NOTES for Amo 7:10-17
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel 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. |
11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. |
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: |
13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. |
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: |
15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. |
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. |
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. |
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The prophet Amos's position is very interesting. They say to him, "Seer, go to the land of Judah and prophesy there." What possible answers are there? Amos can say, "I am a prophet, and no one should tell me what to do." No, he says, "I am not a prophet." Fine, then it would seem logical to continue: "I am not a prophet, so I am of no account; I will obey and go wherever you say"...
But for Amos, the very fact that he is not a prophet proves that the words of the Lord are unalterable. If the Lord has chosen him, a shepherd and not a prophet, then nothing remains for him but to humbly pass on all the words of the Lord. Precisely because he is unworthy to be a prophet, he understands well that he is speaking not from himself and not for himself.
Readings for 7 June 2025
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