The Lion Roars (Amos 1:1–2)

Many years ago, I was privileged to spend a family holiday with friends in the Kruger National Park. I recall hearing a lion roaring. I was separated from the magnificent beast by a river and a high electric fence. From this position of safety, I could marvel at the roar, even be entertained by it, knowing I was completely secure.

When we turn to the book of Amos, we hear a different kind of roar—the threatening roar of the triune God as the Day of the Lord approaches. None unprotected by his river of mercy and the fence of saving grace will survive.

At a certain level, Israel was pleased at this prospect, even longing for it to arrive. They were delighted to anticipate that the surrounding nations—including Judah to the south—would be judged by God for their sins. They assumed that the roaring threats of the Lord were aimed only at others, not reckoning on the reality that their own sins made them prey for judgement.

They didn’t realise that the river of mercy had dried up and that God’s longsuffering fence had been torn down. The Lion was coming, he was roaring, and he was on the prowl for them. They therefore needed to tremble as they heard the roar of the Lion communicated by Amos.

The Day of the Lord forms the central emphasis of this prophetic book (5:18–20). As a Minor Prophet, the message was short, but it was powerful—like a small package delivering quite a punch, both for its original hearers and for readers today.

Israel was smug with self-assurance that God was pleased with them. After all, they were geographically strong (with land mass akin to Solomon’s days), politically stable (Assyria apparently no longer a threat), and economically prosperous, with some experiencing great affluence. “Certainly God must be pleased with us and he must be very angry at the wicked. Therefore the pagans should beware of the Day of the Lord. In fact, Lord, bring it on—judge the wicked.”

But Amos’s message is, “You know not what you ask.” They desired to see God’s judgement upon others (1:3–2:3) but what they did not realise was that God’s judgement would include them. In fact, it would strike them first and foremost, for to whom much is given, much is required.

Israel, having departed from faithfulness to the true God, was blindly carrying on with self-styled worship, self-indulgent living, and self-righteous treatment of others.

While desiring the Lion to roar, they didn’t realise that, when he roared, it would be because they were the prey.

The same applies today. We like the idea of God’s judgement upon the wicked. We desire the Lion to roar and sort them out. But what about ourselves? Is our worship acceptable? Do our lives reflect devotion to the Lord? Are we guilty of mistreating others either blindly or with self-righteous justification? This is why we need the message of Amos.

One day, the Lamb who suffered without opening his mouth will return as the Lion who roars with judgement. Are you ready? In the words of Amos, “Prepare to meet your God” (4:12).

We shall examine this book by explaining the mission and the message of Amos. May we listen to Amos as he speaks authoritatively for God.

Amos’s Mission

The text opens by introducing us to Amos: “The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds 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” (v. 1).

Amos is the first of the writing prophets and his words are sobering, at least to those who have ears to hear and hearts to understand. It is an old message with contemporary relevance.

The Puritan pastor Cotton Mather said what is certainly an ageless truth: that the design of Christian preaching is to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men. This is precisely what Amos was called to do. He was faithful to God’s call to confront the nations, but particularly the old covenant church, with their sins of greed, oppression, and merely nominal religion. To God’s people, he courageously warned with the earth-shaking message that judgement was coming, therefore they must “prepare to meet your God.” Amos’s mission was to confront the wayward, covenantally unfaithful people of God with the truth of God’s throne and dominion. He did so through words of judgement (chapters 1–6) and visions of judgement (chapters 7–9).

Who was Amos?

Amos was a shepherd and a farmer (cf. 7:14) from the region of Tekoa, a somewhat wilderness area about fifteen kilometres south-west of Jerusalem in the kingdom of Judah.

Near the end of this prophecy, he reminds his hearers that he was “no prophet, nor a prophet’s son” (7:14). In fact, he was simply minding his own business, tending the sheep and harvesting his figs, when the Lord interrupted his vocation and gave him another calling.

Amos was a servant of the Lord who honoured him in a so-called “secular” vocation, which prepared him to serve the Lord in a “spiritual” vocation. He honoured the Lord as a fig-harvesting shepherd and he honoured the Lord as a truth-heralding shepherd of God’s flock. He apparently was somewhat reluctant (7:14), yet he proved to be a faithful prophet. There are some lessons here.

First, God has the right to call whom he will for what he wills. And his calling is not always conventional (Matthew 20:1–16).

Amos had not been to the school (“company” or “sons of”) the prophets (1 Samuel 10:5; 19:18–24; 2 Kings 2:3,15; 4:38–41). He had no prophetic degree and apparently no official training. What he had was a willingness to serve when called. He was the consummate Old Testament example of a jar of clay willing to be used at the King’s pleasure.

Second, Amos was called in the midst of his ordinary calling in life. He was busy doing what he needed to do and God called him to do something additional. This is a corollary to the above observation.

When you consider his vocation as a shepherd and farmer, his prophetic ministry is more similar than different.

