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 AMOS 7:10-17

(A verse-by-verse commentary)

"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. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. 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: and the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. 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. 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."

 

 A Preacher in his Study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LESSON 1:

The event described in our Text did not happen in a vacuum. Tension had been building for a while.

Amos was from the South, the land of Judah. Tekoa, his home town was located just six miles south of Bethlehem, therefore near Jerusalem as well.

But God called this southern boy to go north and preach!

This did not please the religious establishment of the northern kingdom, Israel. It's first King, Jeroboam, had long ago established idolatrous centers of worship throughout the land, defying the God of his fathers, the God of Judah, the God of Amos in fact!

In other words, Israel had her own religion and her own gods now. Jehovah would no longer be sufficient!

Enter Amos!

He himself wrote, in the form of a piercing question, these words: "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3

Hardly!

There just was not room in Bethel, a major center of false worship in Israel, for two Prophets!

Not two who so dramatically disagreed!

Amaziah was a hired man of god, a false god, a golden calf kind of god.

Amos knew the Lord God Almighty!

He had heard The Voice!

"The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?"

And prophesy he did!

Thank God today for some BOLD Preacher you know.

Hopefully, it will be your Pastor!

                                                                                     --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 2:

The Prophet Amos was a dramatic Preacher of the Word!

He opened his Ministry by delivering some scorching sermons to a few of the surrounding nations, surrounding Israel of course. See Amos chapters one and two.

He preached against Damascus, capital of Syria. Judgment would come to them. Since Syria was an avowed enemy of Israel, the Jews rejoiced at Amos' words!

Then Amos railed against the Philistines, also enemies of Israel! No problem there! Let them have it, Amos!

Then denunciations fell upon the Phoenician nation.

Next, the wicked Edomites!

He did not forget the sins of the Ammonites either!

Nor the Moabites!

These diatribes against all Israel's enemies made Amos a famous and perhaps even popular Preacher!

Then, most boldly of all, he attacked Judah for her iniquities! And since Israel, the northern kingdom, at that time had animosity toward her little sister Judah, the southern kingdom, such preaching was not only accepted, but praised!

Then, it happened!

One day Amos walked into the city of Bethel, a major commercial and religious center of Israel, and started preaching against it!

That kind of preaching suddenly was NOT welcomed!

It was all right for the Preacher to name sins, sins of other nations! But how dare he preach against Israel?

Here starts Amos: "Thus saith the LORD; for three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because ...." Amos 2:6

And Amos did not stop for quite a while!

Usually such preaching leads to confrontation and opposition!

It did!

The High Priest at Bethel, really a scoundrel hired by Jeroboam the idolatrous King, reacted to Amos and decided to rebuke the Prophet of God, sending him back home where he belonged!

But, and here it gets interesting, Amos did not scare that easily!

He did not run!

He stood against the apostate priest Amaziah and continue to proclaim God's Word, God's Message of Judgment!

We are about to study that head-to-head encounter!

Amos 7:10-17 tells it all!

So many preachers today have been badgered and attacked and ridiculed that some have lost their will to fight for what's right!

Many leave rather than "cause trouble!"

Others fear gaining a reputation of being "contentious!"

But, thank God, a few just stay put and boldly, nearly stubbornly, keep on preaching what God has given them!

To those men, those men of principle who will not fear some domineering deacon or loose tongued woman or two-faced hypocrite, I dedicate this Bible Study!

May your kind increase!

And to those of you who know a Preacher like that, love him and admire him and encourage him all you can!

He, and I did say he, is my hero!

                                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 3, VERSE 10:

They lied about him, grossly misrepresenting the truth!

It was a political power play if one ever existed!

One Preacher, a compromiser who "sold" his unqualified talents to the highest bidder, hated another Preacher, a real Prophet of God! That's Amaziah the hireling versus Amos the Prophet!

Sooner or later every bold Preacher is attacked, at least verbally.

Here's what was said about Amos: "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." Amos 7:10

The name Amaziah means "Jehovah is mighty!" While there are at least four men in Scripture with the name Amaziah, this one most certainly did not live a life that glorified God!

Here's the kind of priests who served in the kingdom of Israel at that time. Jeroboam the King, Jeroboam I we now say, because Amos is preaching during the reign of Jeroboam II. "Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made." 1st Kings 12:28-32

"Bethel," the name of the city here, means "House of God" too! But now it's a house to a heathen deity, a false god, a golden calf!

The King's name, again "Jeroboam," arguably means "whose people increase!" Numerical prosperity ... but spiritual famine and dearth!

The name "Amos" means "burden," symbolic of the work God called him to do. He was a hard Preacher of the Word, the kind many professing Christians today have never seen or heard!

The verb "conspired" is "qashar" and literally means "to bind" or just "to tie" something or someone, constricting his movements! You well might say that Amos' preaching was "cramping" the lifestyles of the wicked people of Israel! How would it be said today? "Limiting their freedom!" Denying their rights ... the right to be wicked and idolatrous! "This Preacher is intolerant," the papers would have said! Amos was such a powerful and effective Preacher that this verb is a "perfect" in Hebrew, depicting "completed" action!

Truth be told, Amos only wanted to see Israel repent and return to God, thereby insuring future and lasting blessings for the Nation! He was a real patriot, being falsely accused as a traitor! But that's what the devil does, slanderously accuse God's people!

The verb "bear," in Hebrew "kul," means "to contain." Think of it! One Man of God, so powerful that his Sermons upset a whole Nation! Talk about conviction! Talk about conveying the Message!

A real clash is occurring!

Evil versus good!

Compromise versus conviction!

