Amos and Hosea

Amos – Biographical Data• Name = Supported by

God• Occupation – 1:1 and

7:14 – Tender of Sheep and

Dresser of Sycamores– The Word for “tender” or

“herder” implies an owner of a large flock rather than hired help

• Hometown: Tekoa – Small town in Judah

• Life and Ministry – During reign of Amaziah – c. 760-750 BC

Outline of the Book• I. Chap 1-2 – Book of

Doom– An ethical tour of the region

from the divine perspective culminating in condemnation

of Israel itself

• II. 3-6 – Book of Woes– Collected sayings of the

prophet – not much cohesion– Visions

– The Amaziah affair

• III. 7-9 – Book of Visions– Message of hope – unlike the

rest of the book– Some wonder if this was

added by later authors

Context

• Territorial Expansion and National Prosperity for Israel

• Inequality between the urban elite and the rural poor

• Manipulation of debt for the advancement of the rich and powerful

• Patrimonial estates being taken from the poor by the rich

Amos 1:3-10 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will

not revoke my word; Because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron, I will send fire upon the house of Hazael, to devour the castles of Ben-hadad. I will break the bar of Damascus; I will root out those who live in the Valley of Aven, And the sceptered ruler of Beth-eden; the people of Aram shall be exiled to Kir, says the LORD.

Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they took captive whole groups to hand over to Edom, I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, to devour her castles; I will root out those who live in Ashdod, and the sceptered ruler of Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the last of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord God.

Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Tyre, and for four I will not revoke my word; Because they delivered whole groups captive to Edom, and did not remember the pact of brotherhood, I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre, to devour her castles.

Amos 2:6-11Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I

will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way.

Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name. Upon garments taken in pledge they recline beside any altar; And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their god.

Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as tall as the cedars, and as strong as the oak trees. I destroyed their fruit above, and their roots beneath. It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and who led you through the desert for forty years, to occupy the land of the Amorites: I who raised up prophets among your sons, and nazirites among your young men. Is this not so, O men of Israel? says the LORD.

The Day of the Lord

• Destruction of the Army 2:14-16• Famine• Disaster to Fall upon the City

End of Amos’s Ministry

• Nothing is known for sure of the death of Amos

• His ministry apparently ends after his altercation with Amaziah (7:14ff)

• Some speculate that he was murdered for his words against the high priest

• In the end, we do not know.

Hosea

Hosea – Biographical Data• Name = Salvation is

from the Lord• Occupation –

Unknown – Perhaps a priest?

• Hometown: Somewhere in Israel – Northern Kingdom

• Ministry – Israel• Life and Ministry – Ca.

750-725

Context

• Rampant Sin– Religious – Worship of

false Gods– Moral – Sexual

immorality, often associated with the false Gods

– Political Corruption

• Israel is on the verge of collapse during the ministry of Hosea

Analogy

• Hosea marries Gomer

• Gomer is unfaithful, taking many spouses -Several offspring

• Necessity of punishment to bring her back to fidelity

• God takes Israel for his bride

• Israel is unfaithful, adopting many Canaanite practices

• God has mixed desires – Love for Israel and desire to bring her back to fidelity through punishment

Hosea’s Children

• Jezreel – 1st Son – God Scatters 1:4

• Lo-Ruhamah – 2nd Child – God Scatters 1:6

• Lo-Ammi – Not my People 1:8-9

• Cf. 2:23 – “To Scatter” becomes “to sow”

Assyria

• God allows Assyria to conquer the land in the hope that the suffering the people endure will bring them back to fidelity to himself

Salvifici doloris• Already in the Old Testament we

note an orientation that begins to go beyond the concept according to which suffering has a meaning only as a punishment for sin, insofar as it emphasizes at the same time the educational value of suffering as a punishment. Thus in the sufferings inflicted by God upon the Chosen People there is included an invitation of his mercy, which corrects in order to lead to conversion: "... these punishments were designed not to destroy but to discipline our people.“ (Par. 12)

Salvifici doloris cont.• This is an extremely important

aspect of suffering. It is profoundly rooted in the entire Revelation of the Old and above all the New Covenant. Suffering must serve for conversion, that is, for the rebuilding of goodness in the subject, who can recognize the divine mercy in this call to repentance. The purpose of penance is to overcome evil, which under different forms lies dormant in man. Its purpose is also to strengthen goodness both in man himself and in his relationships with others and especially with God. (Par. 12)