🐑 Amos – The Shepherd Who Shook a Nation

I. The Man: A Shepherd from Tekoa

A. His Background (Amos 1:1, 7:14-15)

• Not from a prophetic school
• Not from a priestly line
• A layman called directly by the Lord
• During the reigns of:
  • Uzziah king of Judah
  • Jeroboam II king of Israel

B. His Location

• Tekoa – a small town in Judah
• About 10 miles south of Jerusalem
• Rural, rugged terrain
• Ministered primarily to the Northern Kingdom (Israel)

II. The Times: Prosperity Without Righteousness

A. National Wealth (2 Kings 14:23–28)

• Expansion of borders
• Commercial success
• Luxurious living among elites

B. Social Corruption (Amos 2:6–7, 5:11-12)

• Exploitation of the poor
• Bribery in courts
• Oppression of the needy

C. Religious Formalism Rejected (Amos 5:21–24)

• Active worship centers at Bethel and Gilgal
• Sacrifices offered
• Feasts observed
• Songs sung
• Yet God rejected it

III. The Structure of the Book

A. Oracles Against the Nations (Chapters 1–2)

Pattern:

• “For three transgressions… and for four…”
• Judgments are pronounced on Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and finally Israel, with a climactic focus on Israel.

B. Sermons Against Israel (Chapters 3–6)

• Privilege Increases Responsibility (Amos 3:1-2)
• False Security (Amos 5:18–20)
• Ease in Zion (Amos 6:1)

C. Five Visions of Judgment (Chapters 7–9)

1. The judgments of Amos include locusts, fire, the plumbline, the basket of summer fruit, and the Lord by the altar.

2. Key passages: Amos 7:7–8 (Plumbline), Amos 8:11–12 (Famine of hearing the word), Amos 9:1

IV. Major Themes of Amos

A. God’s Moral Standards Apply to All Nations

• Judgment begins with the Gentiles
• Ends with covenant Israel

B. Privilege Does Not Guarantee Immunity

• Election increases accountability
• Knowledge increases responsibility

C. Worship Without Righteousness Is Abomination

• God rejects ceremony detached from justice

D. The Certainty of Judgment

• The “Day of the LORD” is darkness, not light (Amos 5:18)

V. The Closing Hope (Amos 9:11–15)

• After severe judgment, restoration is promised.
• “I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.”
• Promise of restoration and permanence in the land.
• This looks beyond the immediate Assyrian destruction toward future national restoration.