000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

a prophetic campaign, but Israel lacked concern for the least in society and
therefore its “high places . . . shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries
... laid waste” (v. 9).
In verses 10–17, the story of Amos and Amaziah (Amaziah was priest of
Bethel and supporter of the king and his regime), Amaziah reports to King
Jeroboam that Amos has said that “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and
Israel must go into exile,” accusing Amos of conspiracy against the king
(v. 10). Amaziah misleads the king by claiming that Amos, rather than the
Lord, has said these things and by avoiding any explanation as to why
Amos said what he did.
Amaziah addresses Amos as if the prophet were an outside agitator—
go back to Judah where you came from (v. 12). He says that Amos should
not prophesy at Bethel because “it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple
of the kingdom” (v. 13). This is striking! One would expect a priest of
YHWH to know that it is the Lord’s sanctuary and Temple. But because
the king worships there, however inauthentically, it is not “decent” to
remind listeners of the gift and claim of God upon the people. The northern
kingdom had its house prophets, willing to live off the largesse of Jeroboam
and say what he wanted to hear. This explains Amos’s denial: “I am
no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of
sycamore trees” (v. 14) to whom the Lord said “Go, prophesy to my people
Israel” (v. 15). Amos again prophesies, this time to Amaziah: “You say,
‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of
Isaac.’ Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘. . . you yourself shall die in an
unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile’” (vv. 16–17).
The criterion for authentic preaching is not whatever the powers-thatbe
deem appropriate. It is whether what is preached is appropriate to the
grace and command of God. Genuine prophecy came from one who
refused to call himself a prophet. He was willing to trust that decision to
others. Amos had a prophetic modesty that we should emulate.
The lectionary pairs this text with the story of another king and another
prophet, Herod and John the Baptist; each story is appropriately critical
of a king who has turned his back on the covenant.
Proper 11 [16]/Year B
2 Samuel 7:1–14a+ (Semicontinuous)
Proper 11 [16]/Year B 167
For comments on this passage, please see the Fourth Sunday of Advent/
Year B.