Amos and Hosea: Social Justice Prophets

From the exodus out of Egypt through the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Hebrew Bible is full of stories of conflict, questioning, greed, and betrayal. Prophets, or teachers inspired by God, played a significant role in shaping history and early Christian Tradition. Prophets spoke hard truths to those in power, calling attention to matters of social justice that put the people of Israel’s covenant with God at risk.

With God’s help, the prophet Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and through the wilderness for several decades and then brought them to the precipice of the Promise Land. Moses died and the prophet, Joshua, led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. After years of chaos, the people asked the prophet Samuel, to have God anoint a king to rule over them. Through God, Samuel anointed Saul and the Israelite monarchy began. The monarchy lasted two/three generations: King Saul, King David, King Solomon.

After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel ruled by Jeroboam (one of King Solomon’s officials who turned against him) and the Southern Kingdom of Judea ruled by Rehoboam (King Solomon’s son).[1]

Biblical historians attribute the split to King Solomon’s extravagant lifestyle. [2] Using high taxes and forced labor, King Solomon built a luxurious court for the elite.[3] The northern tribes paid more than the southern tribes and that did not go over well and they split into two separate kingdoms.

It’s interesting that the impetus for the division was the northern tribe’s frustration with King Solomon’s extravagant spending because, according to prophets Amos and Hosea and the Deuteronomic Historians, the downfall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel involved extravagant spending to the detriment of their fellow Israelites and the worship of other Gods.[4]

Amos and Hosea were two prophets during the latter days of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.[5] Amos was born in the Southern Kingdom of Judea and did most of his preaching in and to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.[6] Hosea, on the other hand, was from the Northern Kingdom of Israel and preached there as well.[7] They both prophesied the demise of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and warned fellow Israelites to remember the covenant with Yahweh to love God and love their fellow Israelites. They preached that if the people repented and changed their ways God would redeem them.

Amos and Hosea used earlier biblical traditions in their prophetic work. Specifically, Amos spoke of the divine inspiration that led him to leave his vocation as a farmer to become a prophet of God. Amos distinguished himself from other professional prophets and made it clear that as someone not connected with a prophetic school (which was common at the time), he was not beholden to the crown.[8] Amos was considered a “seer” so he had visions that “expressed divine judgment on Israel.”[9] Amos used oracles to convey to the Israelite people the dire situation they were in and that they must repent.

Hosea also used earlier biblical traditions in his prophetic acts. Like Amos, Hosea used oracles, or prophecy, to speak truth to the Israelite people. [10] He also used metaphor to describe the nature of Yahweh’s covenant with the Israelite people. Specifically, he used the relatable covenants of marriage and the parent/child relationship to help the people understand God’s love.[11]

Amos and Hosea both strongly condemned the Israelites for their lack of action and awareness to issues related to social justice. Amos was particularly frustrated by the unchecked wealth and prosperity of the Israelite elite. [12] Amos raged against the unjust enrichment and overwhelming conspicuous consumption that oppressed and harmed the poor and underprivileged. Amos preached that the people of Israel were not honoring their covenant with God to love their neighbor and would face dire consequences if they didn’t change their actions.[13] Amos also specifically condemned the women of Samaria for their role in oppressing the poor and underprivileged. He called the women “fat cows” and warned that if they didn’t stop their oppressive behaviors, they would be slaughtered, “becoming like sides of beef on a butcher’s hook, with the scraps used for bait.” [14] Amos was not one to mince words.

Hosea was deeply concerned with the Israelite people’s lack of respect for their covenant Yahweh. Hosea lamented that the Israelite people repeatedly broke the covenant with God by “worshiping other gods, showing lack of confidence in Yahweh by making foreign alliances and building fortification, and denying social justice.”[15] Hosea went so far as to bring a “covenant lawsuit” against the people of Israel. Whereby “Yahweh sues Israel for breach of contract for violation of the Sinai covenant.”[16]

Amos and Hosea condemned the Israelites for lack of social justice because it broke the covenant between Yahweh and the Israelite people to love their neighbor. Both prophets worked very hard in their respective lifetime to speak truth to power to bring about meaningful change. Ultimately, the Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE. Historians blamed the Northern Kingdom’s demise on their failure to honor the covenant with Yahweh.[17] History, however, is often written by the victors or those who weren’t conquered (at that time anyway). Consequently, the fall of the Northern Kingdom was written about through the bias lenses of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.[18]

[1] Michael D. Coogan and Cynthia R. Chapman, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), 282. Dr. Brooke Lester, “Divided Monarchies.” (class lecture, Introduction to the Tanakh, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL, 2009).

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid at 307. See also, “Prophets and Wealth by Roger Nam” Prophets and Wealth – Bible Odyssey

[5] Ibid at 304 (750 BCE – 740 BCE), 311 (788 BCE – 747 BCE).

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid at 311.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid at 303.

[10] Ibid at 311.

[11] Ibid at 313.

[12] “Prophets and Wealth by Roger Nam” Prophets and Wealth – Bible Odyssey

[13] Michael D. Coogan and Cynthia R. Chapman, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), 309.

[14] Ibid at 308 (referencing Am 4: 1-2.)

[15] Ibid at 314.

[16] Ibid at 313.

[17] Ibid at 279.

[18] Ibid.