July 1930
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August 31, 1930 Amos, a Herdsman Called of God to be a Prophet Lesson : The book of Amos. ( Lesson T ex t : Amos 1 :1; 7 :10-15; 2: II. 12; 3:7, 8.) Golden.Text: “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ? Then I said, Here am I ; send me” (Isa. 6:8). * * * L esson in O utline I. The Call o f Amos (1:1). 1. His ancestry. 2. His former calling. 3. Place and time o f his prophesy ing. II. The True Prophet and the False Priest (7:10-15).. 1. The priest’s false charge (10, 11). 2. The priest’s threat (12, 13). 3. The prophet’s defense (14, 15). III. Jehovah’s Lament (2:11, 12). IV. Jehovah’s Revelation (3 :7 ,8 ). AMOS was one o f the first writing *■ prophets. His business was both to proclaim God’s message to his time and to make predictions through the Spirit con cerning the future. In other words, as it is often' expressed, he was a forth-teller and also a foreteller. He saw the needs o f his own time and he was also carried along by the Spirit to times far distant. It is popular in these times to think of the prophets as reformers with a social message, to wholly ignore the fact of their supernatural insight and their in spired utterance which has a message for all times. * * H eart of the L esson I. The Call of Amos (1:1). V. 1. Among the herdsmen. More cor rectly, he was a keeper of sheep. His resi dence was at Tekoa, located about six miles south o f Bethlehem. Which he saw concerning Israel. Benjamin in the south. Although Amos lived in Judah, his prophecies mainly con cerned the northern kingdom. He “saw”— an expression frequently used concerning the prophets to describe prophetic vi sions. In the days o f Uzziah. During the long reign of fifty-two years, Uzziah proved himself in many respects a worthy ruler. He brought great temporal pros perity and military prowess to Judah. But prosperity proved a snare, leading to sad decline o f faith and morals. At the end, Uzziah invaded the priests’ office and as a punishment was smitten with leprosy. The days o f Jeroboam. This was Jero boam II. The first king o f the northern tribes was Jeroboam il. Jeroboam II reigned forty-one years and greatly in creased Israel’s prosperity, but with little 1. His secret. 2. His word. * * * A pproach to the L esson After the death o f Solomon the king dom w a s divided b e t w e e n the ten tribes of the north, usually spoken of as Israel, and the tribes o f Judah and
V. 15. Jehovah took me. He had a clear, definite call. Like the apostles, he heard Jehovah’s “ follow me,” and aban doned his business and livelihood to become God’s messenger. Go, prophesy unto my people. Israel were in greater need o f God’s message than Judah at this time. There were serious social wrongs which meant oppression o f the poor. The calf worship still remained, after a century and a half, at Dan and Bethel. The wor ship o f Baal and Ashtoreth continued at Saiharia. The priests were robbers and not mediators. Amos had seen and felt all this. IV. Jehovah’s Lament (2:11, 12). V. 11. I raised up o f your sons for prophets. Among these we can recall Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and the schools of the prophets. Their message had been true. O f your young men for Nazirites. God gave special privilege to these young men, calling them to a special dedication to Himself. According to their vow, their heads must not be shorn, they must ab stain from intoxicating liquor, and must never touch a dead body. V. 12. Ye gave the Nazirites wine. This was a deliberate effort to corrupt the Nazirites and break their vow. Com manded the prophets . . . prophesy not. Just as Amaziah had commanded Amos (cf. 1 Ki. 22:13-28; Hosea 9:8; Isa. 30: 10, 11; Acts 7:51, 52). V. Jehovah’s Revelation (3:7, 8). V. 7. Reveal his secret. Jehovah’s pur pose, hid from the masses, is made known to the prophets. They speak it forth with a call to the people to repent. V. 8. Who can but prophesy? God’s message must be told (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16). God’s messenger, whose heart is open, knows the voice o f God as certainly as he knows the roar o f an approaching lion. * * * L esson Q uestions 1:1. Where did Amos dwell? What was his business before God called him? What kings reigned in Judah and Israel during ,his time ? 7:10. Who was Amaziah? What form o f religious worship was located at Bethel?' What charge did Amaziah make against Amos? Was it true? V. 11. What had Amos said concerning Jeroboam and Israel? From whom had he -received authority to speak thus? V. 12. What is a “seer” ? What did Amaziah tell Amos to do? Was there perhaps an insinuation that he thought Amos was a false prophet, prophesying for profit in the words “there eat bread” ? V. 13. What special objection was there to prophesying at Bethel? Was this lan guage a hint that Amos was considered guilty of sedition? V. 14. How did Amos defend himself against the charge that he was an hireling •prophet? Was his early calling a legiti mate one ? Does it indicate that God can find faithful workers in humble circles? V. 15. What was Amos doing when God called him? Can you think of other famous shepherds in the Bible? What commands had he received from God? 2:11. Who were the Nazirites? What special marks of consecration were de manded of them?
BLACKBOARD LESSON
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AMAZIAH -(PRIEST) A dvised - "so flee ," ò ut, nnos OBEYED GOD. From. Sfjeep Pen. " here am I ,; SEND h e :
regard for Jehovah. Two years before the earthquake. Earthquakes were common. This one must have been particularly se vere. Perhaps it is the same disaster which is referred to long afterward by Zechariah (14:5). II. The True Prophet and the False Priest (7:10-15). So long as Amos prophesied against the heathen nations or the people of Ju dah, his words were very acceptable to Israel. At the height o f his popularity he turned his message against the northern kingdom. V. 10. Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel. Probably the high priest o f the calf worship which had been established at Bethel. Saying, Amos hath conspired. This message to Jeroboam was untrue. Amos had uttered the words o f the Lord, “I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword” (v. 9). Not able to bear all his words. That is, the prophet’s charges are so numerous and so unjust that they should not longer be tolerated. V. 11. Jeroboam shall die by the sword. This prediction by Amos was literally ful filled. Jeroboam’s dynasty disappeared. His son, Zechariah, had a brief and stormy reign of six months when he was assassinated by Shallum (2 Ki. 15:8-12). Led away captive. This prediction was ut tered by Amos more than once (cf. 5 :5, 27; 6:7). V. 12. Amaziah said. Apparently he spoke on his own authority, not officially for the king. O thou seer. Amos had an nounced three visions. He was entitled to the name “seer.” Some have conjectured that it was spoken in mockery. Flee thou away. He was urged to return to his own land, Judah, where he would be un able to stir up so much rebellion in the north; that is, so long as he was at a safe distance his message might be counter acted. There eat bread. An intimation that he was one o f the mercenary fortune tell ers who prophesied for reward. Ama- ziah’ s thought o f the prophet could not rise any higher than his own faults. V. 13. Prophesy not . . . at Bethel. The king’s palace and religious center were there. The insinuation is that Amos was blaspheming the sanctuary and was untrue to the kingdom; that is, that the double charge o f blasphemy and sedition was laid against him. III. The Prophet’s Defense (7:14, 15). V. 14. I was no prophet. That is, Amos was not a professional prophet, seeking personal advantage. I was a herdsman. The term here signifies a shepherd. A dresser o f sycomore trees. “A fig-mul berry.” It bears several crops during a season. It has to be scratched before it will ripen. This practice is in the prophet’s mind.
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