Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-09


space for study of the whole book
| of Amos; it is a literary gem, and
| most remarkable when we realize
I that Amos had had no literary adj
| vantages. He was used by the Holy
Spirit as His mouthpiece, the Spirit
| directing his thoughts in the Ian
guage with which Amos was ia
miiiar There are three sermons,
| with closing paragraph. Our les
son today is only a part of the Sec
! ond sermon which includes the 4th,
| 5th, 9Th chapters of the book.
The theme of the first sermon is
"Israel Among the Doomed Nations"
With consummate skill Amos gets
| the ear and approval of his hearers
/ and then applies the truth to them.
| The theme of the second sermon is
corruption Ripe for Judgment"
and the picture he draws of Israel's
condition makes us shudder and
| wonder how the judgment can be
| delayed a moment longer; The
| theme of the third sermon is worked
! out by a series of seven visions in
which the Judgment on Israel is
| seen to be rapidly advancing" The
|
| the judgment is a Sitting one; rem
nant shall be saved and the prom
| ises of God will yet be fulfilled
abundantly and gloriously.
The Herdsman Prophet
Amos is a very interesting char
acter. He was thee second of the
prophets whose words are preserved
in writing. He followed Jonah. It
| was through the inspiration of
Jonah's patriotic preaching that
| Jeroboam II was reused to action
: and brought the northern kingdom
of Israel to the greatest state of
prosperity it had known since Solo,
! mon. At the same time Uzziah
was king of Judah, and under his
magnificent leadership the southern
| kingdom reached its greatest era of
prosperity. But with prosperity
| came luxury, ease-loving, extrava-
giant living, pride, selfishness, oppres-
sion, intemperance and immortality.
This was the atmosphere among
which Amos lived, and which brought
such an one as he was into promi-
nence.
Amos was not city-bred. had he
grown up among these city folks he
| might have been SO accustomed to
what they were doing that he might
not have realized the enormity of
| their sin. He was countryman. He
| was poor, for he was the employed
| man who looked after a herd of
sheep and cattle; he did not even
own the flock himself. The word
| used of him also shows that he
| tended a peculiar brand of sheep that
| were almost deformed, so unattrac.
! tive was their build. In order to
| 90 III L. IL,
was a presser of figs-pressed the
| ripening figs to make them ripen
| more quickly.
| The place he lived was also con-
! ducive to his training. Tekoa was
| twelve miles south of Jerusalem on
the very edge of the wilderness of
| Judea. Even then one looked out in
three directions upon the most bar
rem desOlate waste of country mag
| Unable. It was infested with wild
beasts, and his references to a lions
| roaring, and a bears attacks, and
| to reScuing an ear or two leg bones
of a lamb, to serpents in the wall
and to COWS of Bashan are but
, natural expressions for one who
! came in contact with such things so
| frequently.
| His business carried him frequent
ly to the markets-at Jerusalem,
Samaria, possibly as far north as
Klamath or west to Gath. His train
ing in such a wilderness as was
about Tekoa made him a keen OBJ
server. There he had to be con-
stantly on the lookout, for every
movement of a tWig might mean
an attack from a wild beast. So
when he came into the cities to sell
cattle and sheep he kept a sharp
lookout and observed all about him
the sins that were so apparent to
lone who had eyes to see.
In the wilderness he had time to
reflect; the magnitude Of the wastes.
the majesty of the Wilderness
brought his thoughts to God. At
night as he watched against the at
Itacks of lions and other enemies he
Istudied the stars-particularly was
he impressed with the Pleides. the
usher in of snrins and with Orion.
land as he thought on God, he
thought also of Gods people. his
people, and how far they had fallen
away from Gods holiness and
Righteousness. One day as he fol-
lowed the flock he heard Gods voice,
go, prophesy unto my people
Israeli; and he obeyed.
All through the book there are
interruptions-the opponents Of
prophecy are appealed to bv him. an.
swering either their implied Objec-
lions or at times their open antago-
nism. But Amos was fearless. He
had heard God speak and he had to
prophesy; he was just as much
Obliged to prophesy as he would to be
afraid when a lion reared right at
his back. No one could silence him.
1t was this training, it was this
sense of Gods presence and call that
made his messages so rugged. so
Dlain-SDoken almost to the point Of
brutality at times, it seemed. so ex-
acting, so uncompromising, so fear.
less.
Billy Sunday has been criticized
for his ''vulgarity," but even he has
never spoken as plainly as Amos did
when he denounced the women. call
ing them Eye COWS of Bashan."
And yet underneath it all was
iove-love to God primarily, and love
for his people, whose salvation and
holiness he desired. Not the same
expression of love that Hosea dis
played, but the same love neverthe-
less.
PrOsperity's POsterity
Why is it that man cannot be
trusted with prosperity? Just as
soon as Israel began to be prosper
Gus they began to depend upon them
selves and to forget God. Is not that
Il n