“The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
– Amos 7:9
Hi James and Ellen,
God handpicked a guy about 2760 years ago to be a spokesman for Him. The guy’s name was Amos. Per what a Amos scribed in Amos 7 – in his Amos Book, he was shepherding sheep, growing sycamore trees and producing figs when God told him that He had selected him to be a spokesman for Him to the Israelite people group guys and gals – who were His specially chosen guys and gals, who were living in the northern part of the land that He had given to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . under the rule of a very powerful and wealthy but wicked king – who was Jeroboam II, the vast majority of the guys and gals who made up Israel’s northern tribal clans were subjected to have to live a subsistence, poverty based life while the few wealthy guys and gals enjoyed the opulent luxury of having winter and summer homes. During the 41 years that Jeroboam II reigned over the guys and gals who made up Israel’s northern tribal clans made worship sacrifices to gold calf idols gods that were in temples in the cities of Bethel and Dan and in subsidiary temples that were in the cities of Gilgal and Beersheba. During his tenure as king, Jeroboam II successfully completed what his dad Jehoash had begun doing – which was to conquer the country of Syria – resulting in territory being returned to the guys and gals who made up Israel’s northern tribal clans along with reclaiming areas of land from the countries of Moab and Ammon. When Jeroboam II became the regional power player, Syrian, Moabite and Ammonite land area leaders were not given any choice but to hand tribute over to Jeroboam II – which helped to fill Jeroboam II’s personal coffer and Israel’s northern land area’s treasury with wealth. It is in this context that Amos – whose house and farm were in Israel’s southern land area – which was the land area of Judah, did his thing as a God sent spokesman.
As a God ordained spokesman, Amos admonished the Israelite people group guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern part of the land area that God gave to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . Amos found himself advocating for God’s specially chosen guys and gals back to God. In a vision that God gave him of locusts totally stripping Israel’s northern land area clean of a second crop, Amos asked God in the vision to forgive His specially chosen guys and gals for their idolatrous sins and to save them from starvation. Per Amos in his Amos Book, God relented from following up on this vision which He had given to Amos. In an ensuing vision in which Amos saw God calling out a fire judgment to dry up Israel’s northern land area, Amos asked God in this vision to forgive His specially chosen guys and gals for their evil ways and to save them from death. Again – per Amos in his Amos Book, God relented from . . . finally per what Amos recorded in verse 9, “‘The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”’ God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern land area had finally crossed the fine line of God’s suffering patience. Amos at this point seems to accept the fact that the consequence for the ongoing rebellious behavior of the guys and gal who were living in Israel’s northern land area was no longer negotiable with God. Amos at this point begins to proclaim a core message that is filled with dire doom for all the Israelite people group guys and gals – including the wealthy along with the poor, who were living in Israel’s northern land area. Amos’ focused message apparently ticked off Amaziah – who was the priest in the temple in the city of Bethel, who told Amos to no longer prophesy in the city of Bethel and to go back to where his house in Israel’s (Judah’s) southern land area. The city of Bethel was where Jeroboam II had his sanctuary and where he worshipped a gold calf idol god. Amaziah’s self-centered ego had him thinking that Amos was a prophet for hire who someone may have possibly sent from Israel’s (Judah’s) southern land area, to Israel’s northern land area to stir up poor guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern land area to rebel against Jeroboam II. Amos tells Amaziah that God is going to soon exile him to a pagan land, have his wife become a streetwalker to survive, his kids killed by the sword and his land arbitrarily divvied and sold.
What do you think that life is like for a God-sent missionary? A missionary’s core message should always be the eternal hope that a guy, gal and kid will have upon personally accepting through faith of Jesus’s brutal death on a cross for him or her. A missionary has unlimited opportunities to present the Good News message about an incarnate man – who was God – as God the Son – Jesus Christ, to guys, gals and kids. God – as God the Father, chooses guys and gals to be Amos type ambassadors. When God – as God the Father – through God – as God the Spirit, prompted your grandpaa to pursue a missionary vocation, your grandpaa was the manager of the Beneficial finance office that was in Aberdeen, South Dakota and your grandmaa was a housewife. Your grandpaa is very thankful that he and your grandmaa have had the opportunity for over 30 years – over 45 years now as of the editing of this missive, to be God sent ambassadors. Your grandpaa hopes that he has never been seen by a guy or gal as being an Amaziah.
Amos 7 (978)