In reading this book, the very first thing I noticed was the repetition. The first two chapters are largely the same except for substituting different names as far as who is going to be destroyed. I guess at least it was fair.
I don’t think I’d ever read Amos before, but in reading it I couldn’t stop thinking how very characteristic this is of ‘the God of the Old Testament’. Vengeful and violent, Amos has to plead with him not to wipe out entire nations. While I do understand that he had good reason to be frustrated, it’s a very disconcerting and intimidating picture to paint. It makes it seem as though God is constantly seething against us and is only just barely able to keep his wrath at bay. I know that this is, at least to some extent, a reality in terms of God’s character, but I really don’t like that idea. I don’t like aggression and intimidation. This doesn’t seem like a God that would give up everything just to be with us.
Another thing that stuck out to me was how very different this book is from the book of Jonah. In Jonah, the book was about Jonah. It told, in some senses, his story and how he interacted with God. In Amos, Amos is much more simply a vessel through which the book is written. We don’t really know anything of Amos or what he’s like other than that he pleaded with God not to destroy nations. Most of the book is directly about God and what he thinks, not Amos and what he thinks.
Caroline's Encounters 