Like a shepherd, Amos understood hard work. He understood sleepless nights and a wearied body. He knew the joy of lambs being born and the sorrow of sheep being devoured by wolves or the wilderness. He knew the pang of seeking lost sheep and sometimes never finding anything but a leg or an ear (3:12).

Amos knew by experience the disappointment of summer fruit that was overly ripe and only fit for fertiliser (8:1). Such first-hand knowledge equipped him for the hard and disappointing mission of being rejected, resulting in a national flock being ripe for God’s judgement.

God uses all of our life experiences to shape us for unique ministry. Our experiences can enable us to help others when others perhaps cannot.

Third, we don’t know how long his ministry lasted. Ministry often has a shelf-life. Not every calling from God is until death parts you from it. Your particular ministry involvement may have a shelf life. What is key is knowing that God has ended it.

In sum, there was nothing remarkable about Amos, at least innately. Rather what stands out is his faith in God who is faithful. This should be the posture of each and every Christian.

Romans 12:1–2 applies to every Christian. Be prepared for your life to be interrupted for his purposes.

When was Amos?

Amos ministered during the reigns of “Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash” (distinguishing him from Jeroboam I).

We need to pause and understand where this story fits in God’s great story—the story of redemption. God’s kingdom was established and corrupted in Genesis 1–2, before his King was promised (Genesis 3:15). His kingdom advanced initially in Genesis 4–5 before it was interrupted, but reaffirmed, in Genesis 6–9 and again seemingly hopelessly corrupted in Genesis 10–11. God reaffirmed the promise of his kingdom in Genesis 12, which was seemingly established under David and Solomon, where the promise of Messiah was reiterated. The kingdom was divided under Rehoboam and Jeroboam I, followed by civil war, with rival capitals in Jerusalem and Samariah. The northern kingdom (Israel) established unbiblical worship in Bethel (Dan, Gilgal, Beersheba), where worship became syncretistic, idolatrous, immoral, unacceptable. They expected Messiah. They expected the day of the Lord. But they were very wrong in their expectation. Their messiah was not God’s.

Enter Uzziah and Jeroboam II. During the long reigns of these two prosperous kings (52 and 41 years respectively) Amos was called to confront, not the southern but the northern kingdom. The year was circa 750 BC. For the northern kingdom, D-Day—the Day of the Lord—was some twenty years away. Judah still had some time.

For Israel—the northern kingdom—all seemed well. But there was more to the well-being of a nation than social cohesion and prosperity. The nation needed to be righteous. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34)—including a nation chosen by God. Amos was called to confront a religious yet unrighteous people of God.

They were suffering from false assurance. Doubtless, these are the most difficult people to confront with both judgement and the gospel. Who needs good news when all is well?

Those with false assurance assume they are right with God and thus believe they are prepared to meet him. They are in for a rude awakening. But those lacking assurance tremble at the thought. Such trembling graciously brings them to their knees, which is the only way to prepare to meet him—and to be saved by him (Psalm 2:10–12).

The phrase “two years before the earthquake” refers to a significant seismic event. We don’t know the exact date of this earthquake but it was significant enough that Zechariah referred to it some two hundred years later (Zechariah 14:5).

Apparently it was of such magnitude that it affected portions of both kingdoms. We read references perhaps to the threat of the earthquake throughout the book (cf. 3:9; 8:8; 9:5,9). The point is that the Lord was going to shake things up and only those truly prepared were in a condition to stand before the Lord.

Where was Amos?

“The words of Amos … concerning Israel.” Significantly, Amos was from Judah (Tekoa) and was called while in Judah to serve the Lord in Israel. In this geographic sense, Amos was an Old Testament missionary.

This is an astounding contextual point, which helps us to appreciate this brother for his faithfulness even more.

Consider the parallel: an Englishman as a missionary to Afrikaners during the Boer War, or a South Korean diplomat crossing over into North Korea and proclaiming judgement upon Kim Jong Un and the nation. It was neither an easy nor a safe task!

Summary

Amos was a faithful man on a difficult mission. In some way, this is true of every Christian.

We are called to proclaim the words of God in hostile territory. The territory is hostile because our message is confrontational. It is the message of the cross. It confronts sinners with their rebellion. It makes the comfortable uncomfortable. It strips the self-righteous of their cloak of acceptability. It takes away all self-righteous hope and points to our only hope. The result is that the comfortable are temporally disturbed so they can be eternally comforted!

But note that some may be called to leave their homeland to do this.

Amos’s Message

Amos’s message is summarised in v. 2: “And he said: ‘The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.’“

Whatever else this message is, it is terrifying and timeless. It is relevant in its roar.

The Lord Roars

This is a terrifying image and it brackets 1:2–3:8. A lion’s roar is so powerful it can be heard eight kilometres away. Lions were native to that region in that day and, as a shepherd, Amos would have been familiar with them (see 1 Samuel 17:34–37).

God is speaking and those who hear should be appropriately terrified.

