A Summary of the Book of Amos
January 29, 2017
An ethical tour of the surrounding nations reveals the world is messed up. As nations use harsh weapons in unprecedented ways (1:3), deport entire peoples thus delivering them to their enemies (1:6), deliver entire peoples up to destruction instead of viewing them and treating them as brothers and sisters (1:9), deny compassion to our own flesh and blood instead ravaging one another out of anger (1:11), deny care to pregnant women in the name of taking care of ourselves (1:13), and reduce the leadership of rival nations to powder (2:1), God declares through the prophet Amos, “I will send a fire…and it shall devour the strongholds” (refrain of 1:3-2:5).
But that’s just the prologue. Amos’s focus for the remainder of the book is that while the nations have their strongholds, God’s people too have built up strongholds of evil in their midst. So those strongholds among the nations aren’t the only ones I’m going to pull down, God declares. I’ve got strongholds to pull down among My own people. My people, God says, have rejected My word in favor of lies (2:4). They’re selling out what’s right for nothing more than money. They sell out the poor for a cheap pair of shoes (2:6). They revel in their own pleasure, lying on garments they repossessed from the poor, drinking wine they bought with fines imposed on the needy (2:7-9).
To His people God says, I saved you from your enemies (2:9). I delivered you from your oppressors (2:10). I spoke to you through prophets and preachers—but you told them to shut up (2:11-12). You are working against what I want to do (2:13)—and just imagine what would happen if I turned against you (2:14-16)! I have chosen you (3:2), and I am still speaking, but you don’t want to listen (3:8).
You should be climbing up on the strongholds of the world around you, calling out their oppression (3:9)—but they commit the violence they commit because they don’t know what’s right. Yet they know enough to rip you to shreds (3:12). Yes, they’ll get their just reward for their idol worship and such, but so will you (3:13-15). You participate in the oppression of the poor and the crushing of the needy (4:1), while you make sure everyone knows about your tithes and offerings (4:2-5). I’ve warned you and warned you, “yet you have not returned to Me” (refrain of 4:6-11).
So get ready to hear me now (4:12). If I formed the mountains and create the wind, if I command the sun and stars (4:13), you want to stand with Me and not against Me! I’m going to tear down the strongholds—and if you’re standing on them or hiding behind them, you’ll be on the wrong side of what I’m doing (5:1-3). If the places of worship won’t stand with me, they’ll be swept away too (5:4-6). They should be standing for justice, but they stand for bitterness. They should stand for what’s right, but instead they cast it aside (5:7). If I made the universe and command dawn and dark, if I command the oceans, I have the power to destroy the strongholds (5:8-9).
Don’t hate the people who stand up for what’s right. Don’t hate those who speak with integrity (5:10). Those of you who impose heavy rent on the poor, those of you who demand they pay heavy taxes, those of you who built your own really nice houses on their backs and built your entire agriculture industry on their labor—don’t think you can just keep living in luxury and denying them their fair share. Don’t think you can buy off the politicians who want to right this wrong or silence the ones who have suffered because of you (5:11-13).
The time has come for you to stand with Me, not against me. “Seek good and not evil, that you may live” (5:14). “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate” (5:15).
Otherwise, you’re soon going to be mourning your losses—because I’ll take it away (5:16-17). You who keep calling out for Me to come make things right—what do you think I’ll do when I show up (5:18-20)? Just because you go to church and sing and pray and even tithe—that’s all just noise to Me if you aren’t working for justice (5:21-23). “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (5:24). While you make offerings to Me, you’re even more committed to your personal idols that you built with your own two hands (5:25-26). So I’m going to do something alright—it might just not be what you have in mind (5:27).
Woe to those who are at ease in the middle of all this. Woe to those who feel secure sitting on top of their stronghold. It doesn’t matter how distinguished you are or how prominent your nation is (6:1). None of that matters one bit if you are on the wrong side of what God is doing. You can keep comparing yourself to others to convince yourself you’re ok. You can be comfortable and rich and dance and sing all you like—but God hates your arrogance, and He won’t let you get in His way when He starts tearing down your strongholds (6:2-8). God is going to tear down the strongholds even if His people are living in them (6:9-11), because His people have managed to turn justice into poison and good works into bitterness (6:12).
God gave Amos visions of locusts destroying their crops and fire destroying their fields (7:1-6). Then He gave Amos a vision of a plumb line, dropped among His people to measure the house of God (7:7-9). The priest said it was all too harsh. He appealed to the king to silence the prophet Amos (7:10-11). The priest said, say what you have to say in your little corner, just leave your criticisms of our civil government out of it because we have a good, cozy relationship right now (7:12-13). Amos replied, I’m not anybody special, but I do hear what God is saying, and He says because you refuse to hear His word, He’s going to start with you (7:14-17). Judgement begins in the house of God.
Then God gave Amos a vision of a basket of summer fruit, saying you who trample the needy, who would banish the humble of the land, who care more about your profits than religion or rest, more about your bottom line than honest dealings, more about money than people, more about the stuff you can hoard up than the people who work to provide it (8:1-6)—I will shake down your strongholds (8:7-9:8).
