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I. “Amos” means “To Bear,” or “Burden Bearer.”
II. “According to 1:1, Amos prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah (767 -739 B.C.), and Jeroboam, king of Israel (782–753 B.C.), thus leaving a possible time frame from 767 to 753 B.C. The prophecy of 7:9–11 seems to indicate a time late in the reign of Jeroboam and a probable date of writing is 760–753 B.C.” (Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, pgs. 248, 250).
A. Concerning the sun being darkened at noon (Amos 8:9): “What is described here is an eclipse of the sun. In Nineveh some tablets were found containing a list of personal names associated with particular events. It amounts to a year-by-year chronicle of Assyria’s history. For each person in the list the main event of the respective year is recorded. One of the entries says, ‘In the year of the eponym Buru-Sagale, the governor of Gozan: an uprising in the city of Ashur. In the month of Sivan there was an eclipse of the sun.’ By astronomical calculations it has been possible to fix the exact date of this eclipse, namely, June 15, 763 B.C. This is precisely the time of Amos. The eclipse was accompanied by an earthquake...” (Archaeological Commentary On The Bible, pg. 184).
III. Message of the book:
A. Judgment: prophecies on the nations and visions of divine judgment on the house of Israel.
B. God is the universal sovereign over all the nations.
C. The righteousness and justice of God.
IV. What we can learn from the book of Amos:
A. The most elaborate worship, if insincere, is an insult to God (5:21,23).
B. There must be social justice between man and man (5:24).
C. Privilege involves responsibility (3:2).
D. The meaning and purpose of calamity (4:5ff; cf. Luke 13:1–5).
V. Notable passages:
A. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (3:3).
B. “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; and because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (4:12).
C. “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion” (6:1).
D. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” (8:1).