This second week of the sermon series on minor prophets finds us reflecting on Amos. Both Scripture lessons are from Amos, although I interpret all texts in the context of the good news we discover in Christ Jesus.
I will again provide a hard copy of notes about Amos and some excerpts from his prophecy.
Amos sees the Northern kingdom experiencing prosperity and peace. According to Anderson, "during the reign of Jereboam II, the commercial and colonial activity of the Phoenicians was at its peak in the Mediterranean world, and Israel shared in the profits that flowed from the exchange of goods and services" (Bernhard Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 4th edition, 288). Amos sees that they are not living into their responsibilities as God's people, so he speaks out against them.
Amos is a Judean, from the south speaking out against the northern tribes. I wonder if that gave him credibility issues?
Some background on this time period and Amos' prophecy:
1. Earlier Israel had been a tribal federation in covenant with Yahweh. Tribal federations were not prone to class structure. Now as Amos prophesies Israel was a monarchy which had developed class stratification.
- First part of 8th century everything was good. Time of optimism – Day of Yahweh. As the 2nd half of the century things started turning sour. The rise of Assyria posed the question: if Assyria can threaten Judah, how can they believe that Yahweh has the power to fulfill promises?
- Distinction between Sinaitic covenant with stern moral obligations and Davidic covenant with unconditional promises.
How do we hear Amos' prophecy in our time?
No comments:
Post a Comment