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. Amos contains all of the literary types he described. Because they have rejected the law of the lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed. Theological themes and the book of job miryea gist medium. The american catholic scripture from scratch site has a very accessible article comparing themes in amos and in the new testament book of james. Summary of the book of amos the story of the bible. This summary of the book of amos provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of amos. Instead of focusing on,dare i wryly point to the obvious, the theology of amos, barton spends most of his work fixating on textual criticism questions, particularly issues regarding the validity of amos s authorship, the integrity of the book, and its dating. Although he may have been just a sheepherder from tekoa, he was a well educated one and a skilled writer, and his book has quite an elaborate structure. More than almost any other book of scripture, the book of amos holds gods people. Jonahs preaching in nineveh must have been similar.
Perhaps you would ascribe to job the same theme the majority of. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. The message of amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. Amos mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, israel. This lecture studies the literary features and major themes of classical israelite prophecy as evidenced in particular in the book of the eighthcentury northern prophet amos. The theology of the book of amos old testament theology. The basis for these predictions is not the rise in. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel. Micah also prophesied christ as king and christ reigning in righteousness.
Reading them today we may well be tempted to downplay the force of the message and dilute the challenge it brings. Amos declared that god was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenantbreaking people. Social justice, true religion and social justice must go hand in hand. His major themes of justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Amos was apparently a peripatetic prophet who kept repeating a basic message, the summary for which is given by amaziah in 7. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Themes of bible books simplified in one or two sentences. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. What were the major themes in amos preaching answers. Do you find yourself falling into that trap at timesprioritizing prayer over service. His major themes of social justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. It repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace gods idea of justice.
Justice and righteousness in the treatment of other people are the key. The novel makes a point of documenting the effects of seemingly small incidents, like a hair appointment gone awry or the slip and fall of a man before a party. The big dream that animates the book of isaiah is the dream of a future time of perfect peacebasically the exact opposite of whats been going on throughout the course of the book, what with all its examples of annihilation and total war. Hear ye this word which i take up against you, even a lamentation, o house of israel. A gentleman in moscow highlights how small decisions and interactions add up to lifechanging events. The wolf and the lamb are able snuggle together, hang out, watch friends rerunswhatever. The key idea in amos is that god is just and impartial and will judge not only the nations but also his own people for their life of ease and apathy amid human suffering. God raised up the prophet amos, as an act of his great mercy to a people who repeatedly shunned and disobeyed him. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. Amos was a shepherd and a farmer of sycamore fruit which is a fruit somewhat like figs amos 7.
For those wanting to dig deeper into bible book paragraph summary themes go here. The prophetic books are anthologies of oracles the sequence of which is often determined by literary rather than chronological considerations. A more detailed article on the book of amos is provided on the biblical studies foundation site. It is certain only that he fulfilled some of his prophetic ministry at bethel amos. Book of amos summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of amos for bible study or sunday school lessons. God, amos, jeroboam ii, uzziah and people of isreal.
Micah has many prophecies of jesus christ concerning christs birthplace he was a prophet of hope looking forward to the messiah, when he will reign and peace will cover the earth. The coming downfall and the utter collapse of the northern kingdom are two major themes in the book of amos. We have finished working through the book of amos passage by passage, and we need to take a week to look at the structure and message of the book as a whole. The covenant lawsuit, woe oracles, laments, promise oracles, visions, and parallelism. If you would like to read this first prophetic book of the bible, please click the link to the chapter you would like to read and all of the bible verses will be listed for your perusal. The basis for these predictions is not the rise in power of the assyrian empire, with its threat of invasion from the north, but rather the immorality expressed in the political, economic, and religious life of amos contemporaries. The main themes of amos and lessons that we learn from this book are. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries.
Amos many scholars believe that amos was the earliest of all of the biblical prophets to have his words put in writingminor, major or somewhere inbetween. The theology of the book of amos in modern times, amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. Themes in the book of james scripture confident living. May 18, 2017 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. The main themes of the book of amos are social justice, god \ s omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy.
Amos must have subsequently returned to tekoa where he assembled and edited his messages as we now see them in the book. He accurately foretold the destruction of the northern kingdom of israel although he did not specify assyria as the cause and, as a prophet of doom, anticipated later old testament prophets. The message of amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it landed on the people of god 2,700 years ago. The prophet gains the attention of his audience by pronouncing judgment on israels enemies before delivering the main burden of judgment against israel herself. Although hosea is believed to have arrived a little later on the prophetic scene, hosea did marry a prostitute, which, scholars believe, is a lot spicier than anything that amos ever did. The book of amos was likely written between 760 and 753 b. The entire book of amos is composed of prophecies about gods execution of judgement against faithless israel amos 3. Key to unlocking the book understanding the literary.
That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah. If someone were to ask you what the theme of the book of job was, what would you say. Next week, lord willing, we will come to some detailed applications. The main theme of james is that of faith and actions, but there are also other themes and key topics addressed in this book. This puts bethlehem about half way between tekoa and jerusalem. Click download or read online button to get the book of the prophet amos book now. The key idea in amos is that god is just and impartial and will judge not only the nations but also.
The central idea of the book of amos is that god puts his people on the same level as the surrounding nations god. This article discusses the themes, style and implications of the book. The major themes in the book of amos judgment, injustice, lament, the sin of gods people, repentance are not easy subjects. But the book of amos reminds us that those works, while unquestionably central to a believers life, ring hollow when we dont love and serve others in our own lives. Apr 30, 2012 how disappointing theology of the book of amos instead proved to be. It is certain only that he fulfilled some of his prophetic ministry at bethel amos 7. Amos prophecy was a judgement message to a few nations, but primarily against the 10 tribe kingdom of israel, warning of gods judgement against them for their false worship, immorality. The palmwine drinkard is a novel by nigerian writer amos tutuola. More than almost any other book of scripture, the book of amos holds gods people accountable for their illtreatment of others. Every book of the bible has a theme and a purpose, and that is true of the book of james as well.
He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. Each book has a major theme that emphasizes an aspect of gods character or a way he is working to carry out his perfect plan. Bible character study on amos what christians want to know. The purpose of the book of amos was to announce gods holy judgment on the kingdom of israel the northern kingdom, call them to repentance, and to turn from their selfrighteous sins and idolatry. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. 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. For three sins of judah, even for four, i will not turn back my wrath. Amos the book of, one of the twelve minor prophets, is part of the christian old testament. Amos, the first hebrew prophet to have a biblical book named for him. Amos was from the city name tekoa which is located about 12 miles south of jerusalem amos 1. Pastor allen continues his indepth study in the book of amos part 4. Mar 14, 2018 every book of the bible has a theme and a purpose, and that is true of the book of james as well. The israelites had a unique and privileged relationship with god.
The main themes of the book of amos are social justice, god\s omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Feb 08, 2018 theological themes and the book of job. God will judge gods people more severely than the other nations. The novel was the first major african literary work to be published in english outside of africa. Amos was a vigorous spokesman for gods justice and righteousness, whereas hosea emphasized gods love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of gods laws. In the delivery of his prophecy he is very courageous while being unusually stern and severe. The book of amos introduction to the book of amos in the bible. A real relationship with god should show in social justice and righteousness. Although amos insisted that he spoke only the words that yahweh told him to proclaim, amaziah told him to leave the country and never to prophesy again in the land of israel.
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