Minor Prophets Major Lessons – Amos

From Amos to Us

It is hard to preach an entire book of the Bible in one sermon, and harder still with the Minor Prophets, because there is so much in them. Pastor Dan said the week before that they are no less important than the Major Prophets. Joel focused on complacency and comfort in worship, and Amos focuses on the coming judgment of the Lord, not only on unbelieving Gentiles but on the Israelites, God’s chosen people, based on how they treated others, how they worshiped, and their refusal to repent. Amos could have been written to Community Baptist Church, or to any believer in Spring Hill, Tennessee, in 2023.

Who Was Amos?

The Jewish people were split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Amos was from Tekoa, six or seven miles south of Bethlehem. He was a nobody. Chapter 7 says he was no prophet or prophet’s son but a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. God took him from following the flock and said go prophesy to my people Israel. He was the first prophet to go to Israel, before Jonah went to Nineveh. “It doesn’t matter what we do God can still use us and God will still use us.” You do not have to be a pastor to carry God’s message in your workplace, community, or home.

Under Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel, the borders had expanded, Assyria was declining, and trade routes brought prosperity. But Israel was deeply into golden calves and idols. An upper class built expensive homes, enjoyed a carnal lifestyle, and exploited the poor. Political corruption was rampant. They acted very religious, knew the songs to sing, observed the feasts and the Sabbath, but were annoyed at having to close their businesses and were dishonest. Israel had been chosen to represent and reveal God by how they worshiped and lived, and she was no different than any other nation. Judgment begins with the household of God, and “if the Judgment of God Falls first on the people of God then how much more is it going to fall on his enemies.”

Judgment on the Neighbors

Amos 1:2 through 2:4 pronounces judgment on Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah. Their sins were extreme brutality in war, selling people into slavery, unrelenting wrath, genocide, desecration of the dead, and rejecting God’s law. Each judgment begins, “for three transgressions and for four,” which does not mean three or four sins. It means an excess. I see it in my daughter, who has me wrapped around her finger. I correct her, and correct her, and correct her, and I am lenient until I’m not. “God is very long-suffering and patient with us when it comes to our sin.” He would be justified the first time we sin, but there is a point at which he says enough.

Amos even includes his own homeland, Judah, because it rejected the law of the Lord. Hebrews 10:26-28 warns that deliberate sin leaves a fearful expectation of judgment.

Imagine Israel hearing a foreigner pronounce judgment on their enemies. They liked Amos. It is like when I correct one of my kids, and the other says, yeah, get him, Dad. They don’t realize the other shoe is about to drop. We tend to put ourselves in Israel’s place, thinking we are better than other groups and will escape. But those who have heard God’s word are held to a higher standard.

Judgment on Israel

From 2:6 through chapter 9, Amos turns to Israel. For three transgressions and four, they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for sandals, trample the poor, and profane God’s name. God had chosen them, delivered them, and defeated their enemies, and they turned away, even rejecting the prophets. Their sins were social, with cruel oppression and perverted justice, and religious. In Chapter 4 the women are fat cows of Bashan, greedy for luxury, pushing their husbands to get more. They were lavish in religious performances while worshiping false gods, and the whole system was a hypocritical sham. A seminary professor told us: “There’s The God Who is and there’s the god that we’ve created.” Israel added rules and created a false god.

God reminds them in 2:9, it was I who destroyed the Amorite before you and I brought you out of Egypt. You didn’t do this. They forgot, and we do too. We live in a wealthy area. I read once that if you make more than $34,000 a year, you are in the top one percent of wealth globally. When we get comfortable, we relax, and we follow God’s commands less strictly. How do we treat people? How authentic is our worship?

Hope for the Remnant

If the book ended with judgment, God would be just. But he calls Israel to seek him and live. In chapter 9, Amos sees God standing beside the altar. There is a message of judgment: no one can hide from his presence. And there is a message of hope: in that day I will raise up the booth of David that has fallen and rebuild it as in the days of old, restore the fortunes of my people, and plant them so they will never be uprooted. A day is coming when God gathers his people from the ends of the earth and they dwell in safety forever.

Amos reminds us that “our faith has to be accompanied by actions of compassion and justice.” It challenges us to examine our motives and confronts empty worship. And we are called to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.