It is a stirring warning to all of the dangers of apostasy, rebellion and complacency. Jonah, micah, hosea, the writers of 1 and 2 chronicles, and the writers of 1 and 2 kings. Scientists have tried to pinpoint the date of this earthquake with greater accuracy, but the quakes effects were largely eliminated after amos flew around the earth. The book begins with the phrase the words of amos and amos l. Amos provides a brief rundown of these events in amos 4. 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. 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. A significant portion of biblical prophecy, including much of the book of revelation, refers to this period of endtime events. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. I would not use it to drive the point home about slave trade.
But this book is almost unreadably racist and patronizing. What was the significance of the horns of the altar amos 3. In the first eight chapters of his or their book, zechariah is a more imaginative version of haggai. It is important to mention that only the catholic old testament contains in its canon the book of judith because the jews only consider the book written in aramaic and greek to be holy. God is so impressed with solomons humble request that he promises solomon the additional gifts of wealth and long life. Unlike most of the other writing prophets of the old testament, amos lifelong calling was not that of a prophet but involved agriculture. We will begin with the end of the first part of the book in which he has chastised the pagan nations, and then in. The twelve include hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah, and malachi. Nahum summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of nahum for bible study or sunday school lessons.
Book of amos bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. Instead of choosing between prayer and service, the book of amos teaches us that both are essential. Tekoa was located about twelve miles south of jerusalem. 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. Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. Jerome believed that this was a good place to begin ones biblereading too late. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Since there is no shmoop in ancient israel, god himself has to explain what they mean. The book of isaiah is the first of the latter prophets in the hebrew bible and the first of the. Because of israels false worship and abuse of the poor, needy, and upright in the land, the lord their god promises to judge the people and jeroboam their king, as he will the nations around them, by leading his people into captivity. 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. Nora unwin 19071982 illustrated more than one hundred books for children. Amos fortune, free man newbery library, puffin yates, elizabeth on.
Amos protests that israel is small and unworthyhow will it survive these plagues. May 18, 2017 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. Hamath was a great city that fell to the assyrians in amos day. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Amos warned israel that they would likewise fall into ruin unless they turned from their sins. As to all the nations listed in the book of amos if they had repented, he would have spared them. Scholars have long recognized that amos utilized an ancient hymn within his prophecy, verses of which are found at 4.
The prophecy of amos should simplify the choices in our lives. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakh old testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. Amos traveled to keene, new hampshire in order to make a delivery to the tanner whod consigned his leather. 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. As the son of a priest, iddo, zechariahs interested in the restoration of the high priests and the holy temple in jerusalem. The book of obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of edom and the restoration. The following lesson was adapted for a small group of children ranging in ages from 611. And we must never forget that amos is speaking to us, the church of god, the israel of god. 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.
Hear this word, you cows of bashan on mount samaria, you women who oppress the poor. In four ways, the old testament book of amos is essential for a robust understanding of the gospel. That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah. The land between egypt and canaan of the first exodus was a great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland deut 8. 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. 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. 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. For the purpose of this paper we will look at the entire book for any references to critiques by amos. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. Its a great book to read focusing on empowerment, discipline, and hard work in the worst of situations.
Daniel belongs to the latter group, a type of writing that in many respects sharply contrasts prophetic literature. Amos begged for gods mercy and god responded to amos plea. Not much has been written about it in the new church. Book of amos summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of amos for bible study or sunday school lessons. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of jeroboam ii c. Amos fortune had a very interesting life, and a new biography of him would be great. The only time the name of amos appears in the old testment is in the book of amos. Isaiah jeremiah lamentations baruch ezekiel daniel hosea joel amos. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. As a book, i would probably rate it highly in a list of similar childrens biographies for interest and readability.
Biblical bookbybook summaries peace of christ roman catholic. 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. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. Although there are sermons using a verse or part of a. 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 you, the israel of these verses, is not truly quite the same as other nations, however. The earliest prophets, such as amos and hosea, warn israel and sometimes. As it turns out, the great inventor benjamin franklin got his best ideas from a mouse named amos. Even though it is a model that tells us how god regards us all, nevertheless israel is special. The first two visions include destruction by locusts and fire.
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. Elizabeth yates 19052001, prolific american author, won the 1951 newbery medal for her novel amos fortune, free man. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. 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. Uzziah was king in judah in the south and jeroboam ii was king in the northern kingdom of israel when the locust plague happened. Funny, interesting and wise, this classic tale has been a favorite for generations.
In fact, some scholars believe that micah was originally part of another book. Since i started working on this study of amos, i have searched our library holdings with the hope i would turn up a hidden or forgotten study by some new church scholar. Then he says something to his own people who live in israel and judah. The book of amos is a stinging rebuke of a nation that has rejected and forgotten god. The question and answer section for amos fortune, free man is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
To drive home the point the prophet hosea marries an adulterous prostitute. Amos mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, israel. Commentary on the book of amos by matthew henry old. The prophet amos lived among a group of shepherds in tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of jerusalem. Among the regions great powers, edom was held in low regard. 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. The students discover that although amos message was very bad news to gods people because of their wickedness they would be punished. A weight attached to a string a builder uses to measure how straight a wall is. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. Those are the book written before the birth of jesus.
Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. The book of, one of the twelve minor prophets, is part of the christian old testament. 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. But zechariah is two, count em, two minor prophets in one. A fire that destroys not only vegetation but even underground water. God was measuring israels religious conduct and behavior. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. Once youve met amos and read his account, youll never think of ben franklinor american historyquite the same way. 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. She also received a newbery honor in 1944 for mountain born. 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. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a people who repeatedly shunned and disobeyed him. Aug 30, 2017 the book of amos kjv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 30 duration. The question whether the book of amos indicates an acquaintance with these or not is important because it is to a great extent on the silence of prophetical and historical writers that critics of a certain school relegate these legalistic portions of the pentateuch to a late date.
The motive of an innocent victim and her victory through suffering was a great inspiration to artists. The most popular bible verses from amos found 146 verses amos 4. The book closes with a series of prophetic visions. 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. That is the question posed by amos oz, israels bestknown novelist, perpetually mentioned as a candidate for the nobel prize for literature. He lived in a small village named moresheth, not far from the city of gath, which was destroyed by. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a. Summary the book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be. Summary the prophet micah was a contemporary of isaiah. Gath was a city taken by hazael, king of damascus shortly before amos day.
Rather, he was a grower of sycamore figs as well as a shepherd amos 7. 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. Amos critique of the social sins in judah and israel. He writes about the terrible things that they have done. Strong opposition to amos developed at once when amaziah, a priest, sent. God has called christians not only to be in relationship with him but also to be in relationships with others. The book of daniel has sometimes been classified with the prophetic books of the old testament, a mistake owing largely to a failure to distinguish between the predominant characteristics of prophetic and apocalyptic writings.