We have now made our way through Hosea and Joel. Amos is our featured prophet for November. After studying this truth-telling, justice-seeking, Yahweh-exalting messenger, you will want to name your next born child Amos.
Normally, we read a chapter or two from the prophets each week as part of our Bible Reading Challenge. This week, however, to give Amos, the man, his proper introduction, I won’t make it past the first two verses. These two verses put Amos in his proper historical context, so they are worth dissecting at the outset. Also, before we dive into the nuts and bolts of each chapter, I want to introduce Amos’s main themes and the organizing structure of his book.
The book of Amos begins with a historical superscription: “The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.”
