A roaring lion; can there be a more spine-chilling sound and image? It paints a savage even vicious picture; yet this is exactly the portrait of God which Amos chooses to open his book. Is God a lion? Does He roar? The lion’s roar points forward to imminent destruction and death; can we imagine that such is true of the acts of God?
At the same time, it is interesting that Amos invokes the covenant name of God – Yahweh – a name that cannot be separated from its Exodus context. In the exodus of Israel from Egypt, God acted in a saving as well as judging capacity. The anti-type of the exodus is clearly revealed, on the one hand, in the mercy of Jesus Christ as portrayed to us in the picture of a slain lamb, but also as the lion of the tribe of Judah; His cross being the place of meeting of mercy and wrath. The true Christian can rejoice in the truth that the Savior’s obedience and blood hide all of his transgressions from God’s view. At the same time, it is important that we realize that He remains a wrathful sin-hating God toward the world; and this is never more true than when He sees sin defiling the people called by His name. Amos reminds us of this.
