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

nobles and soldiers and
richest merchants gathered and reveled in their feasts.
One day Amos broke in upon a reveling group, with the unexpected
call:
"Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!"
Such a call was, indeed, unexpected. The Israelites, assembled at the
sanctuary, offering their sacrifices, believed that they were with their
God. Some one told Amos as much, and the crowd jeered at the fool,
who evidently did not understand his religion.
This laughter ceased suddenly, however, when Amos began to chant a
mournful dirge:
"Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house
of Israel! Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel! Cast down upon
her soil she lies, There is none to raise her up. The city that taketh the
field with a thousand, Hath but a hundred left; And the one that taketh
the field with a hundred, Hath but ten left."
A young officer, who felt that the army, the pride of the Kingdom, had
been grossly 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