TEXT: AMOS 7:7-17
Key verse: “But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court” (Amos 7:13).
The King’s court, ideally, should be insulated from error and deception. It should be the final and objective arbiter in the mortal fight between truth and falsehood. It should be the embodiment and symbol of authority against which no other law should stand. For, according to the Bible, “Where the word of a King is, there is power: and who may say unto him, what doest thou?” (Ecclessiastes 8:4). And Proverbs 30:31 describes the King as one, “against whom there is no rising up.”
Unfortunately in the days of Amos the prophet in Bethel, North of the divided kingdom of Israel, Amaziah, a priest, influenced the king to reject the Word of God. Amaziah belonged to the tribe of spurious preachers who minister for filthy lucre. At a time when God had measured Israel with a plumb-line and declared that the land was morally misplaced and ripe for a harvest of divine retributions, Amaziah went against Amos, the prophet whom God used to relate the harsh but true predictions. Amaziah, a priest presiding over the worship of the golden calf set up by Jeroboam, tried to incite the king against Amos, maliciously charging him with treason.
Amaziah sought to silence Amos and advised him not to preach in Bethel, where Jeroboam chose to site his ill-advised sanctuary in a bid to separate from Judah. His message was considered too harsh and unsuitable for a rebellious and impenitent society. For this ignoble role, Amaziah incurred the wrath of God and Amos pronounced terrible judgment on him and the land as a whole (verse 17).
Today, there is a conscious attempt induced by Satan to silence the ministers who preach the totality of God’s word. The doors of most churches are shut against them because the people cannot endure sound doctrine. The choice is, however, yours to make as to where to pitch your camp in this battle between truth and error. But remember that your decision carries eternal consequences.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Nothing can harm the truth.
Key verse: “But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court” (Amos 7:13).
The King’s court, ideally, should be insulated from error and deception. It should be the final and objective arbiter in the mortal fight between truth and falsehood. It should be the embodiment and symbol of authority against which no other law should stand. For, according to the Bible, “Where the word of a King is, there is power: and who may say unto him, what doest thou?” (Ecclessiastes 8:4). And Proverbs 30:31 describes the King as one, “against whom there is no rising up.”
Unfortunately in the days of Amos the prophet in Bethel, North of the divided kingdom of Israel, Amaziah, a priest, influenced the king to reject the Word of God. Amaziah belonged to the tribe of spurious preachers who minister for filthy lucre. At a time when God had measured Israel with a plumb-line and declared that the land was morally misplaced and ripe for a harvest of divine retributions, Amaziah went against Amos, the prophet whom God used to relate the harsh but true predictions. Amaziah, a priest presiding over the worship of the golden calf set up by Jeroboam, tried to incite the king against Amos, maliciously charging him with treason.
Amaziah sought to silence Amos and advised him not to preach in Bethel, where Jeroboam chose to site his ill-advised sanctuary in a bid to separate from Judah. His message was considered too harsh and unsuitable for a rebellious and impenitent society. For this ignoble role, Amaziah incurred the wrath of God and Amos pronounced terrible judgment on him and the land as a whole (verse 17).
Today, there is a conscious attempt induced by Satan to silence the ministers who preach the totality of God’s word. The doors of most churches are shut against them because the people cannot endure sound doctrine. The choice is, however, yours to make as to where to pitch your camp in this battle between truth and error. But remember that your decision carries eternal consequences.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Nothing can harm the truth.
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