Amos the Prophet and His Program

AMOS 7:7-15; 8:1-3

AMOS was a native of Tekoa, a town about six miles south of Bethlehem. Originally he was a shepherd, and a dresser of sycamore trees. He traveled from Judah into the northern kingdom of Israel and there delivered his prophetic message to the people. He served as prophet during the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. Nothing is known of the time and manner of his death.

The chief peculiarity in his style of writing consists of the number of allusions to natural objects and agricultural occupations. This is natural in view of his experience in life prior to being called as a prophet. While God inspired his prophets to deliver messages according to his will, he did not necessarily change their natural methods of expression nor disassociate their ministry from the background of their experience. Note, for example, the writings of David, particularly The Twenty-third Psalm.

The prophecy of Amos is largely one of condemnation against Israel and Judah—particularly Israel. It shows that because of their sin they would certainly be destroyed as a nation and be taken into captivity. However, the prophet does not leave them without hope, for beginning with the 11th verse of the last chapter, he promises their restoration. In Acts 15:14-17 we learn that this part of the prophecy of Amos will be fulfilled in the next age; that is, following this present time during which the Lord is taking out from among the Gentiles “a people for his name.” Thus does Amos prove himself to be one of God’s holy prophets who foretold the “times of restitution of all things.”—Acts 3:19-21

A plumbline is used in the Scriptures to symbolize a standard of righteousness. Describing the application of kingdom laws, the Prophet Isaiah tells us that judgment shall be laid to the line, and righteousness to the plummet. (Isa. 28:17) This is a very definite way of saying that the people will then be required to bring their lives into accord—make them line up—with the righteous laws of Christ’s kingdom.

In a somewhat similar way the plumbline is used by the Lord in his instructions to Amos concerning the nature of the message he was to deliver to Israel. Israel was living in sin. Idol worship had supplanted the worship of the true God. Their sanctuaries had been polluted. For a while the Lord seemed to overlook their sin, to pass it by unnoticed. But now he tells Amos that he will not do this any longer, that he will set a plumbline in the midst of Israel, and if they do not square up with it in their conduct, they will be dispersed from the land and sent into captivity.

As is so often the case, those who deliver a message from the Lord which indicates that calamity is coming upon a people, are accused of being responsible for the trouble. Instead of heeding the warning and reforming in order to avert disaster, the people blamed the Lord’s prophets for it. Thus it was in the case of Amos. Amaziah, the priest, urged Amos to return to Judah and deliver his message there. He even blamed Amos for conspiring against the king.

Amaziah hinted that Amos was prophesying as a means of making a living, and told him to return to Judah and prophesy and eat his bread there. Amos replied to this, saying that he had been a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit before the Lord called him to be a prophet, implying thus that he didn’t need to prophesy in order to eat bread. But, explained Amos, the Lord had called him, and had said to him, “Go, prophesy unto my people Israel”; and while Amos didn’t bluntly say so, his implication was that since he had been given this commission by the Lord he would pay no heed to Amaziah’s request to return to Judah. He had a message to deliver, and he intended to deliver it.

Thus does Amos give all of the Lord’s people a good example of faithfulness. All who are anointed by the Holy Spirit during the Gospel age are commissioned to proclaim the truth, but there are always those who present reasons why we should not obey our commission. But like Amos, let us endeavor to obey the Lord rather than man.

The basket of summer fruit shown to Amos in the vision would seem to illustrate the perishing condition of Israel. Summer fruit does not last. If picked when fully ripe it begins to perish almost at once, and so the message Amos delivered to Israel was, “The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.”

QUESTIONS

What was the birthplace of Amos, what was his occupation before becoming a prophet, and what is one of the peculiar characteristics of his writings?

Was Amos a prophet of restitution as well as of destruction?

In the prophecies, what is symbolized by a plumbline, and how is this symbol used in the prophecy of Amos?

What is symbolized by the basket of summer fruit mentioned in chapter 8, verses 1 and 2?

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