Consider how this applies to us.

Self-centredness is revealed by our treatment of others—perhaps exploiting or abusing others, marginalising the least of these, by devaluing one another: “I can discard this person for they will not add value; I need this relationship to accomplish—”

Self-sufficiency and self-righteousness are revealed by nominal, external religious engagement; empty, heartless worship. Serving idols all week and then hypocritically worshipping on Sunday. Others may not  see (perhaps) but God does.

Self-preservation refuses to take a stand against false worship, including false gospels. No doubt, many Israelites were uncomfortable with false worship at Bethel, Gilgal etc. but because they did not fear the roar of the Lion, they kept silent. What do we tolerate amongst God’s people?

It would be good to remember at this point that, as Mr Beaver made clear to the children in Narnia, that Aslan—representing our Lord—is good but not tame. He is tender to the repentant but terrifying to the rebellious. May God help us to see this—to hear his roar and repent.

The Lord Reigns

In Amos’s day the Lord, Yahweh, ruled and reigned in Jerusalem, Mount Zion, his unique city (see Psalm 48). This phrase is both significant and somewhat strange.

Remember that Amos was prophesying in the northern kingdom whose capital city was Samaria. So, to paraphrase Tertullian, what has Samaria to do with Jerusalem? Well nothing—and then again, everything!

Ever since the northern ten tribes followed Jeroboam I in secession from the two tribes of southern Israel (becoming known as Judah), they have been living in rebellion against God. Though Judah had its share of ungodly leadership, most of the evil kings ruled in Israel, in Samaria. While after the Assyrian captivity the northern kingdom would be extremely syncretistic in their worship, they were already well on their way at the time of Amos. Though they offered God’s prescribed offerings, though they acknowledged the Sabbath, though they observed various feasts commanded by God and though they practised some form of offerings, nevertheless their worship was rejected. The consequence of their rebellion was that God was not present. He remained where he had dwelt for over two hundred years—in his chosen city.

Zion (Jerusalem) was the place from which God ruled. It was the place where his covenant people were to gather to worship him. It was God’s appointed place of prescribed worship. The Lord roared from his dwelling place and was heard way beyond this place. God was calling his people home. His appointed place in which to worship God was Jerusalem, not any other place. If people want to be right with God, this will only happen on God’s terms. Self-appointed, self-designed ways to be right with God only invite his wrath.

If we want to be right with God, there is only one location—his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; John 2:18–22). Our approach to God must be in accordance with his prescription. Only scripturally sincere worship is acceptable to God; not the normal, nominal worship that so pervades our world—even our “Christian” world.

Too many professed Christians are deluded into thinking that they can worship God any way that they desire and design. Too many Christians reject God’s authoritative place (and people) and seek to serve him according to their own imagination. It will not happen!

If you will not meet God on his terms, then prepare to meet your God—and it won’t be pretty.

God calls to the rebellious from his dwelling place. Heed his call. One cannot reject the Lord’s authoritative rule in his authoritative place and spiritually thrive.

The Lord Ruins

If we don’t do the above then the Lord’s roar will result in the Lord’s ruin.

The description of the shepherd’s pastures and of (Mount) Carmel indicate comprehensive (from the valley to the mountain top) failure—the failure to provide what they used to. In keeping with a repeated theme in Amos, this pictures comprehensive famine (4:6). Not merely a destructive, starving kind of famine but also spiritual famine (8:11–12). The former is horrible; the latter is terrifying. To be in a condition where God stops speaking to us is an unthinkable condition. God’s silence is like the sun no longer giving its light, casting one into the severest darkness and despair.

Conclusion

This is a terrifying introduction, for those who have ears to hear and hearts to understand.

As I said, when I stood behind a fence that was preceded by a wide river, the roar of the lion in the Kruger Park was an exciting experience. There was awe but no terror. Likewise when it comes to the Lamb who is also the Lion.

Earlier, we briefly considered the storyline of Scripture. We must understand that the destruction of Israel and her exile was not the end of the story. God did not give up on either his eternal plan or on his true people. A remnant would be saved (9:11–15). And they would be saved by the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ—the Lion who was the Lamb. He is our only hope for escape from eternal ruin.

Because Jesus Christ has saved me from the wrath of God by becoming the object of God’s wrath for my sin in my place, I stand in awe before the triune God without terror.

By the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I am forever delivered from God’s wrath. By the resurrection and intercession of the Lord Jesus, I am forever safe. And therefore, as I contemplate the Day of Lord, as I consider God’s roar of judgement on that day, I can sing, “No Wrath Left for Me.” Can you?

Without trusting in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of your sins, one day the rivers of God’s mercies will dry up, the fence of his gracious patience will be removed, and the roar of the Lion will be your eternal ruin. Therefore, do not delay. Repent and trust Jesus Christ, now.

May God help us, through his word, to hear the Lion’s roar and then rejoice in the Lamb’s redemption.

AMEN