God’s
intention was that His people be a model to the world of what a relationship
with Him was like. But His people had
strayed far from Him. Amos and Hosea
were prophets sent to Israel to warn them of what He would be forced to do if
they failed to turn back to Him.
Hosea 6:6 (NIV)
"For I desire mercy, not
sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings"
Introduction
In order to better understand the ministries of
Amos and Hosea it is important to review some of Israel’s history. The nation of Israel was established with the
conquest of Canaan and after years of having no human ruler God allowed Saul to
become a visible king. After just three
kings (Saul, David and Solomon) the kingdom split as civil war ensued upon
Solomon’s death. The north rebelled
against the south and eventually the kingdom was divided with ten tribes in the
Northern Kingdom (Israel) and two tribes in the Southern Kingdom (Judah). The Southern Kingdom occupied Jerusalem which
meant that the Northern Kingdom was left without a place of worship so they
established their own holy shrines. The
history of Israel was bleak as many of their kings did not follow God. The south fared better but was not without
struggles. In the time of Hosea and Amos
Assyria was the superpower of the day. It
was a relatively peaceful time as Jonah’s ministry in Nineveh had brought some
relief to the people of Israel as their foes temporarily chose the path of
repentance. Because of Israel’s location
on trade routes between Europe and the Middle East many merchants and bankers
became very wealthy during these peaceful times. Although the standard of living rose with
many enjoying luxuries in society there were those that were quite poor. It was a time when the rich got richer and
the poor seemed to get poorer. Affluence
brought along with it moral effects such as corruption, bribery and financial
scandals. There was no justice in the
courts, people ignored the Sabbath, and promiscuity and drunkenness rose. The people had strayed far from the
commandments of God in both moral and religious life as idolatry was the
norm. God would not turn a blind eye to
their behaviour. The books of Amos and
Hosea show how God brought warnings to His people. The message of Amos was about the wrath of
God and the coming judgement. Hosea
focused more on the love of God and His mercy.
Both were used to warn Israel of what might happen if they continued in
disobedience and rebellion.
Read: Amos 1-2
Amos was not
a religious leader who was part of the court like Isaiah or Zechariah but
rather was a shepherd (v. 1). Even
though Amos had no religious training His message was straightforward. He condemned Israel’s veneer of religion and
exposed idolatry, luxuriousness, corruption and unjustices in society. As an ordinary person he called Israel’s
leaders to wake up and pay attention to the needs of the poor. In the first two chapters, Amos goes through
a number of Israel’s neighbors and announces the punishments awaiting
them. He begins with Damascus (1:3-5),
Gaza (1:6-8) and then Tyre (1:9-10). As
the people listened to these pronouncements they must have been happy to hear
the downfall of their enemies. Amos then
moves on to announce punishment for Edom (1:11-12), Ammon (1:13-15) and Moab
(2:1-3). This is now getting a bit
closer to home geographically for the Israelites. Amos does not stop with the Gentile nations
but also includes Judah (2:4-5) and Israel (2:6-16) in his list of nations who
were morally depraved. In fact, Judah’s
sins differed from those of the other nations in that they violated the laws of
God and knew better. Israel’s sins were also
grievous – slavery (2:6), sexual promiscuity (2:7), dishonoring the temple with
drunkenness (2:8) and greed (2:6). The
message is clear - punishment is coming, there is no escape.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Amos was an unlikely person to bring God’s
message of judgement to the people because he was a shepherd and not a
priest. This shows that God can use
anyone who desires to faithfully obey Him.
Have you ever eliminated yourself from ministry because of lack of
skills or talent or because of your position in life? Talk to God about this, what does He say is
important for those who serve Him in the church?
2. It is easy for us to measure others with a
stricter measuring stick then which we measure ourselves. We often want justice for others and mercy
for ourselves. In this case, God held
Judah and Israel to a higher standard than the pagan nations because they had
received the revelation of God’s laws and knew better. What does God want to say to you about
this?
3. God’s character does not change. What would it look like if He were to say to
us, “For three sins of Canada, even for four, I will not turn back my
wrath?” How should this motivate us to
live holy lives?
