Book of amos justice

Let justice roll down like waters amos 56 bible odyssey. The book of amos was written during the era of divided kingdoms of israel but in an age which is much prosperous than the previous times especially the northern kingdom of isreal with ruler jeroboam ii reached at such a level of growth and prosperity as was not seen after david and solomon. Social justice in the book of amos march 24, 2014 by the marcus j borg foundation 0 categoryies. Perhaps the most famous line from the book is amos 5. Amos great innovation on the biblical landscape is that israels moral state directly affects its national destiny. The israelites had a unique and privileged relationship with god. The biblical books bearing their names suggest that amos, isaiah, and micah talked a lot about economic and social justice, often announcing. And may justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream amos 5. Gods word translation but let justice flow like a river and righteousness like an everflowing stream. It is a short book full of passion and anger whose subject matter is a protest in the name of god against social injustice, complacency and hypocrisy. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of. In this book, amos accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god and. Amos, a judaean prophet from the village of tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of israel during the reign of jeroboam ii c.

He accurately foretold the destruction of the northern kingdom of israel although he did not specify assyria as the cause and, as a prophet of doom, anticipated later old testament prophets. This week chris takes us into the economic climate of israel. I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him, says the lord. Arguably, the book of amos is exclusively about morality and social justice. I am no prophet, protested amos, nor a prophets son. Amos s writings showed that he had a heart for the oppressed and voiceless. Social justice in the book of amos the marcus j borg. Amos was a stern prophet of righteousness and uncompromising justice.

Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of jeroboam ii, king of israel from 786 to 746 bce. As much as can be discerned, amos was the first prophet to write down his book. Amos begins with the justice of god, then, and shows how that relates to justice in society. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. September 14, 2019 prophetic justice in amos, part 2. We are continuing our series in the book of amos, looking at true biblical justice. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a neverfailing stream. Why was amos angry, and why did he speak in oracles. Since justice and righteousness are the focus of amos message, it is important to look at how the words justice and righteousness are used by the prophet.

Such scathing words for those enjoying a luxurious lifestyle while the poor rot in the streets are rare in christian communities, where many choose to blame the poor for their failures rather than beseech the rich. Editors and copyists added comments to the prophets original oracles that they deemed appropriate in light of events that occurred after his death. Amos has much to say about oppression and the plight of the poor in israel, so it is only natural that his book has become a focal point for. During this time of wealth and prosperity, the rich were getting richer but it was on the backs of the poor. The book of amos, the third of the twelve minor prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the bible from the time it was written 8th century bce down to the 20th century.

And in principle, the spiritual lessons drawn from the book of amos apply across the board in. The book of amos records the sayings of the prophetic figure amos and those who carried on his tradition. His major themes of social justice, gods omnipotence. Despite the fact that israel certainly had problems with idolatry in his time, amos never explicitly condemns itnor any other sin pertaining to. A real relationship with god should show in social justice and righteousness. Because he burned to ashes the bones of edoms king, i will send fire on moab that will consume the fortresses of kerioth. Justice in the book of amos as a focus of study the word justice brings to mind a number of concepts. The other train of thinking would say that in this time period, sandals were becoming a sort of trend, and various types of them were extremely expensive. So the prophecies of amos can easily be dual, foretelling not only gods judgment on the ancient house of israel, but also his hand of discipline on the modern descendants today. The words justice and righteousness are used together three times in two chapters of the book of amos amos 5. When newage faith healer amos anderson is arrested for the murder of vocal baptist minister dural green.

New heart english bible but let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream. Vincent college and seton hill college, the discipleship and youth coordinator at baldwin community united methodist church, and a member of the experimental theology. Mays, words about the words of amos, interpretation. Other major ideas proposed in the book of amos include. The context of this powerful statement is a prophetic denunciation of the sacrifices and meal offerings of a people who have failed to keep the covenant, which is constituted by justice and. New living translation instead, i want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river. He has been referred to as the first of the classical prophets, 1 philip hyatt, the book of amos, interpretation, iii, no. The book is an anthology of his oracles and was compiled either by the prophet or by some of his disciples. Oct 01, 2007 since justice and righteousness are the focus of amos message, it is important to look at how the words justice and righteousness are used by the prophet. Book of amos simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The concept of justice in the book of amos heartwell. It is a stirring warning to all of the dangers of apostasy, rebellion and complacency. Amos message must not be lost on our modern generation. O you who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth amos 5.

The main themes of amos and lessons that we learn from this book are. Simplified script shen edition rcu17ss, revised chinese union version traditional script shen edition rcu17ts. The people whom amos prophesied to had turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood, 6. Aug 26, 2015 amos has much to say about oppression and the plight of the poor in israel, so it is only natural that his book has become a focal point for discussions about social justice. Social justice, true religion and social justice must go hand in hand. Amos, the first hebrew prophet to have a biblical book named for him. Amos mentions that this was two years before the earthquake. The book of amos is one of the books of the neviim hebrew. Religious activities without justice and righteousness are abhorrent to yahweh. Justice in the book of amos but let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. The next step is to enter your payment information. By ted grimsrud lets now look at a place where the bible uses the explicit language of justice. Amos and hosea were coworkers and may even have gone on preaching tours through the land together, although hosea continued his work after amos passed from the scene.

Amos with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The fullest discussion of justice in the old testament shows up in the book of amos. For three sins of moab, even for four, i will not relent. Rather, he was a grower of sycamore figs as well as a shepherd amos 7. Amos s connection to the simple life of the people made its way into the center of his prophecies. Dec 09, 2017 amos is the author of the book of amos, the third book in the old testament involving the writings of the minor prophets. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of israel.

