiced it. But he waited hundreds of years and sent hundreds of warnings before he took action.

The Earthquake and the Drought

Before God made his final move against the nations, he shouted through a series of natural disasters.

“The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.” Amos 1:2

The first shout was a magnitude 8 earthquake two years later, that originated north of Damascus and traveled south through the Dead Sea. The earthquake’s “roar” hit the region of Zion first and then echoed down through Jerusalem and beyond.

The drought Amos prophesied was so extensive it affected the pasturelands of Judah all the way to the top of Mount Carmel near the Mediterranean Sea. When these prophecies came true, people knew the other things Amos predicted were also going to happen.

The Circle of Nations

The visions of Amos began with the nations that encircled Israel and Judah as their nearest neighbors. Some of them were cousins to the Israelite people, others were foreigners. All of them had sinned against God and now he was going to deal with them.

Amos uses the phrase, “For three sins, even four, I will not relent” eight times as God names the nations and their sins. The verses that follow the phrase don’t actually identify three or four sins; there are usually only one or two. The number three is symbolic of fullness and four is about excess. The nations had sinned to the limit – and beyond the limit – of God’s patience.

Aram, led by King Hazael and his son Ben-Hadad, had oppressed Israel and stolen their lands. They had plowed through the towns of Gilead like a sledge with iron teeth. God was going to send an enemy who would destroy Damascus, kill the king of Aram, and carry the Aramean people into exile. Amos 1:3-5

Next Amos named three major cities of the Philistines that God was going to destroy by fire. He was angry that the Philistines had captured whole communities in Israel and sold them into slavery in Edom. He planned to attack their capitol city of Ekron and not stop until every Philistine was dead. Amos 1:6-8

God also indicted Tyre in Lebanon for taking captive Israelites to Edom. He was angry that the people of Tyre violated the long-standing peace agreements made by David and Solomon with the King of Tyre. God was going to consume Lebanese fortresses with fire.

Israel’s Cousins

The Edomites, Ammonites and Moabites were the Israelites’ cousins. The Edomites descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. The Ammonites and Moabites came from Abraham’s nephew Lot through his daughters.

God was particularly angry with Edom and Ammon for what they had done to Israelite women. They targeted women for slaughter and were especially brutal to pregnant women, a terror tactic designed to completely dishearten the Israelites. God planned to retaliate against Edom and Ammon with unquenchable fire and, in Ammon’s case, stoke the flames with a violent wind. Amos 1:11-14

The King of Edom had recently joined forces with Israel and Judah and crushed Moab for refusing to pay taxes to Israel (2 Kings 3:4-27). Moab apparently retaliated against the king of Edom and burned his bones to ashes. For this reason and many others, Moab would go down in fire and war, and lose their king and his whole administration. Amos 2:1-3

God’s Judgment on Israel

Judah and Israel had both fallen into idolatry so God was going to punish them. He said he would send fire on the fortresses of Jerusalem for the sins of Judah. But he was especially angry at Israel.

Amos outlined the sins of Israel, from oppressing the poor, to trafficking young women, to debauching themselves with wine at pagan altars. They forgot how good God had been to them, bringing them up out of Egypt and giving them the Promised Land. Now he was going to crush them with an enemy they could not withstand. Amos 2:6-16

In chapters 3 through 6 God listed the things he had against the northern tribes of Israel. He began the list with the relationship Israel had with him that made them especially accountable to him.

“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” Amos 3:2

God despised the way the people of Israel oppressed the poor and withheld justice from the needy. He hated the way the oppression had become systemic in Israel so that poor people had no way to rise above their circumstances. Amos 5:10-15

Hypocrites at Worship

God also hated the hypocritical worship of Israel. They built their own temples and set up their own gods, then they made a show of also worshiping him.

“I hate, despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me . . . Away with the noise of your song! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” Amos 5:21-24

God’s people didn’t care what he wanted. As long as they were comfortable and enjoying life, they felt entitled to ignore cries of the poor and oppressed, and offend God with their worship.

Woe to the Complacent

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!” Amos 6:1

When God uncovered sin in a nation, the first response was denial that they were doing anything wrong. Their wealth and comfort made them believe they must be doing everything right, because wealth gave them power and everyone came to them for help.

God was very specific about the ways his people insulated themselves against the reality of pending disaster. They lay on beds made of ivory, ate rich foods and drank wine by the bowlful. They enjoyed fine entertainment and had spa days. There was no reason for them to bother about the world outside as long as they were so comfortable in their own world. Amos 6:3-7

God sent Amos to give Israel one more chance to recognize their sins. It was simple: God hated that there were people suffering from injustice and the rich were making it worse. He hated that everyone was worshiping gods of their own making and hedging their bets by also pretending to worship God. The hypocrisy made him angry.

God was done with all of it and he had the means to punish Israel.

“And yet you’ve made a shambles of justice, a bloated corpse of righteousness,
Bragging of your trivial pursuits, beating up on the weak and crowing, ‘Look what I’ve done!’

Enjoy it while you can, you Israelites. I’ve got a pagan army on the move against you—this is your God speaking, God-of-the-Angel-Armies—and they’ll make hash of you, from one end of the country to the other.” Amos 6:12-14 The Message

God Still Offered Forgiveness

As we saw when we read Jonah, God stood ready to forgive people who acknowledged their sins. God wanted people to repent. He didn’t want to punish them so he sent a stream of messengers to warn them. God’s grace was revealed in his words.

“[For] surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servant the prophets.” Amos 3:7

For a great overview of Amos, check out this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGgWaPGpGz4