This laughter ceased suddenly, however, when Amos began to chant a mournful dirge:
"Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel!
Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel!
Cast down upon her soil she lies, There is none to raise her up.
The city that taketh the field with a thousand, Hath but a hundred left; And the one that taketh the field with a hundred, Hath but ten left."
A young officer, who felt that the army, the pride of the Kingdom, had been grossly insulted, rushed forth from the crowd and exclaimed, hotly: "Thou art a false prophet! Prophesy no more."
Then he continued, explaining to Amos and to the crowd, that G.o.d could not have sent such a message to the house of Israel. G.o.d was with them, he said, and was gracious to them. Israel was stronger, mightier than ever before and Israel was, that very day, at Bethel, at Gilgal, at Beersheba, bringing thanks-offerings to G.o.d.
Amos stood stolidly by and listened until the young man had finished.
Then he replied:
"Thus saith G.o.d to the house of Israel: Ye that oppress the poor and crush the needy, That trample upon the just and cause the poor of the land to fail, Seek _Me_ and live, But seek not Bethel, And Gilgal do not enter, To Beersheba go not over; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity And Bethel shall come to naught.
Seek G.o.d and not evil That ye may live And so G.o.d, the Lord of hosts, May be with you, as you say.
Hate evil and love good, And establish justice in the gate.
Perhaps G.o.d will be gracious, The G.o.d of hosts, to a remnant of Joseph."
The young officer shook his head in disgust and walked away. Others, however, remained awhile, meditating upon what Amos had said.
Amos, too, when he went his way, felt that his words had made an impression. He thought they had fallen, like seeds, upon fertile soil.
Would these seeds take root? Would they grow and flourish? Would they bear fruit when the crisis for Israel came?
But first a crisis for Amos came, when he had to fight for his life.
CHAPTER IV.
_Treason and a Fight._
For some time, now, Amos had been preaching his new and formerly unheard-of ideas, to the effect that G.o.d prefers rather that man be just to his fellowmen than that he offer sacrifices; that Israel had become weakened because of its indulgence in luxuriant living, on the one hand, and because of the oppression and ill treatment of the poor and needy, on the other; that G.o.d would be with the people against their enemies only when the people turned away from their idolatrous worship and sought G.o.d, by doing good and hating evil.
And he had been rewarded with laughter and jeers and derision on the part of the people he tried to save!
Any other man would have given up long ago; not so Amos. His rebuffs, however, made him somber and morose.
In his great address at Bethel he held out the hope to Israel that G.o.d might forgive His people for their crimes and sins if they began to lead G.o.dly lives. His continued failure to impress the people with this message, however, finally led him to the belief that G.o.d would measure out the severest justice to Israel, in accordance with their sins, and without mercy.
Amos had become a well-known figure at all the sanctuaries. Most of the people thought him to be one of those wandering dervishes, known as "Sons of the Prophets," who made their living by a kind of fortune telling, or forecasting the future, as did Samuel in the early days when he told Saul where the lost a.s.ses were; only, that Amos was one of the Sons of the Prophets run mad, judging from the way he talked and the strange things he said.
This did not trouble Amos. What worried him was the fact that the people would not listen to his addresses.
So, in the year 745, he journeyed again to Bethel, where a great festival was to be celebrated. He was determined that the people should hear. He was well prepared, too. Instead of beginning with a condemnation of Israel, he used new tactics:
"Thus saith G.o.d," he began. "For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof."
That was interesting. We always like to hear about the punishments that others will receive for their misdeeds, even if we close our ears to those that threaten us.
And, as for Damascus, she was Israel"s ancient foe, and the listeners rather liked the idea that G.o.d was to visit her with destruction.
When Amos had recounted the sins of Damascus and announced that "the people of Syria shall go into captivity into Kir," there was loud applause.
Some cried, "Let the Prophet speak!"
Amos continued. He mentioned the sins for which G.o.d would punish Gaza, Tyre, Idumia, Ammon, Moab, and each period was greeted with volleys of applause.
Amos paused for a moment. He swallowed a lump that had risen in his throat and lowered his voice. He spoke, sadly and regretfully:
"Thus saith G.o.d, For three transgressions of Judah, Yea, for four, I will not revoke its punishment.
Because they reject G.o.d"s law, And do not keep His statutes; Because their lies have caused them to err, (The lies) After which their fathers did walk.
Therefore, I will send a fire upon Judah And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem."
Poor, weak little Judah! The Prophet was declaring the doom of his own country! It was a thing to laugh at! And how they did laugh!
But it was no laughing matter for Amos. His heart was wrung with woe from his own people. He waited for the uproar to subside, and then went on to the very point which he had come to make:
"Thus saith G.o.d, For three transgressions of Israel, Yea, for four, I will not revoke its punishment.
Because they sell the righteous for money, And the needy for a pair of shoes; Who trample on the head of the poor, And turn aside the way of the humble.
Upon garments taken in pledge they stretch themselves beside every altar, And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their G.o.d."
Jeers and threatening cries were hurled at Amos from all directions, but he stood his ground.
With the art of a master orator he won back his displeased audience.
Pa.s.sionately he poured forth the story of Israel and its relationship to G.o.d--a story he knew so well--and brought the people back to breathless attention. He recounted the wonders G.o.d had done with and for Israel from the days when He brought them out of Egypt, poor, miserable slaves, until this day of their wealth and glory.
Here someone stepped out from the crowd and took up the argument for the people. If all this beautiful story is true, he claimed, then G.o.d may punish and destroy all the nations that Amos had mentioned; but Israel, to whom G.o.d had shown special favors, even up to this day, G.o.d will not destroy.
Quick as a flash the Prophet answered:
"Are ye not as the Cus.h.i.tes to me, O children of Israel? saith G.o.d.
Did I not bring up Israel out of the land of Egypt And the Philistines from Caphtor And the Syrians from Kir?
(But) you, especially, have I known of all the races of the earth, Therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities.
Behold, the eyes of the Lord G.o.d are upon the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
An adversary shall surround the land, And shall strip from thee thy strength; And thy palaces shall be plundered.
Verily, I am now raising up against you O house of Israel, a nation, And they shall oppress you From the entrance of Hamath Even to the brook of the Arabah, Saith the Lord, G.o.d of hosts."
"Treason! Treason!" rose up the cry from the several army men who had been listening.
"Treason! Treason!" was shouted immediately from many directions.
The army officers who had raised the cry now rushed toward Amos, threatening him with bodily harm.
"Treason! Treason!" was echoed by most of the crowd. Hundreds now surged forward and things looked bad for the Prophet.
To meet this danger, Amos brought into play all the strength and power that he had stored up during his shepherding days. Out in the wilderness near Tekoah he had often fought with robbers who had stolen his sheep, and, like David, even with wild beasts that had stolen his lambs.