Amos 7:15
But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'
But the LORD took me from following the flock

Amos had not sought a public religious role. God called him from his ordinary work as a shepherd and sent him beyond Judah to confront Israel’s sin.

2Sa 7:8 Now then, you are to tell My servant David…
Psa 78:70-71 He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;…
1Sa 16:11-13 And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons”…

and said to me,

Amos’s authority rested on God’s direct command, not on status, training, or appointment by the established religious leaders.

Jer 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying:…
Ezk 2:1-3 “Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet”…
Isa 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying…

‘Go,

The call required Amos to leave his familiar life and carry God’s message into the northern kingdom, where opposition was likely.

Isa 6:9 And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing,…
Jer 1:7-8 But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’…
1Ki 19:15-16 Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came,…

prophesy to My people Israel.’

Though Israel had become corrupt and spiritually unfaithful, the Lord still called them His people. Amos was sent to announce coming judgment and summon the nation to return to covenant faithfulness.

Ezk 3:4-5 Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now…
Ezk 2:3-7 “Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you…
Ezk 3:17 Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Amos
A shepherd and fig tree farmer from Tekoa, called by God to be a prophet to Israel. His humble beginnings highlight God's ability to use anyone for His purposes.

2. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who calls and commissions Amos to deliver His message to the people of Israel.

3. Israel
The northern kingdom, which had turned away from God, engaging in idolatry and social injustice. Amos is sent to prophesy against their sins.

4. Tekoa
A small town in Judah, south of Jerusalem, where Amos was from. It emphasizes the contrast between Amos's origins and his mission field in Israel.

5. Prophecy
The act of delivering God's message. Amos's role as a prophet was to speak God's truth to a wayward nation.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereign Choice
God chooses whom He wills, regardless of their background or status. Amos's call reminds us that God can use anyone for His purposes.

Obedience to God's Call
Amos's response to God's call is immediate and obedient. We should be ready to respond to God's call in our lives, even if it leads us out of our comfort zones.

The Importance of Prophecy
Prophecy is a vital part of God's communication with His people. We should value and heed the messages God sends through His chosen messengers.

God's Concern for Justice
Amos's message to Israel was one of justice and righteousness. We are called to reflect God's heart for justice in our own lives and communities.

Faithfulness in Small Beginnings
Amos's humble beginnings as a shepherd remind us that faithfulness in small tasks can lead to greater responsibilities in God's kingdom.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Amos's background as a shepherd influence your understanding of his prophetic ministry?

2. In what ways can you relate to Amos's call to leave his familiar surroundings to fulfill God's purpose?

3. How does the account of Amos challenge you to respond to God's call in your own life, even if it seems daunting?

4. What parallels can you draw between Amos's message to Israel and the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

5. How can you apply the principles of justice and righteousness from Amos's prophecy to your daily life and community involvement?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Samuel 16
Just as God chose David, a shepherd, to be king, He chose Amos, a shepherd, to be a prophet. This highlights God's pattern of calling unlikely individuals for His purposes.

Exodus 3
Moses was called by God from tending sheep to lead Israel out of Egypt, similar to Amos's call from shepherding to prophesying.

Matthew 4
Jesus calls fishermen to be His disciples, showing that God often calls ordinary people to extraordinary tasks.
A Humble Origin RememberedAmos 7:15
ProphecyJ.R. Thomson Amos 7:15
The Messenger Faithful to His MissionW. M. Hay-Aitken, M. A.Amos 7:15
The Conventional and the Genuine Priests of a PeopleHomilistAmos 7:10-17
The Conventional and the Genuine Priests of a PeopleD. Thomas Amos 7:10-17
The Herdsman Becomes a ProphetJ.R. Thomson Amos 7:14, 15
People
Amaziah, Amos, Isaac, Jacob, Jeroboam
Places
Bethel, Brook of the Arabah
Topics
Flock, Followed, Prophesy, Prophet, Taketh
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Amos 7:15

     6620   calling
     7740   missionaries, call

Amos 7:10-17

     7760   preachers, responsibilities

Amos 7:14-15

     7758   preachers, call

Library
Whether Irony is a Sin?
Objection 1: It seems that irony, which consists in belittling oneself, is not a sin. For no sin arises from one's being strengthened by God: and yet this leads one to belittle oneself, according to Prov. 30:1,2: "The vision which the man spoke, with whom is God, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him, said, I am the most foolish of men." Also it is written (Amos 7:14): "Amos answered . . . I am not a prophet." Therefore irony, whereby a man belittles himself in words, is not a sin.
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Scriptural Types.
1. The material world is full of analogies adapted to the illustration of spiritual things. No teacher ever drew from this inexhaustible storehouse such a rich variety of examples as our Saviour. His disciples are the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city set on a hill. From the ravens which God feeds and the lilies which God clothes, he teaches the unreasonableness of worldly anxiety. The kingdom of heaven is like seed sown in different soils, like a field of wheat and tares
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The History of the Prophetic Sermons, Epistles, and Apocalypses
[Sidenote: Real character and aims of the prophets] To understand and rightly interpret the prophetic writings of the Old Testament it is necessary to cast aside a false impression as to the character of the prophets which is widely prevalent. They were not foretellers, but forth-tellers. Instead of being vague dreamers, in imagination living far in the distant future, they were most emphatically men of their own times, enlightened and devoted patriots, social and ethical reformers, and spiritual
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The River of Egypt, Rhinocorura. The Lake of Sirbon.
Pliny writes, "From Pelusium are the intrenchments of Chabrias: mount Casius: the temple of Jupiter Casius: the tomb of Pompey the Great: Ostracine: Arabia is bounded sixty-five miles from Pelusium: soon after begins Idumea and Palestine from the rising up of the Sirbon lake." Either my eyes deceive me, while I read these things,--or mount Casius lies nearer Pelusium, than the lake of Sirbon. The maps have ill placed the Sirbon between mount Casius and Pelusium. Sirbon implies burning; the name of
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

On the Interpretation of Scripture
IT is a strange, though familiar fact, that great differences of opinion exist respecting the Interpretation of Scripture. All Christians receive the Old and New Testament as sacred writings, but they are not agreed about the meaning which they attribute to them. The book itself remains as at the first; the commentators seem rather to reflect the changing atmosphere of the world or of the Church. Different individuals or bodies of Christians have a different point of view, to which their interpretation
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

The Essay which Brings up the Rear in this Very Guilty Volume is from The...
The Essay which brings up the rear in this very guilty volume is from the pen of the "Rev. Benjamin Jowett, M.A., [Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, and] Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford,"--"a gentleman whose high personal character and general respectability seem to give a weight to his words, which assuredly they do not carry of themselves [143] ." His performance is entitled "On the Interpretation of Scripture:" being, in reality, nothing else but a laborious denial of
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

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