A True Prophet (Amos 7:14-17)

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, “‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the

Amos and Amaziah (Amos 7:10-13)

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying: “‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”

Woe to the Complacent! (Amos 6:1-7)

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! 2 Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is

The Women of Samaria (Amos 4:1-5)

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” 2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:  “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks. 3 You will each go straight out

Listen to God (Amos 3:1-2)

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt: 2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” This section begins with a call to listen to God’s word. This particular format

Amos’s Condemnation of Judah (2:4-5)

4 This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, 5 I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.” In this passage,

Sixth Sunday of Easter, First Reading (Acts 8:5-8, 14-17)

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. …

God Roars Like a Lion (Amos 1:2)

2 He said: “The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers. This short poem announces the theme of Amos’s message. It is implied that Israel has broken the covenant and is about to receive punishment for this. Amos is clearly the speaker here, informing the Israelites of

The Title of the Book of Amos (Amos 1:1)

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. We learn quite a lot of personal information about Amos from this first verse. In fact, it’s more than we know about most other

The Main Themes of the Book of Amos

Several themes dominate the book of Amos. First, Amos shows God as universal ruler, who is not only the God of Israel but of all the world. He controls all that happens, great and small. While polytheism dominated in much of the region, including Israel and Judah, Amos is a strict monotheist. A close reading