Amos 7:10-17
Go, Prophesy
Read the passage
10Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words,
11for this is what Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
12And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
13But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
14“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
15But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
16Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam as a conspirator. He says Amos has predicted the king’s death by the sword and Israel’s exile. To Amaziah, these words are more than the land can bear.
He orders Amos to leave for Judah, earn his bread there, and prophesy there. Bethel is the king’s sanctuary and the kingdom’s temple; Amos must not speak there again.
Amos answers that he was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees, not a prophet or a prophet’s son. The LORD took him from the flock and sent him to prophesy to Israel. Amaziah’s position cannot cancel that command.
Because Amaziah tells him not to prophesy, Amos delivers a further word from the LORD. Amaziah’s wife will become a prostitute in the city, his children will die by the sword, his land will be divided, and he will die on pagan soil. Israel will go into exile. These are terrible losses, not merely a disagreement about who may speak at Bethel.
The priest has tried to protect the royal sanctuary by expelling the messenger. The word he rejects announces a judgment that the sanctuary cannot prevent.
Questions
1 What did Amaziah accuse Amos of doing?
AnswerHe accused Amos of conspiring against Jeroboam and stirring up the kingdom with words that threatened the official religious order.
2 What did Amaziah tell Amos to do?
AnswerHe told Amos to leave Bethel, return to Judah, earn his bread there, and never prophesy at the royal sanctuary again.
3 What work had Amos been doing?
AnswerHe had been a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. He says the LORD took him from following the flock and sent him to Israel.
4 Who sent Amos to prophesy?
AnswerThe LORD took him from following the flock and said, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel,” giving Amos authority that did not come from Amaziah.
What This Means for Us
Amaziah treats the warning as a threat to the king’s interests. His loyalty to the institution makes him unwilling to hear the LORD’s correction.
When a concern is raised about a group you love, listen to the facts before defending its reputation. Test claims by Scripture and what can be established; neither an impressive title nor an outsider’s confidence makes a claim true. Love for a church or family should make us willing to address harm within it.
Prayer
LORD, make us faithful and humble when truth is costly. Protect us from using authority to silence correction, and help us speak only what is honest and loving. Amen.