The prophet Amos is the oldest prophet to have a book named after him. According to Bandastra, Amos prophesied between the years of 760-750 BCE. The introduction of the Book of Amos tells us that Amos was a prophet "from a little town in Judea called Tekoa, and he was a shepherd (Bandastra)." This doesn't mean Amos was poor. He may have been a landowner. We also learn that Amos is an agricultural worker later in the book. Amos was not a part of the professional prophet guild, but was called by God to be a prophet.
Amos delivers many oracles targeted at Israel and has a lot to say about social justice. The ruling class during his time exploited the poor, and Amos delivered a lot of messages from God to the Israelites about the punishments that would come if they continued to ignore the needs of the poor. "Amos took the religious concepts of justice and righteousness, which had primary application to the way God deals with his people, and applied them to human social interaction (Bandastra)."
If we look at Amos 2:6-16; 5:10-17; 6:1-8; 8:4-9:4 we can see the judgements Amos brought to the Israelites, what God's punishments will be for these wrongdoings, and what the people can do to make it right.
What is wrong with the Israelites?
2:6-16
...they have sold the innocent for silver,
and those in need for a pair of sandals.
They crush the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,
and push the afflicted out of the way.
Father and son have intercourse with the same young woman,
degrading my holy name.
They stretch out beside every altar
on garments taken in loan;
in the house of their god they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.
5:10-17
I know how many are your crimes,
and how numerous are your sins—
afflicting the righteous,
taking money on the side,
turning away the poor who seek help.
What is wrong with the Israelites?
2:6-16
...they have sold the innocent for silver,
and those in need for a pair of sandals.
They crush the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,
and push the afflicted out of the way.
Father and son have intercourse with the same young woman,
degrading my holy name.
They stretch out beside every altar
on garments taken in loan;
in the house of their god they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.
5:10-17
I know how many are your crimes,
and how numerous are your sins—
afflicting the righteous,
taking money on the side,
turning away the poor who seek help.
8:4-9:4
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and destroy
the poor of the land,
What will happen to the people?
2:6-16
So now I will oppress you,
just like a cart is weighed down
when it is full of harvested grain.
5:10-17
In all the vineyards there will be bitter crying because
I will pass through your midst,
says the Lord.
6:1-8
Doom to those resting comfortably in Zion
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and destroy
the poor of the land,
What will happen to the people?
2:6-16
So now I will oppress you,
just like a cart is weighed down
when it is full of harvested grain.
5:10-17
In all the vineyards there will be bitter crying because
I will pass through your midst,
says the Lord.
6:1-8
Doom to those resting comfortably in Zion
The Lord God has solemnly sworn,
says the Lord, the God of heavenly forces:
I reject the pride of Jacob.
I hate his fortresses.
I will hand over the city and all that is in it.
8:4-9:4
I will fix my eyes on them
for harm and not for good.
How can they avoid these punishments?
5:10-17
Hate evil, love good,
and establish justice at the city gate.
The prophesies of Amos remind us to care for the poor and disenfranchised, for we should "hate evil, love good, and establish justice."
Good background material at the beginning of the post. It helps us understand what stake Amos had as a prophet to Israel. I also like being able to see the source scripture laid out as one continuous conversation that is tied together. There seems to be a lot of filler scripture in Amos that prevents us from seeing this specific line of argument. Its interesting to see how this type of prophecy can be applied in the modern world in modern situations today.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading through Amos I realized why MLK used it in some of his speeches! I mean, I knew why, but then the head understanding moved to my heart in the reading of Amos. I can not read the prophets without thinking about our current US culture and politics. What would happen if we had "prophets" to call out our leadership whether that be in the church or the national stage? What if we had people called by God that weren't beholden to the ruling power?
ReplyDeleteI am in Washington DC this week with a group of students and I am struck by the idea of political leadership being tied to a prophet. All good leaders have someone who holds them accountable in a loving respectful way in order that the leader's power doesn't become unwieldy. I think the founding fathers tried to set up our government with these checks and balances but the lobbyists have taken over, I fear. OK, enough ranting.
I really appreciated your outline of Amos, the structure and intent of the texts and verses. Maybe you should be an editor?
I like the way you've formatted your points. I also appreciate that you gave a little background of Amos (especially that you pointed out that just because he was a shepherd doesn't mean he was poor... he may have been a landowner!). Doesn't knowing the background information (from the lectures/readings/etc.) about each book we're reading? I feel like I'm looking anew on all of these scriptures!
ReplyDeleteI second what Melissa said. I didn't think about the possibility of Amos being a landowner and not necessarily being poor. I think it is important to note that Amos was not a professional prophet but was still called by God, and I like that you included that in your introduction.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight!