Amos Condemns Social Injustice

GOLDEN TEXT: “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.” —Amos 5:14

AMOS 7:10-17; 8:4-8

THE Book of Amos reveals that many social injustices were practiced in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam, the time when this herdsman prophet was used by the Lord to warn the nation against its sins. This was somewhat ironical, because the ten-tribe, or northern kingdom, came into existence largely as a result of a rebellion against Rehoboam because he would not promise to lift the burdens which had been placed upon the people by his father, King Solomon.

If Jeroboam—who was the people’s own choice for king—had lifted burdens of taxation which Solomon had imposed, it would seem that now they had begun to oppress one another. One writer explains that in Israel at the time there was much outward prosperity, but behind that show of wealth, much degradation and poverty. This, of course, was not pleasing to the Lord.

God was jealous for the welfare of Israel. They were his chosen people. Through Amos he said to them, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (ch. 3:2) God had been faithful to Israel. He had chosen them for his own, and had been exclusively their God. Since they had agreed to this relationship, and had entered into a covenant with him at Sinai, he had a right to exact obedience, and to punish the nation for its disobedience—“Therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities.”

In chapter 3, verse 3, the Lord raises the question, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” The “two” referred to here are God and Israel. God was willing to be faithful to them, to keep his covenant with the nation and to fulfill all his good promises toward the people, but they were not willing to be exclusively his people. Soon after Jeroboam became king he set up idol worship and planted “groves” for the same at Bethel, and the people readily became worshipers of false gods.

So Israel and God were not agreed, and the Lord knew that this made it impossible for them to continue any attempt to “walk together.” So, through the Prophet Amos the Lord sounded a warning that he would withdraw his protecting hand, and the nation would eventually be taken into captivity. This would be the natural result of a continued course of wickedness. There seemed still to be a chance to regain God’s favor, as implied by our Golden Text, “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live.”

Corrupt religious servants and false prophets are always allied with political wrongdoing and injustice; so in our lesson we find Amaziah, a priest of Bethel, appealing to Jeroboam to help dispose of Amos, simply on the grounds that he had spoken against the sins of the people, and had prophesied that Jeroboam would die by the sword. We could not expect any other course from a priest who served in Bethel.

Then this priest of false gods appealed directly to Amos, urging him to go into the land of Judah, and if he must prophesy, do his prophesying there; but not at Bethel, “for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.” The fact that it was the God of Israel speaking through Amos meant nothing to Amaziah. He probably realized that the gods he served at Bethel were such in name only, that they had no existence in fact. He probably thought that the same thing was true with respect to Jehovah. So, he reasoned, if he could get Amos out of the way, his prophecies would come to naught.

But Amos did not share this viewpoint. He knew that the God of Israel was a true and living God, and that the prophecies which he uttered for this great God would have a very real fulfillment. He knew, also, that the Lord expected him to speak these prophecies at Bethel, and against Jeroboam and the ten-tribe kingdom; so he could not be induced to keep silent.

So Amos continued to prophesy against the sin of Israel, and even against Amaziah for his attempt to prevent the Word of the Lord from being heard in Bethel. The later experiences of the nation prove how accurate his prophecies were. They could not be otherwise, because he spoke and wrote as he was moved by the Holy Spirit.

Like the other “holy prophets,” his messages were directed toward Israel, and much of what they said applied to their immediate experiences. But besides this, he foretold the coming of future blessings to Israel and to the whole world, during the “times of restitution of all things.” (Acts 3:19-21) So Amos, while he prophesied the overthrow of Israel at that time, wrote also of a time when the Lord would “bring again the captivity of his people.”—Amos 9:11-15

QUESTIONS

What was the economic situation in Israel at the time of Amos’ prophecy?

Why was God so jealous for the welfare of Israel?

Who was Amaziah, and what gods did he serve?

Did Amos foretell “times of restitution”?

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