Amos - Concordia Commentary

“A Lion has roared; who should not be terrified?” (3:8) According to the prophet Amos, most should be terrified. Everyone really. In this bombastic appeal to Israel, Amos hails God’s people with dreadful appeals and skillfully subverts their expectations of a prophet to shock them into recognition of their sin. He bids them to worship only to condemn them for their idolatry. He extols the dominion of the Lord–usually a source of comfort and protection for Israel–as instead an inescapable power for punishment. In this commentary and original translation, Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing provides an original translation that highlights Amos as a master of Hebraic poetry­–radical, subversive, and affrontive. He also highlights the Gospel in Amos, especially in the last oracle, with its promise of the resurrection of the tabernacle of David and the gathering of a remnant of Israel and the gentiles to a new creation (9:11-15).

Essays

• Preaching Like Amos
• On Hebrew Poetry
• Amos’ Place in the Minor Prophets
• The Church’s Response to Ethical Issues
• The Prophets and Israel’s Worship

About the Author

Dr. R. Reed Lessing serves as Senior Pastor at Saint Michael Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Previously, he was a professor of exegetical theology and director of the graduate school at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. He studied at St. John’s College, Winfield, Kansas (B.A.), and Concordia Seminary (M. Div., S.T.M., Ph.D.).

Endorsments

"I read the commentary as a parish pastor who wanted to better teach God’s people the fullness of God’s Word. This commentary is a great resource for the pastor. It is rich with information concerning the culture and habits of the day which helps with the interpretation of God’s Word. Geography, economics, world events, and other information is presented to help understand Amos. This information not only helps the pastor understand Amos, but enriches his understanding of much of the prophetic writings. Of course, this then builds the appreciation of the rest of the Holy Scriptures.
Brother pastors and other brothers and sisters in Christ, this commentary on Amos is a valuable asset to You in the understanding of God’s Word for the strengthening of your faith."

–Rev. Kirk Peters of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Buffalo, Wyoming from Lutheran Hymnody and Pulpit Quarterly Book Review

"This is an excellent work, though it is long (more than 600 pages) and heavily depends on three commentaries (Paul, Niehaus, and Andersen and Freedman). Its strength is the detailed explanation of Hebrew phrases, so it will be very useful for pastors who want to maintain their use of the Hebrew Language."

–Gary W Smith, Bethel Seminary from Bulletin for Biblical Research 2012

About the series

The Concordia Commentary Series: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture is written to enable pastors and teachers of the Word to proclaim the Gospel with greater insight, clarity, and faithfulness to the divine intent of the Biblical text.

The series will cover all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, with an original translation and meticulous grammatical analysis of the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek of each text. The foremost interpretive lens centers on the unified proclamation of the person and work of Christ across every Scriptural book.

The Commentary fully affirms the divine inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture; Each passage bears witness to the confession that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the incarnation, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ His Son.

Authors expose the rich treasury of language, imagery, and thematic content of the Scripture, while supplementing their work with additional research in archaeology, history, and extrabiblical literature. Throughout, God’s Word emanates from authors careful attention and inculcates the ongoing life of the Church in Word, Sacrament, and daily confession.

Learn how to save 30% as a Concordia Commentary Subscriber.