God’s War Oracles against the Nations (1:1–2:16): This book begins like most other prophetic books: by identifying the author of these words (Amos), his secular employment (a manager of shepherds), his location (Tekoa), his audience (the northern tribes in Israel), and his time (during the reign of Uzziah and Jeroboam II), probably around 765–760 BC. The words that he spoke he “saw” (NIV) or “envisioned” (NASB), a term that points to the prophet perceiving them through the medium of divine revelation.

Verse 2 introduces God’s roaring voice as the source of the prophet’s message. God speaks words of warning from his temple in Jerusalem; his voice is like that of a roaring lion that screams out as he leaps to capture his prey (cf. Amos 3:7–8). As a consequence of God’s ferocious action, the l…