Prophet of justice understanding the book of amos

He has always been admired for the purity of his language, his beauty of diction, and his poetic art. The prophet was sent to warn the people and lead them to repentance, but they would not change. A significant portion of biblical prophecy, including much of the book of revelation, refers to this. Amos tells us that he was a herdsman and tender of fig trees. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. The words justice and righteousness are used together three times in two chapters of the book of amos amos 5. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against israel and judah, amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation.

The prophet amos lived among a group of shepherds in tekoa, a small town. The prophet gains the attention of his audience by pronouncing judgment on israels enemies before delivering the main burden of judgment against israel herself. He sends his prophets and his punishments in an effort to stimulate. Justice, in amos, has nothing to do with a meaningless cult. I hate, i despise your festivalsbut let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream amos 5.

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. Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. As in the book of hosea religion was prospering but faith in the one true god yhwh was on the decline. Amos is known as the prophet of justice, and although the word appears relatively infrequently, it seems clear that it is one of the most important concepts in his book. Since justice and righteousness are the focus of amos message, it is important to look at how the words justice and righteousness are used by the prophet. The fullest discussion of justice in the old testament shows up in the book of amos. My purpose here is to focus in on one aspect of the book of amos. Marcus borg speaks on the topic of social justice in the bible, specifically book of amos, he looks at the societal context and world orders contemporary to jesus and his disciples to help understand their views of social justice. Describing the genre of a written work that reinvigorates older oral speech forms, in m. Amos is known as the prophet of justice, and although the word appears relatively. Amos is a prophet of divine judgment, and the sovereignty of the lord in. Amos, like many of the other prophets of god, prophesied of the day of the lord. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. Clearly written for a lay audience, doorly manages to survey three important scholarly theories on the books stages of development, convincingly chooses one to focus on for the remainder of the book, and then analyzes the text of amos from the standpoint of this development historyall in a way that is utterly comprehensible to any reader.

In modern times amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. The concept of justice in the book of amos heartwell. Along with this protest is the warning that yahweh will surely punish the nation for violating the demands of justice. The book of amos records gods assessment of ancient israels internal condition some forty years before she fell. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. 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 is named after the prophet whose words are collected in this book. However, the torah and the historical prophetic books referred to as the early. He had never spoken to anyone in public until god called him to declare his word, and amos became a prophet, a spokesman for god.

His major themes of social justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Pdf social justice and the minor prophets of the scriptures. God sent the prophet amos to the nation of israel saying, time is running out. Other prophets, working in the sister kingdom of judah, are indignant about similar things.

He was a shepherd and farmer, but had the special commission to proclaim gods message to the people of israel more precisely, to the northern kingdom of israel, since the people of israel had split into two kingdoms some 150 years before amos days. The prophecy of amos is characterized by great boldness coupled with great tact. In all these respects he is isaiahs spiritual progenitor. Amos shows god demanding justice from them rather than worship.

He did not receive formal education, whether it be theological, spiritual, or otherwise. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. Clearly written for a lay audience, doorly manages to survey three important scholarly theories on the books stages of development, convincingly chooses one to focus on for the remainder of the book, and then analyzes the text of amos. Amos is the author of the book of amos, the third book in the old testament involving the writings of the minor prophets. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. Amos as a way to understand the need for social justice in order to worship, amos 5. The book of amos, written by the minor prophet amos, is found towards the end of the old testament of the bible. As with each of the minor prophets, the title comes from the name of the prophet to whom god gave his message 1. The book of amos is gods message to his people to repent and reform, as he is angered by the israelites unfaithfulness, perversion and distortion of religion. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. Amos lived during a time of great national prosperity, balanced upon a very shaky foundation. They also relied on their faulty understanding of what it means to be gods chosen. Prior to that, gods word through amos was directed against the privileged people of israel, a people who had no love for their neighbor, who took advantage of others, and who only looked out for their own concerns. Editors and copyists added comments to the prophets original oracles that they deemed appropriate in light of events that occurred after his death.

How some scholars have divided the book of amos amos the eighth century prophet of tekoa a sociological detour the seventh century scribe of jerusalem the final author of the book of amos when a book of the bible has three authors spiritual truth from the authors of amos. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled. Most of this title is given over to making the authors reasonable case that the book of amos has three distinct authorsproduced by a process taking almost two hundred years. Amos has much to say about oppression and the plight of the poor in israel, so it is only natural that his book has become a focal point for discussions about social justice. Amos great innovation on the biblical landscape is that israels moral state directly affects its national destiny. We live in a time of corporate greed and domination. The book of amos is a stinging rebuke of a nation that has rejected and forgotten god. To begin, marcus tells a parable about cows who are confined by an electric. Click download or read online button to get the book of the prophet amos book now. At least three aspects of the issue dealt with by amos concern the nature of god, the. It is a stirring warning to all of the dangers of apostasy, rebellion and complacency. 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 relevance of the prophet amos today in closing, the book of amos continues to be relevant concerning social and economic in justice. As it is presented in this book, amoss message is one of almost unrelieved. The concept of justice in the book of amos heartwell productions. Social justice in amos the good book blog biola university. So begins the message delivered by the prophet amos. For amos, justice among people must begin with the lord himself. Watch our overview video on the book of amos, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, 2 was active c. Hardly any aspect of the book remains untouched by extensive commentary. Specific warnings were also given to surrounding nations, explaining that their cruelty to israel would not escape gods notice and justice.

And we must never forget that amos is speaking to us, the church of god, the israel of god. Amos is the third of the twelve prophets in the book of the twelve in hebrew scripture. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah. However, amos treatment of justice echoes what we also find elsewhere in the bible. I have no intention to even begin to address the fullness of the nine. The message he is given is not the comfort ye of isaiah 40. Based on my understanding of amos, i would say that he expects a system that makes. Amos is the first of the prophets to write down the messages he has received. Religion without justice is an affront to the god of israel and, far from. What we know of amos derives solely from the book that he himself authored. That is the gospel message that we understand today. A meditation on the richness of justice fred guyette the lord roareth from zion, and uttereth his voice from jerusalem.

Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom. Despite the fact that israel certainly had problems with idolatry in his time, amos never explicitly condemns itnor any other sin pertaining to. Amos has perhaps received more critical attention than any other minor prophet. Amos was the first biblical prophet whose words were recorded in a book, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah. Amos, the first hebrew prophet to have a biblical book named for him. The book of amos by the minor prophet amos 1 words 5 pages. In the delivery of his prophecy he is very courageous while being unusually stern and severe. Understanding the book of amos paperback december 1, 1989 by william j. The twelve include hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi. He was a shepherd from a hebrew village called tekoa. When the lord sent amos to speak to the people of israel, it was one of the most peaceful and prosperous periods in the kingdoms history.