Amos, The Prophet

Background on Amos

Amos prophesied in the 8th Century B.C. along with Isaiah, Hosea , and Micah. At this time Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was Israel and the capital city was Samaria. The Southern Kingdom was Judah and the capital city was Jerusalem.

A Crazy Journey; Amos of Tekoa

Bible Study

Amos 1:2 ESV

Amos, a sheepherder who was chosen to see what was to come to Israel and Judah was from the hills of Tekoa, which was about ten miles south of Jerusalem. Today when we research ‘ten miles south of Jerusalem’ we are told that Bethlehem is ten miles south. Tekoa was not far from where Jesus was born.

Because God (unlike us) is omnipresent, He can see everything that has occurred is occurring and will occur in one place. It was here that the Spirit of God settled on Amos, the Sheephrrder.

Amos was in a place rich in history for the people of God. It’s no wonder that the Spirit of God found Amos in that place in the 8th Century B.C.

Amos tended the sheep in these lush hills that offered a panoramic view of the area. When we read about his ‘workplace’ we might think he had the greatest place on earth to work, care for the sheep, pray, and contemplate the wonders of God. It was here in the midst of the day that God approached Amos and filled his mind with pictures of what saw and felt for Israel and Judah.

The book of Amos and all that he saw focused on Israel’s neighbors and what was to come. Amos specifically names Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah. It is to these that God spoke a warning in Amos 1:2, “And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion
  and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
 the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
 and the top of Carmel withers.”

The day the Spirit of God came upon Amos he saw the Lord in that Holy place and in his vision the very pastures mourned and the top of Mt. Carmel withered. It WAS what the Spirit of the living God gave to Amos from Tekoa.

In God, Deborah/acrazyjourney.com