Intro to the Prophets: Joel, Amos

Introduction

We continue our study of the prophets this week by looking at both Joel and Amos, the next two prophets in “the Twelve”. Due to their size, as well as a few overlapping themes, it seemed best to cover both at once. A recurring theme in these books (and many of the prophets) is that of judgement for sin, followed by restoration. For Joel, this culminates in the “Day of the Lord”, and for Amos, this culminates in captivity.

Background of Joel

The book of Joel is one of the shorter books of the Old Testament. It is only 3 chapters, but it “packs a punch”.

We know very little about Joel himself, other than he is the “son of Pethuel”.

It seems likely that he lived in and prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah, just based on the content of his message. However, there are no points of reference as far as dating goes.

Unlike other prophets which mention certain kings for dating, Joel provides none. That means there is about a 700 (!) year period which he could have lived.

Based on some of the internal evidence it seems realistic that Joel lived sometime between 800 BC-500 BC.

The basis of Joel’s entire prophecy was a terrible invasion of locusts upon the land. This plague was apparently so bad and disruptive that it caused Joel to view the event prophetically - as a judgement from God.

This wasn’t just any old judgement. For Joel, he looked around and saw a portent for great and terrifying “Day of the Lord”.

What to expect when reading Joel

Bugs! The locus invasion is the basis for Joel’s message. The first chapter is a description of this invasion (using poetic terms), and how terrible it was, following by a call for repentance.

Joel firmly believed that this disaster was from Yahweh and that it was begin of the sin of the people. For Joel, the only way out of the disaster was repentence.

Joel 1:13–15 “Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.”

Chapter 2 parallels chapter 1 by elaborating on this “Day of the Lord”. Here Joel compares the destruction of God on that Day to the destruction of the locusts.

Joel 2:3–5 “Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.”

The apocalyptic language used by Joel here is echoed in the New Testament, like Matthew 24, Revelation, ect.

Just like the first chapter, the second half of Joel 2 is a call of repentance, followed by the Lord “having pity” on the land and saving/restoring them.

Chapter 3 is a concluding judgement against Israel’s enemies, particularly Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia. The book ends with a glimpse of redemption for “Israel”, which was fulfilled in Christ and the Church.

Joel 3:17 ““So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.”

Perhaps the most important prophecy of Joel however comes at the end of Chapter 2.

Joel 2:28–32 ““And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

Why is this prophecy so important? Peter quotes it in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2!

According to Peter, Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled before the people’s very eyes with the coming of the Holy Spirit. The “Day of the Lord” which Joel had seen, was now here because in Christ the Lord had come. Consequently “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”.

As a funny side note, Joel condemned drunkenness among the people - what was the first thing Peter had to clear up in his sermon? “We’re not drunk!”

As a concluding thought on Joel, this book does demonstrate that some “natural disasters” (in this case a locust plague) MIGHT actually be judgments from God.

Background on Amos

The second prophet we’ll look at is Amos. His background is slightly more clearer than Joel.

According to the opening verses, Amos was a shepherd in Tekoa, likely a town a few miles south of Bethlehem which would have been in the southern kingdom of Judah.

This is interesting because Amos’ prophecy is actually primarily for the northern kingdom of Israel.

It is said that he prophesied during the days of Uzziah king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel. This means that he prophesied to the same people only a few years before Hosea did.

Whereas Hosea ministered for close to 40 years, Amos in contrast seems to be pretty short - maybe only two years. This was “two years before earthquake”. Apparently there was a massive earthquake in the days of Uzziah which was remembered historically for quite some time. Zechariah 14:5 makes reference to it as well.

The chief concerns of Amos are social justice. King Jeroboam reined for a long time (40-50 years), and the northern kingdom was relatively stable and prosperous. But with that prosperity came great sin. Whereas Hosea would later condemn their idolatry (Love of God), Amos focused on the social ramifications of their sin (Love of Neighbor). Here are some of the sins listed in the book.

Enslaving countrymen for petty debs (2:6, 8:6)

Perverting justice for the disadvantaged (2:7-8; 5:10, 12, 15)

practicing incest (2:7)

Exacting harsh taxes (2:8; 3:10; 5:11)

Attacking prophets who condemned their sins (2:12; 3:8; 7:12-13)

Extravagant lifestyles at the expense of the poor (4:1; 6:1-6)

Ignoring warnings of disaster (4:6-11)

Fake religion and paganism (5:4-5; 8:4-5)

Assuming only blessings from the Lord (5:18-20; 9:10)

Trusting their own military might (3:11; 6:2-3)

Flaunting their covenant privileges (ironic since they weren’t keeping their end anyway) while ignoring God’s care for other nations (3:1-2; 9:7)

Amos’s message is clear: true religious requires right living. Or as the Lord would later say, “Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor.”

God’s sovereignty is also prevalent throughout the entire book. He can and will judge Israel. He has control over everything - including nature and other nations. Ultimately this will mean sending the people into captivity for their sins.

Amos never names Assyria, but rather keeps the future captive force vague. Hosea would eventually make it clear that it was the Assyrians whom God would use to take the northern kingdom into captivity.

What to expect when reading Amos

The book opens with judgments against other nations surrounding Israel, and Judah (the southern kingdom), all the way up to 2:6. For the people of Israel, this probably sounded like the start of a great message!

But then Amos pulls a “bait and switch” when he suddenly turns his message towards Israel themselves and he doesn’t pull any punches.

Amos 2:6–8 “Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”

Chapters 3-6 are a series of judgement speeches against Israel, condemning them for their sins and mistreatment of people.

In the midst of these speeches is the core message of Amos which is still very applicable to all Christians. Amos 5:24 “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

This was the famous passage Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used in his “I have a dream” speech.

The verse demonstrates that God desires His people, Christians, to perform justice and righteousness wherever they may be. In fact, the preceding verses demonstrate this.

Amos 5:18–24 “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Notice the Day of the Lord, now known as the day Christ returns, will not be that great for unrepentant sinners!

Chapters 7-9 are a series of visions that Amos has to illustrate the impending judgement upon Israel. The visions include locusts, fire, a plumb line, and a basket of summer fruits.

In the midst of these visions there is a narrative story, where a priest in Bethel (Amaziah) accused Amos of talking bad about the king. Amaziah tells Amos to “go home” in Judah, and never come back and preach to Israel again.

Amos’ response is basically, “You think I wanted this job? God chose me, not the other way around.” Amos 7:14–15 “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

Amaziah was promptly punished for his insolence.

Amos ends, as many of the prophets do, with the hope of restoration.

Amos 9:11–12 ““In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.”

As we have regularly seen, this promise was fulfilled in Christ. How do we know? James quotes this verse in Acts 15 during the Council of Jerusalem when the church leaders are discussing the inclusion of the Gentiles. The booth (house) of David that was raised up was Christ himself, and in Him the true Israel was rebuilt, with the “remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name” the inclusion of Gentiles into the people of God.

As “Gentiles” we should be especially thankful for Amos’ words and Christ’s fulfilment of them!

Conclusion

Joel and Amos both teach us about the character of God and his reaction to sin of all kinds. As we seek to live righteously we would do well to see what behavior God condemned through these prophets so that we can avoid them as well. But they also prophesied a hope that has found its fulfilment in Christ and His Church and a Day first realized at Pentecost, and a “day after the day” when Christ will return. It will be a day of great joy for believers, but a day of great mourning for those who do not know Christ.