Prepared just for this kind of an emergency, keen of eye and alert of mind, he met the leaders as they came on.
Unfortunately for Amos, there was nothing that could afford him protection from the rear. He could meet any number that might attack him face to face; but while he was guarding in front someone might strike him in the back--and he was surrounded by the mob.
"Traitor! Traitor!" they shouted.
His blood boiled with anger. He, a traitor! He, guilty of treason!
Why, he was the only man who saw the danger of his people and had ventured to warn them!
"Seek G.o.d and ye shall live!" kept flashing through his mind. But this was no time for preaching, not even for thinking. It was time for action.
And act he did!
The weak, undergrown army officers were like men of straw before Amos and he disposed of them as easily. With the speed of lightning he turned face, fearing an attack from the rear. There, however, the people had not awakened to what was going on.
Facing front again, he saw that the army officers had not yet recovered from his blows. They were sprawled on the ground before him and a few of the people were laughing at their discomfiture.
Amos had no desire to continue the fight and started to help the officers up; but, at that moment, he felt two pairs of hands lay hold of his mantle at the neck.
A sudden turn, a quick stretching of his brawny arms, like a swimmer making for speed, and the two men, merchants, clad in their holiday finery, were pushed to either side into the crowd.
Now, as soon as the bystanders saw with what ease Amos was handling his opponents, they began to laugh and take sides. A crowd always does that. Some urged Amos to go on fighting; others urged the sprawling victims to attack.
Amos, however, was not there to fight, nor did his opponents fancy a good beating at his hands. In the meantime a small group of the king"s guard came up, post haste, and began to disperse the crowd.
The crowd scattered, but gathered again in various streets, in small groups, discussing the unusual occurrences of the day.
They spoke, in whispers, overawed by the fearlessness of the Prophet--some by his ability in self-defense; some by the force of his speeches.
In the palaces of the rich and mighty, gathered in Bethel at that time, Amos--what he said and what he did--was the topic of conversation no less than he was in the streets, only in one of these palaces was hatched a clever scheme for the Prophet"s undoing.
CHAPTER V.
_Priest Against Prophet._
That very night the most prominent people in Israel--military and civilian--a.s.sembled at Bethel, and decided that something must be done to get rid of the Prophet. They considered Amos crazy, and, therefore, dangerous. A little group of leaders gathered in the house of one of the merchant princes of Samaria to adopt a definite plan of action.
The High Priest, Amaziah, was called into consultation. He saw the seriousness of the matter, as they all did. Such preaching must be stopped!
"This man," spoke one of the priests, "is destroying the worship of G.o.d in Israel. If we are no longer to bring sacrifices on G.o.d"s chosen altars, wherewith shall we worship him? Besides," he added very pointedly, "without sacrifices the income of the priesthood will be ruined, and the sons of Aaron will be reduced from their high and holy office to beggary."
"Nay, this is not the worst," began another priest, who did not think so much of his income from the sacrifices as the former speaker. "The sons of Aaron can work, as do other men."
"What is more serious," he continued, "is, that this Prophet proclaims all other people as equal in the sight of G.o.d with Israel; that G.o.d has performed wonders for them, as for us. I fear," he concluded solemnly and with bowed head, "that if such teaching will continue, Israel will lose faith in its G.o.d."
A captain of the host sprang to his feet. "You priests," he said, savagely, "worry about many minor things. This man is telling the people that G.o.d, Himself, is raising up a powerful nation to destroy our great empire. He is filling our peaceful people with dread and fear of the imagined enemy and will disturb the peace of our country."
"Yea," cried a wealthy merchant, "and its business prosperity."
"All of which," added another merchant and slave dealer, "is, as our friend has said," looking at the captain, "simply imagination. The actual danger lies in his arousing the common people. He tells the poor that they are not getting their rights; that they are not being judged honestly; that the weak and the needy ought to be protected and helped--by us, by us! As if we have anything to do with them! I tell you that it is here the danger lurks. If this crazy Prophet is not silenced immediately, the merchant and military cla.s.ses will face open rebellion on the part of the common horde."
The last speaker seemed to have said the final word on the subject.
All were silent, their eyes turned toward Amaziah. The aged priest had not yet ventured an opinion; but he had been thinking deeply on what was said by the others. He agreed, for the most part, with the speakers who had preceded him; but he counseled caution and delay.
"Perhaps, now that the Prophet has seen opposition," Amaziah concluded, "he will quit and go home to Judah."
But Amos did not quit, nor did he go home. The fight, that morning, was a mere incident, to be forgotten; but his mission to his people burned deep in his soul, a flame that could not be quenched.
On the day of the conclusion of the great festival, Amos again appeared in the sanctuary. This time it did not take long for a crowd to gather. In fact, most of the people were looking for him to appear.
Even the richest and most exclusive, who usually are not interested in such men, had heard about Amos and had come to see and hear him, expecting something unusual to occur.
Amos did not waste any time. Without preparatory remarks, he gave voice to his warning call:
"Prepare to meet thy G.o.d, O Israel!"
Hardly had the words left the Prophet"s lips, when a man stepped forward from the crowd, and facing Amos with threatening fists, exclaimed:
"Hold thy peace! Thou art a false Prophet. Who hath sent thee to prophesy?"
Here was a challenge to Amos. Who, indeed, had appointed him a Prophet? Who had set him up to judge the people"s wrongdoing? Who had commanded him to declare Israel"s doom? What ent.i.tled him to speak in the name of G.o.d?
This challenge, however, was just what Amos was looking for. He had wanted a number of times to correct the mistaken idea the people had of him.
There were, in the land, the long-established Schools of Prophets.
These schools were under the protection of the king. At the head of each was a leader, like Samuel, Elijah and Elisha of the olden days.
The leader was called "The Seer" and his pupils "Sons of the Prophets."
Now, the Seers and Sons of the Prophets, with the exception of such strong and powerful characters as the three great men mentioned, usually did the bidding of the king and his officers, and prophesied to please them.
Amos was not a member of any of these established schools. He was a free lance--in truth, the first of the independent Prophets, who cried out against the evils of their day and who, fearlessly and without favor, laid the blame where it belonged--on king, on priest, and on people.
Amos, therefore, grasped this opportunity to set himself aright. He answered his questioner with a series of beautiful similes:
"Do two walk together unless they be agreed?
Does a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey for him?
Does a young lion cry out in his den unless he has taken something?
Can a trumpet be blown in a city and the people not tremble?
Can calamity befall a city and G.o.d hath not sent it?
Surely, the Lord doeth nothing, Unless He revealeth His purpose to His servants, the Prophets.
The lion hath roared; who does not fear?
The Lord G.o.d hath spoken; who can but prophesy?"
G.o.d, then, it was, not the head of a School of Prophets, or a king, or a priest, who had sent Amos to prophesy! He, himself, had no desire to speak these terrible things he was saying to his people. A force over which he had no control--G.o.d, had impelled him to his task. It was the still, small voice of which Elijah spoke. Though his heart bled, while delivering the message, Amos could not help himself. G.o.d had commanded him; he had but to obey!
Before the challenger could continue the argument, there was a disturbance on the outskirts of the crowd. A murmur arose and all craned their necks to see what was going on. The crowd opened, forming a wide aisle, through which there advanced a tall, majestic figure, with flowing robe and gray beard.
"The High Priest!"