Our verse again: "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."

See what's happening?

When you can't handle the Word of God the Preacher delivers, just talk about him ... behind his back!

Lie a little bit too!

Amos had NOT "conspired" against the King, certainly not in the traditional sense of the word!

Amos had only tried to help the King live more godly, exposing the sins of the Nation!

Then look at the exaggerated report. "The land can't handle all this!" It's upsetting! Disturbing the peace!

Yet golden calves can still be worshipped in city after city! Low down Preachers can still so called "minister" with the King's approval! Moral depravity can rule under the guise of freedom to privacy or some other excuse for ungodliness! And real Preachers can be condemned for telling the Truth!

Trouble is coming!

It always does when the people are corrupt and the Man of God is unbending, determined to preach the whole counsel of God!

Come back tomorrow!

Let's see what happens next!

Here's a hint: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

Amen!

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 4, VERSE 11:

Words can be twisted.

Especially the words of a Prophet!

Sometimes this can be done mistakenly.

At other times purposely and maliciously!

An apostate Priest in the Book of Amos, Amaziah by name, deliberately "wrested" the words of Amos the Prophet, misleading the King of Israel for selfish reasons!

Here's the verse: "For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land." Amos 7:11

The implication here is that Amos desires to harm the King! And that the Prophet of God is not patriotic!

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Amos loved the Nation of Israel.

He had given up his own homeland, Judah, accepted the Call of God to move north, and faithfully preached God's Message of Judgment ... all to spare the King and the Land from sure judgment!

Talk about misread motives!

If lying is an "intention to deceive," this is a classic case!

Yes, Amos preached words similar to these!

But NOT to harm the King, rather to help bring him to repentance, getting right with Almighty God and sparing the whole Nation!

The verb "saith" is "amar" in Hebrew. Framed as a "perfect," it means that the preaching was already complete when the report was given to the King. This must have been one powerful sermon! It upset both the religious and political community at once!

Amos was such a Preacher too, the Hand of God being upon him!

While I can find no specific place where Amos said that Jeroboam would die by the sword, I can find these words: "And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." With just a little "doctoring," today called "spin" in places, one could make those words into a threat I guess.

Amaziah certainly did!

The verb "led away captive" is "galah" in Hebrew and strangely means "to uncover, to reveal, to remove." Likely this is a reference to the ancient practice of stripping one's captives naked before forcing them to march long distances to a foreign land. This is where sin leads!

Listen today, be careful what you say about a Man of God!

A real Man of God.

Gossip and slander are always wrong, and apparently when directed at sacred targets ... doubly so!

Amaziah will pay dearly for his vicious words!

By the way, best I can tell Jeroboam did NOT die by the sword, another proof Amos did not preach those precise words. But his Nation did face God's Judgment, just as Amos said! "And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead." 2nd Kings 14:29

According to Deuteronomy 18:22 the words of a real Prophet of God will always come to pass, being fulfilled exactly as prophesied.

Amos was a real Prophet too!

If you're going to quote the Man of God, get it right! Both the words he said and the spirit, the intent, with which he said them!

Yes, twisting words can even be deadly!

Simon Peter tells us about some who "wrested" Paul's words. "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2nd Peter 3:16

To their own destruction!

Warning delivered!

                                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

By the way, Amaziah's real motive in attacking Amos might have been quite selfish! If Amos had become the predominant Prophet in Israel, bringing about real Revival ... Amaziah and his religious machine at Bethel would have necessarily been dismantled! Yes, this Priest well may have been envious or jealous of the real Man of God! For example, Mark 15:10 tells us that Pilate knew WHY the chief priests had attacked Jesus, having Him arrested. "For he knew that the chief priests had delivered Him for envy." Jesus was becoming more popular than even the priests! They could not lose their power base! So ... they lost their souls instead!

 

 

LESSON 5, VERSE 12:

Have you ever been invited to leave some place?

To get out of town?

Last week I preached in an area where we once lived, many miles away, and passed a certain house. My mind raced back through the years to a Saturday afternoon. I, along with a younger preacher, had gone visiting, just inviting people to Church. At this particular home the folks were sitting on the front porch. I gave them the invitation, shared a Gospel tract, and kindly asked if they knew Jesus as their Saviour. The man began to respond, just as graciously as I had asked too, when the woman interjected: "You have made your point! You have left your literature. Now, go! Get off our property! We do not want to hear any more!"

I now wish I had stood at the end of her driveway and shaken the dust off my feet!

To this day I believe that woman will remember her very words ... through all eternity no doubt! And if she is still lost, that memory will be occurring in an eternal Hell!

I was certainly invited to leave!

And at a certain Church, only the second place I ever pastored, I distinctly remember a deacon asking me to leave! I had preached a  series of sermons on the Second Coming of Christ, including the Rapture of the Church. These doctrines had upset the Board apparently! His very words, "I'd like to ask our Pastor to resign."

Well, yet today, I still believe Jesus saves, no matter how some woman on a front porch acts.

And I still believe in the literal premillennial Rapture of the Church, no matter what some backslidden deacon says.

I know the feeling of being asked to leave somewhere!

So did Amos, Amos the Prophet.

"Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there." Amos 7:12

Amaziah was the "hired" priest in town! A crowd-pleasing "do-not-upset-anyone" preacher! So politically correct that he would have even made today's liberals proud!

The verb "said," in Hebrew "amar," is written in such a way to indicate that this conversation may have occurred more than once too! The action of the verb is incomplete. It appears that Amos had no "exit strategy!"

He had gone to Israel to preach, and preach he did! God's "Call" could not be ignored or disobeyed!

