Books: Stories of the Prophets
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Isaac Landman >> Stories of the Prophets
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The man who was the center of attraction became aware of the crowd
only when he had reached that point in his thoughts, the horrible
picture of which had made him shudder. When he noticed the crowd, he
gasped. He recovered from his astonishment quickly, however. He opened
his mantle, showing his gaunt, powerful form. He raised his head and
faced the crowd. His face, strong and sunburned, was tense and drawn
for a moment; then it relaxed. Deep lines, expressing severe pain,
were furrowed in his forehead.
The crowd, in turn, was astonished at the complete change that had
come over the "yokel." Before they recovered from their mistaken
opinion about the man, they saw him clinch his fists in determination
and heard his voice ring out clearly and distinctly, above the din of
the market place:
"Hear ye,
Who turn justice to wormwood
And cast down righteousness to the earth;
Who trample upon the poor
And afflict the just;
Who take a bribe
And thrust aside the needy in the gate:
I know how manifold are your transgressions,
Saith the Lord, God of hosts,
And how mighty your sins,
The end of my people Israel hath come,
Saith the Lord, God of hosts,
I can no longer forgive."
This outspoken attack upon Samaria, its rich, and its military nobles,
was so extraordinary that it amazed the crowd. Having spoken, the
"farmer" turned away and was soon lost among the bazaars. Some looked
after him, astonished at his recklessness in laying himself open to
the revenge of the powers that be. Others looked after him, amazed at
his bravery and fearlessness.
That night many in Samaria had heard of the unknown stranger and his
speech in the market place. At many dinner tables the question was
asked:
"Who is this man who dares to lift his voice against the high and
powerful in behalf of the poor and downtrodden?"
"Who is this man who dares to proclaim the doom of the Kingdom of
Israel in the days of its greatest prosperity?"
CHAPTER III.
_The Man Who Dared._
There lived a man in the little town of Tekoah, in the Kingdom of
Judah, twelve miles south of Jerusalem, who made a living from
"dressing sycamore trees."
In ancient Palestine, the fruit of the sycamore that grew in Judah was
dried, ground into flour and used for making coarse bread. This bread
was eaten by the very poorest people, who could not afford to buy
wheat.
Now, the man who lived from gathering poor fruit, out of which poor
bread was made, for poor people, must, himself, have been very poor.
But a poor man may love his country as much as a rich man; and, when
the foolish war between Amaziah of Judah and Joash of Israel broke
out, this "dresser of sycamore trees," from Tekoah, followed his king
on the battlefield.
At the battle in which Amaziah was defeated and Joash gained his
greatest victory, leading to the destruction of part of the
fortifications of Jerusalem, this man, fighting valiantly in the front
ranks, with many other patriotic Judeans, laid down his life for his
country. He was buried in the trenches, an unknown hero, whose name is
not even in the records.
But history gives us the record of his son, named Amos. Left with his
widowed mother, after the war, the burden of finding a living for the
two was soon thrust upon him. There was only one thing that he knew by
which he could earn money--"dressing sycamore trees."
He went at his work with a vim. As he grew up, and his and his
mother's needs increased, his wits became sharpened. Why could he not
dry and grind the sycamore fruit himself? This he did and increased
his income. Then, his mother suggested that she would bake the flour
into bread, if he would sell it. Amos agreed to that, and the little
family thrived.
One day Amos brought the idea to his mother that their sycamore bread
could be sold at a better price in Jerusalem. He asked for permission
to go there and his mother, desiring more that her son should see the
capital than that he should get higher prices for the bread, said:
"Go, my son, and God be with thee."
That trip to Jerusalem and the several trips that followed, made a
great impression upon the young man and gave a remarkable turn to his
whole life.
He saw Jerusalem, of whose beauty and glory his father had often told
him, a fallen city. It had not yet recovered from the terrible results
of the war with Amaziah of Israel; King Uzziah had not yet restored
the treasures and vessels of which the temples had been looted; and,
in the quarter of the city where Amos sold his bread, oh! such
poverty, such wretchedness, such desolation!
