Amos 7:10-17--Amos Accused

Amos 7:10-17
English Standard Version

Amos Accused
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,

“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
    and Israel must go into exile
    away from his land.’”

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.

“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
    and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says the LORD:

“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
    and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

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Similar to what happened with Jeremiah, the priest and king of Israel accused Amos of conspiring against the king because of the words of the prophecy that the LORD had given him.  Specifically, they are upset with the prophecy that the king will die by the sword and that the people will go into Exile.

They told him to flee to Judah and prophesy there, but that he was never again to return to Israel (they would put him in exile).  They also ordered him to never again prophesy against their places of worship (specifically Bethel where they set up one of the golden calves, the other set up in Dan in the north).  This is where they had made their own sanctuary and temple so the people would not travel to Judah to go to the LORD's Temple.

Amos does not stop prophesying and says to their faces that they indeed will face the judgment of the LORD.  Their wives will turn to prostitution and their children will die by the sword.  Their lands will be divided up, and they will die in the lands of the Gentiles--they will not be buried in the Promised Land.  Their bodies will remain in exile forever.  The rest of Israel that is not killed will go into exile into far-away lands.  This is the word of the LORD.