The name Amos, if you remember, means "burden." Any Man of God who consistently preaches the Truth, the whole realm of Scripture, will encounter opposition, will have burdens to bear!

The noun "seer" is just another name for a Prophet who "sees" into the mind and heart of God ... and consequently into the future as well. "Chozen" in Hebrew means "to gaze upon" something, "to contemplate" it. Once in the King James Text, "to agree" with it also. See Isaiah 28:15.

The verb "go" translates "yalak," meaning "to depart, to move, to walk away" from a place. It, not surprisingly, is an imperative here! Amos is being commanded to leave town! By the high priest of wicked King Jeroboam (II) no less!

"Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there." Amos 7:12

The verb "flee thee away" is "barach," obviously "run away, hurry away, hasten away" or the like. Another imperative is being used here too.

Go back to Judah!

Amos lived in the southern kingdom Judah, in the town of Tekoa, six miles from Bethlehem and twelve miles from Jerusalem.

Go back to the city from which you came!

Preach there!

This verb, "naba," has a great history! It means "to prophesy" but carries this nuance: "to fall under the influence" of another spirit! The Holy Spirit of course in Amos' case. Amos preached "in the power of the Spirit" and even Amaziah knew it! Surely apostate preachers, compromisers, preachers-for-sale like this political priest long for such experiences!

Men of God, never take for granted the Touch of God on your life! Never underestimate the precious anointing of the Holy Spirit Himself!

John the Apostle, when exiled on the little island of Patmos, years after the event, remembered being "in the Spirit" on the Lord's Day!

Such is unforgettable!

Amaziah does not, indeed can not, deny that Amos knows how to prophesy! That he is a real Prophet!

Just do so somewhere else!

Notice the brief reference to bread too!

The northern folks did not even want to extend hospitality to Amos!

Don't even eat here!

Get away from us!

We don't even want your food money, your business!

Take bread in Judah!

How ironic!

True to fact, soon Israel was destitute of bread anyway!

No bread for the Man of God ... then no bread for anyone!

Not just a famine for grain, wheat and barley and such, occurred either! But lack of another kind of Bread too! "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it." So thundered Amos in 8:11-12. They can't even find the Bread of Life then!

Before refusing to be kind and hospitable to a real Man of God, better read Matthew 10:42. "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." Or maybe even better the previous verse: "He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."

Amos was not received, but rejected!

He next got no water, much less bread!

We preachers today usually preach ... then give an invitation. Back in Amos' day they preached ... then received an invitation! Here an invitation to leave town immediately!

Here is God's charge against Israel, just before she was reduced to slavery and taken into captivity. "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy." 2nd Chronicles 36:16

Hatred for true Men of God ... a harbinger of coming judgment!

Lord, help us.

                                                                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 6, VERSE 13:

"This is OUR Church!"

"We're going to run it like we see fit!"

Have you ever heard words like these?

Probably not, not that boldly stated anyway.

But multitudes feel that way, deep within their hearts I mean!

In the Old Testament Book of Judges a man named Micah owned his own "house of gods!" He also hired a priest, a personalized one! See Judges 17:5 and its context.

Of course such actions there, in Judges, are almost expected. For that's specifically where we are told: "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 17:6 and 21:25

The very idea, "owning" a Church, all by one's self!

Or employing a Preacher, one who will declare only the official political line of the day!

Yet that's exactly what was happening during the reign of King Jeroboam II, occurring in the city of Bethel, a major seat of idolatry in Israel.

The King's Priest, Amaziah by name, has attacked Amos!

He wants that little southerner, a Jew, to leave town and quit preaching!

Here is the hypocrite speaking to the Man of God. "But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court." Amos 7:13

The noun "chapel," in Hebrew "miqdash," means a sacred place. A sanctuary or tabernacle, one dedicated to worship!

"Court" or "baiyth" means "house."

The implication is that Amos could only preach certain favorable things, especially while in Bethel!

Thank God, Amos was NOT for sale!

But, sure as the world, places exist today, Churches, where certain sins are "unmentionable!"

Stay away from Texts that condemn divorce at that Church!

Don't mention homosexuality over yonder either!

Avoid Bible Version discussions at First Church too!

Why?

Because the man in charge, or now more often than ever, the woman in charge, is guilty of such things!

Such twisted reasoning did not move Amos one inch!

His "fear of God" was so great that it dwarfed any "fear of man" that might be suggested to his mind or heart!

"Water off a duck's back!"

"In one ear and out the other!"

"Wasted words!"

Amos, thankfully, remained unshaken ... and unconvinced!

Amos was a Prophet, a real Prophet, called of God to preach the unadulterated Scripture of Truth! He would not, could not, compromise!

If your Pastor, regardless of current local church politics, names sin and exposes iniquity ... no matter who is guilty, praise the Lord!

Such Preachers and preaching are become more and more unusual, by the months it seems!

News flash!

No man owns the Church of God!

No human has a right to control the Preacher!

In fact the Preacher is to faithfully ... "feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His Own Blood." Acts 20:28

Jesus is The Head of the Church!

After all, He bought it!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 7, VERSE 14:

Amos might have felt somewhat inferior.

After all, he was not a trained Prophet.

Nor did he associate with the King or other members of royalty.

And he undoubtedly dressed on a more common level.

Furthermore his standard of living was quite poor when compared to the priests of Bethel.

But, if Amos felt unqualified, he need not have!

He was a true Man of God, not a hired hand for an unbelieving King!

Listen to Amos speak.

This is his response upon being invited to leave town!

