Reading them today we may well be tempted to downplay the force of the message and dilute the challenge it brings. Amos was a herdsman of an ugly, stunted, fine wooled sheep called eobed in hebrew, but highly esteemed on account of their wool. The books of the bible printable included with every order of the bare bones bible handbook is easy to tuck away and reference any time you have questions about what each book of. The theology of the book of amos john barton download. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. His major themes of social justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became. The theology of the book of amos old testament theology.
How are these themes and ideas reflected in other parts of the hebrew bible. It is generally acknowledged that joel wrote his prophecy in classic hebrew. The preface to the book of amos identifies him as a shepherd from. If expanded to the limit, the themes here would encompass the entire bible. Covenantal concerns are central to the yahwehs accusations e.
Amos, whose name means burden, gives no family pedigree, hence we can assume he was not of noble or prominent stock, like isaiah or zephaniah. What are some of the more familiar and loved passages in the book of micah. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. This book of amos was placed third in order for a reason within an historical context. Since amos was a contemporary of hosea and jonah, see introductions to those books. Campos azusa pacific university i ntroduction there is structure and meaning in amos s third vision amos 7.
Amos mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, israel. The israelites had a unique and privileged relationship with god. Themes of the books summarized in paragraph form on each. It is certain only that he fulfilled some of his prophetic ministry at bethel amos 7. Amos was a sheepbreeder and tender of sycamore trees. God was measuring israels religious conduct and behavior. A fire that destroys not only vegetation but even underground water. The theme that runs through all of the material is one of protest against the social injustices that prevailed in northern israel during the reign of jeroboam ii. This would place this book in the period of about 835 b. Amos begged for gods mercy and god responded to amos plea. Like all biblical prophets, amos spoke the oracles of yahweh, israels god, to people in a particular context. Its theme is the salvation of the nation by jehovah through judgment and grace, as being life from the dead. First, the prophet amos was not a prophet in the same sense that the other prophets were prophets. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel.
The fullest discussion of justice in the old testament shows up in the book of amos. Book of amos summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of amos for bible study or sunday school lessons. At the heart of this message is the covenant between yahweh and his people. At one point, amaziah the priest had commanded amos to go south to speak his words of doom, yet the prophet answered by a thus saith jehovah amos 7. The central idea of the book of amos is that god puts his people on the same level as the surrounding nations god expects the same purity of them all. Intro to amos biblica the international bible society. Amos may have delivered the prophecies of this book at different places in the northern kingdom, such as samaria and bethel.
The theology of the book of amos download ebook pdf. It also includes chapters on the text itself, providing a critical assessment of how the book came to be, the original message of amos and his circle, which parts of the book may have been added by later scribes, and. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Click download or read online button to get the book of the prophet amos book now. The prophecy of amos carries an urgent message for the global church in the twentyfirst century. Where god has brought material blessing to his people through honest hard work and diligence, such blessing should be received gratefully and enjoyed.
The main themes of the book of amos are social justice, god\s omnipotence. A real relationship with god should show in social justice and righteousness. This may indeed be providential inasinuch as amos bore a heavy burden for the lord. The book of amos is not an easy work to read and understand. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah isaiah 1. That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah. The minor prophets are 12 prophets grouped together in the bible. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. Amos, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. On the one hand there was political stability and strength combined with economic prosperity. Editors and copyists added comments to the prophets original oracles that they deemed appropriate in light of events that occurred after his death. Constables notes on micah 2020 edition west of tekoa, amos hometown, so the two prophets, who were roughly contemporary, may have known each other. The book of amos is one of the shortest prophetic books with only nine chapters. Amos probably delivered most, if not all, of the oracles of this book in the.
Transnational god, social justice, and true religion. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and. From the book of hosea to nahum, all of those seven books were written when the assyrian empire was at its height. He is not to be confused with amoz stout, strong, the father of isaiah. In order to comprehend the theology of the book that bears his name, one must have a basic understanding of that context. The book of amos was written during the era of divided kingdoms of israel but in an age which is much prosperous than the previous times especially the northern kingdom of isreal with ruler jeroboam ii reached at such a level of growth and prosperity as was not seen after david and solomon. Hoseas name means salvation and he pictures christ as the healer of he backslider. The book of amos is written in some of the finest ot hebrew style. A level notes on the book of amos by mberengwa norman issuu. The only time the name of amos appears in the old testment is in the book of amos. Amos is a shepherd and a fruit picker from the judean village of tekoa when god calls him, even though he lacks an education or a priestly background. Click download or read online button to get the theology of the book of amos book now. Gods relationship with his people includes judging them in righteousness when they sin and restoring them in grace.
A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. In modern times amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. In a few weeks from now the african bishops will assemble in rome for the 2 nd. From the book of hosea to nahum, all of those seven books were written when the assyrian empire. Recent scholarship has shown amos s hymn is an ancient narrative text, has identified a new verse at 7. Download theme summary pdf download theme summary word recommend printing the pdf. Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah was active during the reign of jeroboam ii, making the book of amos the first biblical prophetic book written. He brings prophecies against neighbors of israel, mentioning names and places one can only recognize with the help of maps and reference books. Amos served during the reigns of uzziah azariah, 792740 bc, and jeroboam ii, 793753 bc.
Unlike the messages of earlier prophets with the possible exception of joel. Amos is one of those books of prophecy that gives the everyone an important weaponthe ability to recognize some cults. The main themes of amos and lessons that we learn from this book are. A weight attached to a string a builder uses to measure how straight a wall is. What specific themes and passages challenge us to apply our hearts unto wisdom so that we can build up the walls of the lords new church. The major themes in the book of amos include denunciation of. The book of the prophet amos download ebook pdf, epub. Therefore, that will also be the case for the writings in this book. Unlike some of the prophetsjonah or hosea amos doesnt tell a story that is easy to remember. He heals us with his love, as hosea says i led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. One, the major theme of amos judgment against the nations and against the. Constables notes on amos 7 message the book of amos is distinctive from the other prophetic books of the old testament in two respects. Author time and place of writing purpose original audience.
God called amos to prophesy to israel, and it seems that he did most of his work at bethel amos 7. By ted grimsrud lets now look at a place where the bible uses the explicit language of justice. The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the sin of gods people, repentance are not easy subjects. Patterson for one states that, he wrote with a pure classical yet logical style, distinguished by its clarity, flow of thought, and beauty of expression. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of the theology underlying the book of amos. Theological theme and message the dominant theme is clearly stated in 5. In modern times, amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. As with each of the minor prophets, the title comes from the name of the prophet to whom god gave his message 1. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Thus, the majority of modern scholars consider the genre of the book of amos to be a prophetic book, many even believing that a specified genre that can unify the entire book and its themes to be a covenant enforcement document, where amos utilized and developed the law of moses and its stipulations and punishments in forming the structure and form of his book. Understanding bible themes with an easytoreference free books of the bible pdf helps provide context as you work to apply what you read to your own daytoday life. God, wrath, ritual, sin, punishment, justice, class and the journey from egypt, just to name a few. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled. However, amos treatment of justice echoes what we also find elsewhere in the bible.
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