Amos¶
Book summary
Amos lived in the Kingdom of Judah, but preached in the Kingdom of Israel. Amos was from a humble background, which stood in contrast to Israel’s prosperity and indulgence at that time. The book mainly contains messages of punishment for sin, and finishes with five graphic visions of God’s judgment.
Chapters 1-2 — Eight oracles of judgment against the nations¶
- Ch 1 to 2:3 — Other nations
Ch 1:3-5 — Damascus
Ch 1:6-8 — Gaza
Ch 1:9-10 — Tyre
Ch 1:11-12 — Edom
Ch 1:13-15 — Ammon
Ch 2:1-3 — Moab
- Ch 2:4-16 — Judah and Israel
Ch 2:4-5 — Judah
Ch 2:6-16 — Israel
Chapters 3-6 — Three oracles and two calls of woe¶
- Ch 3 — First oracle
- Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you — against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:“You only have I chosenof all the families of the earth;therefore I will punish youfor all your sins.” (Amos 3:1-2)
- Ch 4 — Second oracle
- Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,you women who oppress the poor and crush the needyand say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:“The time will surely comewhen you will be taken away with hooks,the last of you with fishhooks (Amos 4:1-2)
- Ch 5:1-17 — Third oracle
- Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:“Fallen is Virgin Israel,never to rise again,deserted in her own land,with no one to lift her up.” (Amos 5:1-2)
- Ch 5:18-27 — First woe
- Woe to you who longfor the day of the Lord!Why do you long for the day of the Lord?That day will be darkness, not light.It will be as though a man fled from a liononly to meet a bear,as though he entered his houseand rested his hand on the wallonly to have a snake bite him. (Amos 5:18-19)
- Ch 6 — Second woe
- Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria,you notable men of the foremost nation,to whom the people of Israel come! (Amos 6:1)
Chapters 7-9 — Five visions of God’s judgment on Israel¶
Ch 7:1-3 — Vision of locusts¶
This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. (Amos 7:1)
Ch 7:4-6 — Vision of fire¶
This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land. (Amos 7:4)
Ch 7:7-9 — Vision of a plumb-line¶
This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand… Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.” (Amos 7:7,8)
Ch 8 — Vision of a basket of ripe fruit¶
This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit… Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.” (Amos 8:1-2)