Page 85 - Divinity_F5

Divinity for Advanced Secondary Schools

The vision of locusts presents doom He told him that his wife was to become
because all the plants were to be a prostitute, and his children would fall
destroyed by the locusts as a result of by the sword (Amos 7:17).
people’s sins. This would bring drought
and famine (Amos 7:1ff). The vision of According to Amos, death would be
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the basket of fruit further showed that rampant to the extent that everyone
judgment was over and Israel was ripe would die, and it would be difficult
for destruction (Amos 8:1ff). to bury them. Moreover, winter and
summer houses decorated with ivory
would be destroyed, and they would not
He sang a funeral song to illustrate the drink wine from the beautiful vineyards
future of Israel. The song shows the they had planted (Amos 2:8).
future judgment of Israel and never to
rise (Amos 5:1ff). According to Amos, Amos says, “Time is coming when
God will turn their festivals into funerals the Lord will send famine on the land,
and change glad songs into cries of grief, people will be hungry and thirsty but not
shave their heads and wear sackcloth, for food but hungry for the message of
and they will be like parents mourning God (Amos 8:11). He warned the rich
for their child. for the exploitation of the poor that they

were selling honest people for silver and
Amos says the time is coming when the poor for a pair of sandals and said, “I
God will make the sun go down at noon. will not let them go unpunished” (Amos
The Earth grow dark in the daytime, 2:6-7).
indicating a message of doom (Amos
8:9). As a prophet of doom, Amos says Furthermore, the Lord was going to send
that God would send a foreign army to an earthquake, and everybody would be
occupy Israel, oppress them and stretch destroyed because of cheating the poor.
from the northern part to the South, he Due to God’s anger, He would reject
compared the coming destruction to that the sacrifices of the Israelites. Even
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
though the Israelites would pray, God
Amos also prophesied massive would never accept or respond to their
destruction of property and worshipping sacrifices. He said those who became
places like Bethel and Gilgal because of rich through injustices and exploitation
the empty mockery of God. would not enjoy their beautiful houses.
Amos also told them that Israel would
Amos pronounced disaster to the family be like sheep eaten up by a lion. This
of priest Amaziah of Bethel for trying to statement implied that the Israelites
stop him from preaching at the temple. would not escape God’s punishment.

76 Form Five Student’s Book