Just to be clear, this is not the recipe book of Amos, the guy who makes those fantastic chocolate chip cookies.
This Amos was a fruit picker and a shepherd with no education and no cookie recipes. His mission, should he decide to accept it, it to give a message to the northern kingdom of Israel, a message of impending doom and captivity because of sins. This message largely fell on deaf ears because ever since the days of Solomon, things were pretty good in the land.
Amos can see that beneath the prosperity, there is sin to the core. He lists the sins: neglect of God's word, idolatry, pagan worship, greed, corrupted leadership, and oppression of the poor.
He not only condemns Israel, but also Judah and then the surrounding nations.
But, as with the other prophets, his message ends with God's promise of a future restoration to the remnant.
Impressions: He was an ordinary guy, but followed God's prompting to deliver a hard message. He says that God never sends punishment but that he does not first send a prophet to warn the people. He is just doing the job God sent him to do.
Readability: 2 1/2 stars
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