Synopsis: Amos

 

Organisation of the synopsis

The writer 

Amos is a herdsman in Judah and God used him to proclaim His message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He preached in the 8th century BC and was contemporary with the prophets Isaiah, Micah and Hosea.

Key verse

Amos 4:5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD

In the verse above, God reminded the people of Israel that they were not worshipping Him in the way He wanted. Therefore, He sent famine (cleanness of teeth (Amos 4:6)) and other disasters to warn the people to turn from their ways and  obey God.

Main Theme

God used Amos to remind the people in Israel that they have committed gross social ills and He will punish them with exile if they refuse to repent. The messages of Amos were built up on a gradual scale. At first, in Chapter 1, it was like a rebuke of the surrounding countries but God gradually told the Israelites they were also the same.

The root of their entire social ills stemmed from their disregard to God’s words because the Israelites ‘do as they think fit’. Therefore, God sent disasters to warn them to turn from their ways, with the hope that they would return to God’s ways. 

Today, this self-will recorded in the Book of Amos is also present in the way Christians handle the word of God. We can see its manifestation in the way we worship Him.  How He wants to be worshipped is clearly set out in His words. Sadly we see varying degree of departures from the scriptures in this respect in Christian worship. 

Amos, who was instructed by God, exhorted the people of Israel to repent from this self-will. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears (Amos 7:10-13). The book, however, ended with a positive note. Eventually, the people in Israel will repent one day and they will be restored (Amos 9:11). 

Spiritual and life lessons

The book of Amos reminds us about the importance of having a reverential fear of God when we worship Him. It must be in accordance with how He wants to be worshipped and not based on our likings. Today, as we gather to worship Him every Sunday, we have to consider whether it is based on the way He wants, or if we are doing it “my way”.  If it is “my way”, are we not deeming ourselves as smarter than God? Do we fall into the same sin as Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, when Samuel told Saul that ‘to obey is better than sacrifice’? 

The Israelites during Amos’ time failed to worship in accordance with “His ways” and the outcomes were a multiplication of social ills in the land. Finally, they were driven out of the Promised Land!

Keep to God’s ways and we will be filled with His spirit (Eph 5:18). His Spirit gives us wisdom and understanding. When His words become real to us, we will become more like Him. Social ills will eventually be obnoxious to us. As an example, the Bible does not insist on the abolishment of slavery, but when the people walk in His ways, slavery will eventually be eradicated. The list of social misdeeds is lengthy. There is not only slavery but racism, nepotism, greed and suchlike. Only by turning ourselves to fear the Lord and doing things in His ways, we can eventually triumph over social evils. He does not give us difficult regulations. Oh! What a Saviour.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 

When we submit to His ways, it will lead to positive outcomes; the evergreen maxim, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’ (Prov 9:10), can never be over-emphasised.

With God’s blessings,

CL