Greetings Everyone
It’s time once again for the Sunday School Lesson Preview. Thanks for joining me and welcome back. All this month we have been looking at the call and ministry of some Old Testament prophets. We have already previewed Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The final prophet in this unit entitled “Calling of Prophets” is Amos.
Amos is a prophet who prophesied during the same time as Isaiah and Hosea. He was born in Judah near Jerusalem in the Southern kingdom, but left there and when to the capital Bethel and prophesied against Israel in the Northern kingdom. As with most prophets during his time, his words were not well received and he was labeled a traitor for speaking against the king and nation. Amos was from a humble background and had no formal religious training. He was a shepherd who God called to deliver His message of judgement against the sins of His people.
The people of Israel had allowed the general prosperity of their nation to lead them into selfish indulgences at the expense of the poorer members of their society. Dr. MLK, Jr. often quoted a passage from Amos where God said “Let judgement roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream”. Dr. King drew many parallels between the quest for justice and civil rights in the United States in his day and the injustices in Israel during Amos’s ministry. Amos often used vivid imagery in some of his prophesies such as “a plumb line” to demonstrate the crookedness of justice and righteousness in Israel.
The focus passage of this lesson emphasizes the fact that Amos was minding his own business when God called him to go from herding his sheep to delivering His message. Furthermore, he didn’t have anything to do with the content of the message nor could he change it because they didn’t like it. Like many of the prophets, there is no mention of his death in the bible. To learn more about Amos and his ministry click on his name. Also, you can access the SS lesson scriptures on the go anywhere and anytime through our website. So, let’s prepare to have a great discussion on Sunday as we take a closer look at “Amos’s Call” and the implications it has for us today.
Blessings
Pastor Jordan
