Stories of the Prophets (Before the Exile) | Page 9

insulted, rushed forth from the crowd and exclaimed, hotly: "Thou art a false prophet! Prophesy no more."
Then he continued, explaining to Amos and to the crowd, that God could not have sent such a message to the house of Israel. God was with them, he said, and was gracious to them. Israel was stronger, mightier than ever before and Israel was, that very day, at Bethel, at Gilgal, at Beersheba, bringing thanks-offerings to God.
Amos stood stolidly by and listened until the young man had finished. Then he replied:
"Thus saith God to the house of Israel: Ye that oppress the poor and crush the needy, That trample upon the just and cause the poor of the land to fail, Seek Me and live, But seek not Bethel, And Gilgal do not enter, To Beersheba go not over; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity And Bethel shall come to naught. Seek God and not evil That ye may live And so God, the Lord of hosts, May be with you, as you say. Hate evil and love good, And establish justice in the gate. Perhaps God will be gracious, The God of hosts, to a remnant of Joseph."
The young officer shook his head in disgust and walked away. Others, however, remained awhile, meditating upon what Amos had said.
Amos, too, when he went his way, felt that his words had made an impression. He thought they had fallen, like seeds, upon fertile soil. Would these seeds take root? Would they grow and flourish? Would they bear fruit when the crisis for Israel came?
But first a crisis for Amos came, when he had to fight for his life.

CHAPTER IV.
_Treason and a Fight._
For some time, now, Amos had been preaching his new and formerly unheard-of ideas, to the effect that God prefers rather that man be just to his fellowmen than that he offer sacrifices; that Israel had become weakened because of its indulgence in luxuriant living, on the one hand, and because of the oppression and ill treatment of the poor and needy, on the other; that God would be with the people against their enemies only when the people turned away from their idolatrous worship and sought God, by doing good and hating evil.
And he had been rewarded with laughter and jeers and derision on the part of the people he tried to save!
Any other man would have given up long ago; not so Amos. His rebuffs, however, made him somber and morose.
In his great address at Bethel he held out the hope to Israel that God might forgive His people for their crimes and sins if they began to lead godly lives. His continued failure to impress the people with this message, however, finally led him to the belief that God would measure out the severest justice to Israel, in accordance with their sins, and without mercy.
Amos had become a well-known figure at all the sanctuaries. Most of the people thought him to be one of those wandering dervishes, known as "Sons of the Prophets," who made their living by a kind of fortune telling, or forecasting the future, as did Samuel in the early days when he told Saul where the lost asses were; only, that Amos was one of the Sons of the Prophets run mad, judging from the way he talked and the strange things he said.
This did not trouble Amos. What worried him was the fact that the people would not listen to his addresses.
So, in the year 745, he journeyed again to Bethel, where a great festival was to be celebrated. He was determined that the people should hear. He was well prepared, too. Instead of beginning with a condemnation of Israel, he used new tactics:
"Thus saith God," he began. "For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof."
That was interesting. We always like to hear about the punishments that others will receive for their misdeeds, even if we close our ears to those that threaten us.
And, as for Damascus, she was Israel's ancient foe, and the listeners rather liked the idea that God was to visit her with destruction.
When Amos had recounted the sins of Damascus and announced that "the people of Syria shall go into captivity into Kir," there was loud applause.
Some cried, "Let the Prophet speak!"
Amos continued. He mentioned the sins for which God would punish Gaza, Tyre, Idumia, Ammon, Moab, and each period was greeted with volleys of applause.
Amos paused for a moment. He swallowed a lump that had risen in his throat and lowered his voice. He spoke, sadly and regretfully:
"Thus saith God, For three transgressions of Judah, Yea, for four, I will not revoke its punishment. Because they reject God's law, And do not keep His statutes; Because their lies have caused them