The book of hosea stands first in the division of the bible called the book of the twelve in the apocrypha cf. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Amos was from tekoa, a small town in judah about 6 miles south of bethlehem and 11 miles from jerusalem. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and originally formed one book of the 24 books of hebrew scripture.
The covenant lawsuit, woe oracles, laments, promise oracles, visions, and parallelism. This book of the prophet amos is the only mention we have of this man in the old testament. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah was active during the reign of jeroboam ii, making the book of amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. As to all the nations listed in the book of amos if they had repented, he would have spared them. The prophet was sent to warn the people and lead them to repentance, but they would not change.
Amos protests that israel is small and unworthyhow will it survive these plagues. Rather, he was a grower of sycamore figs as well as a shepherd amos 7. Amos begged for gods mercy and god responded to amos plea. As in the book of hosea religion was prospering but faith in the one true god yhwh was on the decline. Though they dig down to the depths below, from there my hand will take them. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. Tom meyer combines research, memorization and his higher education in the land of the bible to reveal fascinating insights. The book of, one of the twelve minor prophets, is part of the christian old testament. God uses ordinary people greatly god specializes in using ordinary people. The words of amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of tekoa, which he saw concerning israel in the days of uzziah king of judah, and in the days of jeroboam the son of joash, king of israel, two years before the earthquake. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of amos. The prophecy of amos carries an urgent message for the global church in the twentyfirst century. 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.
Selling the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes slavery. After a whole catalogue of denunciations from the prophet amos, he comes up with 5 great promises to the people of israel from the lord almighty. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled by the priest in charge of this royal sanctuary 7. Roxies simpering sap of a husband, amos, ponies up some of the cash, and. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. The purpose of the book of amos was to announce gods holy judgment on the kingdom of israel the northern kingdom, call them to repentance, and to turn from their selfrighteous sins and idolatry. Since there is no shmoop in ancient israel, god himself has to explain what they mean. One of the books of the minor prophets that is part of the old testament and the bible. Amos message must not be lost on our modern generation. In four ways, the old testament book of amos is essential for a robust understanding of the gospel. The twelve include hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi.
Uzziah was king in judah in the south and jeroboam ii was king in the northern kingdom of israel when the locust plague happened. Some researchers feel that some minor material may have been inserted later by an editor, but few doubt that a jewish man named amos was the author. Unlike most of the other writing prophets of the old testament, amos lifelong calling was not that of a prophet but involved agriculture. For three transgressions of damascus, and for four, i will not turn away the punishment thereof. In many respects, his work was similar to that of the prophet amos, especially regarding what he said about social and economic conditions. The prophet denounces the crimes against humanity committed by the gentile nonjewish nations, tells israel that even they have sinned and are guilty of the. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The first five oracles in amos are pronounced against neighboring peoples. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Then he says something to his own people who live in israel and judah. Nora unwin 19071982 illustrated more than one hundred books for children. Hear this word, you cows of bashan on mount samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, bring us some drinks.
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. It also includes chapters on the text itself, providing a critical assessment of how the book came to be, the original message of amos and his circle, which parts of the book may have been added by later scribes, and the. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled by the priest in charge of this royal sanctuary. Worried she might hang for murder, roxie needs to get the best attorney in the. Amos 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. Those who critically examine the bible unanimously agree that amos wrote the book that bears his name. Book of amos summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of amos for bible study or sunday school lessons.
As punishment for her spiritual and moral decay, israel was invaded by assyria in 721 bc and crushed in a devastating war. This book is an excellent aid to ones study of the prophet. The book closes with a series of prophetic visions. The prophets history, prophecies and tomb get a lot of attention in this book, so to the millions of nahum fans out there, this ones for you. A weight attached to a string a builder uses to measure how straight a wall is. The first part protoisaiah prophesies death and destruction, but keeps lightening it up with cheery prophecies of a good and holy kingdom at the end of time. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. We will begin with the end of the first part of the book in which he has chastised the pagan nations, and then in amos 2. Although it might look like two crimes listed, the overall concept. Amos 1 niv bible the words of amos, one of the shepherds.
Isaiah, god laments that his children, the people of israel, have rebelled against me isa. The book identifies the author as the prophet amos, who wrote probably between 760 and 753 bc, during the reign of jeroboam ii in israel. As the fifthcentury christian theologian augustine says in the city of god 18. The book begins with the lord all vengeful and full of wrath, and it ends with nahum doing a snoopy dance on assyrias grave. Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Isaiah and micah followed amos s ministry and may have heard him preach when they were lads. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. Describing the genre of a written work that reinvigorates older oral speech forms, in m. The book is an anthology of his oracles and was compiled either by the prophet or by some of his disciples.
Israel to be destroyed i saw the lord standing by the altar, and he said. His book ends with the return of the prophet elijah to get gods people to repent so god will not come and strike the land with a curse. The poetry of amos, who denounces the hollow prosperity of the northern kingdom, is filled with imagery and language taken from his own pastoral background. Amos was a sheepbreeder of tekoa in judah, who delivered his oracles in the northern kingdom during the prosperous reign of jeroboam ii 786746 b. Where god has brought material blessing to his people through honest hard work and diligence, such blessing should be received gratefully and enjoyed. The book of amos is a prophetic book in the old testament. Editors and copyists added comments to the prophets original oracles that they deemed appropriate in light of events that occurred after his death. Amos 1 the words of amos, one of the shepherds of tekoathe vision he saw concerning israel two years before the earthquake, when uzziah was king of judah and jeroboam son of jehoash was king of israel. For the purpose of this paper we will look at the entire book for any references to critiques by amos. The books of 1 and 2 kings or 1 and 2 chronicles do not mention this prophet, and he should not be confused with amoz, the father of isaiah the prophet. Even though it is a model that tells us how god regards us all, nevertheless israel is special. Guiora who was born in israel and raised in both the united states and israel, has practiced law in both countries.
