Series: Shepherds Roar
Message: A Shepherd's Vision
Preacher: J. Murdock
Reflection: Nathan Brown
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Beyond: Art Preuss
Live Purpose: Don Pate
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Amos 1-2 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: While the prophet Amos is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible outside of his own self-titled book, this book is specific about the time and place in which he spoke. While we do not have historical records of the earthquake mentioned in Amos 1:1, the respective reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam II, king of Israel, give us important context to the message of the prophecies of Amos.

The kingdom of David and Solomon had been divided between the north—Israel—and south—Judah—after the death of Solomon about 170 years before the ministry of Amos. There followed a succession of mostly mediocre kings in each of the separate nations, with prophets including Elijah and Elisha seeking to call the respective kings and their people back to worship and obedience to God.

The prophetic ministry of Amos is generally dated around 760 to 750 B.C., making him one of the first of the Hebrew prophets that we know by the books that bear their names. Focused mainly on the northern kingdom of Israel, Amos was addressing a nation that was enjoying a time of prosperity (see 2 Kings 14:23–29). The surrounding nations of Assyria, Syria, and Judah were weakened, allowing the Israelite kingdom to push its borders to the north and the south, and expanding opportunities for trade and the accumulation of wealth in the nation to a degree not seen since the time of Solomon.

We will see glimpses of this apparent prosperity from the descriptions of the Israelite society in Amos’ oracles over the course of the book. Stepping onto the stage against the backdrop of this national and political sense of wellbeing, Amos was called to sound a different note. He argued that all was not well, that their wealth was gained and indulged at the expense of the poor, and that their supposed religion did not compensate for this exploitation and injustice. It was never going to be a popular message and, as since Amos was an outsider to the nation of Israel, they were quite ready to tell him to go back to where he came from (see Amos 7:12).

Recalibrate: Why do prosperity and success tend to draw us away from the worship of God and concern for the needs of others? How can we resist these temptations?

Respond: Pray these words: “God, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name” (adapted from Proverbs 30:8, 9, NLT).

Research: Read the whole of the book of Amos in one sitting for an overview of what we will be exploring over the next few weeks.

Remember: “The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem. His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem” (Amos 1:2, ICB).

Nathan Brown is a writer and book editor at Signs Publishing Company, near Melbourne, Australia. Nathan is author/editor of 16 books, including two this year—Of Falafels and Following Jesus and For the Least of These.

Make a lamb with your little one. You will need glue, some cotton balls, a paper plate, and a black sharpie. Draw the lamb’s face on the plate and then encourage your child to dip the ball in the glue and then stick the ball on the plate. Just like you put this craft together, God knows how you are put together and what is going on for you. He is your Shepherd and His desire is for you to be with Him.

Make a flock of sheep using cotton balls or marshmallows or Lego. Did you know that sheep can see behind them but they cannot see past their noses? This is why they need a shepherd. Now that you have your flock of sheep, make a shepherd out of Lego or some card. Can you imagine what the shepherd would need to protect the sheep from?

We know now that Amos was a shepherd. He lived in the region of Tekoa. This was a place that was about 6 miles south of Jerusalem. We have to remember that at the time he was called to prophesy, Israel had been divided into two parts—the northern and southern kingdoms.

Also, the name Amos means, “to lift a burden, to carry” or simply put, burden bearer. God had placed the burden for Amos to carry a message from Him to His people. (We’ll get into the content of that message later.)

Let’s get real: Is there something that God has asked you to do for Him? Is it difficult? Why or why not? What is the meaning of your name? Are you living up to its definition? Other than your name, is there a name that you represent? Are you “carrying the burden” of that name as God has asked you to do it?

I don’t know about your family lineage, but mine wasn’t super glamorous. My father left before I can remember and never re-entered my life in any way. I always felt weird in school because my last name wasn’t the same as my dad’s (the man God gave me when I was seven—best dad ever!). Did you know Jesus never shook the scandal either? “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” wasn’t a slam on Joseph’s profession—it was an attempt to raise the old scandal of “Who’s His daddy?” In Judaism at that time, your occupation didn’t determine whether you could be a teacher of substance. Hillel, the father of the Pharisees, was a woodcutter. Saul/Paul sewed tents. Nobody teased them for that. But if there was a question about your mother’s morality? That was excellent ammunition for your enemies and Jesus lived with it every day. He didn’t seem to let it bother Him . . .

Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Art Preuss pastors in Massachusetts at the Springfield, Florence, and Warren Adventist churches and serves in the U. S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain.
Don Pate is “retired” in Tennessee after decades of teaching and pastoring but is still active in speaking and creating for the Kingdom.