I am no Prophet nor Prophet's Son: Worship and Judgment in the Book of Amos

The prophet Amos is perhaps the first of the those who are referred to as the “classical prophets.”  The classical prophets are those prophets whose writings we have in the Old Testament, such as, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and many others.  The non-classical prophets, often referred to as the “former prophets,” include figures such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and others.  If you have never read the Book of Amos, it is a relatively short book, consisting of only 9 chapters.  The longest chapter is only 27 verses, and the remaining chapters average only 15 verses.  But there is plenty to reflect upon in this short book.

Who is Amos?

Most of what we know about Amos we find in chapter 7.  He was a shepherd, taken from the fields in Tekoa in the southern nation of Judah.  He preached in the northern kingdom of Israel, which had committed idolatry by fashioning two golden calves and establishing centers of worship in Bethel and Dan.  Amos is accused of prophesying to make money: “Off with you, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying.” (7:12) Amos rejects their understanding of a “prophet.”  In 7:14 he replies, “I am no prophet nor prophet’s son.  I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamores.”  He doesn’t deny speaking on behalf of God which is the actual role of a prophet.  His argument is that he is not a “professional” prophet earning a living prophesying.  They were men and women who earned their living by delivering divine oracles at the bidding of their employers.  Amos wanted it to be clear that he was not for sale.

God had called him around the year 750 B.C. to go and preach to Israel in the north during the reign of King Jeroboam II when Israel was enjoying national prosperity.  Little did the people in Israel know that Assyria, their neighbor to the north, was growing as a world power.  Israel was prosperous, idolatrous, and way too comfortable in their sin to recognize the physical and spiritual dangers they were in.

What did Amos Preach?

Amos combined his great love for God and the people to preach against the abuses of the times in which he lived.  He didn’t only preach against Israel.  Israel’s neighbors and Judah itself were recipients of the prophet’s stern warning.  But his deepest concern was the lack of justice in Israel.  We normally think of justice as giving everyone what they deserve.  While this is true, for Amos justice meant a condition in which all parts of society, religious, economic, and political, were in harmony with each other.  At the heart of this was knowledge and love of God and his law (see 2:9-11 and 3:2).

Perhaps the most vivid analogy by which Amos describes Israel is in chapter 5. There he writes: “She is fallen, to rise no more, virgin Israel; She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.” (5:2) For Amos, Israel is an abandoned virgin, left for dead.  With her false worship and abuse of the poor, Israel was indeed spiritually dead.

In light of Israel’s prosperity, Amos stressed that because of Israel’s privilege, her sin would bring to her the strongest judgment.  Their riches had led many to greed and their buying and selling of the poor could not be excused with beautiful rituals and harmonious singing.  He criticized their empty rituals and warned that their false worship would not soothe the approaching divine wrath.  With biting sarcasm, he condemns their hypocrisy: “Come to Bethel, and sin, to Gilgal, and sin more; each morning bring your sacrifices, every third day your tithes; burn leavened food as a thanksgiving sacrifice, proclaim publicly your freewill offerings.  For so you love to do, O men of Israel, says the Lord God.” (4:4-5)

He condemned the wealthy who oppressed the poor (4:1); He warned those who have accumulated wealth through exploitation (5:11-12); he denounces the prosperous who are described as reclining on ivory beds, feasting and feeling secure only to be told they will go into exile (6:1-7).  The contrast between the prosperous people's attitude toward the poor and God's attitude toward the poor is clearly seen in the following two verses: 

“We will buy the destitute for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the worthless grain we will sell!”  The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Never will I forget a thing they have done.” (8:6-7)

Amos served a God who demanded that justice flow like water. (5:24) His passion for justice and his insistence that faith be reflected in everyday conduct serve as a powerful reminder that God’s people must never separate worship from righteous living.

The message of Amos remains relevant for today.  In a society that often measures success by wealth, comfort, and religious triumphalism, Amos reminds us that God is deeply concerned with justice for the vulnerable.  Genuine faith is not merely expressed through worship services.  It must be matched by righteous living.  Amos challenges believers to examine whether their outward devotion is complemented by a life of service and concern for our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable.