Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
Prophets in the Hebrew BibleThe Role and Character of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
The characteristics and the roles that link Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah are their willingness to denounce the blending and mixing of religions, idol worship, and social perversion. These pivotal prophets of the Old Testament are also alike in their courage in that they are willing to confront establishment figures and denounce them for wrongdoing while the people that they attempt to save dislike them. All in all, the prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah base their authority on the position that the Lord sets forth for them, as they condemn the sins of the Israeli people and attempt to guide them back to the Lord and salvation.
Amos was the prophet who set forth the warnings of the Lord to the people of the northern kingdom during the reign of Jeroboam II. Amos lashed out against the specific abuses in the society. One abuse was the large gap between the rich and the poor, “Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor…ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them” (Amos 3:15; 5:11). A second abuse was the perversion of the justice system, “…they (the judges) take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 5:12). Another abuse was that of sexual immorality, “…a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my name” (Amos 2:7). Amos was the mediator of three themes that the Lord wanted the people of Israel to understand. The first was the Lord’s rulership over the universe, “…shall there be evil in the city, and the lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6), the second was the Lord’s special relationship with Israel, “Only you have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2), and the third was the Lord’s holding Israel responsible for having broken the covenant, “I will punish you for all of your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).
Amos had a loving relationship with the Lord. He was able to speak to the Lord and deliver his message to the people of Israel. He did not have a good relationship with the people of Israel however. He spoke out against their justice system their way of worship their king and told them that they were destined to die outside of the Lords grace. He was a herder and agriculturalist, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophets son; but I was an herdsman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit” (Amos 7:14). He had a strong courage of character that he used when he went to a whole nation and spoke out against their leader and against their new religious practices. Amos tells the people of the northern kingdom that they are...
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