Recently, I read through the Book of Amos and came away with a concise agenda of what a Prophet usually spoke about in the Old Testament. Amos, like most Prophets, was presenting indictments against the people on behalf of God. He was constantly warning the people about the idols in their lives, and the judgment God planned for people who were not compliant to His Word. Amos started out talking about the judgement on all Israel’s neighbors and how they deserved that judgment due to betrayal and murder.
Amos tells us that God doesn’t do anything unless he reveals His plans to the Prophets, making the Prophet someone who is instrumental in hearing from God. God makes a case through Amos that God’s people have forgotten how to do good. The religious centers of Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were all compromised with pagan rituals, violating the first Two Commandments God laid out for Israel. The Prophet Amos advised the people to stay away from these compromised cities that promoted pagan worship, alongside their worship of the Jehovah God.
Amos outlined the ways God was trying to get the attention of the people by various disasters He brought to the land. No rain, locusts, plagues, and judgments like Sodom were common, and yet the phrase that described the result was, “But you still did not return to Me.” Prophets always represented the voice of God, with the emphasis of hating evil, and loving what is good. One of the unique twists to Amos’ message was his description of ‘the Day of the Lord.’ He defined this day as one of judgment on the people … not a day of victory. God tells Amos to explain to the people that He hates their religious festivals because they are full of hypocrisy.
As a result of hating their religious festivals, God introduces the plumb line as a symbol of His Standard of Truth. Prophets use that plumb line of God’s Word to speak correction, warn of judgment, and to bring clarity of how the people sinned against God.
My reading exercise through the Book of Amos helped me understand why Prophets were critical to the correction of Israel’s error as they made God a religion. Nothing really has changed in our modern day. Prophets still speak to the error of making God into a religion. Some of these Prophets are pastors who are not ashamed to tell the truth at the risk of offending people. Prophets are never popular, but our pulpits will never speak truth without the ministry of the Prophet. Today, some pastors do not take the risk of speaking a Prophet’s message because it will cause people to feel threatened.
Some believe that the Prophet is no longer valid for the Church since the Word of God is now readily available for people to read. Yet, I hear many preachers who do use the Word of God in sermons, but they are not prophetic in how the Word is applied. They are trying hard to be clever and wise in what they say, keeping a good reputation of drawing people back week after week, but never challenging them to allow God to change their lives.
Jesus demonstrated what a Prophetic message was when He addressed the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation. He wasn’t trying to be popular, or to be liked by what He was saying to them. He wanted change, and He told them the Truth to bring about that change.
If the pulpit you listen to every week isn’t challenging you to change, I would say that it is not a Prophetic pulpit. Last Sunday, I heard a pastor say, “If your faith isn’t challenging you, then it is not changing you.”
I placed my chronicle of the Book of Amos early in this blog to represent the emphasis of a Prophet. There are many Prophets in the Scriptures, and their patterns are all the same … they address the sin that is seen, and the hidden sin that is not seen. Prophets speak conviction, repentance, and restoration. Amos did all three, and in the end, Amos made it clear that God will restore His people. In order for restoration to take place, God wants change, and the Prophets speak to that change as they exercise their role in representing God.
Challenging the Culture with Truth … Larry Kutzler