Homilist Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah… I. THE SPHERE OF LIFE HE OCCUPIED. He was a "herdman." God has often selected the chief messengers of His truth from men in the humbler walks of life. Elisha, David, etc. Our Lord Himself came from a peasant cottage in Nazareth. In this fact we have two things. 1. Worldly pride divinely rebuked, 2. Human nature divinely honoured. II. THE AGE IN WHICH AMOS LIVED. Two events are specified. 1. The political event of this period. "In the days of Uzziah, King of Judah." A comparatively peaceful and prosperous period. 2. The physical event of this period. Two years before the earthquake. Why is the period of his life thus described? (1) Because you cannot rightly judge a man's character unless you understand the circumstances under which he lived. (2) You cannot estimate the value of a man's mission unless you correctly judge of the moral character of his times. III. THE MISSION TO WHICH HE WAS CALLED. What was it to pronounce Divine judgment? He announced it — 1. As coming according to his vision. 2. As coming in a terrible form. 3. As issuing from a scene of mercy. 4. As fraught with calamitous results.What an argument for repentance! (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. |
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