Amos at a Glance: Redefining Righteousness

Greetings from the land of Saguaros and Scorpions. I have planned out four or five blogs on the prophet Amos and hope to have them all up by the beginning of next week. My overarching theme is redefining righteousness ... and how Amos radically challenges what religious people think that concept might be. My initial post is an outline of the book:


Amos at a Glance:


I. International Relations are Subject to Yahweh’s Righteousness (1.1-2.5)
1. Damascus’ Crime (1.3f)
2. Gaza’s {Philistia} Crime (1.6ff)
3. Tyre’s Crime (1.9ff)
4. Edom’s Crime (1.11ff)
5. Ammon’s Crime (1.13)
6. Moab’s Crime (2.1ff)
7. Judah’s Crime (2.4ff)

II. A Nation’s Internal Relations are Subject to Yahweh’s Righteousness (2.6-16)

III. Yahweh’s Court Date with Israel (3.1-15)

IV. Wealth – Not always a “Blessing” (ch.4)

V. Amos’ Funeral Song over Israel (5. 1-3)
1. Who looks out for the poor (5.4-17)
2. Religion without “justice/righteousness” is a stench to God (5.18-27)

VI. How Leisure Reflects Yahweh’s Righteousness (6.1-7)

VII. Pride in wealth, power, and nation can be Misplaced (6.8-14)

VIII. Visions of God’s Righteous Justice on Israel’s lack of righeousness/justice (ch.7)

IX. Using Religion to abuse of the Poor (ch.8)

X. The End – Almost (9.1-10)

XI. Grace In the End: God’s Righteousness Superior to Israel’s (9.11-15)