Amos 7:10-17 GO HOME!
Amos is confronted by “Amaziah the priest of Bethel.” He does NOT like what Amos is saying! He tells Amos to GO HOME and preach in Judah but leave Israel alone.
The very first thing I noticed is that God is absent in Amaziah’s response and assignment. THAT was the crux of the problem right there. Amaziah was NOT a priest for the Lord. He was a priest for the golden calves that Jeroboam I placed in Bethel. He was a priest in “the king’s sanctuary” (verse 13b).
Even when complaining to Jeroboam II about Amos’ words, he DOES NOT say they are God’s words. He says, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel” (verse 10b). Something to note here is that a “conspiracy” takes more than one person. So, who was Amos conspiring with? We KNOW it was God but Amaziah fails to mention that. Would it have made a difference to the king if Amaziah had mentioned that Amos’ words were from God?
I also find it interesting that Amaziah doesn’t wait for a response from the king before ordering Amos out of the land of Israel. Amaziah make his own pronouncement and judgment against Amos. And HE bears the brunt of the punishment from God. Or his whole family would. I wonder what would have happened if he had kept his mouth shut.
Amos told Amaziah that it wasn’t his idea to bring this message from God. God “took” him from his old life and told him EXACTLY who to bring His words to. We know that Judah would receive these same kinds of words later on, but Israel was in the greatest need at the time. And it was GOD’S words he was bringing; NOT his own.
I wonder if God gave Amos the words against Amaziah before he came or in the moment of need. I’m thinking it was probably the latter. Jesus promised His disciples that they would know what to say when the time came. Stephen was a perfect example of that when he spoke God’s message to the Pharisees. They didn’t like his message any better. They killed him for it.
God can still give us the words to say when we need them. Paul reminds us of this. And he was a pretty good witness to that as he heard Stephen’s words that day. He also witnessed Stephen’s final moments when he looked into Heaven and saw Jesus waiting for him. I wonder how long that memory stayed with him. Was that the seed that brought the fruit forth when Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus?
One final thing I want to touch on are God’s words against Jeroboam II. Amaziah sent word to Jeroboam, supposedly quoting Amos, that “Jeroboam shall die by the sword” (verse 11a). That is NOT what God said. God said the He would “rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword” (verse 9b). Jeroboam II fought many campaigns, and was successful in many. He died of natural causes. But God sent the sword after Jeroboam’s HOUSE. Jeroboam’s son, Zechariah, was king after him and reigned for 6 months before he was killed by his own army commander, Shallum. This, therefore, fulfills the prophecy given by Amos.
Father God, EVERY WORD in Your word matters. You gave those whom You called exactly the words to speak, who to speak them to, when to speak, and even where to speak them. I can trust Your Spirit to do the same for me when I share Your words. WHEN I ask for His guidance! He will not speak to me unless I invite Him into our time together.
THANK YOU Holy Spirit for Your faithfulness during out time together. Without You I would be lost in a sea of words without meaning to me. You make God’s word come alive. You bring me unexpected ‘gifts’ every day. Remind me to ALWAYS invite You to my study/story time.
