Amos 7:10-17

Amaziah rebukes Amos -- Amos 7:10-17: Amaziah the priest at Bethel sent a message to King Jeroboam of Israel saying, "Amos is plotting against you in the very heart of Israel. Our nation cannot put up with his message for very long." This is not the Jeroboam that first led Israel into idolatry but one that continued the same. Amaziah was the priest of Bethel, one of the locations for idol worship in Israel. Amaziah, like all false teachers, hated the truth.

It is uncertain that Amos had said what Amaziah had accused him of or not. He said that Amos said, "Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land." It is likely that Amos had not spoken about the death of Jeroboam. However, some of what Amaziah said was truth. Godless men and false teachers often mix some truth with their error to deceive those that hear them.

Amaziah told Amos to take his work of being a prophet and go back to Judah. He could earn a living and prophecy there. He called Amos a "seer." "Seer" is just another name for a prophet. It had to do with one that could see the future. He told Amos not to do any more preaching at Bethel. He said, "The king worships here at our national temple." Amaziah seemed to reason that if you get rid of the messenger then you get rid of the fulfillment of the message.

Amaziah thought that Amos was a prophet so that it would not matter where he preached so Judah would be as good as Israel as a location for his message. Amos explained to him, "I am not a prophet! And I was not trained to be a prophet. I am a shepherd, and I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs." But he said, "The LORD told me to leave my herds and preach to the people of Israel." Amos had no choice on what to preach or where to preach. Amos wanted Amaziah to understand that he was asking him not to do what God told him to do.

Amos chose neither the message nor the place. He was simply doing what God said do. God also gave him a message for r Amaziah. Amos said, "Now, listen to what the LORD says about you: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and daughters will be killed in war, and your land will be divided among others. You will die in a country of foreigners, and the people of Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land." Amaziah's criticism did not intimidate Amos. He stood strong for God.