"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." Amos 7:14

When Amos says that he is not a prophet, he means not in the professional sense! He's not a people-pleaser! He's not a politically correct preacher! He's not the politician type!

By claiming not to be a "prophet's son," Amos might be throwing a little ridicule at Amaziah! Amaziah was a priest, perhaps even the High Priest of Israel. But Amaziah was illegitimate! He was not qualified to be a Priest at all! He's not even a Levite! His priesthood was not passed from father to son, but from moderate compromiser to extreme compromiser!

You might wonder how we know this about the poor quality of the priests in Jeroboam's day. "Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places." And just how important was that foolish decision? "And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth." 1st Kings 13:34

The noun "herdman" is spelled "boqer" and is built upon the word "baqar," meaning "to plough!" Another teacher adds that the word is often associated with cattle or oxen. Amos is a country preacher! Best I can tell, this is the only time "boqer" occurs in the Bible.  "Herdmen," in the plural, occurs in four other passages, but using a different word altogether, "raah," meaning "to shepherd, to tend, to graze, or even to rule." Amos shepherded his flock! He "pastored" it literally! Then back in Amos 1:1 "herdmen" is used, but with "noqed" being its Hebrew foundation. This means "sheep raiser, sheep tender, sheep dealer," that kind of idea.

The noun "gatherer" is taken from a verb that means "to pinch!" It seems that the sycamore fruit had to be squeezed or pinched a certain way to facilitate its ripening process!

"Sycamore fruit" translates "shaqam" and means a fig-bearing tree that is Biblically known as the sycamore. One thing we know about sycamore fruit, just by studying its Bible appearances, is that it is susceptible to the cold. It's can't stand bitterly low temperatures. For that reason it did not thrive on the mountains, but in the lowly valleys! Frost killed these trees! The Bible speaks of the "the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains." Or it mentions "the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance." And Psalm 78:47 tells of God's judgment: "He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost." Also poor people loved the sycamore fruit! And Amos loved those common people! Even in Greek "sukon" means "fig" and "moron" can mean "mulberry."  The sycamore was a wide open tree with limbs low to the ground, easily climbed you might remember! Jesus also found fruit in a sycamore tree one day, Zacchaeus by name!

Amos the farmer raised fruit and tended cattle ... until God called him to preach!

But, at least in my opinion, Amos could preach circles around Amaziah and his whole crowd of helpers!

Why?

Amos had the touch of God upon him.

In fact, the best training any Preacher ever experiences comes from God the Holy Spirit!

That Anointing is irreplaceable!

Amos had it!

Amaziah could only wonder about it!

Find a Spirit-filled Man of God ... and stay around him! Learn all you can! Your apprenticeship will be well rewarded!

Speak Amos, preach!

We're listening!

God has trained you well!

                                                                         --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 8, VERSE 15:

"Called to preach," that expression, once so meaningful, has largely fallen into disuse these days.

Once real Men of God often discussed this glorious "Call." Now it is seldom mentioned.

Folks "enter" the Ministry these days!

Some personality test, a "profile" of sorts, pointed them in that direction!

Announcement: The Call to Preach is not merely an aptitude or talent or human propensity! It is an act of God whereby He reveals to some dear Christian man his life work! A divine summons, a mandate to preach, the subject no longer has much choice in the matter!

Such things are on my mind early this Wednesday morning.

Likely so because of the verse we're studying today. In Amos 7:15 the Prophet relates his call to preach!

He's in a verbal battle, a real confrontation, with a hired though unqualified high priest named Amaziah. This Amaziah works for the apostate King Jeroboam, actually Jeroboam II to be more precise.

In just a few short words, we get Amos' testimony! "And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." Amos 7:15

One verse earlier the Prophet told us, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit." Laboring on the farm, working hard every day but Sabbath, Amos had no other plans!

Then it happened!

Again, Amos' own words: "And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."

The verb is just precious!

The Lord "took" him!

"Laqach" does indeed mean "to take or receive" in 808 of its 965 Bible appearances. But those other 157 uses are quite sufficient to give us an accurate view of the other emphases "laqach" carries.

It is "fetch" 31 times in the King James Text.

"Take away" it is translated 51 more times!

"Carried away" on 5 more occasions and even "married" 4 times!

It's a very strong verb!

God's call to preach in Amos' life is here described as some sort of abduction! An arrest! The man was apprehended! Drafted into service!

Paul put it this way, "Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" 1st Corinthians 9:16

Amos, much like Elisha in earlier years, was apparently somewhere out on the farm, working hard, when it happened!

A mantel fell on Elisha, from the anointed hands of Elijah!

Amos was "snatched away" into the Lord's Work!

Indeed, there is such an urgency about the Call to preach!

I don't know how many older preachers have advised, "If you can do anything other than preach, go do it! Because if God has truly called you, you will not be able to do anything but get a Bible and find a Text ... and speak, 'Thus saith the Lord!'"

The noun "flock," in Hebrew "tzson," means a group of animals ranging from sheep to goats to small cattle.

"Following" is "achar" means something like "bringing up the rear." Eating the dust of a bunch of animals, guarding them carefully every minute or plowing behind them faithfully, all require character! Humility and diligence and boldness immediately come to mind!

The verb "go," framed as an imperative, commands Amos to "depart" his present circumstances, "walking away" from the farm and life he loved so dearly.

It's as dramatic as Abraham's: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee." Amos was to leave the south, Judah, and go north into Samaria or Israel, backslidden as they were!

This is an invitation to hardship and suffering and ridicule!

But, still, Amos, "Go!"