Trailer studying the book of the prophet amos is an excellent way to begin a study of the prophetic tradition of israel. At least three aspects of the issue dealt with by amos concern the nature of god, the role of the individual, and the role of the social system. As much as can be discerned, amos was the first prophet to write. His major themes of justice, gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The key to the book of amos lies in its final few verses 9. God will judge gods people more severely than the other nations. The only ways we have to assign a date to amos are the superscription to the book 1. The concept of justice in the book of amos heartwell productions. Marcus borg speaks on the topic of social justice in the bible, specifically book of amos, he looks at the societal context and world orders contemporary to jesus and his disciples to help understand their views of social justice. The fifth chapter of amos contains some of the most striking and most famous justice language in the bible.

Oct 03, 2007 in a previous post, amos and social justice, i wrote that justice and righteousness were the focus of amos message. Let justice roll down like waters, like an everflowing stream that brings life. The rest of the book tells the reasons for that punishment before ending with a promise that israel would then be restored. I hate, i despise your festivalsbut let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream amos 5.

Some mistakenly assume that the prophecies recorded by amos and the other prophets were completely fulfilled by past events, such as the demise of israel in 722 b. Since the three phrases are used in parallelism, it would. Amos, herdsman of tekoa, was sent from god with a powerful message of correction for the ancient house of israel. Starting your free trial of bible gateway plus is easy. God, amos, jeroboam ii, uzziah and people of isreal. He prophesied in israel at the great cult center of bethel, from which he was finally expelled. The book of amos, which is the earliest of the prophetic writings to be preserved in book form, consists of nine chapters. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Justice is the major ideal of the legal profession. One remarkable feature of the book of amos is that it not only catalogues a long list of sins that are offensive to god, but that the list includes the sins of israels neighboring countries.

But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like. Amos is one of the prophets who documented what is ahead for the nations of the world. We find two quotations from the book of amos in the acts of the apostles. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of gods laws. And jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. Fallen is virgin israel,never to rise again,deserted in her own land,with no one to lift her up. Most of this title is given over to making the authors reasonable case that the book of amos has three distinct authorsproduced by a process taking almost two hundred years. That being the case, god is perfectly right to bring the overwhelming disaster of which amos speaks.

Other prophets, working in the sister kingdom of judah, are indignant about similar things. Describing the genre of a written work that reinvigorates older oral speech forms, in m. Studying the book of the prophet amos is an excellent way to begin a study of the prophetic tradition of israel. And we must never forget that amos is speaking to us, the church of god, the israel of god. Amos declared that god was going to judge his unfaithful, disobedient, covenantbreaking people.

Hitzig, keil, with many ancient commentators, find in it a threat of chastisement, the flooding of the land with. Both a shepherd and sycamore tree grower in the tekoa area about 10 miles from jerusalem. Amos shows god demanding justice from them rather than worship. Amos lived during the time of two other prophets,hosea and isaiah, around 750 bc while jeroboam was king of israel and uzziah was king of judah.

During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. In a previous post, amos and social justice, i wrote that justice and righteousness were the focus of amos message. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream 5. There are some well known verses in the book of amos that religious leaders and people who work for justice have used in speeches about modern problems such as racism.

Book of amos, the third of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, collected in one book under the jewish canon titled the twelve. While hosea only prophesied regarding israel amos also prophesied concerning the neighbouring nations of israel. Not all of the material found in these chapters came from amos himself. The ethical teaching of amos, its content and relevance. Amos was a vigorous spokesman for gods justice and righteousness, whereas hosea emphasized gods love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. As we learned last week, justice is close to the heart of god. March 24, 2014 by the marcus j borg foundation 0 categoryies. Amoss writings showed that he had a heart for the oppressed and voiceless. The entire book of amos shines a powerful light on israelite society, revealing its dishonesty, corruption, and violence. May 07, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of amos, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The lord rebukes his people for turning justice into wormwood 7, for hating the one who speaks the truth 10, for trampling on the poor 11.

However, amos treatment of justice echoes what we also find elsewhere in the bible. What the prophet amos had to say about economic justice. Amos 5, new international version niv the bible app. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. Seven passages on social justice 5 the gospel coalition. In the first three chapters of amos, six different countries are mentioned. Rather than seeking out opportunities to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, they embraced their arrogance, idolatry, selfrighteousness, and materialism. Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later.

Watch our overview video on the book of amos, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Social justice in amos the good book blog biola university. God promises israels eternality and eventual redemption rabbi eliezer of beaugency, rabbi joseph ibn caspi. A lament and call to repentance hear this word, israel, this lament i take up concerning you. Social justice in the book of amos the marcus j borg foundation. Youre already logged in with your bible gateway account. Scholars have emphasized the importance of amos among the great prophets of the old testament by means of various expressions. Despite the fact that israel certainly had problems with idolatry in his time, amos never explicitly. He did not receive formal education, whether it be theological, spiritual, or otherwise. Amos communicated gods utter disdain for the hypocritical lives of his people amos 5. The book of amos is a stinging rebuke of a nation that has rejected and forgotten god.

In that post i studied the ways in which the word justice was used in amos. He was a shepherd from a hebrew village called tekoa. The passage in deuteronomy exhorts against perverting justice, showing partiality, and taking bribes. The superscription, or heading, was probably added by a later editor, but it may nevertheless give accurate information. Amos, advocate for social justice bible characters. In the present post, i will discuss how the niv uses the word justice in the book of amos. The day of the lord 23 take away from me the noise of your songs. Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up. The poetry of amos, who denounces the hollow prosperity of the northern kingdom, is filled with imagery and language taken from his own pastoral background. The words of amos reveal jehovahs mercy towards an unworthy people. Jesus demonstrates gods compassion, mercy, and justice. Book of amos overview insight for living ministries. In spite of withering opposition, he fearlessly indicted the nation for its hollow, meaningless piety, social injustice and general immorality.