Study notes & questions on
THE BOOK OF AMOS
 

  1. In what form did Amos receive communication from God? (1:1)
     
    1. Can you think of Old Testament characters who received communications in other forms?
       
    2. What phrase in Heb. 11:1 does this illustrate?

     

  2. Amos' occupation is mentioned. What was it? (This will be important in chapter 7:14-15) 

     

  3. We are told not only that Amos'  vision came in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, but also that it was in the days of what king of Israel?
     
    1. In what chapter of 2 Kings do we read about this king?
       
    2. Who became king first, Uzziah in Judah, or Jereboam (son of Joash) in Israel?
       
    3. How long did each king reign?
       
    4. In what year of the reign of Uzziah (a.k.a. Azariah) did Zechariah become king of Israel?
       
    5. So then, what can we say about the date of Amos' vision relative to Uzziah's reign?

     

  4. The earthquake mentioned in Amos 1:1 is apparently the same earthquake that is mentioned more than a hundred years later by the prophet Zechariah (14:1). What is it in Zech. 14:1 that leads us to believe the earthquake mentioned there is the same as the one mentioned in Amos?

     

  5. Tekoa is mentioned a few times in the Old Testament (including 2 Sam. 14 where we learn of the wise woman from Tekoa whom Joab brought to David so that she could the case that Absalom should be allowed to return).
     
    1. Where was Tekoa?
       
    2. Was Amos a resident of the southern kingdom or of the northern kingdom?
       
  6. Amos 1:3-5 constitute an indictment of what people? Or to put the question another way, of what was Damascus the capital? According to verse 3, what was the cause of the Lord's wrath against Damascus? Who had been victimized by Damascus?
     
  7. Amos 1:6-8 constitute an indictment of what people? Or to put the question another way, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron were all cities of what people? Three hundred years earlier, which two of these cities had been visited, with disastrous consequences, by the ark of God (1 Sam. 5)?
     
  8. Amos 1:9-10 constitute an indictment of whom? What did Tyre have in common with Gaza? (Compare 1:9 and 1:6.)
     
  9. Amos 1:11-12 constitute an indictment of whom?
     
  10. According to verse 11, what was the cause of the Lord's wrath against Edom?
     
  11. Amos 1:13-15 constitute an indictment of whom?  According to verse 13, what was the cause of the Lord's wrath against Damascus? Who had been victimized by Damascus? What did Ammon and haven in common with Damascus? (Compare 1:13 and 1:3.)  Where was Gilead?
     
  12. Amos 2:1-3 constitute an indictment of whom?
     
  13.  According to 2:1, what was the cause of the Lord's wrath against Moab?
     
  14. The precise import of each of the questions in 3:3-5 is a bit difficult to discern. Are these merely rhetorical devices to indicate that where the is effect, there is cause? Or is there special significance in the particular effects mentioned? In the case of the first question in verse 4, the there seems to be special significance in the particular effect mentioned. A lion roars when he has prey. In verse 8, the lion is the Lord. The Lord has roared because he has prey. But then should we find some sort of allegory in each of the questions? If so, what is represented by the bird, the trap, and the bait in verse 5?
     
  15. What do the altars of Bethel (3:14) bring to mind?
     
  16. What do "the houses of ivory" (3:15 bring to mind? (cf. 1 Kings 22:39)
     
  17. Had God in any way warned Israel before the words of Amos? (See 4:6-11.) If so, in what ways?
     
  18. "Prepare to meet your God" may sound like a line out of a movie, but it's from the book of Amos. Find it!
     
  19. Based on Amos Amos 2:7-8, describe the society of that time in terms of its sexual morality.
     
  20. Based on Amos 2:6-7, 6:4-7, 8:4, describe the society in terms of its justice, general morality, and work ethic.

    21.  
  21. Religiosity in the time of Amos: Explain how Amos 5:21-24 is similar to the theme of the first chapter of Isaiah.
     
    1. Did the people continue to observe religious rituals and days during this time? (Amos 5:21ff, 8:5)
       
    2. So is it possible to turn away from the Lord even while regularly going to church? (Compare Is. 1:4 and 1:12)
       
    3. In Isaiah, what did God call the people's visits to his temple? (Isaiah 1:12)
       
    4. Does God appreciate everything offered to him? (Cite a verse in Amos in support of your answer.)
       
    5. What do you think I mean by "religiosity"?
       
    6. What kinds of things did God call upon the people in Judah to do in order to have something more than mere religiosity? (1:16-17)
       
    7. So now what do we see going on? The people were offering sacrifices to the LORD, and they were also living materialistic and immoral lives? Is there a parallel today?

     

  22. What king gets mentioned by name in Amos 7:9. Which kingdom was his? Was it the kind of mention that would please him?
     
  23. How did a Amaziah, a priest of Bethel (what do you remember about Bethel), construe Amos' prophetic message? (1:10-11)
     
  24. Amaziah told Amos to go where and do what?
     
  25. Which best describes Amaziah's estimation of Amos' message? (consider Amos' response in vss. 14-15)
    1. he thought it deserved consideration
       
    2. he considered it to be boilerplate gloom and doom from a professional prophet
       
    3. he thought Amaziah was intoxicated