God will shake His house, among all the nations, to tear down the strongholds among His people. Like grain in a sieve, He’s shaking out all that’s not good (9:9-10). He’s shaking it not to destroy us. He’s tearing down our strongholds not to leave us defenseless and alone. He’s tearing down the walls so He can be known for who He is rather than who we’ve made Him out to be, in order to raise us up from the ruins we’ve created (9:11-12). He’s tearing down our strongholds so we can bring in the harvest faster than we can plant it, so we can live in walls of justice rather than corruption (9:13-15).
But that’s just the prologue. Amos’s focus for the remainder of the book is that while the nations have their strongholds, God’s people too have built up strongholds of evil in their midst. So those strongholds among the nations aren’t the only ones I’m going to pull down, God declares. I’ve got strongholds to pull down among My own people. My people, God says, have rejected My word in favor of lies (2:4). They’re selling out what’s right for nothing more than money. They sell out the poor for a cheap pair of shoes (2:6). They revel in their own pleasure, lying on garments they repossessed from the poor, drinking wine they bought with fines imposed on the needy (2:7-9).
To His people God says, I saved you from your enemies (2:9). I delivered you from your oppressors (2:10). I spoke to you through prophets and preachers—but you told them to shut up (2:11-12). You are working against what I want to do (2:13)—and just imagine what would happen if I turned against you (2:14-16)! I have chosen you (3:2), and I am still speaking, but you don’t want to listen (3:8).
You should be climbing up on the strongholds of the world around you, calling out their oppression (3:9)—but they commit the violence they commit because they don’t know what’s right. Yet they know enough to rip you to shreds (3:12). Yes, they’ll get their just reward for their idol worship and such, but so will you (3:13-15). You participate in the oppression of the poor and the crushing of the needy (4:1), while you make sure everyone knows about your tithes and offerings (4:2-5). I’ve warned you and warned you, “yet you have not returned to Me” (refrain of 4:6-11).
So get ready to hear me now (4:12). If I formed the mountains and create the wind, if I command the sun and stars (4:13), you want to stand with Me and not against Me! I’m going to tear down the strongholds—and if you’re standing on them or hiding behind them, you’ll be on the wrong side of what I’m doing (5:1-3). If the places of worship won’t stand with me, they’ll be swept away too (5:4-6). They should be standing for justice, but they stand for bitterness. They should stand for what’s right, but instead they cast it aside (5:7). If I made the universe and command dawn and dark, if I command the oceans, I have the power to destroy the strongholds (5:8-9).
Don’t hate the people who stand up for what’s right. Don’t hate those who speak with integrity (5:10). Those of you who impose heavy rent on the poor, those of you who demand they pay heavy taxes, those of you who built your own really nice houses on their backs and built your entire agriculture industry on their labor—don’t think you can just keep living in luxury and denying them their fair share. Don’t think you can buy off the politicians who want to right this wrong or silence the ones who have suffered because of you (5:11-13).
The time has come for you to stand with Me, not against me. “Seek good and not evil, that you may live” (5:14). “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate” (5:15).
Otherwise, you’re soon going to be mourning your losses—because I’ll take it away (5:16-17). You who keep calling out for Me to come make things right—what do you think I’ll do when I show up (5:18-20)? Just because you go to church and sing and pray and even tithe—that’s all just noise to Me if you aren’t working for justice (5:21-23). “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (5:24). While you make offerings to Me, you’re even more committed to your personal idols that you built with your own two hands (5:25-26). So I’m going to do something alright—it might just not be what you have in mind (5:27).
Woe to those who are at ease in the middle of all this. Woe to those who feel secure sitting on top of their stronghold. It doesn’t matter how distinguished you are or how prominent your nation is (6:1). None of that matters one bit if you are on the wrong side of what God is doing. You can keep comparing yourself to others to convince yourself you’re ok. You can be comfortable and rich and dance and sing all you like—but God hates your arrogance, and He won’t let you get in His way when He starts tearing down your strongholds (6:2-8). God is going to tear down the strongholds even if His people are living in them (6:9-11), because His people have managed to turn justice into poison and good works into bitterness (6:12).
God gave Amos visions of locusts destroying their crops and fire destroying their fields (7:1-6). Then He gave Amos a vision of a plumb line, dropped among His people to measure the house of God (7:7-9). The priest said it was all too harsh. He appealed to the king to silence the prophet Amos (7:10-11). The priest said, say what you have to say in your little corner, just leave your criticisms of our civil government out of it because we have a good, cozy relationship right now (7:12-13). Amos replied, I’m not anybody special, but I do hear what God is saying, and He says because you refuse to hear His word, He’s going to start with you (7:14-17). Judgement begins in the house of God.
Then God gave Amos a vision of a basket of summer fruit, saying you who trample the needy, who would banish the humble of the land, who care more about your profits than religion or rest, more about your bottom line than honest dealings, more about money than people, more about the stuff you can hoard up than the people who work to provide it (8:1-6)—I will shake down your strongholds (8:7-9:8).
God will shake His house, among all the nations, to tear down the strongholds among His people. Like grain in a sieve, He’s shaking out all that’s not good (9:9-10). He’s shaking it not to destroy us. He’s tearing down our strongholds not to leave us defenseless and alone. He’s tearing down the walls so He can be known for who He is rather than who we’ve made Him out to be, in order to raise us up from the ruins we’ve created (9:11-12). He’s tearing down our strongholds so we can bring in the harvest faster than we can plant it, so we can live in walls of justice rather than corruption (9:13-15).
