Amos - Introduction

Amos was a shepherd from Judah. However, his prophecy was directed primarily at the northern kingdom of Israel. The term used for shepherd is not the most common one and probably indicates he was a reasonable wealthy shepherd, rather than a poor one.

Israel had become quite rich, but in the process had moved increasingly away from God's Law. In particular she had become rich in trade, and a byproduct of this was that land wealth in particular had become concentrated in the hands of a few, rather than being distributed among the people as a whole (which was the intention of the Law). 

At the same time, the wealthy people had expanded the religious centers of Bethel and Dan, so there was a veneer of religion in the land, but the practice was far from what God wanted. This is the reason for much of what Amos has to say against the kingdom.

God probably chose a wealthy man, Amos, to speak to the wealthy people of Israel. Amos spoke only for a few months, probably around 760 BC.

The book is a warning that material prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God's blessing.