The other day I posted some tips to help you understand the prophetic books. In this post I will demonstrate why using these tips is essential, and why our Bibles come with maps.
Amos begins, “The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel…” Most people just skip over this but this verse tells us a couple of important things. Get out a detailed map of Israel around 760 BC and find Tekoa. Where is it? It’s near Bethlehem in Judah. This means that Amos is from the Southern kingdom and is writing to the Northern kingdom (those guys didn’t get along too well). Continue reading