Today’s reading: Amos 5:1-9:15
My selection: Amos 7:12-15
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
My reflections: King Amaziah of Israel felt secure in his own kingdom, secure enough to send the prophet of God out of the land. He foolishly believed his own press reports, that he ruled a land that was his forever. He called it his sanctuary. So he attempted to deport Amos to Judah.
Amos, though admittedly a farmer and herdsman, not a member of the professional prophets’ guild, did not back down. He had been commissioned by God, and he did not flinch in the face of royal opposition.
My challenge: Like Amaziah, we are not sovereign over the property we think we own or the people we think we manage. Our positions are precarious at best. Although the land I live on has been in our family for 70 years, one day I will leave it behind. God is eternal. Only He controls completely all there is. Walk before Him in humility. Know His commands and calling, as Amos did, and be undaunted to do God’s will.
Tomorrow’s reading: Obadiah 1-Jonah 4:11
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