Amos 7

The Lord shows His prophets certain visions, so that they will intercede according to God’s will for His people.

Twice God revealed to Amos the destruction that He was planning to bring upon His people, viz. locusts and a shower of fire, but on account of Amos’ timely intercession, God changed His mind and withdrew those methods of judgment for that timeframe, vs 1-6.

Eventually, God decided to judge the people by placing tin among His people Israel, as He could no longer overlook their sin, vs 7,8!

This could possibly imply that the walls around the city would become like tin, such that the invading army could invade them without difficulty, and all because the people were consistently watering down the commandments of the Lord and walking in rebellion and idolatory!

Thus, Isaac’s centers of worship would become desolate and Israel’s holy places would be in ruins, and Jeroboam’s dynasty would be attacked by the sword, vs 9. On hearing this, a priest of Bethel complained about Amos’ prophecies to the king and wrongly gave him the impression that Amos was conspiring against him, vs 10,11! This priest named Amaziah, adviced Amos to stop his prophesying and instead run away to the land of Judah and earn his living by prophesying over there, for he felt that Bethel housed the royal temple and palace and so, Amos’ prophecies didn’t apply to them at all, vs 12,13!

In reply to this exhortation, Amos enlightened Amaziah to understand that he was a herdsman by profession and his prophecies to Israel were given only at the specific command of the Lord and not for the purpose of earning his living, vs 14,15! However, because Amaziah was suggesting a plan to him in contradiction to the direct command of the Lord, Amos was directed to tell Amaziah that his wife would become a prostitute in the streets and his sons and daughters would die violently. Besides, his land would be given to others and he would die in a foreign land and Israel would certainly be carried into exile away from its land, vs 16,17!

Thus, we see that:

• The calling of a Prophet is ordained by God, and so he is bound to do as the Holy Spirit leads him to, no matter who tries to stop or persecute him, Amos 7:14,15
• God does not do anything without first revealing the same to His servants, the prophets, Amos 3:7, so that they can primarily warn, as well as intercede on behalf of God’s people, so as to reduce or remove the judgment of God to the extent that the people repent and turn from their sins on hearing the prophetic word given by God, Amos 7:1-6.
• Transmitting false information about the prophet to the ruling authorities and ordering the prophet to stop prophesying and instead do something contradictory to what God has called him to do, can have fatal results for such people and their families too!
• As the prophet speaks and does as God directs him to, he will be acquitted before God and the people alone will be held responsible for their sins, if they do not take heed to the messages.

However, if he is not faithful to convey the messages given to him, for whatever reason he may have, then he will be held responsible for the people’s sin, incase they continue in rebellion against God!

Let us determine to take heed to the prophetic word that God sends us from time to time, so as to prosper in God’s ways, and continue to be surrounded with His presence and blessings.

Let us also determine to have a spirit of intercession while faithfully conveying the messages that God gives us to share with others, both by our lives and words too, and avoid hesitating to share the same, either on account of the fear of persecution, or else a desire to be popular among the people in an undersirable way.

May the grace of our Lord be with us to this end. Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.