His heart was filled with grief. He went to the trenches where he knew
his father lay in an unmarked grave, and wept bitterly. There, at his
father's grave, a wonderful thought came to him. A new light entered
into his life and a great determination for his future career. His
mind once made up, he soon outlined a plan for himself, and having the
determination to carry the plan through, he made rapid progress.
With the additional profits that resulted from his business trips to
Jerusalem, Amos bought sheep and goats and became a shepherd, as well
as a gatherer of sycamore fruit.
The great rocky wilderness that slopes from the limestone hills of
Tekoah down to the Dead Sea was just the place where sheep and goats
could prosper.
So, in addition to the thriving business of his old trade, he dealt,
also, in goat milk and wool and in the animals themselves.
Often, as he sat on the hillsides, in the cool of the sycamores, and
watched his flocks, his mind would turn to the things he saw and heard
in Jerusalem. He had heard there that Bethel, one of the sanctuaries
of Israel, was always filled with pilgrims at festival time--and he
determined upon a trip to Bethel, twenty-two miles north of Tekoah.
He returned greatly disheartened.
"Wealth and feasting saw I there," Amos told his mother, "and wine and
song, and altars reeking with blood of fatted lambs and oxen; but God
was not in the heart of the people of Israel."
His mother chided him gently. To say such things was blasphemy; for
sacrifices were demanded of all the people by the religious laws of
the state; and it was also commanded that a portion of the sacrifice
should be consumed by him who brought it--therefore the feasting. As
to the song and wine, did not the Sweet Singer say, "Serve the Lord
with gladness?"
Amos did not reply. He knew that his good-hearted mother had given
expression to the idea of God's worship as all the people, both of
Israel and of Judah, at that time, understood it. They brought the
sacrifices, as prescribed by the priests at the sanctuaries; a portion
of the slaughtered animal was given to God on the altar, and the
portion that was eaten by the sacrificer was looked upon as a meal--a
banquet--participated in by him and God, together; such a meal soon
became a feast, with wine and song. Unfortunately, these banquets
often degenerated into drunkenness and revelry.
Amos felt that such worship of God was not right, but he had not yet
discovered what was wrong.
When the period of prosperity opened up for Israel, with Jeroboam II's
conquest of Damascus, Judah also felt the good times. Amos, now an
experienced master herdsman, took the advantage afforded by the peace
and improved business conditions. He traveled with his stock-in-trade
to far northern markets, to Samaria, to Damascus, to Hamath, and, from
there his caravans wended their way east, even as far as the City
Asshur, the capital of Assyria.
He was not a mere trader, however. He was a close observer and a
student of men and things wherever he led his caravans. He talked with
strangers about other lands which he had not visited and became,
therefore, well acquainted with political, religious and social
conditions everywhere.
All this made no change in the outward circumstances of Amos. Success
did not turn his head. He did not build himself a palace, but remained
with his mother in the village of Tekoah, where he was born and
raised. He did not indulge himself with fine clothes and high living,
but continued to dress simply and live plainly.
His mother was often greatly worried about Amos. When he returned from
a far northern and eastern trip he would betake himself to his beloved
hills and sycamore groves and flocks. He would work with the most
lowly of his sycamore fruit gatherers; but he would often spend hours
by himself in the woods or in the wilderness.
It was during these lonesome hours that Amos added high thinking to
his simple living. The grandeur of Samaria and the wealth he saw
displayed in Bethel did not deceive him. Neither did the peace compact
between Jeroboam II and Assur-dan III blind him to the exact state of
affairs in the relationship between the two countries.