The verb "prophesy" is spelled "naba" and in this context literally means "to utter words under the influence of the Divine Spirit of God!" It implies being "possessed" by the Holy Spirit, under His very control! What preaching is being described here!

My computer, its Bible program, tells me that this verb is in a "niphal" pattern, passive in voice!

The command is to "go."

Once that is obeyed, the "prophesying" will occur!

God would "come upon" the man Amos, using him as a mouthpiece, a vessel, a spokesman, a willing servant!

Then, quickly, see the spirit of love in God's call to Amos. The Preacher is to go, says Jehovah, to "My people!"

Here the noun "am" means a collected group of special folks! Kinsmen! Compatriots! Nearly "family" you see! This is not the word for the hordes of Gentiles that roam the world! It's a higher class term!

God loves Israel!

He even has named them after Himself!

"Israel," that ending syllable, "El," is God's very Name! His Name of "Power" too! Almighty God!

Israel means "God prevails" say the lexicons.

One old Preacher always taught that it meant "ruled by God!"

Either way, the Jewish people had drifted far from their proper course!

Living in open idolatrous sensual iniquity, they needed a real Man of God to rebuke, reprove and exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine!

They got one!

Thank God for Amos!

Also ... thank God for the Preacher today who warns and feeds and teaches you ... from the precious Word of God!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 9, VERSE 16:

It's just one of Amos' great sermons!

It's short too, perhaps even abbreviated, especially since the Book  of Amos packs a whole ministry into nine brief chapters!

Word for word, here it is, directed against an apostate high priest named Amaziah: "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. 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." Amos 7:16-17

Most church folks today would not even call that a sermon ... at all!

It does not contain a single joke!

It gives people's names!

It's very negative!

Speculative, too, telling about coming events!

And very judgmental!

It's a good thing Amos did not attend seminary! He would have failed homiletics class for sure!

But, and get this carefully, it is a GREAT Bible Sermon! God thought so! He included it in Scripture!

And in what should probably be covered in a couple of lessons, one for each verse, we're going to slow down be here a while!

Today we shall examine the first clause, "Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD."

This sentence claims authority for the message!

The verb "hear" is "shama" in Hebrew and means "to listen" but more than that, "to perceive, to understand, to comprehend!"

"Get this, Amaziah!"

"Shama" is an imperative here too. Amos is not playing around with this priest! He is demanding his ear!

No sweet "attention grabbers" at all, not a one can be found! Amos must have missed psychology class!

The noun "word" translates "dabar" which means "a speech, a saying, or an utterance." However, this particular nuance seems to belong to "dabar," it refers to the exact words being used. The content of what is said! Hebrew has another word to indicate the act of speaking. "Dabar" basically is what is said! While "amar" is how it is said!

Of course "Lord," when each letter is capitalized as in our Amos Text, indicates the proper Name "Jehovah." He is the Great "I Am!" Eternally Self Existent! I'm telling you the Hebrew verb "to be" is embedded in the Hebrew "Jehovah," meaning "The God Who Is!"

The sermon Amos is about to preach is not original with him! It is freshly received from God Himself!

That gives a man authority!

That's how Paul could call himself an Ambassador for Christ!

That's also how he could write: "We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2nd Corinthians 5:20

Nor does Amos seem surprised to have received this Sermon directly from Heaven! Apparently such communication, God to Amos, was normal for this country farmer now become Prophet.

It's really best for a Preacher not to represent himself in the pulpit! Speak on behalf of God Almighty! And if you have not heard anything from Him, wait! Stay quiet!

The people want to know if there is "any word from the Lord" when the preacher stands in the pulpit!

For example, "Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him (Jeremiah) out (of the dungeon): and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said He, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon." Jeremiah 37:17

Again, notice that this sermon does not ask for Amaziah's attention, it demands it! Commands it! No choice in the matter exists for this rebel priest!

Amos knew how to preach to his enemies too! The Priest here hates Amos and the Truth Amos proclaims! But, no matter, like it or not, here comes the Sermon ... whether the Priest is ready or not!

In one sense, it's fearful to go to Church and listen to God's Word being proclaimed! What responsibility that evokes!

A Message from Heaven!

Sunday at Church, listen for God's Voice!

You just might hear your Pastor echo: "Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD."

Oh, there's a good bit more of this Sermon coming from Amos' lips.

When we've analyzed it all, admiring its beauty, we might think Amos wrote these words, not Paul! "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2nd Timothy 2:1-4

Thank God for Preachers, using the Bible definition of course! Real Preachers, men with backbone!

                                                                           --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

Just one more thing! In starting this Sermon with God as the Source, Amos has established a "theo-centric" or "God-centered" approach to this counterfeit priest. "Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD." But that Name LORD, as mentioned earlier, is Jehovah. That's God's saving Name! And theologically, the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament!

Look what Amos has done! Opposing and here maybe even ignoring all those "golden calves" throughout Israel, Amos mentions the Saviour! It's as if he said, "In the Name of Jesus" comes this sermon to you, O false priest!

That's the one single Name the anti-christ spirit of today cannot handle! Jesus! Dear Jesus! Precious Jesus! Lord Jesus! Prayers in Jesus' Name are vanishing across the so-called free world! Too many Preachers are compromising on this issue as well! If we let them steal Jesus from us ... what's left?

Jesus is Christianity!

Jesus is Salvation!

Jesus is eternal Life!

If you don't believe so, study again our Lord's great "I AM" statements!

He is All!

Amos, had he been alive today, surely would have said, "Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD JESUS." The meaning would have been the same! Preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, risen, ascended and coming again! Remember Paul in 1st Corinthians 2:2. "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."

