1. The Prophet Amos.
    A. Amos, the Man.
         1. (7:14) I was neither a prophet nor a prophet's son. But I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore trees.
             a. Amos was not from the school of the prophets, i.e., he was not a "professional" prophet.
             b. A farmer of sycamore-fig trees. A common man called by God to be prophet. 
         2. From Tekoa (1:1) in Judah. He was raised up in Judah and sent to Israel.
         3. He was the first classical prophet and the first to set his prophesies to writing.
             a. Pre-classical prophets addressed primarily the king, who was responsible for the people. Classical   prophets addressed the
                 people. It is a point of interest that Tiglath-pileser III was the first to hold entire populations responsible for rebellion, rather
                 than simply the court, at the same time that the prophet Amos began to address the populace as a whole. Pre-classical
                 prophets addressed the court.
             b. This may explain why his prophecies were written down: Amos had to communicate to a large population spread over a
                 wide area.
    B. The Times.
    1. Prophesied about 760-750 B.C. Prophet during the time when Uzziah was king of
       Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel (1:1).
    2. It was just before the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-pileser III would       
       overthrow the Assyrian king in 745 B.C. and begin expanding his kingdom.
       a. Time of peace between the north and south.
       b. Time of territorial expansion by the north and south.
          1. External foes of the Jews were busy elsewhere.
          2. The Northern Kingdom, under Jeroboam 2, was able to expand its borders to
             the Dead Sea (Sea of Arabah) and by taking Damascus and Hamath (2 Kings
             14:25).
          3. The Southern Kingdom expanded into the Negeb. Excavatoins have shown that
             during the eight century the Jewish territory occupied almost half the
             Negeb (Thompson, Bible and Archaeology, 146).
       c. Time of prosperity for the north and south (2 Kings 14:17-15:17; cf. 2 Chronicles
          26 for success of Uzziah). Territorial expansion in the north brought plunder
          into the kingdom.
       d. Time of moral degeneration. As the Northern Kingdom grew in wealth, materialism
          and greed among the upper class brought disregard and victimization of the poor.
2. Charges Against the Nations.
    A. Oracles Against the Nations (1:3-2:16). Amos begins with indictments against Israel's neighbors.
         1. God is the universal God. He is not just concerned with the sins of the Jews, but with the sins of all peoples.
         2. After bringing indictments against their pagan neighbors, Amos brings charges against Judah and finally Israel.
             a. If he is a prophet to Israel, why does he address the sins of the other nations, including Judah, before
                 addressing the sins and judgment of Israel?
             b. We will notice that he crisscrosses Israel and Judah first. Then he condemns Judah and finally Israel. The
                 effect is psychological: only after condemning sin in others does he condemn the same sins in Israel. It
                 makes it difficult for Israel to deny or rationalize the sins they have just condemned in other nations.
    B. Indictments Against the Surrounding Nations.
        1. Indictments are introduced by the formula, "For three sins of X, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath"
            (1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6).
         2. Damascus (1:3-5).
             a. Damascus was the capital of Syria, which was east of Israel.
             b. Hazael (1:4) had been commissioned by Elijah as an agent of God's judgment to punish Israel for Baal
                 worship (1 Kings 19:15-17). He even threatened Jerusalem, but was bought off with money from
                 the temple treasury (2 Kings 12:17, 18).
             c. Amos uses a agrarian metaphor: Damascus threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth (1:3).
                 1. A mechanical threshing machine with an iron plate that was drug across the grain.
                 2. It means that Hazael treated the Israelites with extreme brutality.
         3. Gaza (1:6-8).
             a. Amos now crosses Israel to Gaza, which represents the Philistines.
             b. Sin of Philistines was that it sold entire communities into slavery to the Edomites.
             c. Judgment came in 732 B.C. when Tiglath-pileser destroyed Gaza.
         4. Tyre (1:9, 10).
             a. Amos moves up the coast to Tyre.
             b. Tyre was a maritime city of Phoenecia that flourished.
             c. Sin was also slave trading with the Edomites.
             d. Tyre breached a "treaty of brotherhood" and sold communities into slavery. Perhaps these were Jewish
                 communities. We know that there were very strong ties between David and Solomon and the Tyranians.
             e. Josephus (Ant. 9.283) Tyre was sieged by Shalmaneser V of Assyria in 724 and the city was captured in
                 722 at the same time Samaria fell ("Tyre," New Bible Dictionary, 1228).
                 1. Tyre regained her strength, but was captured again by Nebuchadrezzar 2 after a thirteen year siege
                     (c. 587-74 B.C.).
                 2. Alexander the Great conquered the island city in 332 B.C. after building a mole to the island.
         5. Edom (1:11, 12).
             a. Amos again crosses Israel. Edom is Transjordanian.
             b. Sin was continued animosity toward the Jews (1:11).
                 1. Edomites were the descendants of Esau.
                 2. Animosity because Jacob had taken the inheritance away from Esau.
                 3. Edomites would not let Moses pass through their land.
                 4. In the days of David there was war with the Edomites.
         6. Ammon (1:13-15).
             a. Ammonites were the descendants of Lot through an incestuous relationship with one of his daughters
                 after the destruction of Sodom (Gen. 19:35-38).
             b. Sin was atrocities in battle: they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend her
                 borders.
