GO, PROPHESY TO MY PEOPLE …
Amos 7:10-17
But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ (15)
chapter 7
10. Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.
11. For this is what Amos is saying: "’Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’"
12. Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
13. Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom."
14. Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
15. But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ’Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
16. Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, "’Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17. "Therefore this is what the LORD says: "’Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’"
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message of concern to King Jeroboam that Amos was a real troublemaker. Amaziah couldn’t bear to hear the truth of God’s word, that King Jeroboam would die by the sword and that Israel would be taken into exile. So Amaziah told Amos to shut his mouth and leave Israel. He told him to go back to his home country, Judah from where he could say anything he wanted. People get very upset when they hear things they don’t like, even if they are true! We should humble ourselves and always be willing to listen to God’s servants, especially when saying something we may not like! It may be God’s message.
2. Amos testified to God’s call of him. He was a shepherd and tree-carer from Judah. But God called him out of his comfortable life to one of being a shepherd in a foreign land. What Amaziah said to Amos denied God’s call to Amos. So, God would judge Amaziah. His wife would become a prostitute and his children would die by the sword. He, along with Israel, would go into exile, where Amaziah would die. Amos was faithful to God’s calling. We should be too!
Prayer: Father, thank you for sending your servants to give us your word. Help us to be humble, with open hearts and ears to listen to you. And help us to speak your word to others, even when it is not easy.
One Word: Listen to the one God sends