Prophet Amos is one of the prophets regarded as a minor prophet in the Bible since the length of his prophecy is relatively shorter compared to other major prophets. In the introduction of the book of Amos, the character who is also the author is revealed as a dweller among shepherds and a tender of sycamore-fig trees in the land of Tekoa in Judah. In the writings, Amos tends to reveal that he was a humble soul who did not come from a lineage of prophets and had never considered himself as one. Amos is also revealed during the reigns of king Jeroboam II the son of Joash who led the Israelites and king Uzziah of Judah. It was a period of economic prosperity for the two nations and with it brought godlessness and corruption. Amos was therefore chosen by od to send a message of punishment to the nations. Despite being a dweller of the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos managed to address Israel and other surrounding nations through God’s instructions. His fearlessness and outspoken words prompted the attention of the sinners and showed his heart for those who were oppressed and lacked a voice to rebuke the oppressors. Specific warnings were given to the different nations regarding their sinful state and aimed at prophesying punishment to them. More than most books in the Bible, the book of Amos tends to hold people accountable for their wicked nature and ill-treatment of their neighbors. Amos was appointed as a prophet to rebuke the failure of people from the northern nation to heed to God’s idea of justice on towards the poor and women.
Amos, the author, is a main character in the book as he is at the center of all prophecies being given to the Israelites. His humility and hard work are highlighted by showing his working capabilities as a shepherd and tenderer of fig trees. He develops as a foreign individual sent to address the nation of God’s people since he comes from a land that appears to be less sinful than the Israel nation (Andersen, 1989). Amos travels to Bethel, where Jeroboam II lived, to share the prophecy. The place which was once a special symbol of Israel’s history and the presence of God had been turned to the center of idol worship for the northern kingdom of Israel. This depicts the people of Israel their priests and king as rogues since the covenant with God had been made between God and the Israelites purposefully since they were regarded as God’s children. The people of the northern nation claimed Amos to be a foreigner since he was from Judah and contended that as a viable reason for them to ignore the warnings and messages of doom. The priest, Amaziah, of Bethel even went forth to accuse Amos of planning evil against the king. The prophet Amos, however, does not deter from his message, he continues to prophesy with humility and confidence by God’s guidance. Amos’ character, however, tends to reveal God’s use of even the minor members of the society to address the kings and the elite dwellers on their immorality.
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Amos as a character is portrayed as a voice for the oppressed in the outline of events in the book. Being a prophet with origins from Judah, his prophesies to the Israelites, and the surrounding nations were met with prideful resistance. Even in his land of origin, Amos had a message of rebuke for the people of Judah being resistant to God’s lwas. Amos took the role of pointing out the sinful nature that had crept into the children of God. With the increased wealth of nations of Israel, it had led to the decay in moral standards of the people. The rich oppressed the poor, the commandments that had guided the Israelites for years were being defied, and corruption was at a high. The Israelites had lived in hypocrisy for a long time claiming to be God’s chosen people but had failed to show that to the world. Amos reveals the need to practice righteousness by being kind to all people, the poor, the weak, and the Gentiles. People had also opted to build altars on the mountains to serve their Canaanite gods. The vile practices provoked the need to rebuke their acts. The message put across in the book of Amos is the effort Amos put in warning the people to turn from evil and amend their ways or else their nations would be doomed. In previous books of the Bible, God had been referred to as the shepherd who led the Israelites out of calamities and into the safe zones for prosperity. Amos, however, describes the Lord as a roaring lion. At the time, the lion was probably the most feared predator and this aimed at showing the looming wrath if the people did not change. This was, however, for the most part, ignored as the people led by their kings opted to enjoy their wealth and sinful practices. The theme of equality is shown as God views all nation as equals and expects all to obey the commandments and lead lives of righteousness.
Amos is also used to put across God’s message of compassion and salvation for his people in a word that is also repeated by apostle James. In the final verses of the book, the prophecy that Amos puts across is a promise that once again the Lord would use His people (the Israelites) to bring many of the Gentile nations into salvation through the knowledge of God. This was a message that was later fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah and evangelism beginning in Israel spreading across the entire world. The word is a show of God’s love for His people and that even after punishment for wrongdoing, there is still a high measure of love that spreads all over to the Gentiles.
Amos as a human being was fed up by the religious lawlessness of the people of Israel. Most prophets before him had prophesied about success, redemption, and restoration, but his prophecies were more of warning to the corrupt nations. Amos prophesied doom to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah and also foretold calamity to countries that would attack the people of Israel. His message of consolation only came in the last verses of the book thus showing the ungodliness of the nations being rebuked. Amos had five visions which were aimed at revealing God’s plan for the Israelites. The visions of locusts and fire were visions that prophesied doom to the nations. The people would suffer calamities and hunger for periods. However, Amos showed compassion to people whom he once saw as defaulters of God’s law and pleaded with God to show mercy to them. The Lord responded to his plea. The vision of the plumb line was used to show much the Israelites had fallen to crooked ways of conduct and that God had checked their hearts and found them not to be right. As a plumber destroys a crooked wall, God had promised to destroy the Israelites (Paul & Cross, 1990). The vision of the basket fruit and destruction of the alter also had messages of the time being right for the Israelites to be punished and the idol altars in Bethel would be destroyed. Amos is seen not to plea for mercy after these revelations. It is believed that by the time God was revealing the third vision, Amos saw it futile to plead for mercy for individuals who were likely not to repent.
Amos, being regarded as a minor prophet, is one whose importance cannot be demeaned since his message was powerful and aimed at restoring the relationship of people with God. The prophecies come at a time when prosperity and happiness were experienced in the nations. With such jubilation, it would be customary for the people to honor God through prayers and offering. This, however, does not happen and it calls for the introduction of the young foreign prophet of God to reveal the wicked ways in oppressing the poor and defying God’s law. Amos character of humility and confidence is well revealed through his actions of spreading God’s message in a subtle manner while also maintaining confidence even in trials such as the false accusations given by priest Amaziah to the king. Amos’ nature of compassion is revealed in his efforts to ensure God forgives the people of Israel but gives in when he realizes the people are less likely to listen to the warning with a reluctant acceptance of the looming punishment. Through God’s revelation Amos was shown the true nature of the Israelites and how far they had fallen from the glory of God. Amos’ prophecy of restoration is one that is quite important since it was fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah years later to bring salvation to the world. Even though much of the writings of the book depict punishment and suffering prophecies, the tiny bit of prophecy about the spread of God’s word from the heart of Israel to the gentile nations is one that is quite significant in the aim of human salvation from sin.
References
Andersen, F. I. (1989). Amos: A new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 24). Doubleday.
Paul, S. M., & Cross, F. M. (1990). Amos: A commentary on the Book of Amos . Augsburg Fortress Publishers.
