Background of the Book of Amos

The Book of Amos is the third book of the twelve Minor Prophets. Its author is the prophet Amos from the Southern Kingdom. He was an ordinary shepherd and fig-grower from the south, with no prominent background, yet he was sent by God to declare judgment to the Northern Kingdom (Amos 7:14-15). During the reign of King Jeroboam II of the Northern Kingdom, God caused the Neo-Assyrian Empire to enter a 39-year period of decline. Royal authority was limited by the nobility, forcing Assyria to halt its foreign expansion, which created a secure international environment for Israel.

God granted the Northern Kingdom over forty years of prosperity and stability, but this prosperity did not signify His approval. Jeroboam II “did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD,” and the entire nation worshipped calf idols. The people’s spiritual condition was extremely dark. Although this period was the most prosperous since the time of David and Solomon, with the Northern Kingdom enjoying a flourishing economy and vast territory, this superficial prosperity was merely a “gilded exterior with rot inside” before the fig tree was completely spoiled. Shortly after Jeroboam II’s death, the newly enthroned Assyrian king Pul (also known as Tiglath-Pileser III) resumed foreign expansion (2 Kings 15:19, 29), and the Northern Kingdom was swiftly destroyed in less than thirty years.

In the Book of Amos, although God declared Israel’s sins five times, and God tried to warn and punish them to bring them to repentance, the people remained unrepentant. Yet, God referred to them four times as “my people Israel.” This is because God’s calling will never fail. Although the people themselves “do not know how to do what is right,” God Himself will fulfill His calling. Therefore, God resolved to completely demolish the political and religious systems of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but He would preserve a remnant and rebuild: “In that day I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be.”