Amos 3 - Introduction

EXAMINATION

CONSIDERATIONS

1.

Summarize in one paragraph, the philosophy of history as taught by the Old Testament prophets.

2.

Describe in detail, the circumstances of the times in which Amos took God's message to Israel.

3.

What is generally accepted as the theme of the book of Amos?

ASSOCIATIONS

Associate the persons or events of column one with the correct person or event of column two.

1

2

Uzziah

a synonym for Israel

Carmel

the high priest of Israel

Tekoa

king of Judah

Gaza

center of worship in Israel

Damascus

capital of Syria

Amman

city of Philistia

Moab

Amos-' home town

Amaziah

mountain in Israel

Tabernacle of David

city of Philistia

Bethel

Messianic prophecy

Nazirites

heathen nation east of Jordan

Ashdod

heathen nation east of Jordan

Jacob

Jewish sect

MEMORIZATIONS

... because I will do this unto thee, _____ to meet thy _____, O Israel.
Seek _____, and not _____, that ye may live; and so _____, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.
But let _____ roll down as _____, and _____ as a mighty stream.
Woe to them that are at _____ in Zion, and to them that are _____ in the mountain of Samaria.
In that day I will rise up the _____ of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up its _____ and I will _____ it as in the days of old;

CONTEMPLATIONS

1.

What was Amos-' occupation? What did he mean he was not the son of a prophet?

2.

What was the birthplace of Amos and what type of life did he lead?

3.

Why did God direct Amos to pronounce judgment upon the many heathen nations surrounding the chosen people? What is the lesson in this for today?

4.

What kind of living were the people engaging in according to Amos-' description?

5.

Why is Amos called the prophet of social justice?

6.

What was the religious condition of the northern kingdom in Amos-' day?

7.

What opposition did Amos meet in his preaching in Israel?

8.

Does the book of Amos teach against the use of musical instruments in the worship of God?

9.

Where is the Messianic prophecy recorded in the book of Amos? Where is it repeated in the New Testament?

10.

What does the N.T. interpretation of Amos-' prophecy teach concerning the Messianic kingdom?

That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches. (Amos 6:4). Ivory plaques, often inlaid with gold and precious stones, decorated with cherubs and religious motifs of foreign origin, have been found by the hundred at Megiddo and Samaria. They testify to the luxury and extravagance of the upper classes in Israel in the first half of the eighth century B. C., against which the Prophet Amos thundered in vain.

FROM: THE BIBLE AS HISTORY IN PICTUR

By Werner Keller - Wm. Morrow Co.

ALONE

It is human to stand with the crowd, it is divine to stand alone; it is man-like to follow the people, to drift with the tide; it is Godlike to follow a principle, to stem the tide.
It is natural to compromise conscience and follow the social and religious fashion for the sake of gain or pleasure; it is divine to sacrifice both on the altar of truth and duty.

No man stood with me, but all men forsook me, wrote the battle-scared apostle in describing his first appearance before Nero to answer for his life for believing and teaching contrary to the Roman world.
Truth has been out of fashion since man changed his robe of fadeless light for a garment of faded leaves.
Noah built and voyaged alone. His neighbors laughed at his strangeness and perished in style,
Abraham wandered and worshipped alone. Sodomites smiled at the simple shepherd, followed the fashion, and fed the flames.
Daniel dined and prayed alone. Elijah sacrificed and witnessed alone. Jeremiah prophesied and wept alone. Jesus loved and died alone.
And of the lonely way His disciples should walk, He said: Straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Of their treatment by the many who walk in the broad way, He said: If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
The church in the wilderness praised Abraham and persecuted Moses. The church of the kings praised Moses and persecuted the prophets.
The church of Caiaphas praised the prophets and persecuted Jesus. The church of the Popes praised the Saviour and persecuted the saints. And the multitudes now, both in the church and the world, applaud the courage and fortitude of the patriarchs and prophets, the apostles and martyrs, but condemn as stubbornness or foolishness like faithfulness to truth today.
Wanted, today, men and women, young and old, who will obey their convictions of truth and duty at the cost of fortune and friends and life itself.