Amos 7 (4)

Pray Psalm 7.9-11.
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.

Sing Psalm 7.9-11.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
Bring to an end the evil of the wicked,
but let Your righteous ones established be.
You are my shield, my soul will not be stricken;
test heart and mind, my true Defender be.
You are a righteous Judge in every way,
angry at wicked people every day.

Read and meditate on Amos 7.1-13; meditate on verses 10-13.

Preparation
1. Of what did Amaziah accuse Amos?

2. What did he tell Amos to do?

Meditation
Amaziah was more than a priest of the false gods of Israel. He was priest of Bethel, the place where Jeroboam performed his religious duties. It’s safe to say, I think, that Jeroboam chose Amaziah as royal priest, and that these clowns had been buddies for a long time. Amaziah would have had both access to and the ear of Jeroboam.

And he chose to position Amos as an enemy of the state: “Amos has conspired against you…” (v. 10).

That’s never a safe place to be, but it’s a venue to which Christians are not unaccustomed. Martyrs from Paul and Peter to Polycarp, Ignatius, Boethius, Savonarola, Bonhoeffer, and multitudes more have met death as enemies of the state. And this evil work continues even in our day.

Amaziah added emphasis to Amos’ prophesies by putting Jeroboam’s name in where the prophet had not (v. 11). Most of what he reported to Jeroboam was true. But there was just enough lie in it to ensure the king would be piqued to anger. Then he sought out Amos and spoke with him personally, ordering him to flee to Judah and prophesy there, but never again to preach in Bethel—or, he implied, in all Israel (v. 12).

Amaziah would regret his actions, as we shall see. Amos continued to fulfill his calling in and against Israel. Not to do so would have been to betray God. Doing so could have led to his death at any time, but, hey, we all die.

And it’s better to die as an enemy of the state than as an enemy of the Lord.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Amos is a hero of the faith. He kept on keeping on regardless of the lies and threats against him.
Because he did not want to be an enemy of God’s. Much better to be at enmity with the world.
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jms. 4.4). And we admire Amos’ courage. We long to be as courageous.

However, being shunned by your family, or your not-so-friendly friends; or at least only being vaguely tolerated by them; or to be caught in the crosshairs of church and state, speaking out against ungodly characteristics and behaviors, is often a lonely and sad place to be. But it is a place that forces us into the everlasting and loving arms of God our Savior (Deut. 33.27).

We have a great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12.1), watching and cheering us on, who have experienced much the same from others. And of course, Jesus, our beloved, faced more than His undeserved share of abuse—for our sakes.

“For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful have opened against me;
they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
and fought against me without a cause.
In return for my love they are my accusers,
but I give myself to prayer.
Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love…
[they] did not remember to show mercy,
but persecuted the poor and needy man,
that he might even slay the broken in heart” (Ps. 109.2-5, 16).

In truth, all the evils done against us, we have at one time or another done abysmally to Jesus.
Think about the sins of omission committed against Him by His disciples as He was in torment—before experiencing all the things that He knew awaited Him: “My soul is sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch…are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mk. 14.34-41).

How often do we “sleep” through work that God has called us to do?
Are there times that it is just not convenient to bring up God’s Law? Or to obey it?
Is it easier, or more peaceful to keep our mouths shut?
Or are we vocal enough so that the “land is not able to bear all [our] words”? (Amos 7.10).

Jesus calls us to follow Him. Regardless. The circumstances are what they are. The outcomes are in the Holy Spirit’s hands. Our job is to be like Amos—in this time and place in history—God’s friend and follower.

Reflection
1. What would make you an “enemy of the state” in your Personal Mission Field?

2. How should we respond to hostility such as Amos faced?

3. How can believers help one another stand firm against opposition?

Amaziah had sent to the king to induce him to adopt some severe measure; for he pretended that as Amos scattered words full of sedition, and made turbulent speeches, the affairs of the king could not be carried on, except the king in due time prevented him… John Calvin (1509-1564),Commentary on Amos 7.11-13

Pray Psalm 7.1-8.
Pray that God will lead His people to repentance and revival, and that those who would oppose such a work would not be able to stop it.

Sing Psalm 7.1-8.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
O LORD, my God, I trust in You: O save me!
Deliver me from all who seek my life.
If in my hands, You find iniquity,
or any evil, any wicked strife,
then let my foe pursue and overtake me,
and without honor I shall surely be.

Arise, O LORD, rise up in wrath to save me!
Let rage and judgment fall upon my foes!
From all who know You let abundant praise be;
rise up on high; the wicked curse with woes.
O Judge of all, judge now my righteousness
and my integrity, approve and bless.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.