AMOS 7:10-17 THE NEED FOR WORD-CENTERED TEACHING

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying: “ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, “ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the LORD says: “ ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile, away from their native land.’ ”

It is a serious matter to reject the word of God. When the person rejecting God’s word is a leader in the church the stakes are even higher. To be called into a position of leadership in the church is both a high privilege and a great responsibility. Is anyone up to such a high calling? Of course not! That is why St. Paul urges us to be empty vessels available to be filled by God’s Word (2 Corinthians 4:7). To be a leader in the church is to function both as prophet and priest. The prophetic element comes from teaching not our own wisdom or the wisdom of the world, but the word of God. The priestly role is found in our prayers of intercession for those we lead. The emptiness we call humility is needed by the leader in the church so that he may be filled with God’s word and the needs of the people in the context of God’s word.

It is easy to assign the motive for Amaziah’s rejection of God’s word to political ambition and power, although in reality his motivation was probably more complex. Like many in the church today his rejection may have been caused by an imbalance between the needs of the people and his knowledge of the word. St. Paul warns Timothy against this overly “pastoral” approach to meeting the perceived needs of the people.

2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

The only sure antidote to such false teaching, given or received, is a thorough knowledge of God’s Word, and a humble willingness to receive correction when you err.

May my life, O Lord, be ever centered on your Word as the only sure lamp to my feet and light for my path. Amen.