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Amos was a shepherd of Tekoa, in southern Judah. Around 760 B.C., the call to be a prophet seized him at his work. He went to the northern kingdom and to Bethel, its religious center, where he denounced injustice, the pride of the wealthy, and the illusion created by an outward practice of religion. In an era of peace and prosperity rarely known before, this troublesome man already saw the threat from Assyria on the horizon and foretold the almost complete destruction of the people. But his message scandalized his hearers, and he was expelled. He returned to his own country, where he must certainly have continued his preaching. (On this period of history, see the introduction to Hosea.)
There were evidently prophets before Amos, but he is the first for whom we have a collection of fragmentary sermons and accounts of personal details. Other elements were added later to this collection.
Amos’s personality impresses us from the very outset: this simple and upright man has a very deep sense of the justice of God and the value of the covenant; he is therefore unable to accept the immorality and injustice that were poisoning human relationships and even religion. People looked on the covenant as an easy form of security, and religion as a diversion; they made a display of their wealth with disregard for the poor; injustice reigned, and with it the corruption of the influential and land-owning classes. This kind of social hypocrisy filled Amos with indignation, because it was an insult to God. According to him, punishment could not be far off, since human history, and especially the journey of the people of the covenant, could not continue indefinitely amid forgetfulness of God and the injustice of human beings to one another.
Amos’s mission was a difficult one, for it disturbed those who considered that they had peaceful consciences; but the prophet did not lack courage. His message is simple, clear, and resolute.
The Book of Amos may be divided as follows:
I: The Judgment Is Near (1:1—2:16)
II: Charges against Israel (3:1—6:14)
III: Visions: Amos, Confidant of God (7:1—9:8a)
IV: The Time of Renewal (9:8b-15)