Amos was a Hebrew prophet (someone who delivered messages from God) who lived in the eighth century BC.
Who Was Amos?
Everything we know about Amos comes from the book named after him in the Bible. He was a shepherd living in Tekoa. Tekoa is a village about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Jerusalem. Amos lived here when God spoke to him in a vision (Amos 1:1–2).
At that time, the kingdom of Israel was divided. Uzziah was king of Judah in the south. Jeroboam II was king of Israel in the north. God gave Amos a vision. In this vision, God's powerful message was like a lion's roar. God was warning the people, especially the Israelites, to stop doing two wrong things: treating others unfairly and worshiping false gods.
The book of Amos tells us that he spoke God's message in a city called Bethel. Bethel was located about 19 kilometers (12 miles) north of Jerusalem. Bethel was just across the border in Israel. King Jeroboam I had made Bethel an important place of worship in Israel. He did this to compete with the main temple in Jerusalem, which was in Judah.
Amos's Message of Justice and Change
Amos prophesied that Israel would be overrun and its king killed. The priest of Bethel was Amaziah. He called Amos a traitor. He told him to go back to Judah and to prophesy there. Amos replied, “I was not a prophet...nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.” But the Lord told him, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” (Amos 7:10–15).
Amos was a God-fearing man and cared deeply about how rich people treated poor people unfairly. He did not want to be identified with an elite group of professional prophets. These prophets may have lost their original enthusiasm. His writings reflect the earthy background of a shepherd (3:12). But he spoke with authority the message given him by the Lord God of Hosts: “But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (5:24).
The message of Amos was a call to repentance of personal and social sins. Amos called God's people to return to the worship of the one true God and to the covenantal standards (the rules God gave to the Jewish people) that made them a nation. See Amos, Book of; Prophet, Prophetess.