Affluence, exploitation and the profit motive were the most notable features of the society which Amos observed and in which he worked ... Standards had gone to pot. Authority and the rule of law were despised, and national leadership, while revelling in the publicity and dignity of position ... seemed to be contributing to the complete breakdown of law and order.' Thus Alec Motyer exposes and explains the astonishingly relevant - but never popular - message of the prophet Amos. Michael Green observes, 'Alec Motyer has clearly got the spirit of Amos in his blood. He loves the prophet from Tekoa, and takes endless pains to give full weight to every syllable of the prophecy. He is, of course, a distinguished scholar, and we are given full value on that front; but you will find here none of the dreary academic deadness which all too often comes through in commentary work.'