The Coolidge examiner., 1936-08-14
Bv LEWIS BROWNE

they were doing all that the Lord
required of them. The fine SIM
plcity Of their ancient desert re-
ligion was no more. The Canaan
ties and Phoenicians had had their
influence, and the Hebrew festivals
had become little more than drunk
en- debauches.
But then there came the great
prophets, men of godly spirit who
dared to raise their voice in pro-
fest against the prevailing wicked
ness.
1n,- the beginning the prophets
were. more .magfcians than anything
else. They consulted oracles for
the people, and told fortunes. But
later they changed in character, and
became preachers rather than
soothsayers.
They were a courageous lot, those
prophets. y They were not afraid
even of kings When David grew
drunk with power and.stole another
mans wife, it was a.prophet named
Nathan who dared go to the king
and tell him to his face he was
an accused criminal. 1t was a
prophet, Ahijah, who stirred up
the one attempt at revolution when
Solomon was on the throne. And.
as we have already seen, it was 4
prophet, Elijah, who alone kept the
wicked Jezebel from running her
husbands race.
Unhappily, however, we have rec
ord of exceedingly few sermons
preached by prophets before the
middle of the Eighth century b. G.
Not until the coming of that strange
character named Amos do the real
literary prophets" make their ap-
pearance. 1t is significant that,
though Amos preached in Israel, he
came from village.
His soul was revolted at the
wickedness of the rich Tsraelites.
SO one autumn, during the festival
time, he went over to Bethel-it
was only about twenty miles from
his home in Tekoa-and began to
speak Gods word in the temple
there. Bitterly he denounced the
drunken throng, and loud did he
cry that despite the present pros
perity there would soon be terror
in all Israel. For Jehovah, the God
OF justice, would no longer abide
the waywardness of the people, He
demanded Righteousness and they
gave him only burnt offerings; He
wanted them to practice Justice. and
instead they indulged in wild fes-
tivities. Therefore, Israel was
doomed.
Thus did Amos, a simple peas.
ant from Judah, dare to address
the drunken lords and ladies in
their temple at Bethel. But they
would not hearken, and some forty
years later the doom which Amos
prophesied was fulfilled. Assyria
came ravishing through the land,
and Israel was utterly destroyed.
Is But before that calamity occurred
another prophet appeared in Israel
Hosea was his name. and he too
dared to protest against the evils
in the land. According to tradition
his home was in Gilean. and per-
haps that was why he, though a
subject of the, northern kingdom,
was capable of perceiving the wick
edness of its ways. Gilead was the
.hflly region east Of the Jordan. and
shared to a degree the primitive
ness of Judah.
Hosea seems to have been a gen.
tie and cultured man, and the bur
then Of his preaching was far less
drastic and unfQrgiving than that
of Amos. He, too, could see the
: Certainty of Isfael's doom if it
persisted in it's evil course; but
with 1t he could see Hthe possibility
of, repentance and forgiveness. For
Jehovah to- this prophet was not
only a God of Justice but also A
God of Mercy, Despite all the sins
that the mighty in Israel had COM
mitted. Jehovah would forgive
them. He would forgive them, de,
,clared' Hosea, and save the land
if only the people would repent.
But. the mighty in Israel did not
repent. They continued to Oppress
the poor, to exploit the weak, and
10 conduct themselves; perversely
yjn the shrines of their God. And
so the, doom fQreseen by these two
men, Amas and Hosea, did come to
tho land oDd IcroaI u-oc 6octrouo1