Amen!

 

LESSON 10, VERSE 16:

Sometimes it is necessary to quote one's enemy!

Especially this is so when you're going to refute his claims.

Amos the Prophet uses this tactic against the so-called Priest of Bethel, an idolater under the influence of wicked King Jeroboam II.

The man had threatened Amos! Trying to run him out of town, Amaziah had lied, usurped authority, and sought to induce terror.

Amos, now ready to preach, will counter with this quote. "Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac." Amos 7:16

The verb "prophesy" is "naba" and means "to speak under the influence of another spirit!" Here, obviously, the Holy Spirit is in view. What true man of God, which Amaziah certainly was not, would ever want to stop a holy man from preaching? Yes, a godly man like Amos who had a "call" from God! A Prophet of the finest quality!

The negative adverb "not" is just "lo" in Hebrew and means "absolutely" prohibited! No room to negotiate! And Amaziah apparently was the High Priest, though illegitimately so! No where to appeal!

Then "against," spelled "al," means "against, towards, on or concerning." Why, Amaziah did not want some Preacher upsetting things in Israel. The economy was good. The political scene was relatively peaceful. Wars were being won. Even religious life, the beloved worship of Jeroboam's golden calves, was quite popular!

"Amos, don't rock the boat!"

"Don't disturb the peace!"

"Be patriotic!"

"Shut your mouth!"

"Go back to Judah!"

"Quit this negative preaching!"

Remember, they did not mind Amos' preaching against the sins of the other nations! It's just Israel's shortcomings and rebellion that is disallowed!

"Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac."

The next verb, "drop" is interesting too. It supplies us with a Biblical but rare word picture of preaching. "Nataph" means "to drip." Like honey oozing from a rock above one's head, gently falling to the ground below! "To drop" in that sense. When Amos preached, truth and conviction and power just dripped all over the place! The Word of God flowed outward, under the direction of the Holy Spirit Himself. Read Deuteronomy 32:2 for a better example of this concept. There God is speaking. "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." Amazing!

The Hebrew word "torah," meaning the "law," most often God's Law or God's Word, is derived from the root verb "yarah," meaning "to flow as water!" Even "to rain!" When the Pastor really preaches, it gets to raining doctrine and glory and knowledge all around God's people! What a picture!

The "house of Isaac" is here used a synonym for Israel. Apparently Amaziah is quoting part of one of Amos' earlier sermons! Back in Amos 7:9 the Prophet promised God would judge His stubborn people. "And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." See how "Isaac" and "Israel" are made to be parallel.

Amos must have reckoned that if Amaziah was going to quote him ... he in turn could rightly quote Amaziah! Be careful with your words! Jesus here: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Powerful! And Amaziah is right now being condemned for his words!

I want everyone to get this fact. Amaziah is going to die for his attempt to shut the mouth of Amos! Better let God's real Preachers alone! Opposing them can be costly!

Having quoted the enemy of God, Amos is now ready to do what most Preachers today have forgotten. Proclaim judgment and wrath, the wrath of Almighty God!

In these last days, in America anyway, surely the godly pulpit will again turn to this kind of prophetic preaching!

If not to convert sinners, their hearts increasingly hardening by the day, at least to prepare the saints for what's coming.

Christianity is about to enter and endure its hardest times yet in much of the West, the so-called "free" world. It's already suffering in many other parts of the globe.

But I still believe that before the Tribulation begins, before the anti-christ rules, before all the world's religions unite, Jesus is coming again to rapture His Church away from here!

Still, it might get rough in places before He does so!

Yesterday we are told somewhere on earth a saint of God was murdered for his or her faith! It will happen again today as well! That's why Hebrews 13:3 teches us: "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."

The days of martyrdom are not yet over!

                                                                                    --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 11, VERSE 17:

Amos was a Preacher!

He could powerfully offer the people the marvelous Grace of God!

Or he could sharply cut them with the frightening message of the coming Judgment of God!

Once, in a sermon to an adversary named Amaziah, Amos pronounced: "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." Amos 7:17

This is no senseless tirade!

It contains not a bit of jealousy either!

It's God's punishment for apostasy, departing from the true God of Israel and worshipping the false idols of the heathen!

But, look!

The punishment does not affect the offender himself, Amaziah the wicked priest! At least not directly!

And, not yet!

Departing from God can impact one's dearest interests though!

Amaziah's wife!

Amaziah's children!

And Amaziah's property, his possessions!

Scripture has clearly warned us that our sins can impact our families, to the third and fourth generations!  In Exodus 20:5 we learn: "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."

Literally the Text says thy "woman," but "ishshah" can often imply one's wife too! If a husband has a "woman," it sure had better be his wife! The noun "harlot" is "zanah" and means "one who commits fornication!" The word's "root" means "highly fed!" Thus we get: filled to capacity, therefore becoming loose and wanton and promiscuous!

Talk about irony, holy justice! Amaziah had spent his adult life turning God's chosen people, betrothed to Jehovah God, into spiritual prostitutes and false lovers! They had left the mighty God and followed idols galore! Spiritual adultery! And in a perfect "reaping what you've sown" scenario, Amaziah's wife now does the same thing to him, becoming unfaithful!

This political priest also has a good-sized family it seems. Amaziah had sons and daughters, both nouns being plural. At least four children, probably many more. They would die a horrible death, being cut to pieces by the sword of an enemy nation! Sons and daughters, "ben" and "bath" in Hebrew, both come form a root verb that means "to build!" A family is indeed "built" by children! But Amaziah's offspring here are cut down, dying prematurely! Amaziah helped demolish God's building, Israel! God therefore returned the deed in kind, deconstructing Amaziah's building, his family!

