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"Then Amos answered"

Text: Amos 7:14

UNAFRAID AND UNBOWED

If Amaziah thought he could intimidate Amos, he was very wrong. Unafraid and unbowed, Amos gave a courageous reply.

“Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:
‘I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet,
But I was a sheepbreeder
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

1. The testimony of Amos

a) A very humble background.

i) Amos was not ashamed of his humble background.

ii) Not from a prophetic line.

This was a humble and honest confession.

iii) Notable people would often name their father or even grandfather.

iv) Amos identified himself in the humblest way possible.

“…Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa…”
Amos 1:1

v) He also had to make ends meet with a second job as a tender of sycamore fruit.

The sycamore is a type of fig tree. He had to scrape or split the figs in order to help them ripen. This was an even humbler job than a sheepbreeder.

b) But the LORD took me as I followed the flock.

i) Amos was called by the Lord.

ii) It was God who made him a prophet.

c) Other people who began life humbly.

i) Joseph was a prisoner before he became the Pharaoh’s right-hand man.

ii) David was a humble shepherd before God made him king.

d) And the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.”

i) God was the One who had sent Amos as His servant-prophet.

ii) He was the One who gave him the prophecies to proclaim to Israel.

iii) God was the great Sovereign of the nation of Israel.

iv) Amos was merely heeding the voice of God.

v) He was God’s spokesman and servant.

Amaziah had no call to speak so rudely and in such a demeaning manner to Amos!