The Prophet: Amos (21 page)

Dear Reader,

You have just finished reading the story of Amos the prophet, as told by Francine Rivers. As always, it is Francine’s desire for you the reader to delve into God’s Word for yourself to find out the real story—to discover what God has to say to us today and to find applications that will change our lives to suit His purposes for eternity.

Amos was a humble shepherd and gardener. His heart for God helped him to weather the times he lived in and to face rejection. Amos did not shrink from the task to which God called him. Rather, he stepped forward and embraced his calling. Amos’s obedience to God’s call on his life is extraordinary. It foreshadows another prophet—the ultimate Prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.

May God bless you and help you to discover his call on your life. May you discover a heart of obedience beating within you.

Peggy Lynch

This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel. . . .

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”

Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”

But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. But the L
ORD
called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ ”

AMOS 1:1; 7:10-15

Who was Amos and where was he from? What was his profession and sideline?

When and how was Amos called to be a prophet? What kind of prophet was he? What kind of training did he have?

How was Amos received by the religious leaders, and why? How was he received by the political leaders?

How did Amos respond to the religious and political leaders? How did he respond to God?

Who are you and what kind of training do you have?

God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

ROMANS 8:29-30

According to these verses, to what has God called you and why?

What is your response to God? Explain.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. . . . As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-29

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They beat down my people in Gilead

as grain is threshed with iron sledges.

So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace,

and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed.

I will break down the gates of Damascus. . . .

I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden,

and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,”

says the L
ORD
.

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They sent whole villages into exile,

selling them as slaves to Edom.

So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza,

and all its fortresses will be destroyed.

I will slaughter the people of Ashdod. . . .

Then I will turn to attack Ekron,

and the few Philistines still left will be killed,”

says the Sovereign L
ORD
.

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel,

selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.

So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre,

and all its fortresses will be destroyed.”

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Edom have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords,

showing them no mercy.

In their rage, they slashed them continually

and were unrelenting in their anger.

So I will send down fire on Teman,

and the fortresses of Bozrah will be destroyed.”

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders,

they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.

So I will send down fire on the walls of Rabbah,

and all its fortresses will be destroyed . . . ,”

says the L
ORD
.

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Moab have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king,

burning them to ashes.

So I will send down fire on the land of Moab,

and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed . . . ,”

says the L
ORD
.

AMOS 1:3–2:3

Name the six neighboring people/cities/nations on which Amos pronounced God’s judgment.

What did these neighbors have in common? Why was God angry with each of them?

What judgment was decreed?

What can we learn about God from this passage?

What is implied about Amos? Explain.

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 PETER 3:17-18

What warnings are we given in the above passage, and why?

What are we to do to remain secure? Are you doing it?

The day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

2 PETER 3:10

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They have rejected the instruction of the L
ORD
,

refusing to obey his decrees.

They have been led astray by the same lies

that deceived their ancestors.

So I will send down fire on Judah,

and all the fortresses . . . will be destroyed.”

This is what the L
ORD
says:

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,

and I will not let them go unpunished!

They sell honorable people for silver

and poor people for a pair of sandals.

They trample helpless people in the dust

and shove the oppressed out of the way.

Both father and son sleep with the same woman,

corrupting my holy name. . . .

“So I will make you groan

like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.

Your fastest runners will not get away. . . .

The archers will not stand their ground. . . .

On that day the most courageous of your fighting men

will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”

says the L
ORD
. . . .

“My people have forgotten how to do right,”

says the L
ORD
. . . .

“Come back to the L
ORD
and live!

Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire,

devouring you completely. . . .

You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed.

You treat the righteous like dirt. . . .

“How you hate honest judges!

How you despise people who tell the truth! . . .

“Do what is good and run from evil

so that you may live!

Then the L
ORD
God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper,

just as you have claimed.

Hate evil and love what is good;

turn your courts into true halls of justice.

Perhaps even yet the L
ORD
God of Heaven’s Armies

will have mercy on the remnant of his people. . . .

“I hate all your show and pretense—

the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. . . .

“Away with your noisy hymns of praise! . . .

Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,

an endless river of righteous living. . . .”

What sorrow awaits you who lounge in luxury . . .

and you who feel secure . . . !

You are famous and popular . . .

and people go to you for help. . . .

How terrible for you. . . .

The Sovereign L
ORD
has sworn by his own name, and this is what he, the L
ORD
God of Heaven’s Armies, says:

“I despise the arrogance of Israel,

and I hate their fortresses.

I will give this city

and everything in it to their enemies.”

AMOS 2:4-7, 13-16; 3:10; 5:6-7, 10, 14-15, 21, 23-24; 6:1, 4, 8

Why was God angry with Judah? with Israel?

How were the complaints against them similar to those against the surrounding people? How were they different?

What warnings were given? What judgments were promised?

What can we further learn about God from this passage?

What is implied about Amos? Explain.

Get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation . . . now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

1 PETER 2:1-3

What are we told to get rid of?

What are we told to do?

What do you need to get rid of?

Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

1 PETER 2:11-12

The Sovereign L
ORD
showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. . . . In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign L
ORD
, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”

So the L
ORD
relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said.

Then the Sovereign L
ORD
showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. Then I said, “O Sovereign L
ORD
, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”

Then the L
ORD
relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign L
ORD
.

Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. And the L
ORD
said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

I answered, “A plumb line.”

And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. The pagan shrines of your ancestors will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”