God uses all sorts of people to teach his word to his people. Amos was a prophet but also a shepherd and farmer. He lived in Tekoa, a town on the border of Israel and Judah. The north was ruled by Jeroboam II, a really bad king. He made the kingdom very wealthy. That’s not bad in and of itself. Abraham was rich. Job was rich too. What is not good is when riches make you lazy or, even worse, when they make you forget God’s commands. That’s what happened to King Jeroboam and the people he ruled. They worshiped other gods, worked on the Sabbath, cheated people when they sold things, and ignored the poor. Amos called them people who “trample on the needy” (Amos 8:4). God hates when his people treat other people this way. Big time! So God sent Amos to tell them what he thought of their behavior. God gave Amos visions of his coming judgment. And unlike the picture in the last lesson of a river of justice giving life to the land, these visions were not pretty.