Amos 7:10-17
Amos 7:10
Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king
of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of
Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
Amos was murdered by the son of Amaziah who was a priest
at Bethel who lived during the reign of Jeroboam II.
Amaziah was considered to be a renegade priest because if you notice
where he ministered, right at the heart of Beth-el which was a place of
idolatry. He went to Jeroboam and
falsely accused Amos of conspiracy against the king as he was preaching to all
the people and they did not want to hear his words because Amos was preaching
some strong judgment to them which came from the LORD and they wanted to remain
in idolatry and did not want to return unto the LORD.
The people were angry at Amos for preaching the coming judgment of God.
It is just like today when street preachers take the gospel to the
streets, they are accosted, verbally abused, and the people refuse to listen and
heed their warnings but just continue on in their sin.
Amos 7:11
For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and
Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
They brought the words of Amos to the king where they
told him that Amos prophesied that Jeroboam would die by the sword and yet Amos
did not say that but he spoke of the house of Jeroboam that God would deal with
it. We read that Zachariah, the son
of Jeroboam was killed by Shallum and not Jeroboam himself.
Then they brought the other prophecy that Israel will be removed from the
land and taken to Assyria. This
prophecy was definitely brought to the people by Amos.
Amos 7:12
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee
away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
Amaziah the false priest says to Amos “O thou seer” which
may have been said in scorn or in a mocking fashion because remember Amaziah was
a false priest of a false religion so he would have no love or respect for the
truth. He tells Amos to leave Judah
and go somewhere else and preach his prophecies.
If Amos goes away from Judah then he could prophesy all the coming
judgments he wants and no one will hear him.
Just like today, they want the truth of the gospel to be preached
somewhere else because the unbeliever does not want to be challenged on his
lifestyle nor do they want the truth of God interfering with their false rituals
bringing a message of conscience.
False teachers and preachers rely on the ignorance of their hearers so they can
remain in their position and reap the financial benefits associated with false
preaching.
Amos 7:13
But prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the
king's chapel, and it is the king's court.
Amaziah was telling Amos not to prophesy in the pagan
city of Beth-el because bringing the truth into a climate of false will be
detrimental to the luxurious lifestyle of the false teachers and their
benefactors. Then Amaziah tells
Amos that Beth-el is the king’s chapel.
It was a holy place or a sanctuary where the king would come and the
preaching of Amos was disturbing the false peace they were experiencing.
King Jeroboam even held court here and that was where his nobles and
other leaders would come so the preaching of judgment coming out of the mouth of
Amos would have highly disturbed them and caused much consternation.
Amos 7:14
Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no
prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of
sycomore fruit:
Amos answered Amaziah that he was not a prophet nor was
he born of a prophet’s lineage. He
was not only just a herdsman but he also was a gatherer of sycomore fruit which
was a very sweet fruit and would normally have been given to the animals to eat.
He was telling him that he had no formal training in theology and that he
was just a working man, so everything that he was prophesying was not out of his
mind nor any past training, but was a direct revelation from God and that is why
they needed to heed the warnings.
Amos 7:15
And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the
LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
Amos continues as he states that the LORD took him from
his employment with the flock of sheep and the commanded me to go to prophesy
unto the people of the northern kingdom.
Amos was telling Amaziah that he was not here of his own doing but the
LORD placed him in his line of prophets to bring these warnings to the people of
Israel and they were not to be rejected but heeded and they were to mend their
ways and return to the LORD before these prophecies start coming to pass and
then it would be too late.
Amos 7:16
Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou
sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of
Isaac.
Then Amos goes into a stern prophecy aimed at Amaziah the
false priest who told Amos that he was not to prophesy against the nation of
Israel and to go from there and preach elsewhere.
“Drop” means to speak by inspiration.
Amaziah had told Amos not to speak against the house of Isaac which would
be the entire nation of the ten northern tribes of Israel which descended from
Isaac. Just like the Pharisees who
later confronted Jesus stating they were Abraham’s children, Amaziah was
claiming a direct descendancy to
Isaac thinking somehow that connection would prevent any type of judgment.
Amos 7:17
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an
harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and
thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and
Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.