[:en]SCRIPTURE: AMOS 7
“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)
“For this is what Amos is saying: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land” (Amos 7:11)
LOCUST, FIRE AND A PLUMB LINE:
God gave Amos three visions: Locust to strip up the land, fire to devour the land and a plumb line among the people of Israel. Amos pleaded for God to spare the people from the calamity and the Lord relented. But after the third vision, he no longer interceded because the nation was measured and was found wanting.
AMOS AND AMAZIAH:
Amaziah was a priest of Bethel while Amos was a humble farmer called by God to be a prophet. They had conflict in their ministry. The priest wanted to conserve the past while the prophet threatens the present to preserve the future. They had conflict with each other because Amaziah did not want Amos to prophesy against Israel. He told him to go back to the land of Judah. Therefore Amos replied: “This is what the Lord says: “Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. and Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land” (v. 17)[:]