Ohio Independent Baptist, February 1968

What Saith The Prophets? (A Study of Amos) by Gerald V. Smelser Prophecy is the "Voice of God" for the time of crisis. The prophet dealt primarily wi,th the moral and spiritual condition of his people in his own time. It was always a time of moral declension and spiritual apos– tasy, for prophets were never sent while the nation was walking obed– iently. The prophet was a revivalist and a revealer : a revivalist to call the nation to repentance and back to God ; a revealer of God's secrets as h to His present and future dealings i.r with the nation. Every faithful pro– phet (missionary) to the Jew, to this om very day, has this same twofold tl ministry. Thei r prophecies are our t criterion. In them we shall find both the approach and the language with which we must meet the Jews of our . day. The prophet selected on this oc– t casion to bring us his timely message ~. reminds us of that ·scripture, "Not many wise men after ·the flesh , not many noble are called..." Permit me to introduce AMOS, the herdsman and farmer. Amos had no thought of becoming a prophet, as men today select the "ministry" as a profession. He had never been to the school of the prophets. But God called ,him in an hour of national emergency as one who was ready to bear the burden of the Lord to His people. Amos means "bearer of the bur– den." Therefore his message is ,the record of a simple, humble man of God, who can wait or rnn as His Lord sees fit. Chapters one and two deal with God 's judgments upon the nations and Israel. We are reminded here that human government is account– able to divine government, and that human government shall be supplant– ed by divine government. As one SEND THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE TO US TODAY! ' SUBSCRIBE for a Pastor and/or a Missionary OUR 25th ANNIVERSARY YEAR ..f-A:WA'. . H~ . Escanaba, Michigan Establishing Baptist Churches ... where there were none. HE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST writer ve ry instru ctively remarks, "All the denuncia ti on of th e nati ons are denunci ations call ed for,th by the fact that they have harmed other nations." This mes age, that God holds the nations accountable for their treat– ment of each other, is certainly a timely word for our day. The me sages of Amos, like all his brethren, were not welcomed by lsrael. He charges them with the great crime of corrupting those who should have been giving forth the message of God (2 :12). Many of God's servants have been silenced in a similar fashion wi,th ,the intoxicat– ing "wine" of compromise, appeal to popular,ity and greed of filthy lucre. However, this honored servant of God denounces their ins (Chap. 3) and with evangelistic fervor calls upon Israel , "prepare to meet thy God" (4:12). Thri,ce over God pronounces His indictment of this people, "Yet have ye not returned unto me," and this constitute His chief grievance against Israel to .this very hour (4: 6, 9, 10). Of.ten do we hear this people say in our day that they would like to see God do something about the persecu– tion that they witness on every hand, and wonder why God does not judge the offenders. In other words, they "desire the day of the Lord." (5: 18) But we must tell them ,that they them– selves cannot stand the test of that "Day" for God will not be partial in His judgments. (5:16-24) Chapter six offers a vivid picture of this people who have changed little from that day until now. They are loath to labour with ,their hands, but love the luxuries of the world, and live for the ,leisure moments. When approached with warning of impending judgment, they indifferent– ly shrug their shoulders, and, "put far away the evil day" (6: 3). Today Israel wiJI not measure herself by the "plumbline" (Word of God) but God will yet make her submit to the perfect standard of His ri,ghteou judgments (7:7, 8) . A favorite method of the adver ary, to avert the mes age of the proph t, is .to attack the mes enger (7: 10-13) . Often mi ionarie to the Jew are accu ed of being anti- emitic, and they may well reply, "Am I therefore your enemy becau e I tell you the truth?" Many repor from uropean Jew have made : 11 a r alit . h cathing judgm nts of 9 : 1-10 are tem– pered with the in hau tible mer of od , and th pr ph y clo e with the dawning of I ra l' coming glor in the Kingdom. FEBRUARY, 1968 PAGE 7