Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07
THE BOOK OF AMOS.
A Lesson in the Work of the Humble
Sheep Herder of Tekoah.
THE SINS OF JEREBOAM'S PEOPLE
Called Him From His Sheep and Made Of
Him Divine Messenger.
HIS SERMONS ARE EVEN YET HEARD
WRITTEN FOB THE DIsPATcH.l

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATcH.1
The word prophet, in the Bible, means
preacher. Nowadays it commonly means
predictor; prophecy is sort of fortune
telling. But the word In Hebrew means
Zone whose ear is uncovered" The prophet
is the man who hears. The word in Greek
means one who, not foretells, but forth
tells. He utters forth the great truths God
has given him. The mission of the prophet
is to be Gods messenger and Gods inter-
prefer. Thus Aaron was to be Moses
prophet. Mohammed was called Allah's
prophet. st. Paul says that che that
prophesieth speaketh unto men to edifca-
tion and e1hortation and comfort" 1t is
quite plain what sort of man he is talking
about, he is describing preacher. So the
prophets are the preachers.
These Bible preachers differ from other
preachers-how? Is it that God wrote their
sermons for them, while we have to write
our sermons for ourselves? We have to
study, to think, to learn, to observe, to
choose words and ways of putting things,
while the Bible preachers did but sit down
with pen in hand and God guided the pen?
Is that the difference?
A Difference Only In Truth.
Is it not rather in this: that God some
how whispered certain great truths in these
mems hearts, and that they wrote them
down as best they might? And so their
difference from us is not in their words, nor
in their style, nor even in their freedom
from human mistake, but rather in the
greatness of their truth. These men stand
in relation to religious truth where Kepler
and Newton stand in regard to truth in
natural science. I want to say something
to-day about Amos. And the difference
between Amos and Phillips Brooks is
like the difference between Euclid and the
Professor of Mathematics in the Western
University. 1t is the difference, as some
body says, between ''inspired production"
and enthusiastic reproduction" and that
is good deal of differencei
The writer's of the last II books of the
Old Testament are called the "minor"
prophets. The word "minor," however,
does not here mean less in Importance, but
less in length. Some of these preachers are
like the poets who are remembered only by
a single poem. But books are not of in
terest, or Importance, or value, in proper
tion to their size. And preachers are not
eminent in proportion to the number Of
sermons they have written. Nor are long
sermons always better than short ones. We
must not think that the minor prophets are
of minor consequence.
Conditions in Which Amos Wrote.
Now, I want to study to-day the book of
the prophecy of Amos; that is, the volume
of the sermons of Amos-a small book, but
of great interest. The condition OF things
in the days of Amos, in the eighth century
before Christ, was like this:
The land was divided. There had been q
civil war. Instead of the South seeding
from the North, the North had seeded
from the South. And the war, instead of
bringing peace, had only deepeRed division.
OF the two portions, the North was much
the larger Ten tribes belonged to the
Northern kingdom of Israel, and only two
to the Southern kingdom of Judah. The
Northern kingdom was not only the bigger
of the two, but it was by far the worse.
In the days of Amos, Jereboam II.
being King, the Northern kingdom had one
one of the most fatal of lacks. 1t
had riches, and it lacked religion.
We sometimes think that to be rich is to be
happy. And perhaps it is, if we
know how to be rich. 81 know how to
abound" st. Paul said. That is one of the
most valuable pieces Of wisdom in the
world. But great many people do not
know howt to abound. For all such the petit
tion in the Litany is fitting, 'In all time Of
our prosperity, Good Lord deliver u.s."
The Results of Great Wealth.
The people of the Northern kingdom
were rich, and they fell into the sins of
wealth. One of the sins of wealth is selfish
ness, another is sensuality, another is cruel
ty The rich people of Samaria contented
themselves with luxury and forgot the poor.
They had their summer houses and their
winter houses, with walls inlaid with ivory,
with couches of ivory hung with gorgeous
and they surrounded them
upon by slaves, and drank wine from bowls
Of silver. Outside the poor were starving.
Selfshness grows into sensuality. The
rich people cared only for eating and drink
for drinking. Intemperanos
was q national sin. The priest at the altar,
the judge upon the bench, the King upon
the throne, reeled and staggered through
strong drink. The "drunkards of Ephraim"
was the name which another preacher than
Amos gave to the whole nation. And worse
sins abounded. Selfshness and sensuality
bear fruit in oppression and cruelty. Men
we're not satisfied to neglect the poor, they
must needs hate them and abuse them. Ifa
poor man got in debt they sold him a.
lave for the
Price Of Pair of Shoes.
So greedy were they that they begrudged
he needy the very dust which they flung
lpon their heads as a sign of lamentation.
The land was full of deceitful balances.
Men were busy selling chaff in the place of
wheat. The garments of the needy were
,reedily taken in pawn. Beside the very
.ltars men reclined on couehes made soft
With the cloaks which they had stolen from
he poor.
There is only one thing which can deliver
,eople out of the temptation of riches, and
hat is religion. But the Northern kingdom
lad no religion. Or, if any still fingered |
mong them, it was false religion. They |
ad departed not only from the old Govern |
nent, but from the old Church. At Dan and !
t Bethel golden calves.were set up to wor- |
hip. On the high places were affairs to |
,aal, and in the hidden reeesses of the dark |
7oods were shrines to Asherah, places of !
domination. There were gorgeous vest
1ents and fine music, and much external |
omp and ceremonial; there were sacrifices
nd offerings. But true religion was prac-
ically dead The Northern kingdom was
Ike Rome in the days of Nero; it was like
'aris in the days OF Louis XIV.
The Shepherd of Tekoah.
Now, away down in the Southern king