Summary Of Impending Judgement: An Analysis Of The Book Of Amos
Impending Judgement: An Analysis of the Book of Amos The final component of the Catholic Old Testament is a series of books written by a group of people known as prophets. Contrary to some commonly held beliefs, prophets are not fortune tellers. Rather, they are mediums of divine will, social/religious critics, and political advisors. One of the Minor Prophet books in the Old Testament is the book of Amos. The book is characterized by a powerful tone that indicts the northern Kingdom of Israel for their sins of hollow fortune and idolatry. Amos’s location, audience, time period, and messages that are centrally focused on judgement regarding spiritual laziness and injustice combine to provide foresight into the impending Assyrian Exile, as
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The reign of Jeroboam lasted from 786-746 BC. This time period is significant because it marked a period of prosperity within the kingdom of Israel, however trouble was brewing on the international political stage. Israel during the time of Jeroboam saw exceptional financial, social, and political affluence. This prosperity led to a false sense of security within the country, as it can be described that “the keynote of national feeling in the time of Amos was security.” However, most of this prosperity and sense of security was inspired by momentary collapses by surrounding powers. The great ruler Adad-nirari III of Assyria had died in 783 BC, and this unfortunate event was coupled with the rise of the powerful Argishti I in the northern land of Urartu. The Urarteans had been a menace to Assyria for a while, and now that they had an exceptionally effective ruler, Assyria was forced to draw its attention away from the West and Israel for a short time . This lack of Assyrian threat allowed for stability and prosperity within Israel until about 745. At the same time as the period of Assyria’s Urartean threat, Egypt fell into civil war and was subsequently conquered by Egyptianized Nubians . These new rulers of Egypt posed little threat to the Israelites. However, near the end of Jeroboam’s rule, Assyria began to gain power again, as they were back near full force by the end of Jeroboam’s rule under the freshly minted reign of Tiglath-pileser II . Similar to Nazi Germany with Europe in World War Two, Assyria was looking to regain its hegemon status in the region after a period of minor strife. They had previously shown aggressive behavior by attacking Damascus in 775 BC, and by the end of Jeroboam’s reign they remained hungry for land .
The reign of Jeroboam lasted from 786-746 BC. This time period is significant because it marked a period of prosperity within the kingdom of Israel, however trouble was brewing on the international political stage. Israel during the time of Jeroboam saw exceptional financial, social, and political affluence. This prosperity led to a false sense of security within the country, as it can be described that “the keynote of national feeling in the time of Amos was security.” However, most of this prosperity and sense of security was inspired by momentary collapses by surrounding powers. The great ruler Adad-nirari III of Assyria had died in 783 BC, and this unfortunate event was coupled with the rise of the powerful Argishti I in the northern land of Urartu. The Urarteans had been a menace to Assyria for a while, and now that they had an exceptionally effective ruler, Assyria was forced to draw its attention away from the West and Israel for a short time . This lack of Assyrian threat allowed for stability and prosperity within Israel until about 745. At the same time as the period of Assyria’s Urartean threat, Egypt fell into civil war and was subsequently conquered by Egyptianized Nubians . These new rulers of Egypt posed little threat to the Israelites. However, near the end of Jeroboam’s rule, Assyria began to gain power again, as they were back near full force by the end of Jeroboam’s rule under the freshly minted reign of Tiglath-pileser II . Similar to Nazi Germany with Europe in World War Two, Assyria was looking to regain its hegemon status in the region after a period of minor strife. They had previously shown aggressive behavior by attacking Damascus in 775 BC, and by the end of Jeroboam’s reign they remained hungry for land .