The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-06-21
CBY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.)

(BY WILLIAM T. ELL1S.)
These are new and crisis days. That
all thinking persons should see and
understand them Alright is a profound
concern of patriotism and religion. To
be ignorant of our own times is a
cardinal blunder- The passion for
things as they are" is an element of
Righteousness. We can forgive the in
terruption of the regular course of the
international Sunday school lessons
in order to permit this study of our
present condition in the light of the
oldest of the prOphetical writings. me
lesson committee interjeCts this as n
temperance lesson: but It is a COM
prehensive treatment of the tendency
of the world today.
Amos. the rough old preacher of
Tekoa, saw his times with the pehe-
trating vision of the Out-Cf-doors man.
Some city folks think that they are
the shrewdest and most sophisticated
judges of men and things. whereas OF
ten it is the countryfied LITTLE woman,
wearing last years bonnet and her
one best dress, or the farmer in his
cheap store clothes, who sees deepest
into the life of the people who sheer
at rural ways. This ancient shepherd
and Dincher of sycamore ilSS mas CIV
en- us the clearest picture of the l'1Xu-
rious tendency of his land and time
that has come down to us; picture
which startlingly sets forth the pres
exercise in citizenship to read the book
OF Amos.
The First of the Writing Prophets.
Nowadays most of the nations
prophets are member OF the writing
craft. In this they wear the mantle
of the first of the Hebrew prophets
whose message has D5';n preserved IN
the sacred canon. Amos lived about
$50 years before Christ, anu he IS a
minor prophet only because that mis-
leading name has been dpEAco 10 me
twelve briefest books of the prophets.
We know better than - judge SER
mons by their length, and Amos is one
of the greatest, as we'll as the first,
OF the recorded Hebrew seers-
Muck rake or the current equiv
alent for this term of approbrium,
was often applied to Amos He dealt
fearlessly with facts. Ills book Is ore
of the most journalistic III the Ola
Testament. 1t does not soar on eagle
wing like the writings Of isaiah or
Ezekiel. He wrote the thing as ne
saw it, confident in The corrective
power of honest diagnosis Nowadays
the Amos principle as being V1nd'cat-
ed in the Acknowledged function of
publicity in purifying public life. In
most cases the world needs bur TO
know what is wrong in order to set 1t
right Given the Amos art CT setting
conditions compellingiy before The
mind. and what is wrong in those
conditions will be remedIed- If moth
ers but knew the havoc that is
wrought by the present tendency in
women's dress, the styles would be re
formed within a week. If parents |
could but see with unocScured vision 4
the consequences of the moderate use
of liquors, SidebOardS would be clear
cd over night and shutters would be
put up on thousands of saloons ana
breweries. Could the prosperous pub
lie but understand whittier the luxury
and idleness and pleasure-seekinS
limo iG
would be a swift and wholesome re
action.
The function of the man who sees
facts as exemplified by Amos, is thus
commented upon by George Adam
Smith:
He spent his gifts of vision on the |
discovery and appreciation of facts. !
Now this is necessary, not only i'll |
almost every stage OF her develop
ment. To see the truth and to tell it, |
30 be accurate and brave about The !
moral facts of our day-to tbs extent |
the Vision and the Voice are possible |
for every one of US. Never for us
may the doors of heaven open as they I
did for him who stood on the thros- !
hold of the earthly temple when he |
saw the Lord enthroned, while TIC |
Seraphim of the Presence sang tha
glory. vet let us remember that TO SCI
facts as they are and to tell the truth
about them-this also is prophecy.
q
not prompt the imagination, but is as
destitute of the historic and tradi-
tional as was the wilderness of Telloa.
All the more may our uhglamourCd
eyes be true to the facts about US.
Every common day leads forth her
duties as shining as every night leads
forth her stars. The deeds and the
fortunes of men are in our sight. ard
spell to all who will honestly read. the
very word of the Lord.
What Is Prophet?
A misused and misunderstood word
IS this title of the Old Testament seers
The prophet is not so much a fore
teller as a forth-teller. He is an in
terpreter of the mind of God, a
teacher of the people. one who
speaks in behalf of Jehovah. On the
lower plane of real or pretended prog
nosticators of the future, there have
always been many professionals. There
were such in the days of Amos. even as
there are still such today practicing
their mummery, as l saw one doing
among the Arabs of Babylon-not to |
mention the clairvoyants and mind
readers of our American cities. Amos
lifted up the plane of the office to
level that was beyond price and pro-
feSsionalism. He dared speak his mes
sage even when it was indiscreet and
so when silenced by ecclesiastical and
political powers he had to utter his
word through the written page.
Down on the plains of Tekoa, six
miles below Bethlehem, lived this
herdsman. about forty years after
Elisha. He was a pincher of syca-
more figs. as DR.. Franklin E. Hoskins
once showed me when we halted under
sycamore tree and he pinched the
poor fruit to help it ripen. From the
fields of Bethlehem to the high places
of Bethlehem. Amos ranged, perhaps
in pursuit of his wool business. His
travel had made him aware of the con-
dition of the times and his lowly call
ing gave him opportunity to mediate
upon it, He belonged to no school of