The Tribune

By Rev Angela Bosfield Palacious

This book was written by a shepherd and fig grower from Tekoa (about ten miles south of Jerusalem) named Amos, who was chosen by God to travel from the southern Kingdom of Judah to preach as a prophet to the northern Kingdom of Israel. He was an ordinary man who became an extraordinary messenger.

You are eligible to be used by God in a mighty way if you are open and available. Whether you counsel one person who is grief-stricken or you teach young people for several decades in Sunday School, you may be a messenger of the Lord.

Do you have the courage to speak up in PTA meetings, board meetings, union meetings, or family gatherings? Are you willing to be someone who challenges others to move to new levels of godly living if this is God’s desire?

Amos speaks of his own position: “Surely the Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared—who will not fear? The sovereign Lord has spoken— who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3: 7-8 NRSV)

Some of the people in Amos’ day were very prosperous and enjoyed great luxury. Wealth and power did not prevent them from being unkind and unjust to poor. It was a time of great hardship, immorality and illegal activity.

As expected, such a situation created an apathy towards to the things of God. Religion became more show than true devotion to God. People lived as if there were no God, or no God whose judgment needed to be feared.
Amos bursts onto the scene with warnings directed at the neighbouring countries, at his people in Judah, but especially targeting the people in the north. Writing around 760 BC, he predicts the destruction that comes soon after. He makes a strong appeal on behalf of God:
“Seek me and live…
Seek the Lord and live or he will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire…
You who turn justice into bitterness
And cast righteousness to the ground…
But let justice roll on like a river,
Righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:5ff. NRSV)

This was a time of sober reflection, compassionate outreach, and prayerful self-dedication for them, as it is for us. Let there be no spiritual apathy in our midst. We need the Lord, and others need to know what a strong tower God is when there is no other place to turn, and what a wonderful friend who surrounds with obvious blessings.

With the help of God, we will be given the strength to overcome our setbacks: “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be.” (Amos 9:11 NRSV). Let us also rebuild our national walls of integrity, justice and truth, and thus restore our work ethic and the peace and harmony of our home and family life.