Amo 1:1 | MHM | STEP | Threatenings of Judgment This section introduces the prophecy of Amos. The book begins by explaining who Amos was, who he spoke to, and when he delivered God’s message. It also describes the powerful way God’s warnings are presented. Amos was chosen by God to warn the people of Israel about coming judgment, even though he had a humble background. The message is serious and comes at a time when people thought all was well, but God wanted them to understand the danger of ignoring him. v. 1 : Amos says these are the words which he saw . This means God’s message was shown to him in a vision. God’s words are real and powerful, not just something to hear but something you can almost see, like John spoke of the word of life, which we have seen with our eyes (1 John 1:1 ). The things Amos saw were as certain to him as if he had already witnessed them with his own eyes. This shows his strong faith in God’s message, a faith that is the evidence of things not seen . Amos was among the herdmen of Tekoa . He was not from a famous or rich family. Some think he was a wealthy cattle owner, while others believe he was a simple worker who took care of sheep and gathered wild figs (Amos 7:14-15 ). God often chooses people with humble jobs, like shepherds, for important work. The Bible says, God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27 ). Amos was not ashamed of his background, and we should not judge someone by their job or where they come from if God has called them. The prophecy is mainly about Israel, the ten tribes . These people were deep in sin and close to ruin. God had already sent them prophets, but they did not listen (Amos 2:11 ). So God sent Amos from another land, Judah, hoping the people might pay more attention to a stranger. Sometimes God uses outsiders to send his message because the locals ignore those they know (Matthew 13:55-57 ). The message is dated during the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel . Both kingdoms were doing well at the time, so the people might have felt safe and proud. But God wanted them to know that judgment was coming because of their sins. The prophecy was given two years before the earthquake (Zechariah 14:5 ), a disaster that made everyone afraid. God warned them ahead of time, showing his mercy even in judgment.

‏ Amos 1:1

Threatenings of Judgment

This section introduces the prophecy of Amos. The book begins by explaining who Amos was, who he spoke to, and when he delivered God’s message. It also describes the powerful way God’s warnings are presented. Amos was chosen by God to warn the people of Israel about coming judgment, even though he had a humble background. The message is serious and comes at a time when people thought all was well, but God wanted them to understand the danger of ignoring him.

v. 1: Amos says these are the words which he saw. This means God’s message was shown to him in a vision. God’s words are real and powerful, not just something to hear but something you can almost see, like John spoke of the word of life, which we have seen with our eyes (1 John 1:1 ^a). The things Amos saw were as certain to him as if he had already witnessed them with his own eyes. This shows his strong faith in God’s message, a faith that is the evidence of things not seen.

Amos was among the herdmen of Tekoa. He was not from a famous or rich family. Some think he was a wealthy cattle owner, while others believe he was a simple worker who took care of sheep and gathered wild figs (Amos 7:14-15 ^b). God often chooses people with humble jobs, like shepherds, for important work. The Bible says, God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27 ^c). Amos was not ashamed of his background, and we should not judge someone by their job or where they come from if God has called them.

The prophecy is mainly about Israel, the ten tribes. These people were deep in sin and close to ruin. God had already sent them prophets, but they did not listen (Amos 2:11 ^d). So God sent Amos from another land, Judah, hoping the people might pay more attention to a stranger. Sometimes God uses outsiders to send his message because the locals ignore those they know (Matthew 13:55-57 ^e).

The message is dated during the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel. Both kingdoms were doing well at the time, so the people might have felt safe and proud. But God wanted them to know that judgment was coming because of their sins. The prophecy was given two years before the earthquake (Zechariah 14:5 ^f), a disaster that made everyone afraid. God warned them ahead of time, showing his mercy even in judgment.