 Our first lesson comes from the prophet Amos. Amos was an active as a prophet in the 8th century BCE. He was from the southern kingdom of Judah, but his ministry, his preaching took place in the northern kingdom of Israel. And as we will learn in the course of the reading, Amos was not a professional prophet, but he was a farmer, one whom God had called away from his herds and his orchards to travel north to proclaim God's message of truth.