As
Amos was faithful to share the LORD's prophesy concerning Israel,
Amaziah the priest sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel that Amos
“conspired against” him “in the midst of the house of
Israel”. Amaziah told King Jeroboam “the land is not able
to bear all his words”, and in chapter seven and verse eleven
of his prophesy, Amaziah shared more words that Amos declared about
Israel and King Jeroboam where we read:
For
thus Amos says, Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and
Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
The
verse begins, “For thus Amos says, Jeroboam shall die by
the sword,...” Amos began with
the words, “For thus Amos”
who was “a prophet of the Lord who prophesied in the northern
kingdom; native of Tekoa in Judah near Bethlehem and a shepherd by
trade” “says” or
“utters, proclaims and declares”, “Jeroboam”
which means “the people will contend” and was “the first king
of the northern kingdom of Israel when the kingdom split at the death
of Solomon and the ten tribes split off from Judah and Benjamin and
the kingdom under Solomon's son Rehoboam” “shall die”
or “be executed, killed and put to death” “by the
sword” which refers to “a
dagger, knife or tool for cutting”. Amaziah shared Amos' words
concerning Jeroboam's demise by a “sword”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and
Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.”
Amos continued, “and
Israel” which means “God
prevails” and was “the name
of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”
“shall surely” which
is the Hebrew word “galah” and means “uncover, remove, depart
and remove” “be led away captive”
which again is the word “galah” and means “to uncover, remove,
depart and remove” “out of their own land”
which refers to “the ground, earth, territory, country or region”.
Amaziah told King Jeroboam how Amos proclaimed Israel's exile and
captivity as well.
When
we think through these words of Amos, we see the specifics of
Amaziah's accusations. He told Jeroboam about Amos declaring the
death of the king and the exiling of Israel. We can imagine how
Jeroboam responded to Amaziah's words. Even though Amos was obeying
God's instructions, he was accused. Jesus Christ came declaring the
truth of God, and He was mocked, beaten and crucified. Nonetheless,
neither Amos or Jesus' words were untrue, and those who are wise will
take heed to the word of God even when others disagree with it.
Next
time we
see Amaziah tell Amos to “flee
to Judah”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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