The Northern Kingdom of ten tribes, called Israel, did not have even one godly ruler. In fact, from Jeroboam I, the first king, until Jeroboam II, the thirteenth of nineteen, they grew progressively worse. Amos burst on the scene during the latter king's reign, two years before a great earthquake. This upheaval of nature was so catastrophic a later prophet spoke of it about 450 years later (Zech.14:5).
Peace and prosperity characterized Amos's day. The land enjoyed an unprecedented expansion in trade, and a large merchant class dominated the scene. Affluence soared, and luxuries abounded. Materialism controlled, attitudes bringing all the social abuses that accompany such a rapid growth in wealth. Houses of crude building materials no longer satisfied the people. They built homes of cedar wood and hewn stones. Experts squared them so that they pleased the eye much more than those built from rough rocks direct from the quarry. The people furnished their living places luxuriously. Even the smallest ones resembled palaces.
& n b s p ; & nbsp; These dwellings, however, did not satisfy the pampered tastes of the people. Amos spoke of "ivory houses," referring to walls and ceilings embellished by plaques of small panels. The rich made their homes more attractive with divans of beauty decorated in such a way as to give an appearance of erudition. Feasting and banquets took the place of religious life. Couches, covered with the finest imported silk, served as places for the people to recline. They ate prime cuts of meat and drank wine out of bowls while listening to strange and varied music.
& n b s p ; & nbsp; A greedy spirit ruled society, and corruption of justice became a common practice. Life resembled the days immediately before both Rome's downfall and the French Revolution. People lived with scornful indifference to spiritual matters. They completely ignored moral standards, and religion lost its vitality.
& n b s p ; & nbsp; The Syrian wars dominated the first century after Solomon's death and the kingdom's division into Israel and Judah. By Amos's day, Syria had moved off the scene, but Assyria had not yet developed into a threat. Later, after Assyria’s rise and fall, Babylon emerged as a mighty power. When Amos preached, however, Babylon occupied only a small role in international politics. Egypt stood weakly on the sidelines, a “Rahab who hath been exterminated,” as Isaiah later (30:7) called her.
& n b s p ; & nbsp; In the Southern Kingdom, which consisted of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, but was called Judah, Uzziah ruled as king. He enjoyed a fifty-two-year tenure, virtually contemporaneous with Jeroboam II's forty-one years. Political peace and economic prosperity also characterized his reign. As both Israel and Judah became wealthy commercial powers, people flocked to the prosperous cities. These metropolitan centers developed into breeding places for the vices and abuses of congested urban life.
& n b s p ; & nbsp; Religious life flourished outwardly. The nation regarded prosperity as the sign of the God's favor, a proof they were His special people. Pious pilgrimages and costly sacrifices prevailed as a way of life. The people looked with confidence for a "Day of the Lord." They believed He would, at that time, vindicate them even more by a striking triumph over whatever foe might appear on the scene.