He knew that Tiglath-Pileser III, the successor of Assur-dan, had
crushed all rebellions in Assyria, which Assur-dan III had failed to
do, and was reorganizing the army of the great empire. He knew that
Damascus, which had been weakened by Jeroboam II beyond hope of
recovery, would be the first point of conquest for the young and
energetic Pul, as Tiglath-Pileser was called. Next before him, to the
south, lay the rich Kingdom of Israel, the booty from whose palaces
and sanctuaries would be an enormous prize for the Assyrian emperor
and his army. After Damascus, must come Samaria!
In other words, Amos saw distinctly that the time was near when Israel
would have to fight again for its independence and its very life; and
he asked himself, "Is Israel prepared?"
Clearly it was not. The rich had become unfit for war, because of
their luxuriant living. The poor had become unfit for war, because of
their oppression by the rich. Should the Assyrians invade the land,
how could such a nation of weaklings defend its home and its liberty?
Israel must be warned! It must be awakened from its stupidity to a
realization of the danger ahead! The rich must cease their extravagances
and become manly men again! The poor must be given their rights, must
be treated justly and righteously, that they may become manly men
again! Only a nation of moral, upright, God-fearing men can hope for
victory! If the Assyrians should defeat and crush Israel, it will be
God's punishment visited upon Israel for its sins and crimes.
Amos had often discussed these things with his mother. She was not
surprised, therefore, when, one day, upon his return from a long trip
into Assyria, Amos said to her, "I am called to the cities of Israel.
My mission will be prolonged many days."
The good woman knew and understood. Laying her hands upon his head,
she repeated the blessing with which she had blessed him when, as a
timid young man, he made his first trip to Jerusalem:
"Go, my son, and God be with thee."
And so it was that Amos, the herdsmen of Tekoah, had dared to speak
for the poor people in Samaria, and to prophesy the fall of the
Kingdom.
His first speech attracted little attention, but others, in various
parts of the country, to the same effect, followed. Many laughed at
them; few thought seriously about them.
But Amos was not so easily discouraged. He concluded that the wrong
idea the people had about God, how to worship Him and what He demanded
of them, was the cause of all the evil. Amos, therefore, selected the
sanctuaries during festival season as the place where he must do his
preaching.
He went especially to Bethel, the king's sanctuary, where Jeroboam
brought his sacrifices and where the great nobles and soldiers and
richest merchants gathered and reveled in their feasts.
One day Amos broke in upon a reveling group, with the unexpected call:
"Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!"
Such a call was, indeed, unexpected. The Israelites, assembled at the
sanctuary, offering their sacrifices, believed that they were
_with_ their God. Some one told Amos as much, and the crowd
jeered at the fool, who evidently did not understand his religion.
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 God could
not have sent such a message to the house of Israel. God 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 God.
Amos stood stolidly by and listened until the young man had finished.
Then he replied:
"Thus saith God 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 God and not evil
That ye may live
And so God, the Lord of hosts,
May be with you, as you say.
Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate.
Perhaps God will be gracious,
The God 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 God 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 God would be with the people against
their enemies only when the people turned away from their idolatrous
worship and sought God, 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 God
might forgive His people for their crimes and sins if they began to
lead godly lives. His continued failure to impress the people with
this message, however, finally led him to the belief that God 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 asses 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 God," 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 God 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 God 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 God,
For three transgressions of Judah,
Yea, for four, I will not revoke its punishment.
Because they reject God'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 God,
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 God."
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.
Passionately he poured forth the story of Israel and its relationship
to God--a story he knew so well--and brought the people back to
breathless attention. He recounted the wonders God 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 God
may punish and destroy all the nations that Amos had mentioned; but
Israel, to whom God had shown special favors, even up to this day, God
will not destroy.
Quick as a flash the Prophet answered:
"Are ye not as the Cushites to me,
O children of Israel? saith God.
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 God 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, God 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.
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 God 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--assembled 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
God in Israel. If we are no longer to bring sacrifices on God'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 God with Israel; that God
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 God."
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 God, 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 classes will face open
rebellion on the part of the common horde."
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