In this book, amos accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god and. Lessons from the book of amos, part i steps to life. Guiora addresses these profound questions and the bystandervictim relationship from a deeply personal and legal. Micah lived among the poor people and sympathized with them because of their hard lot. 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. Jonah and the whale premium vodka, a prototype featured on the design website, the dieline. The sins of israel in amos day amos made a list of the sins for which god was going to punish israel. The first two visions include destruction by locusts and fire. The book of jonah has been an inspiration for countless attempts to understand the all too human failure to do the right thing, including the classic mobydick by herman melville. The you, the israel of these verses, is not truly quite the same as other nations, however.
Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. And we must never forget that amos is speaking to us, the church of god, the israel of god. A fire that destroys not only vegetation but even underground water. Amos 12 new international version niv 1 the words of amos, one of the shepherds of tekoa the vision he saw concerning israel two years before the earthquake, when uzziah was king of judah and jeroboam son of jehoash a was king of israel. So the prophecies of amos can easily be dual, foretelling not only gods judgment on the ancient house of israel, but also his hand of discipline on the modern descendants today. Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos. A commentary the old testament library kindle edition by jeremias, jorg. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a people who repeatedly shunned and disobeyed him. Amos, herdsman of tekoa, was sent from god with a powerful message of correction for the ancient house of israel. All the biographical information we do have comes from his book, particularly todays passage, which tells us he was among the shepherds of tekoa amos 1.
Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. This, book is speaking about a lot of things sin with people who are called by gods name sin on many levels but the word of god when i read it is to speak to me we probably all know of lots of issues to point at but the word should first convict us ourselves about any thing out of alignment then we can speak gods word out boldly but i don t think that should be against party s by name god. She also received a newbery honor in 1944 for mountain born. God was measuring israels religious conduct and behavior. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom. No direct connection to the minor prophet amos, but yum, cookies. It goes back and forth between describing the total destruction of all nations and human civilization boo, to looking forward to a time of universal peace and goodness yay. If you are a bystander and witness a crime, should intervention to prevent that crime be a legal obligation. A long time ago in a galilee far, far away, the twelve tribes of israel were adjusting to the new normal after a political crisis. The bystander in the holocaust, im still disturbed and confused about the book. Isaiah is a book with a good number of what you might call mood swings in it. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject.
Although he hailed from judea, amos preached in the northern kingdom of the neighboring nation, israel. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of the theology underlying the book of amos. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. It is a stirring warning to all of the dangers of apostasy, rebellion and complacency. Online library for easy reading any ebook for free anywhere right on the internet. In the first three chapters of amos, six different countries are mentioned. Amos and hosea were coworkers and may even have gone on preaching tours through the land together, although hosea continued his work after amos passed from the scene. The words of amos, who was among the sheepherders from tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning israel in the days of uzziah king of judah, and in the days of jeroboam son of joash, king of israel, two years before the earthquake. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a people who repeatedly shunned.
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. Although he may have been just a sheepherder from tekoa, he was a well educated one and a skilled writer, and his book has quite an elaborate structure. Summary the book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. Amos contains all of the literary types he described. Even after reading and thinking a lot about lawyer amos guioras, the crime of complicity. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. Tekoa was located about twelve miles south of jerusalem. In spite of withering opposition, he fearlessly indicted the nation for its hollow, meaningless piety, social injustice and general immorality. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. Not one of the recognized prophets of israel, nor was he a priest, not even a native of israel but a farmer called of the lord from judah to warn the northern kingdom of the coming judgement. The most popular bible verses from amos found 146 verses amos 4. Study guide for amos 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. Amos was the first prophet after the kingdom of israel was divided by jeroboam, preceding even isaiah and hosea. Elizabeth yates 19052001, prolific american author, won the 1951 newbery medal for her novel amos fortune, free man.
Theses promises are of great blessing and restoration for gods people, put in the following terms. 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. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. Watch our overview video on the book of amos, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Like all the commentators chosen for the hermenia series, paul is learned. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Shmoop premium summary shmoop premium shmoop premium. Their sin because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to edom. He writes about the terrible things that they have done. The book of amos records gods assessment of ancient israels internal condition some forty years before she fell. Amos chapter one commentary by ron beckham audio bible stu dy amos 1. Commentary on the book of amos by matthew henry old.
Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of jeroboam ii c. The prophet amos lived among a group of shepherds in tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of jerusalem. Amos critique of the social sins in judah and israel. Sadie and carters uncle, amos, steps in and brings the kids to new york, revealing that they come from a line of ancient egyptian magicians and need to be. They had split into two countries, each with its own king, religious culture, international intrigue and national brand of hummus. The book of amos amos was a sheepbreeder of tekoa in judah, who delivered his oracles in the northern kingdom during the prosperous reign of jeroboam ii 786746 b. The earliest prophets, such as amos and hosea, warn israel and sometimes judah about the danger of an invasion by the assyrian empire, based in the. The book of amos is a stinging rebuke of a nation that has rejected and forgotten god. I am no prophet, protested amos, nor a prophets son.
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