twelve miles southeast of Jerusalem,
on the edge of the great wilderness or pasture land, which stretches
from the crest of the hills to the Dead Sea. The call of God came to
him to leave his herds and speak against the immorality, the
oppression of the poor, the injustice of the people in the northern
kingdom of Israel. He appeared at one of the great feasts and spoke
his message boldly. The priest of Bethel, where the feast was held,
was very angry with him, and tried to frighten him by sending to the
king the report that he was a traitor. This is)

I

THE MESSAGE OF AMOS AT THE FEAST

This the Lord Jehovah caused me to see: behold, he formed locusts at
the beginning of the coming up of the spring crops, and behold, it was
after the king's mowings. It came to pass when they had made an end of
devouring the verdure of the earth, that I said,

"O Lord Jehovah, pardon, I pray Thee! How shall Jacob rise again? He
is so small!"

Jehovah repented for this. "It shall not be," saith Jehovah.

This the Lord Jehovah caused me to see: and behold, the Lord Jehovah
was calling fire into the contest; and it devoured the Great Deep,
yea, it was about to devour the land.

{355}

"O Lord Jehovah, pardon, I pray thee! How shall Jacob rise again? He
is so small!"

Jehovah repented for this. "It also shall not come to pass," saith the
Lord Jehovah.

This he showed me, and behold the Lord has taken his station upon a
city wall, a wall built with a plumbline.

And Jehovah said to me, "What art thou seeing?" And I said, "A
plumbline." And the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumbline in
the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass them over. The
high places of Israel shall be desolate and the sanctuaries of Isaac
laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the
sword."

II

AMOS DEFIES THE PRIEST

("As Savonarola at the Duomo in Florence, as Luther at the Diet of
Worms, as our Lord Himself at the feast in Jerusalem, so was Amos at
the feast in Bethel."--_Smith_.)

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel,
saying, "Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of
Israel. The land is not able to hold his words." For thus hath Amos
said, "By the sword shall Jeroboam die, and Israel going shall go into
captivity from off his own land."

And Amaziah Said unto Amos, "Visionary, be gone! Get thee off to the
land of Judah; and eat thy bread there, and t