The noun "chereb" is "sword" here. Elsewhere in the King James Bible it's rendered as knife, dagger, and mattocks." A deadly weapon, cruelly to be used against these young people!

Remember the term "wages of sin?"

Next come Amaziah's possessions! His property, land, would be cut into sections and either stolen, confiscated, or overrun by the enemy! By the way, God's real Priests were not allowed to own land! They would live off the tithes and offerings of God's people! No need ... or time ... to farm! But "disobey-on-everything" Amaziah wanted real estate! He got it, but his acquisition did not meet God's approval!

Folks, occasionally we need to stop and ponder the consequences of sin! In today's twisted world, sin has no dangers! But God says otherwise!

We ought not sin because it offends the Glory of God! That's the best reason of all, reason to live holy lives!

Also we ought not sin because it hurts our loved ones! That's what this lesson is teaching, this Text or Sermon from Amos the Prophet.

Finally, if the first two reasons weaken in time, we still ought not sin because of what it will do to us individually, personally! That aspect of divine judgment will surface tomorrow, Lord willing! There's a price to be paid.

I've not heard anyone today use the word "unfair" yet, but it's a charge often levied against the idea of an avenging God, a Judge Who does right.

Amaziah's poor wife!

And innocent children!

And treasured land!

But Genesis 18:25 best answers any such charges. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

Fairness, you decide!

Righteousness, I'll speak to that issue!

God has never made a mistake!

And He never will!

Worried now about your wife or children or portfolio?

Then, simply stated, live right!

                                                                              --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 12, VERSE 17:

Amos indeed was a Preacher!

"And thou shalt die in a polluted land." These are bold yet powerful words coming from this true Prophet of God. Amos delivered them to a false Priest of King Jeroboam, Amaziah by name. See Amos 7:17

Already Amaziah had learned, "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."

I've been thinking about that message of judgment this morning. "Thou shalt die in a polluted land." Really it's bittersweet to the recipient!

Here's what I mean. "Thou shalt die" would have been bad news! Life was good to Amaziah. He was on the King's staff, his personal high priest! He lived in an affluent city, as "modern" as any of that day. Money undoubtedly was never an issue! Premature death would have horrified a man like Amaziah! Much more than simply hearing of his wife's or children's impending crises.

The death Amaziah faces is the direct result of his sin. It also might have been a brutal death. If at the hands of the Assyrian army, soon to attack and ravage Israel, intense suffering, torture really, would have been the norm. Often these maniacs would boil their captives alive in vast pots of oil, then peel their semi-cooked skin from their bodies! Ever heard of being "skinned alive?" This of course was done as an act of terrorism, frightening nearby cities.

This prophesied death might not have occurred within just a few days or months either! There may have been time, extended time, to dread the fulfillment of its specifics!

But why a premature death?

Because of Amaziah's idolatry! "The sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin ... to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan." 2nd Kings 10:29

To bow before a golden calf instead of Jehovah God is blasphemy!

Because of Amaziah's pride too! "Bethel ... is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court," bragged this priest. Amos was invited to get out of that town, Bethel! Amaziah was lord there! He owned that "chapel," meaning "holy place." In Hebrew it's "miqdash." He, and he alone, controlled that "court," using "bayith" or "house" as the noun here. The house of his god was under his control! No room there for a rival Prophet!

Because of Amaziah's hatred for an anointed Man of God as well! Amos, go! You're not welcome here! Go back to your home town! "O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there." Prophesy not again any more at Bethel. Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac." All these are words from Amaziah's lips, vehemently directed toward Amos!

But again, Amaziah, "Thou shalt die!" So countered Amos, mouthing the very words of God to the apostate priest!

Now the other half of the prophecy, "in a polluted land," would not have bothered Amaziah as much! "And thou shalt die in a polluted land." 

He did not care if the land was polluted!

This adjective is spelled "tame" and means "unclean, defiled, or infamous." Its verbal root indicates something that is "foul" or "contaminated." Impure!

But why would that mater to Amaziah?

He had dedicated his life to polluting the land!

He was a professional polluter!

Idolatry and its accompanying sins defiled God's people more than anything! That's why it is the first sin prohibited by Mosaic Law!

And Amaziah taught idolatry!

He lived it!

Every shekel his wife spent at the market, every new garment his children wore, every plot of land he bought, came as a result of promoting such hideous "sin" among God's people!

While a "polluted land" was an undesirable thing in God's eyes ... it was the very goal Amaziah sought for Israel!

Look what's happened here!

Amaziah got what he wanted, exactly! A land replete with golden calf worship! A polluted land!

But that goal led to his ... death! Something he did not want at all!

Sometimes the things we want are just not worth the price!

Psalm 106:15 tells us that even God on occasion would grant Israel's stubborn requests ... then punish them for their utter selfishness. "And He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." That's just not an good exchange!

Be careful what you want!

Better yet, let's bring our "wants," our "desires," under the umbrella of God's approval!

Then, He can give us the desires of our hearts! "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalm 37:4

Indeed, and in more ways than one, "The wages of sin is death."

Live for Jesus!

                                                                                --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 13, VERSE 17:

Amos, being an Old Testament Prophet of God, of course preached a message of judgment.

Not only judgment against individuals, but families and institutions as well.

But today we must include in that list judgment against Nations!

A particular Nation at that, at least for our Text today.

Amos 7:17 illustrates such prophetic preaching. Look for the individuals, the families and then the whole country. "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."

Israel!

Amos prophesied this about 787 BC. It happened in 721 BC, just a few decades later!

