Have you ever started reading a book, and realized that it was from the middle of a series? Or, maybe you watched a movie or TV episode and realized that quite a bit of context was missing, in order to understand what was going on? (By the way, I’m not sure what has triggered the recent trend of multi-part movies recently. We knew that Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” series was going to be a trilogy, but I recently watched a movie with my wife and was surprised to find the credits start to role before the plot was wrapped up. Maybe we should blame Marvel for making so much money on Infinity War and Endgame, but if I’m going to pay for tickets and spend 2-3 hours of my life watching a movie, I like to get the whole story in return.)
In any case, if we enter something in the middle, we don’t always have the required context. So, in that light, the basis for the next several articles is from the book of Amos, chapter 9. Let’s see how the book of Amos begins:
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 was king of Israel.
Amos 1:1 NIV
So, why is this shepherd contributing to a book of the Bible, when did Uzziah and Jehoash reign, and what’s up with “the earthquake”? I admit that – prior to studying for this lesson – I didn’t know much about the book of Amos myself. Maybe you’re already an expert on this book of the Bible, but for the rest of us, let’s catch up a bit on where it fits in.
Like the accounts of Micah and Hosea that earlier articles discussed, the prophet Amos lived before Israel (and later Judah) were conquered.
According to the NIV’s introduction to the book of Amos, the people of Israel (i.e., the northern kingdom) were enjoying political and national success, and felt that they were getting pretty close to a time when God would give them sole control of the region. The idea was that this event – called “The day of the LORD” – was coming soon, and they were about to take over. This sounds pretty similar to the people in Jesus’ day, who were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow Roman authority over their nation.
However, when the residents of any country think that God owes them superiority because they’re somehow better than everyone else, they need to perform some introspection and see if they are indeed living in God’s will. Are they generally living in a healthy relationship with God, or are they doing their own thing, but just saying that they are on God’s side?
To quote part of the introduction to Amos in the NIV:
“Into this atmosphere of overconfident nationalism steps Amos, a shepherd from the southern kingdom of Judah. He stands in the great royal temple at Bethel and announces that God is stirring up a nation to conquer Israel….God is calling Israel to repentance as the only way to avoid destruction.”
The Lookout describes Amos and the nation during his time like this:
“Amos was not from a priestly family. He was a farmer…. He prophesied around 755 BC. Uzziah, who was a pretty good king, was reigning in Judah, and Jeroboam, who was a pretty bad king, was reigning in Israel…But the nations around Israel (Amos 1–2) and Israel herself were very broken (Amos 3–9). God addressed the brokenness through Amos’s oracles and visions.”
Let’s pick up in the next article with one of Amos’s prophecies, starting in verse 5 of Amos chapter 9. If I’m reading the quotation marks correctly, verses 1-4 from that chapter describe what God said, while verses 5 and 6 are back to a prophecy or statement from Amos (which I believe was inspired by God, per 2 Timothy 3:16-17), and verse 7 resumes God’s words. I encourage you to read all of Amos 9 before the next article.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 19, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, March 19, 2023, © 2022 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Volume 1 – Hosea-Micah, by Harold Shank. © 2001 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 