Series: Shepherds Roar
Message: A Shepherd's Vision
Preacher: J. Murdock
Reflection: Nathan Brown
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Beyond: Art Preuss
Live Purpose: Don Pate
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Amos 1-2 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: As the history of the people of Israel was narrated through the Old Testament, we can see that the message of the prophet Amos raised the stakes dramatically. He was one of the first of a new kind of prophet. Previous prophets had dealt with individuals—such as Samuel foretelling the end of the family of Eli and anointing the first kings of the Israelite nation. Then they had confronted kings when they had sinned and overstepped their power—think Nathan confronting David—or led the people away from God—such as Elijah taking on the power of Ahab, Jezebel and the priests of Baal.
But, a few generations later, Amos was one of the first voices to warn that the very existence of the nation of Israel was under threat. It might be, in part, because we have the writings of Amos—one of the well preserved portions of the Hebrew scriptures—that we see more of the content of his messages and warning. On the other hand, his oracles might have been committed to writing and more carefully preserved because of the serious nature of his message.
Whichever way this works, Amos’ unlikely prophetic voice was one of the first to point out the national and even international significance of the leaders’ and peoples’ cruel and oppressive attitudes and actions, and their disregard for God and His intentions for their respective nations. While the Israelites had accepted the blessings and curses that would come with the faithfulness or otherwise at the establishment of their nation (see Deuteronomy 27–30), Amos brought these back to the fore, raising the looming threat of national destruction as a judgment from God.
We could compare Amos’ message and its impact with that of his reluctant contemporary, Jonah, sent to the neighboring Assyrians with a similarly urgent message, calling for their repentance. It seems that Israel’s demise might have been avoided by a similar response of national repentance, but it was not to be and the Israelites were taken into captivity and exile only thirty-some years after Amos delivered his message of warning. Thanks to Amos’ faithful, albeit unpopular, oracles they could not complain that they hadn’t been warned.
Recalibrate: Why do you think God—and His prophets—seemed to work differently at different times in the history of the people of Israel? How would you explain these differences?
Respond: Pray these words: “God, help us to listen and to speak faithfully and boldly, with discernment and with love, in our lives and our communities.”
Research: Compare the message and ministry of Jonah (re-read the story of Jonah, if necessary) with that of Amos. What can we learn from the comparison of these concurrent prophets to different nations?
Remember: “The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem. His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem” (Amos 1:2, ICB).
Nathan Brown is a writer and book editor at Signs Publishing Company, near Melbourne, Australia. Nathan is author/editor of 16 books, including two this year—Of Falafels and Following Jesus and For the Least of These.
Our Words to Remember tell us that His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem (Amos 1:2, ICB). Listen to the lion growling again with your little one. We know that growling is not a happy sound. If a dog growls we know that the dog is not happy and we should stay away. A growl warns us just like Amos tried to warn God’s people that what they were doing was hurting others and would eventually hurt them too. How do we help our little ones understand what will hurt others also hurts them?
Amos was a shepherd who kept sheep safe. God sent Amos as a prophet, hoping to keep God’s people safe. Put your hands up to your ears. God gave us ears so we can hear Him. Put your hands over your eyes. He gave us eyes so we can see him. He gave us hands so we can help. He gave us feet so we can go and help each other. God made us to help not to hurt others. Think of ways that you can help today.
“The pastures of the shepherd’s mourn, and the top of Mount Carmel withers” (Amos 1:2). The result of this warning brought a severe reaction from the shepherds. They begin to mourn either because they feared the roaring lion or they felt fear because of the comparison with a drought (Amos 4:7) which made the top of Mount Carmel wither and become like a desert. Carmel was a prominent mountain in the north of Israel, the site of Elijah’s dramatic confrontation with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40). Since Elijah served before the time of Amos, it may be that Amos was reminding Israel of this victory of the Lord GOD over idolatry.
Let’s get real: Have you found to be distancing yourself from God? If so, what is preventing you from reconnecting with Him?
The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all ways “like us.” That’s kind of a mystery to me but the one area that probably could have been Jesus’ greatest temptation has never really been a problem for me. I never thought I was God . . . and He had every reason to doubt that He was! Think about it—Jesus could easily have been tempted to believe Himself crazy because you just don’t go around telling people that you are God without them inevitably deciding to lock you up in a padded cell. What did Jesus have to defeat that temptation? What did He have that convinced Him that His mother wasn’t just some goofy and deluded woman who made up fanciful stories about how her little boy was special?A dove coming from heaven with a voice? Lots of people hear voices and they scare us. Jesus defeated every temptation—even the ones that I’ll never face, even the one that tried to make Him believe Himself crazy.
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Art Preuss pastors in Massachusetts at the Springfield, Florence, and Warren Adventist churches and serves in the U. S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain.
Don Pate is “retired” in Tennessee after decades of teaching and pastoring but is still active in speaking and creating for the Kingdom.