Amos 1-5

[wolfpurplemoon]

Apparently it gives Amos credibility as a true prophet to point out that he was a mere herdsman so therefore must have been talking to God.

Amos' predictions are all about the nations that God wants to destroy being set on fire.

We now have a list of all the terrible things that God has done to Israel and the fact that after each one they still didn't come back to him, well of course not, would you go back to an abusive father/husband?

Comments

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

Amos was a prophet around 750BC. He was a prophet to Israel (the Northern Kingdom) during the reign of Jeroboam II. Professional prophets tended to hang around the court of a king where they would be available to prophecy on any issue when the king needed advice. Amos wasn't one of these, but was instead called to prophecy. His home, Tekoa was in Judah (the Southern Kingdom), so he would have had a pretty long, and probably prohibitively expensive journey to travel to Israel to deliver this prophecy. He let his audience know that he wasn't a professional prophet partly because the professional prophets had a reputation for being sycophants to the king, and partly because he had to explain why he, a shepherd, was suddenly making a trip to Samaria, and where he came from would be part of his explanation.

Amos begins (chapters 1 and 2) with prophecies of judgment on Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom and Moab, all long time enemies of Israel and Judah, and of the worship of God. He then talks about Judah and Israel as also being punished in exactly the same light. They too have offended God just as much as the neighboring countries. The message is that although the enemies are certainly against God, God's own people, because they have abandoned the covenant, are also standing against God.

Amos asks obvious questions relating to nature and people (two people walking a road together will meet each other, people are frightened when a city alarm is sounded, etc.) to show how God also relates to people through the prophets (when God plans something, he tells the prophets). He says that ordinary people become prophets when God speaks (as Amos did).
Samaria is doomed because it doesn't know how to do right (sort of the feeling that many in the United States have about Washington DC). The Samaritans knew their foundation under God, but refused to acknowledge it.

Chapter 4:4-5 discusses simply the attitude of people in Israel. They would sin all they want and then go through the motions of sacrifices and forgiveness, but they are insincere in their repentance, so their sin still exists.
God has sent signs to the people of God's displeasure. Drought, poor crops, etc. which would have stood in contrast to when the people followed the covenant and there was plenty. Israel's people, however, didn't take the warning.
If someone follows the covenant and times are good, and then turns away from the covenant and times are horrible, doesn't it make sense to follow the covenant and have the good times? Similarly, if a child follows his father's rules and is rewarded, but when the child disobeys his father's rules, and is disciplined, doesn't the child learn that following the father's rules is a better choice?

The message that Amos gives is to turn back to God, return to the covenant, they cannot flee God if they continue on their path of disobedience and outright rebellion against God, but if they turn to God, they will live and be prosperous.
God hates the "religion" of the people because it is insincere, God wants obedience, justice and faith, not just insincere action (5:21-25). Amos 5:27 directly states their fate, that they will be captive of a nation beyond Damascus which occurred when Assyria, which is beyond Damascus from Samaria, did conquer Israel and dragged exiles back.