Amos

Who was Amos?

He was not a prophet or the son of a prophet. Amos was a shepherd and a farmer, a nobody; and yet God chose to speak through him. Why? Because the people who should have been guiding the Israelites were neglecting their duties. Instead of leading the people of Israel toward the Lord, they just did whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased, to whomever they pleased. This did not please God.

The fate of Israel would be no different than that of the nations around them. God was out to punish.

God asked for repentance, but received none. People had become selfish and complacent. The Lord was tired of it, tired of them. Let justice roll like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream. The time had come to set the nations straight.

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord. God said all the sinners would die by the sword, and the chosen few would go into exile.

The books ends with the promise of a brighter day and the restoration of God’s people. Thank goodness God forgives and provides second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, and…) chances.