Answer: Tekoa
Amos 1:1 "...words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."
The city name of Tekoa means "place of setting up a tent."
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: he tended to domestic animals
In the first verse of the book of Amos, we see that he was a herdsman, much like the shepherds who came to visit the Christ child, centuries later. While he may have been a wealthy man, as some imagine, it is much more likely that he was impoverished, and worked for another man. One indicator of this is the fact that he also gathered wild sycamore figs to sell for a profit. In chapter 7, verse 14, we see that Amos himself speaks of this fact. "...I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit" (King James Version).
Very likely, he used the profits from the sale of such fruit to supplement his meager income. This would correlate with a teaching found in First Corinthians 1:27, which states that, "...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty." (KJV)
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Amos, The Famous Prophet
Answer: the people of Syria
Amos 1:5 "I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD."
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: an earthquake
This was apparently a major destructive earthquake, or it would most likely not have been referenced as simply "the earthquake" in Amos 1:1. We see another reference to this cataclysmic event in Zechariah 14:5. "...yea, ye shall flee like as ye fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
While this reference seems to speak of a yet-to-be realized future event, the occasion mentioned in Amos had already occurred by the time the book was written down.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Amos, The Famous Prophet
Answer: Moab
Amos 2:2 "But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet."
Moab was located east of the Dead Sea. The Moabite Stone gives us much of the information we know about Moab today. It was inscribed by King Mesha giving thanks to Chemosh for delivering Moab out of the hands of Israel (source: Holman, Christian Pocket Dictionary).
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: the righteous
Amos 2:6 "Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes"
Christians believe that this is a foretelling of when Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: violence and robbery
Amos 3:10 "For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."
During the time that Amos wrote his book there was a lot of fighting going on in Israel, both with other nations and amongst themselves.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: blasting and mildew
Amos 4:9 "I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD."
To smite can mean both to attack and to deliver or deal.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
What seems to be the point here, is that God desires for His people everywhere to walk with Him in harmony and love. Laying aside evil, forgetting long-festering hatreds of one's fellow man, and pursuing honesty, peace and fellowship with God has a much greater reward than rebellion and sin.
A New Testament similarity to this line of thinking may be found in Philippians 2:2 and 4:8.
First, in 2:2 we read, "Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Secondly, in 4:8, we see "...whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise; think on these things."
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Amos, The Famous Prophet
Answer: Ye shall live.
Amos 5:6 "Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel."
Some of you may have thought the answer was "seek and ye shall find." That verse is not found in Amos -- it's in Matthew 7:7.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: by seeking good and not evil
In verse 4 of the fifth chapter of Amos, we see a precedent of the statement made in verses 14 and 15. There, God says "...Seek ye me, and ye shall live."
This is quickly followed by condemnation for those who are unrighteous, who oppress the poor and who oppose God's will. In verses 14 through 15 we read a recap of the original statement made in verse 4. "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgments in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph."
In the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 9 we see an almost identical statement - "...Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Amos, The Famous Prophet
Answer: evil
Amos 6:3 "Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near"
According to biblenet.com, the people were more concerned with how and when God would help them than they were with returning to Him.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: sifted like corn
"For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
This is exactly the experience that Jews have endured for centuries, yet the Bible teaches that God has not, and will not forsake them wholly to their enemies. Christians believe that as children of God themselves, the same protections are offered to them. That is not to say that hardships and judgments will not be passed upon those who sin, nor is it intended to imply that the Holocaust "never happened." Quite the contrary; in this belief, God in His infinite mercy provides for each individual, if they will be obedient to Him, sometimes even unto death itself.
The reward for obedience is abundant life, while the wages of sin is always death, both physical and spiritual.
From Quiz: BBB Bible Series: Amos, The Famous Prophet
Answer: plumbline
Amos 7:8 "And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the LORD, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more"
A plumbline is a weighted cord. The weight is usually made of metal or stone. It was used in building to make sure the walls were straight. In Amos, the vision may have signaled that Israel was built straight but had turned from God (i.e. it was no longer straight) and therefore would be destroyed.
From Quiz: Amos
Answer: God
Amos 9:15 "And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God."
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From Quiz: Amos