Earlier, through Moses, God had warned his people that if they sinned and sinned and sinned, refusing to repent, "I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste." Leviticus 26:33

The name "Israel" or "Yisrael" in Hebrew means "Prince with God!" The "el" part of that beautiful name is God's Name "El" or "Elohiym," the God of all Power. The "sra" root of the name is related to "sarah," meaning prince or princess, spelled just like the name of Abraham's wife. "Sarah" indeed means "princess!"

If God judged His most treasured people, and He did, where do the rest of the Nations of earth stand? Concerning Israel read: "The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." Deuteronomy 7:6

Could God then judge any sinful Nation?

Even America, the United States?

And we are not taking "maybe" here! Again our Scripture for today, directly from the lips of Amos, "And Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land." Amos 7:17

"Surely" leaves no doubt about the matter!

At times I hear Preachers say, "IF God judges America!" Others chime "PERHAPS" God will call our Nation into account!" But on the authority of God's Word, it's not a matter of "if" or "perhaps" or "perchance" or "supposedly," it is "SURELY!"

Psalm 9:17 positively says, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."

Then comes the clause "go forth into captivity" or in Hebrew "surely go forth into captivity." The actual verb is "galah." This is surprising. It means "to uncover, to remove, to reveal or to make naked!" Here's the first time it's used in the Bible, Noah being the subject, sadly so. "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent."

When a Nation was taken captive in the days of Amos, their people were stripped naked and marched many many miles to some foreign destination, then committed to slavery for the rest of their lives! And the Assyrians, Israel's main enemy at this time, were specially cruel in its treatment of those it conquered! The Lord is using a brutal "whip" to "spank" His wayward people!

Now America, the U.S. I mean specifically, has not yet "gone into captivity," not literally in a foreign land. But look! Foreign lands just may have invaded us! We are told that more and more every day, distant nations purchase our real estate and our dollars and other forms of capital! Does anyone reading these lines have a foreign neighbor? Or do business where an immigrant works?

Practically there may be little difference between placing a people in a distant land ... or placing that distant land within those people!

And for that "naked" part. America has done that to themselves! Stripped! Except now that's foolishly called "entertainment!" The courts, in an abdication of logic and common sense, rule such to be "freedom of privacy!" Going around naked! Once Jeremiah, when preaching against certain sins, observes God lamenting, "and My people love to have it so." Jeremiah 5:31

It's as if God has turned us over to a spirit of judgment, and we're executing it upon ourselves! Paul describes our culture perfectly when he preaches: "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." What should be shame, naked body parts, is now turned into glory and fame and wealth by many a so-called beautiful woman! Actresses, strippers, models, and sad to say, church members too!

But God does not call such women beautiful! Such people lack discretion He says! And Proverbs 11:22 informs us: "As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion."

Next time you see a scantily clad woman, or man for that matter, in your heard and mind hear some "oink" sounds, like a pig or hog or sow! Even if she's pretty according to the world's standards! Hogs live in slop and filth!

Yes, here again, America has judged herself it seems!

And we stupidly call it pleasure!

Israel's land ... gone!

One last time, "And Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land." Amos 7:17

Interestingly, "land" here is not the common word. That's "eretzs." Here "adamah" is used! RED dirt, that kind of land! But not red clay here! This may well be, by definition even, blood reddened dirt! Blood stained soil! It happened literally in Israel!

I would be wrong not to say, "It could happen in America too!"

There are multitudes alive today around the world, maybe including some in your very neighborhood right now, who would enjoy taking their knives, already sharpened, or their bombs, already constructed, and spill American blood at will! Even our Government admits this fact!

God judged Israel!

Will He not then do so to the rebellious Nations still alive today?

Including the United States of America.

There will be some folks so mad today, after this Lesson, that they will ask to be taken off our mailing list!

Guess what?

We don't have a mailing list!

You'll just have to quit coming to this old-fashioned Bible preaching Website I guess!

But you had better remember the last Text we studied! About a Nation God judged!

"And Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land."

Lord, I've tried today to preach Thy precious Word.

                                                                               --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

LESSON 14, KEEP ON PREACHING!

Amos did not quit!

Even after his great confrontation with Amaziah, the hired high priest of wicked King Jeroboam!

Too many Preachers today get their "feelings hurt" and decide to leave their field of service. Not Amos!

Too many Preachers today are frightened at the prospect of battle, too much tension. Not Amos!

Too many Preachers today become wearied in well doing. Not Amos!

Read what happened! Amos was rebuked and threatened and humiliated!

"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. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court."

 But he did not roll over and play dead! He fought back! In the Name of the Lord God Almighty!

"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: and the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel. 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. 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."

We admire you, Prophet of God! Praise God for Amos! He would not run! He just "stood" for God!

Now watch this.

After such a nerve-wracking experience most Preachers would have needed a day off, or a week, some a month!

But not godly Amos!

The very next verse, he preached again!

"Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more." Amos 8:1-2

Another sermon!

Very ripe fruit!

By tomorrow it will be softening!

Not good for very long!

Soon brown spots will appear!

Its "shelf life" is about gone!

Another picture of Israel!

A holy metaphor!

Nation God loves, your days are numbered unless you repent!

And so we leave Amos ... still preaching God's Word!

What a lesson!

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Amen!

                                                                             --- Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

WE PRAY THIS SERIES OF FOURTEEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF AMOS, HIS CONFRONTATION WITH A HIRED HIGH PRIEST, HAS BEEN BOTH HELPFUL AND ENCOURAGING! KEEP STUDYING THE WORD!

 

 

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