Scripture Daily

Context No. 1284 of 4322 · Amos

Context · Reflection

Amos 7:12-17: in context

12Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, 13but don’t prophesy again any more at Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house!” 14Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; 15and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16Now therefore listen to the LORD’s word: ‘You say, Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’ 17Therefore the LORD says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you yourself shall die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land.’”

Amaziah, the priest of the royal shrine at Bethel, tries to silence Amos: go away, seer, flee to Judah and prophesy there, and eat your bread, but do not prophesy here at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary. Amos answers with a striking self-description: I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs, and the LORD took me from following the flock and said, go, prophesy to my people Israel. Then he delivers God's word of judgment on Amaziah for trying to silence God's message.

Two things stand out in Amos's answer. First, he is a most unlikely prophet, and he says so plainly. I am no prophet, no professional, no member of a prophetic guild; I was a herdsman and a tender of fig trees, an ordinary working man from the countryside. God took him straight from the flock and sent him to confront kings and priests. His authority does not come from credentials or training or office; it comes from the fact that the LORD took me and the LORD said, go. That is the only qualification that matters, that God called him, and it is enough to send a shepherd to prophesy against a nation. Second, notice his courage before the priest of the royal shrine. Amaziah tries to shut him up with the weight of religious and royal authority, this is the king's sanctuary, and Amos does not back down; a herdsman stands his ground against the establishment because he answers to God, not to them. There is encouragement here for the ordinary person God calls to speak or serve without the expected credentials. The call of God, not human qualification, is what authorizes; and when God has said go, the pressure of official authority telling you to be quiet does not overrule the LORD who took you from the flock.

Do I disqualify myself from what God calls me to because I lack the expected credentials, when God took a herdsman from the flock, and would I stand my ground, as Amos did, when authority tells me to be silent about what God has said?

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