Tuesday, November 19 – Amos 6, 7
1. What did God announce to Israel through Amos? (Amos 6:8)
2. What was Amos’s response to Amaziah when he told him to leave and stop prophesying? (Amos 7:14-16)
Commentary and Reflection:
The prophet Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah. While Isaiah and Micah were God’s messengers to Judah, or the southern kingdom, Hosea and Amos served as prophets to the northern kingdom, whose capital was Samaria. The worship at the high places of Bethel and Dan, established by Jeroboam I to prevent the people from going to Jerusalem, had already been in place for about 200 years by the time of Amos’s ministry. This practice had led the people into apostasy and immorality. They worshiped the golden calves and had incorporated the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, the male and female deities of the Canaanites.
By the time of Amos, God’s patience and Israel’s opportunity for repentance were ending. Despite repeated prophetic warnings, apostasy continued. Meanwhile, the ruling class and the wealthy lived as if nothing were happening, believing the current situation would last forever. In chapter 6, Amos describes the nation’s state of complacency, where there was a total disconnection between the people and God, and the warnings of the messengers were ignored.
Amos declares to the elite: “Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, and those who recline at banquets shall be removed.” (Amos 6:7)
The Lord has said: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” (Amos 6:8)
Amos paints a picture of death and despair, with families burning their dead relatives to remove the bones from their houses, and he announces the coming conquest and captivity. All of this was foretold before it happened in an attempt to capture the nation’s attention.
Chapter 7 introduces three plagues:
- A plague of locusts that would destroy the harvest. Amos intercedes, and God listens to him.
- Fire to destroy part of the land. Amos intercedes again, and the Lord says He will not do it.
- A plumb line that represents God’s judgment. Just as a builder checks the wall with a plumb line, God examines His people.
The Lord did not send the locusts and held back the fire, but He had already judged Israel and determined judgment:
“And the Lord said: ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.’” (Amos 7:8-9)
It is interesting and sad how Amaziah, the priest of the corrupt worship in Bethel, complains and opposes Amos’s warning. He falsely interprets Amos’s message as a threat against the king and accuses him, saying, “the land is not able to bear all his words” (Amos 7:10).
Amaziah tells Amos to go in peace (eat your bread there) back to his land to prophesy. He accuses him of disrespecting the nation, saying, “but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the royal residence” (Amos 7:13).
It is notable how the enemy twists words, viewing God’s messenger and His faithful people as a threat to the political stability of the nation, as though they were disturbing the peace and bringing conflict to the land. It is prophesied that this will also be the case at the end. God’s people will be falsely accused of disturbing the nation’s peace simply by believing His Word and remaining faithful. This modus operandi of the enemy is not new; it is present in the biblical record.
Amos replies that he is not in Israel of his own will, that he was in peace in Judah tending sheep and growing figs, and that the Lord called him and commanded him: “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” (Amos 7:15). According to the Lord’s message to Amaziah, it would have been better for him to have stayed silent.
Let us ponder how difficult the work of a prophet is! It often involves delivering an inconvenient and uncomfortable message that people do not want to hear. But how necessary it is, how much we need the Word of the Lord, and how much pain would be avoided if it were heeded.
How can we apply this to our days? What might be a message from God for us that would be uncomfortable to hear? What would the Lord say to us? How would we receive it?
Let us treasure the words of Jehoshaphat: “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” (2 Chronicles 20:20)