Measured by God

Amos 7:10-17

Amos stirred up a hornets nest. He had left Judah and entered the sovereign nation of Israel and began prophesying in the city of Bethel – the hot bed of idol worship. Hornets can be difficult to kill. I sprayed a nest yesterday only to have ten more hornets replace the ones I thought I had killed with the spray. I sprayed them again this morning and so far one has returned. Amos was in the midst of the hornets yet he continued with his called duty to prophecy against the evils be committed by the people of God.

Amaziah was one such hornet. He was the chief priest of Bethel and wanted Amos gone. Amos must have been convincing people to return to God. I am guessing the “profit line” was going down for this false priest. Amaziah writes to Jeroboam for help with a claim of insurrection against Amos. At least he was honest in what Amos was saying. These were not fake charges. Amos was prophesying as God directed, God did say Jeroboam would perish, and God did say Israel would go into exile.

Before Amaziah received word from Jeroboam, he tried to take the law into his own hands (and he must not have had much influence in the matter). Amaziah says:

"Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." Amos 7:12-13 (NIV)

I think seer was supposed to be meant as an insult. Amaziah was basically claiming that Amos was nothing more than a profit seeker using his “mental powers” to increase his gain. For a chief priest, Amaziah was not very good at confrontation. His best effort was to send word to Amos. What did he fear? Was he too comfortable in his own mansion built on the wealth of the people? Did he even frequent the “temple”? He knew Amos was there. Why didn’t he engage in a debate?

When you know your message is false or you are too grounded in your message to check the facts, you defend yourself by calling others crazy and hypocrites. You tell people that your “rival” is faithless and powerless. You spend more time asking for donations and less time actually ministering. This happens to those even with the best of intentions. Ministry without God, however, will explode in your face. The only way to control your “flock” is to demonize and poison the truth. You have to make your false teachings look more tantalizing.

Atheism is a big draw to many people because it does not have any restrictions. They spend more time indulging themselves in their pleasures than cultivating any moral character. They poison the truth about creation by saying it is intellectual “hogwash”. They say the debate is over because they say the debate is over. Amaziah fit into this mold.

The debate was not over. God had yet to speak. What God says about the household of Amaziah is dreadful. Amos reaffirmed his calling. He was only a shepherd. He did not have any desire to prophesy but God moved him. The Lord told him to go to Israel, and Amos chose to be obedient to the call.

God now spoke against Amaziah:

• His wife would become a prostitute. With her husband gone, her free ride would soon be up.
• His children would die by the sword. Left helpless by their father’s absence (boy this would preach…)
• His land would be measured and divided. God’s version of imminent domain – God’s domain equals God’s will.
• He would be exiled to another nation. He would never see his home again.

Israel was destined to exile. Their families would be divided. Their lands would be taken. They livelihoods would be uprooted. National sin is explosive. It causes marital distress. It renders people helpless in the face of danger. It unfairly deals with personal property and personal wealth. It makes other nations look more appealing.

Again, I cannot help but to wonder if the United States with its insurmountable debt (even the G8 nations disagree with it), its lust for indulgence (just look at our massive trade deficit and the billions generated in the porn industry), its passion for wealth redistribution and governmental lust for property, I just wonder if the United States is heading down the same path in history as traveled by Israel? Who will stand in the gap and pray? Who will stand up like Amos and speak the truth regardless of the hornet’s nest they have to enter? How will you respond to today’s reading?