Amos was the first Jewish prophet to have a book of the bible called after him. He lived in the eighth century BC and his writing is admired for its purity of language. As he told Azariah, he did not come from any of the brotherhoods of prophets, but was a shepherd and looked after sycamores. These trees are not the ones commonly found in Ireland but they are the sycamore fig which bears edible fruit. They need to be looked after as the fruit needs to be split to ripen, and has to be protected from insect attack. It was often considered as the food of the poor, which is symbolic since Amos was a defender of the poor.
David’s kingdom split into two in about 930 BC. The northern kingdom, whose capital was Samaria, was called Israel; the Southern Kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem, was named Judah. Amos came from Judah to preach to Israel. The people there obviously had a comfortable lifestyle and did not want this disturbed. Their Kingdom would fall to the Assyrians in 722 BC.
Jesus’ disciples, like Amos, were ordinary working people. Like him they were moving outside their comfort zone. Jesus warned them that he was sending them out like “sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matt. 10:16). We pray for all those who preach the gospel in dangerous territory.