Amaziah,
who was the priest in Israel who ministered before Jeroboam the king,
accused Amos of conspiracy against the king himself and the nation of
Israel. Amos responded to his accusations by mentioning he was
neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but a “herdsman, and
a gatherer of sycomore fruit” or “figs”. In chapter seven
and verse fifteen of his prophesy, Amos shared more about his call of
God to “Go, prophesy” where we read:
And
the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me,
Go,
prophesy unto my people Israel.
The
verse begins, “And the LORD took me as I followed the
flock, and the LORD said unto me,...” Amos
began with the words, “And the LORD”
which refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One and the
proper name for the one true God” “took me”
or “fetched, laid hold of, received and acquired Amos” “as
I followed” which means “was
behind, in the hinder parts and afterward” “the flock”
or “small cattle, sheep and goats”, “and the LORD”
which again refers to “Yehovah or Jehovah who is the existing One
and the proper name for the one true God” “said”
or “uttered, proclaimed and declared” “unto me”
which refers to Amos. God spoke to Amos as he cared for his “fig
picking” and flock of cattle as a “herdsman”.
The
verse continues, “Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”
Amos added, “Go”
which means “walk, proceed, depart and lead away”, “prophesy”
or “speak under a spiritually divine word” “unto my
people” which refers to “God's
nation, compatriots, country-men and kindred” “Israel”
which means “God prevails” and was “the name of the descendants
and the nation of the descendants of Jacob ”. Amos was commissioned
by God to “go” and
“prophesy” unto
His “people”
located in “Israel”.
When
we consider these verses of Amos, we understand more about the way
God called Amos to “prophesy” on
His behalf. Amos was busy about his business of herding cattle and
picking figs when the LORD authorized him to declare the future
judgment upon Israel and their surrounding nations. Jesus continues
to call people to share His word today, and often, it is while they
are faithful with the positions they currently hold. We must be
faithful to the task we have at hand, and should the LORD call us to
share “divine and spiritual” matters, may He find us as ready to
respond as Amos was.
Next
time we
see more of Amos continues his response to Amazaiah,
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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