During this time Israel had fallen from their righteous ways and now they were defying God’s law. The lived a luxurious and lazy life that they had created for themselves. They had no care for others, the men used women immorally, sold the needy for goods, failed to embrace Go
d’s idea of judgment, oppressed the poor, and worshiped false idols. These, along with many others, are examples of how Israel had fallen away from God. I was definitely able to recognize these sins quickly and I was so tired of Israel’s sinful ways. God could see it too and brought judgment upon them. The Lord had sent me to warn the people of the Lord’s coming judgment on them for their wicked ways. I warned them of destruction and the day of the Lord. The Lord had seen all that they have done and now he would bring an end to their wickedness. The Lord judged the people for all of their wicked deeds and punished them for it by bringing an end to them by the sword.
“Behold the eyes of the Lord are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, declares the Lord.”
Amos 9:8
In these moments of devastation and intensity I am bringing judgment to the people. Through their continued sinful actions God finally brings judgment upon them. He tells them that they will die by the sword because they have lost connection with Him. In these moments of destruction I think the point of it is to show that when we lose our faith in Christ and love for our neighbor then we approach a period of destruction. God is warning both Israel and the nations to come to show them that by falling away from Him will only bring pain and death. It showed how people lived unrighteously so the generations to come wouldn’t do the same thing. Today in the church we fall away from God all the time. Although, through falling away from God we quickly recognize that the road is not easy and that we need the Lord. We see how darkness, that once wasn’t there, creeps into our life but with the Lord he conquers that darkness. However, if we continue on that path then we only find ourselves getting more and more lost and eventually we face destruction and uncertainty. Most people, both in and out of the church, don’t want to accept that we need the Lord in order to stay on the right path. People should take my writings as a path to veer away from and a warning that when we decide we don’t need God will only lead us on a path for destruction and failure. When we keep close contact with Christ and trust Him then we are headed for a road of success with a great tour guide but when we chose to leave Him we are only setting ourselves up for failure a road of hardship.
tion in the distance. Although, there would be a whole lot of death and anguish God had a plan to rebuild. After the fall of the Israelite’s God was going to rebuild the city and not so much for the benefit of Israel but more so for Judah. From the start God saw the wickedness in the city but he knew the beauty and re-purpose that would follow. He knew and planned for something good to come out of the bad and that was through reconstruction. I feel like as the city was being desolated God knew and smiled not because the people were crying but because he knew that from this evil would come good. In a very recent case the Notre Dame Building caught fire. Here we see destruction but we can’t see how this is playing out in God’s plan yet. Sometimes with destruction brings beauty. 
to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They would sell the poor off for goods, take advantage of the helpless, burden the poor, and the men repeatedly wronged the women. The Lord had given the Israelites a set of laws (10 commandments) to guide them through the best way to live but they quickly fell off that wagon. You can see how this would anger me and especially God. Hung over on their economic success and drive to boost their financial well-being, the people abandoned their notion of caring for their neighbor. I was quick to scold them because I saw that their way of living was evidence that they had forgotten God. No longer did they give to their neighbor but now they were taking from them. They no longer relied on God for comfort but now they found their worth in their belongings. Throughout my book I address some of the many sins the people of Israel commit and in the second chapter of my book are a few of many. 
to point out their failures to help bring justice. Yet today people are just as easily guilty through idolizing food, appearance, relationships, possessions, or maybe it’s catching up on the newest episode of the bachelor on hulu but the point is that we often prioritize things over God. Through my ministry I have learned about how we may not identify these things as idols and people will tell us we’re wrong but we are quick to rebuke these words. While the Israelite’s outer lives appeared to radiate with success their inner lives fell into dec
ay. Rather then trying to seek justice, mercy, and humility they accepted their arrogance, idolatry, and selfish ways. We often fall into this temptation but through my teachings we see how this way of thinking brought destruction so we know what not to do. 
tree picker. I recognized the sinful habits the people of northern Israel had fallen into and it angered me. Then, I felt the Lord calling me, a quiet shepherd/farmer from the less sinful south to go preach to the more sinful north. So God sent me to Bethel to address Israel’s two main issues, their absence of true worship and a lack of justice. The people’s idolatry and selfish actions angered me so I preached of what it meant to care for your neighbor and how their idolization would bring destruction. My status of, not being from a line of prophets, was not in my favor. The people used this as an excuse to ignore my teachings and the false prophets tried to silence me. God called me from the less sinful south to prophecy to the very sinful north to carry a message of judgment to Israel. I was passionate about the wrongs of worshiping false idols and I had a heart for the oppressed so I was happy to go.
have given them the opportunity to search out the truth. If God were to have sent a trusted prophet then the people would have just had the words handed to them but through me it gave them a challenge to see where God was in the midst of this. It challenged them to hear words from someone of “lower status” to see through that filter and understand God uses all people. We can see pretty clearly that God is full of surprises and by him picking the ordinary was definitely a surprise. The people wouldn’t expect a shepherd to show up in their city telling them they were going to be destroyed but the people couldn’t look past my social status and accept what the Lord was saying/warning and in the end it destroyed them both spiritually and physically. By God picking me it showed that he saw the less known and that he continues to work in those that we sometimes forget about. God could have easily picked someone that was in a high social acceptance but he picked someone from a low society to speak words of wisdom and truth. Seeing that I had a heart for the oppressed I was excited to go and put people back in line so I picked up God’s call and went to Bethel. 
Welcome to my blog! My name is Amos and I’m a minor prophet that ministered in 700 BC. Before I felt called by God I was a shepherd and fig tree farmer. During this time I lived in Tekoa which is between Northern Israel and Southern Judah. I have no family line of prophets but I soon felt called by God to go to Bethel. Here I preach about idolatry, wealth, and I warn the people of northern Israel of God’s coming judgment for their wickedness. No matter what I say they try to silence me because I have no family history of prophets.
During this time King Jeroboam II is in rule of Northern Israel and is a king of great wealth which often resorts in him neglecting the poor. He is a successful military leader that wins lots of battles and territory for Israel. Through his lack of interest he allows for idolatry and neglect of the poor. The people are wrapped up in greed, self-righteousness, and idolatry. Their hearts are so full of greed that they are neglecting the poor and prioritizing other things over God. Through getting drunk on their own economic success they have lost all sight of what it means to care for their neighbor.
Amos’ Blog 