Apr 30, 2012 how disappointing theology of the book of amos instead proved to be. The main themes of amos and lessons that we learn from this book are. It is a prophecy for the period just ahead of us, a prophecy dealing with a. 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. Pastor allen continues his indepth study in the book of amos part 4. 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. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of jeroboam ii, king of israel from 786 to 746 bce. The book of amos is one of the least understood in the holy scriptures. Mar 14, 2018 every book of the bible has a theme and a purpose, and that is true of the book of james as well. Amos was from the city name tekoa which is located about 12 miles south of jerusalem amos 1. Apr 02, 2020 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 is a stirring warning to all of the dangers of apostasy, rebellion and complacency. What follows is an attempt to capture these themes its simplest form.
Find out what true worship looks like in the book of amos. The central idea of the book of amos is that god puts his people on the same level as the surrounding nations god. May 18, 2017 thus, the majority of modern scholars consider the genre of the book of amos to be a prophetic book, many even believing that a specified genre that can unify the entire book and its themes to be a covenant enforcement document, where amos utilized and developed the law of moses and its stipulations and punishments in forming the. In an effort to drive home his main point act on your faith, james gives. Each session starts with a warm up question or activity and then aims to get everyone all participants to engage with the biblical text each session focuses on 1 or 2 chapters of amos so encourage everyone involved to make sure they bring their bibles or provide them. Dec 06, 2012 structure of and literary features in the book of amos 22.
Amos must have subsequently returned to tekoa where he assembled and edited his messages as we now see them in the book. A real relationship with god should show in social justice and righteousness. If the day is dark gray and overcast, and terrible storms are coming, we still know that if we go high enough above the clouds, the sun is still shining bright. The main theme of james is that of faith and actions, but there are also other themes and key topics addressed in this book. Selfserving wealth can do nothing but try to squeeze more out of others. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of gods laws. Every book of the bible has a theme and a purpose, and that is true of the book of james as well. He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in a gentleman in moscow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Introduction and key themes of the amos course how does the course work. 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. However, amos treatment of justice echoes what we also find elsewhere in. Structure of and literary features in the book of amos 22. A gentleman in moscow begins in 1922 and centers on the life of russian aristocrat count alexander ilyich rostov.
This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of. The book of amos is a stinging rebuke of a nation that has rejected and forgotten god. Next week, lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications. The book of amos, the third of the twelve minor prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the bible from the time it was written 8th century bce down to the 20th century. This article discusses the themes, style and implications of. Amos was a contemporary of hosea, isaiah, and jonah. 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. Themes in the book of james scripture confident living. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. The book of amos introduction to the book of amos in the bible. The theology of the book of amos in modern times, amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of jeroboam ii c.
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. His major themes of justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the sin of gods people, repentance are not easy subjects. Hear ye this word which i take up against you, even a lamentation, o house of israel. The work chronicles the visions that the ancient author of this book believed he received from god in order to warn israel of its impending doom and destruction unless it restores its religious duties to god instead of engaging in the. This article discusses the themes, style and implications of the book. A gentleman in moscow themes from litcharts the creators of. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. The covenant lawsuit, woe oracles, laments, promise. Book summary this book is the proverbs of the new testament a practical christian guidebook it portrays christ as our pattern. And we must never forget that amos is speaking to us, the church of god, the israel of god.
Imprisonment, freedom, and purpose a gentleman in moscow begins in 1922 and centers on the life of russian aristocrat count alexander ilyich rostov. Amos may have delivered the prophecies of this book at different places in the northern kingdom, such as samaria and bethel. This puts bethlehem about half way between tekoa and jerusalem. Amos contains all of the literary types he described. Every promise appropriated from heaven needs to be activated on earth. So the two great sins condemned in the book of amos are syncretistic. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of the theology underlying the book of amos. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace gods idea of justice. Jonahs preaching in nineveh must have been similar. Amos prophecy was a judgement message to a few nations, but primarily against the 10 tribe kingdom of israel, warning of gods judgement against them for their false worship, immorality. I can just imagine him shouting and pronouncing judgment on these surrounding nations, and his audience would be listening with delight as he listed the evil. Amos continues to prophecy jacob but amos sees how horrible gods judgments could be amos 7. 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. Themes of bible books simplified in one or two sentences.
