Amos or Amaziah

A number of years ago, in a conversation with someone concerning preachers and preaching, the person stated that he thought a preacher needed to have charisma and be entertaining in order to be effective. As I reflect back on that, it causes me to do some thinking about some of the present-day trends.

Perhaps the story of Amos and Amaziah can provide us with some insight concerning present-day attitudes toward preachers and preaching. Amos was a shepherd turned preacher. His “congregation” was made up of high society people in the nation of Israel, including the king himself. He preached to them, but not at their invitation. They did not consider him as being refined and elegant enough for their polite society. They would have fired him if they had the power to do so. But they could not fire him, because they had not hired him.

There was a priest during the days of Amos by the name of Amaziah. He sent word to king Jeroboam that “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear his words. For thus Amos has said: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from their own land. Then Almaziah said to Amos: Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and there prophesy. But never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary. And it is the royal residence,” Amos 7:10-13.

The expression “the land is not able to bear his words” is much like Paul’s words to Timothy: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables,” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Had Amaziah been their preacher, he would have been the kind that preached things the hearers wanted to hear, rather than what they needed to hear. Amaziah ridiculed the idea that judgment was to come upon Israel because of her sins, as Amos had prophesied. The king, no doubt, was pleased to hear Amaziah rebuke Amos for condemning the sins of the nation. It was an attitude much like those described by the prophet Isaiah: “And to the prophets, Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits,” (Isa. 30:10).

The reply that Amos gave to Amaziah was as follows: “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go prophesy to my people Israel,” (Amos 7:14-15). In other words, Amos had not planned to be a prophet and had not gone to the school of the prophets. He was now a prophet because he was told by God to go prophesy. His inspired message was filled with warnings and coming judgment. It can be summarized in one sentence: “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel,”( Amos 4:12).

Those who preach today must heed the words of Paul to Timothy: ”Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching,” (2 Tim. 4:2). Paul practiced what he preached, as he stated to the Ephesian elders — “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God,” (Acts 20:27). But how pleasant it would have been to have a preacher like Amaziah! He would never be so rude as to disturb a congregation by calling attention to their sins, or by calling upon them to repent. All of his sermons would have been entertaining, full of stories and jokes. Never would he have made the mistake of preaching something “negative” or taken a stand against sin. He would have never preached a distinctive message. No one would have ever left a single service without feeling good – they would have never felt any sense of guilt. Instead, they would have been persuaded that whatever they chose to do, or not do, was perfectly right.

On the other hand, think of the possible disturbance, unrest, strong rebukes, and guilt feelings which resulted from the preaching of Amos. It might not always have been pleasant to sit and hear what he had to say as he presented God’s message to them. But the message Amos had for the people was needed! But sadly the message is never received and acted upon properly when people are more interested in their own selfish desires than the will of the Lord, (2 Tim. 4:1-5). Which type of preacher would we prefer today, Amos or Amaziah???