#DailyDevotion When The Preacher Preaches The Word Of The LORD
Amos 7:10-15 10 Then Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, sent someone to tell Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is plotting against you right among the people of Israel. The country can’t stand everything he says. 11This is what Amos says: “The sword will kill Jeroboam, and Israel will leave its land to go into exile.’” 12Then Amaziah told Amos: “You seer, go, run away to Judah and eat there and prophesy there. 13But never again prophesy in Bethel — here is the king’s holy place, and here is the king’s palace.” 14 Amos answered Amaziah: “I’m not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet. I take care of cattle and grow sycamore figs. 15But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD told me: ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
On the one hand you can understand where Amaziah is coming from. He is the priest at Bethel. He doesn’t need some interloper from Judah coming into his flock and preaching. More than that, he’s telling the priest and everyone worshiping there they are doing everything wrong.
On the other hand, as a priest of the LORD at Bethel (the main temple for the people of Israel in the south of Israel) you think he might be a little more open to what Amos has to say. As I have said before to someone who didn’t like a particular sermon, show me where what I preached was not God’s word. Was what I preached not in the text I was preaching from? Was law and gospel not rightly distinguished? Did I pervert God’s word and contradict what the God’s word says as a whole? If what I preached was the truth of God’s word, rightly preached, then the problem is with you and God. I have nothing to do with it. Conform yourself to God’s word.
Amos certainly was preaching according to God’s word. It wasn’t anything that the northern prophets ever preached and it certainly was in accordance with the Bible the north still had. Amaziah and the people of Israel needed to hear, believe and repent of their wicked ways. The LORD had sent Amos to Israel and Jeroboam to warn them and to call them to repentance. God’s word is God’s word no matter whose mouth speaks it. Amos was not a professional prophet. There seemed to be a class of people who were prophets who went to something like a seminary and they went throughout the country preaching. Amaziah thinks Amos is one of these which is also why he tells Amos to go back to Judah and preach there.
But Amos replies, “I’m not a prophet.” He means he isn’t part of that guild. No, the LORD plucked him up and told him to go and prophesy to Israel. Amos would be more glad than to go back and take care of sheep and pruning fig trees. Who can resist the LORD?
So when you hear a sermon you don’t like, how do you respond to it? How should you respond to it. You should ask yourself, “Was the law and gospel rightly distinguished? Was the text he quoted used as the context of that text demanded? Is it in agreement with the Bible as a whole? Indeed, was the sermon itself God’s word?” If you can answer in the affirmative to these questions then you need to submit to the God’s word. Repent of your sins, return to God, believe Jesus atoned for those sins and conform your life to the will of God. Then thank the preacher for being faithful in the midst of a people who will not listen.
Heavenly Father, always send to us men who will preach your word purely and with power, so we may repent of our sins and turn to you through Jesus Christ your Son. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.