Amos

Overview – September 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Amos

“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” —Amos 9:11 NKJV

Amos, meaning “to burden,” received his prophecy in the days of Uzziah, who reigned in Judah at the time that Jeroboam II reigned in Israel. This was “two years before the earthquake” (1:1), which evidently left a great impression. Likely the prophecy was known before the earthquake came, so when it came, it lent serious significance to the prophecy.

The book is impressive for its orderly, deliberate condemnation of evil, especially in Israel, and the resulting measured judgments of God. The evil is exposed in a calm, judicial way, rather than in burning anger. The punishment from God perfectly corresponds to the guilt.

First, various nations are summoned, as it were, for judgment: the Syrians, Philistines, Tyre, Ammon, Moab and Edom. But if God must in justice judge the nations, then Judah and Israel must also be brought before His throne and judgment apportioned in perfect truth and impartiality. Yet the prophecy, in common with all prophecy, ends with the victory of God over evil and the eventual restoration of Judah and Israel by the power and grace of God.

The book thus is excellent for showing us that God must likewise calmly and decidedly judge our own ways as surely as the ways of others. Yet in grace He delights to restore.

By Leslie M. Grant

This column is taken from the book: “The Bible, Its 66 Books In Brief.”
It is available for purchase from Believers Bookshelf USA.