An Unlikely Voice: the story of Amos

In the era of the divided kingdom, the 10 northern tribes, known as Israel, were enjoying a time of peace and prosperity. The surrounding oppressors have been pushed back and kept at bay for some time. The economy was booming and the nation had settled into a false sense of security. One might think the nation would be grateful to God for their prosperity; instead they began to turn away from God to their own devices.

 Israel began to turn their religious pursuits away from the true God of their fathers and pursue the gods and practices of the surrounding religions. The pagans that God had commanded them to destroy and drive completely out of the land had begun to infect Israel with their idolatry and pagan worship. Israel began to do the once unthinkable acts of worship, even to the point of sacrificing their own children to false gods.

Prosperity had dulled their hearts to God’s Words and His warnings. They began to feel indestructible and pleasure began to be their primary drive. Holiness became a thing of the past. Even those who were charged with the religious leadership of the nation had become calloused to God’s Word.

An Immense Call

It was at this point that God called Amos from the rural hills of Tekoa, Judah, south of Jerusalem, to go north and be His voice to the nation of Israel. God called Amos to be His mouthpiece to the rebellious king of a decadent kingdom; a people who had largely rejected the notion of the One True God.

Amos was charged to challenge the hearts of kings and leaders. He was to confront the political machine that was moving farther and farther from the truth. He was to confront a religious system that had long lost its true mission, to be a light in this dark world. He was to bring to light how the people of God had become worse then the pagan cultures they replaced in the promised land. Amos’s call was going to meet much opposition.

A Hard Message

“Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Amos 3:1-2 (ESV)

Israel’s view of God probably was not much different than today, where people only want to hear about the love and compassion of God for the whole world. They gathered religious leaders that would allow them to do what they wanted and not confront them on their sins.

Amos was called to declare the sinfulness of the nation and the impending judgment from God. God hates sin! God is a God of wrath! Judgment is real and coming quickly! The people of Israel had amassed a great deal of sins: empty ritualism, oppression of the poor, idolatry, deceit, self-righteousness, arrogance, greed, materialism and callousness, to name a few. Judgment will come to them unless they repent of their sins and turn back to God. The people rejected Amos and the gracious offer of God.

It is very similar to today’s culture. People like the fluff, but hate the truth. Our culture needs to reminded of the same message, even as one pastor posted this on Facebook today: “The basic message of Jesus: "I'm God. You're in sin. Repent to me, or you will go to hell." No wonder they killed him. Today we'd have killed him too.”

A Humble Beginning

As Amos speaks the word of the Lord, he comes under opposition and attack. The religious leader Amaziah tells Amos to go home and leave them alone. Basically telling him he is a busybody who has just come to be a nuisance to the himself and the king of Israel. Amos responds with:

“I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.” Amos 7:14-16 (ESV)

It’s as if Amos is saying, “Hey I know I am an unlikely choice to be God’s voice! I didn’t attend the local Prophet University. My dad wasn’t a prophet. As a matter of fact I was pretty content taking care of my flocks at home and taking care of my fig trees. Yet God called me to tell you this message. Now listen to what God says!”

As I consider the situation I remember a time in youth group where a question about a specific demonstration of sin was asked of the students. One students response was “Um, I’m from Cloverleaf…we don’t know about such things.” Interpretation: I’m from the country and we do not allow behavior like that, so we are basically ignorant of it.

I could see Amos coming from a wholesome, sheltered up bringing, where he never encountered the gross sins that the nation of Israel faced. He wasn’t experienced in these matters. He wasn’t the intellectual giant. He wasn’t a military general. He had no pedigree for what he was doing. He had the call of God. And that was enough for him!

He didn’t allow his humble beginnings to prevent him from sharing the message God had given him. No, instead he boldly proclaimed the truth to the religious leaders and to the king himself!

A Source of Hope

Though his message was harsh and firm about the impending judgment, it was also laced with grace. On a number of occasions he shared that if the people would just repent and follow God then they would not reap the judgment.

“For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek me and live.” Amos 5:4 (ESV)

Life is found in God and God alone. He tells them to stop pursuing the false gods and false religions and they will find life. This is the same message that Jesus brought to us when He says that He has “come to give you life, life to the full!”

“I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them…I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.” Amos 9:14-15 (ESV)

Amos concludes his message with great message of hope! God has not forgotten His promises! He will keep His covenant with the people, even though they have broken theirs with Him. One day He will restore all things and do away with sin forever. In that day, His people will realize that holiness is not about being robbed of fun, but is removing everything that steals true joy from us. They will finally know God and be known by Him as He always intended.

Conclusion

Amos was just a farm boy, one who was content being in the country and enjoying the “good life.” He had no family history, no formal education that would cause one to think he should be a prophet. But what he did have was a love for God and a desire to be faithful to Him. God took him from the field and placed him in the palace with a hard message.

This message was supposed to wake the king and his people up to their sins and lead to their repentance. If that would have happened they would have been rescued from judgment. Amos pointed to true hope when God would restore all things.

Amos didn’t realize at that time, that God was going to send His own Son to be a prophet to declare the truth to these stubborn, rebellious people. At that time, they would not only reject His message, but they would kill Him. But that was part of God’s plan, for on the third day He rose again, conquering sin and death! It is on the basis of Jesus’ finished work that the true fulfillment of Amos 9:11-15 can be experienced.

Just like Amos cried out to the people then, today we can experience the life giving love of God as we repent of our sinful rebellious ways and follow Jesus! We are like Amos, a very unlikely choice, but God wants to use us to be His voice to this dark and dying world!