Summary of the book of amos the story of the bible. That is what amos is doing in his periodic hymns of praise to yahweh. The main themes of the book of amos are social justice, god\s omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The coming downfall and the utter collapse of the northern kingdom are two major themes in the book of amos. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. External worship apart from right living that reflects a right heart is sickening to god. A gentleman in moscow themes from litcharts the creators. A more detailed article on the book of amos is provided on the biblical studies foundation site. How disappointing theology of the book of amos instead proved to be. When a poem with revolutionary subtext is attributed to the count, however, he is sentenced to house arrest in the metropol for the remainder of his lifetime. The fullest discussion of justice in the old testament shows up in the book of amos. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. 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.
This lecture studies the literary features and major themes of classical israelite prophecy as evidenced in particular in the book of the eighthcentury northern prophet amos. Differences between deuteronomistic and prophetic interpretations of. I challenge you to blow the ancient dust off amos 9. God expects his people to reflect his own character by being just. That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah.
James looks at faith from a human perspective a faith that works while paul is looking at faith from gods perspective, that is a faith in him. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom. Instead of focusing on,dare i wryly point to the obvious, the theology of amos, barton spends most of his work fixating on textual criticism questions, particularly issues regarding the validity of amoss authorship, the integrity of the book, and its dating. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. This lecture studies the literary features and major themes of classical israelite prophecy as evidenced in particular in the. Amos was a shepherd and a farmer of sycamore fruit which is a fruit somewhat like figs amos 7.
In the book of amos, we find two different kinds of light. Amos was apparently a peripatetic prophet who kept repeating a basic message, the summary for which is given by amaziah in 7. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. If you would like to read this first prophetic book of the bible, please click the link to the chapter you would like to read and all of. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a. The message of amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it landed on the people of god 2,700 years ago. 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. Before the novels opening, the count had lived a life of luxury in moscows metropol hotel. As in the book of hosea religion was prospering but faith in the one true god yhwh was on the decline. Instead of focusing on,dare i wryly point to the obvious, the theology of amos, barton spends most of his work fixating on textual criticism questions, particularly issues regarding the validity of amos s authorship, the integrity of the book, and its dating. The book of amos is an intriguing scripture from a unique individual, amos, a shepherd and fig tree farmer dwelling in southern judah who is called by god to go to bethel and announce warnings of judgment.
The novel was the first major african literary work to be published in english outside of africa. Amos accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god, and highlights how their idolatry has led to injustice and the neglect of the poor. The book of amos is filled with imagery related to sin and judgment. Bible character study on amos what christians want to know. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, february 20. The theme that runs through all of the material is one of protest against the social injustices that prevailed in northern israel during the reign of jeroboam ii. The book of amos is a prophetic book of the hebrew bible largely dating to the 8th century bce and considered to be scripture by modernday jews and christians. 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. The key idea in amos is that god is just and impartial and will judge not only the nations but also his own people for their life of ease and apathy amid human suffering. Unlike the messages of earlier prophets with the possible exception of joel, the words of amos were preserved in writing like. By ted grimsrud lets now look at a place where the bible uses the explicit language of justice. The theology of the book of amos old testament theology.
Every few years, the bank i use sends me new debit and credit cards with the instructions to call a specific number in order to. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under. The palmwine drinkard is a novel by nigerian writer amos tutuola. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a people who repeatedly shunned and disobeyed him. More than almost any other book of scripture, the book of amos holds gods people accountable for their illtreatment of others. The american catholic scripture from scratch site has a very accessible article comparing themes in amos and in the new testament book of james. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. God will judge all people, including his chosen people.
It is certain only that he fulfilled some of his prophetic ministry at bethel amos 7. Book of amos summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of amos for bible study or sunday school lessons. 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. Amos 12 contains a great example of this entrapment technique, and recognizing what amos is doing here really helps us to understand what is being said and what is the theme of the book. Amos mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, israel. The message of amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it landed on the. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of.
For those wanting to dig deeper into bible book paragraph summary themes go here. The israelites had a unique and privileged relationship with god. The israelites clearly expected a day of the lord when all their enemies would be judged 1. For three sins of judah, even for four, i will not turn back my wrath. Each book has a major theme that emphasizes an aspect of gods character or a way he is working to carry out his perfect plan. The prophetic books are anthologies of oracles the sequence of which is often determined by literary rather than chronological considerations. The basis for these predictions is not the rise in power of the assyrian empire, with its threat of invasion from the north, but rather the immorality expressed in the political, economic, and religious life of amos contemporaries.