“They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly,” Amos 5:10.
I was not long converted when I heard an endearing word about Amos the prophet. Dr Paisley quoted from his book in response to criticism that was being heaped upon his head by ecumenical ministers, whose folly and defiance of God’s Word he had condemned. The verses he quoted are found in Amos 7:14-15.
“Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”
I instantly learned that the Lord was pleased to call into His service those whom some might consider as being utterly unsuitable!
I later learned that the Lord had earlier displayed the same mercy and sovereign grace in the calling of that great prophet Elisha, anointed to that holy office by his great predecessor, Elijah.
“So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him,” 1 Kings 19:19-21.
I can say as did Amos, but even more unquestionably: “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son” but the Lord called me into His service, and in a faint likeness, I ministered to an ‘Elijah’. For shortly after I began my studies as student for the ministry in January 1965, Dr Paisley took me to live with his family for about six months and in a small way I ministered unto him, driving him around the province to gatherings and to gospel meetings and all the time gaining a knowledge of what it was to preach.
In our text, you have the prophet’s observation regarding the attitude of those intent on following their own devices and who detested the rebukes that the prophet addressed to them.
I. THIS IS AN ALL TOO COMMON ATTITUDE TODAY
This is a day of backsliding. Even the most unobservant Christian knows that this so. Worldly attitudes and notions have invaded the ‘church’! Sadly, many fail to recognise them for what they are. Ministers know at least something of what is happening BUT, sadly, are reluctant to address the issues because of the response that may be forthcoming. Amos encountered ‘hate’ and ‘abhorrence’!
1. There was defiance outburst against authority in the prophet’s day. “They hate him that rebuketh in the gate”. This is a reference to those who hold a God-appointed position of authority. ‘The Gate’ is where the judges sat and administered justice. (more…)
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God,” Amos 9:11-15.