         7. Moab (2:1-3).
             a. Moabites also the descendants of Lot through his other daughter.
             b. Sin was that they burned the kings bones to ashes. Sin may be in the intention more than in the action; to burn
                 a body so completely may have been to dissipate the personality forever (Elwell, Evangelical Commentary
                 on the Bible).
             c. Judgment will be a fiery battle that will consume the fortresses (1:14).
    C. Indictments Against Judah and Israel.
        1. Judah (2:4, 5).
            a. Sin is that they have not kept the law and have worshipped idols.
            b. Judgment would be the destruction of Jerusalem.
        2. Israel (2:6-16).
            a. Amos is a prophet sent to condemn Israel. Israel would have delighted to hear of God's righteous judgment
                upon her enemies: Damascus, Philistines, the Edomites, et al. Also, Judah.
            b. The Israelites often fell into the trap of thinking that being God's people meant that God would be more
                lenient toward them. However, being God's people means they are held to a higher standard, not a lower
                one.
            c. Sins of Israel
                1. Oppression of the poor (2:6, 7). Excavations at Tirzah revealed an elaborate building, perhaps the
                    governor's palace. Behind these were two large buildings with stone foundations. Behind these three buildings
                    was the rest of the city, which spoke of poverty (Thompson, Bible and Archaeology, 138).
                2. Sexual sins as the father and son have the same girl (2:7).
                    a. This is apparently a reference to ritual prostitution (Archer, Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 319).
                    b. The Samaria Ostraca, receipts dated during the first half of the eight century support the worship of
                        Baal.
                        1. Some contain names with the element "Jah" or "Iah,"  showing a link with the name of God.
                        2. Others had the element "Baal": Elibaal, Abiball, Jeribbaal. This shows indentification with worship
                            of Baal (Thompson, Bible and Archaeology, 139).
                3. Take garments in pledge (2:8)
                4. Make the prophets cease their prophesying (2:12).
            d. After Amos is through with his prophesies, they will drive him out of the Northern Kingdom so he will no
                longer be able to prophesy there (Amos 7:12).
            e. Judgment will be executed through the hands of the Assyrians: I will crush you as a cart crushes when
                loaded with grain (2:13).
        3. Additional Indictments Against Israel. Additional indictments against Israel are taken up in Amos 3-6.
        4. What Amos shows us is that keeping the covenant did not simply deal with the vertical relationship with God,
            but with the horizontal, or social relationships between men.
3. Five Visions of Judgment Upon Israel (7:1-9:4).
    a. Five visions of Israel's judgment by Amos shore up the reality of what God is about to do. There is not one
        vision of judgment, but five!
        1. Locusts stripping the land during harvest time and at the beginning of the second harvest (7:1-3).
            a. will cause famine.
            b. Amos is concerned that all of Israel will be destroyed.
            c. The Lord relented.
        2. Fire sweeping across the land (7:4-6).
            a. Amos again concerned that remnant be saved.
            b. The Lord relented.
        3. Plumb line (7:7-9). Vision of God standing beside a wall with a plumb line measuring it. God would set a plumb
            line, i.e., a standard of measure, against his people and measure them for judgment (7:7-9).
        4. Basket of Ripe Fruit (8:1-13). Amos sees a basket of ripe fruit and the Lord told him his people were ripe for
            judgment.
            a. Sins are those of not keeping the holy days in spirit. They cannot wait until the New Moon and Sabbath are
                over so they can continue to cheat people in the market place (8:5, 6). Sin of idolatry (8:14).
            b. Judgment will be like the flooding of the Nile (8:8).
            c. Judgment will be a day of mourning and darkness (8:9).
            d. There will be no one with a word from the Lord (8:12). The irony here is that those who previously would
                not listen to the word, now thirst for the word.
        5. Lord by the Altar (9:1-10). Amos sees the Lord standing by the altar at pronouncing judgment against
            Israel.
            a. This is likely the altar at Bethel (cp. 4:4).
            b. The Israelites have fled there for safety from judgment, but the Lord is standing by the altar ready to destroy
                 them.
            c. There is no place of safety: not by digging down into the earth (9:2);
                                                         not by climbing to the heavens (9:2);
                                                         not on Mt. Carmel (9:3);
                                                         not at the bottom of the sea (9:3);
                                                         not in exile (9:4).
    b. For his visions of judgment, he is driven out of the Northern Kingdom (7:12, 13).
        1. Amaziah the priest reports to the king what Amos is saying (7:10).
        2. Therefore Amos says explicitly that the land will be carried into exile (7:17d).
4. Promise of Restoration of Israel (9:5-15).
    a. Like the other prophets, Amos ends on a note of hope.
    b. God's intention was to punish, but it was not to annihilate the nation.
    c. He promises that he will not totally destroy the house of Jacob (9:8).
    d. Looks forward to the coming of the Messiah when he will restore the fallen tent of David (9:11).
    e. There will be so much righteousness that it is described as a day in which the "reaper will be overtaken by the
        plowman" (9:13).