Seek the Lord and Live! (Amos)
Stephen Terry
Commentary for the May 4, 2013
Sabbath School Lesson
“…‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord
Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like
your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord
Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they
would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Where are your
ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not my words and
my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your
ancestors? Then they repented…’” Zechariah 1:3b-6a, NIV
For some the
image of a prophet is of a slightly off-kilter individual, maybe carrying a
sign “The End is Near!” for others he or she might be that person who loves to
put their finger in your face pointing out every sin they imagine you are
involved in. Still others might see a prophet as someone who is trying to
control others through guilt manipulation for purposes of financial gain or
power. To be sure, there are those who have called themselves prophets and done
these things. But just as a counterfeit twenty dollar bill assures us that
there is a genuine one, so these counterfeit prophets are evidence that true
prophets must exist. To counterfeit something that isn’t real would be
pointless as everyone would then know that each counterfeit would be a fake.
The real
issue then is how to know a genuine prophet. Some would have us believe that we
can tell a prophet by their clothing. Of course we have the example of Elijah’s
mantle or cloak.[i]
There is also the example of John the Baptist’s camel hair clothing.[ii]
Those who feel this is the identifying mark of a prophet, filled with the
spirit of God, might try to emulate this feature in their dress. They might
choose some sartorial distinctiveness or peculiarity to set them apart from
others. Perhaps this is a reason some clergy aspire to set themselves apart by
affecting a clerical collar. However, clergy are not alone in affecting an
appearance of holiness. Women who wear headscarves and floor-length jumper
dresses may at times do so in order to produce a demonstration of holiness. Men
have been sometimes known to do the same by wearing suspenders and even
buttoning their collar button as outward evidence of purity. They may even add
to the effect by speaking in gentle sing-song tones capable of producing a
spiritual mesmerism in the unsuspecting.
These are not
prophets, however, as any power they have comes not from God but from their
ability to project an appearance of holiness. Paul, in his second epistle to
Timothy, warned about such individuals that they would use the sins of others
to control them and lead them into even greater sin.[iii]
Perhaps this is a warning to us to be on our guard concerning those who seek to
make themselves appear holier than everyone else. The Apostle John, not only
told us that we need to test the prophets but that there would be many that
would attempt to deceive us.[iv]
Another
means whereby some might attempt to portray themselves as more holy than others
is through diet. While proper diet is important for physical health, as is
exercise, adequate sleep and several other healthful practices, citing our diet
as evidence of our spirituality is perhaps a step too far in the direction of self-righteousness.
The Bible has many things to say about diet, from the original diet of Eden, followed
by the diet granted to Noah and his sons, through the Levitical dietary laws, then
Daniel’s stand in Daniel, chapter one, and even John the Baptist’s eating of
locusts. However, in no instance do the dietary accounts indicate that righteousness
is bestowed through diet. Whether it is Jesus eating fish, or Daniel eating
vegetables, their different diets were irrelevant to their relative holiness.[v]
While diet
may not be related to holiness, health is. As long as we recognize this,
careful diet can be a blessing to us. However, if we at any point relate our
diet to our salvation, we cross a line into self-made righteousness. We should
be very wary of anyone who comes to us with the message that our diet or any
behavior will gain us heaven. We do not have that power. It is only through the
grace of God that we are able to enter those heavenly gates. We should not
allow anyone to sidetrack us by telling us otherwise.
If clothing,
manner of speech or diet cannot help us to identify a prophet, what about if
they are highly knowledgeable about inspired writings? Unfortunately, this is
also not a safe guide. Even the Devil used inspired writ to attempt to gain
control over Jesus in the wilderness during His temptation.[vi]
If the Devil did not shrink from using the Bible in his effort to control
others, why would he not also make use of any inspired writing he could turn to
his purpose? We should be careful of those who come to us in such a way as to
make our acceptance of their understanding of inspired writings a means for
them to exercise spiritual control over us. If we look to them instead of Jesus
for our spiritual growth and understanding of salvation, we may find ourselves
being led to an unexpected destination.
A common
thread among these false prophets is the desire to increase their importance
and influence. Instead of gathering a following they should be pointing people
to Jesus. Failure to do so is in direct contrast to the work of a true prophet.
The ministry of John the Baptist is instructive in this regard. When his
disciples pointed out that many were leaving John and following Jesus, he
humbly replied that Jesus must increase, while he, John, must decrease.[vii]
The world
has many who are seeking to increase themselves as opposed to increasing Jesus.
Some will lift up these individuals as favorite preachers instead of lifting up
Jesus. These self-styled gospel preachers sometimes create huge media empires
and achieve renown in ways that the prophet Amos, or many of the other prophets
would not have recognized. Often the message is if we only give them our money,
the work will be finished, and we can all go home to heaven. But while the
money pours in and their empire grows, we are still here. While their life of
ease and luxury compared to the average church member calls into question their
desire to leave earth for heaven, they do little to relieve the suffering and
injustice that the prophet Amos wrote about.[viii]
In chapter four, Amos addresses the same charges to the women of Israel.[ix]
While this may be literal, it is interesting that some have advocated for women
to symbolically represent churches in prophecy. Might this have a double
application?
Sometimes we
speak of promoting the gospel, but perhaps we should understand that there is a
difference between promotion and teaching. One comes from Madison Avenue, but
the latter comes from the experience of the heart. When we eat an apple and
find it is the best apple we ever tasted, we don’t need to have a media blitz
to tell everyone they need to eat this apple. We only need to say, “Taste and
see.”[x]
If the apple truly is good, others will do the same and soon many will be
eating it. This is what happened in the apostolic era. The result was a message
that spread like wildfire across the face of the globe. Surely, there were some
then who also tried to control the work and draw followers to themselves. Paul
referred to some of these as compelling others to “live like Jews.”[xi]
But in spite of the influence of these false prophets, the message went forward
with power because there were those who refused to let such individuals control
their relationship with God.
Those who
are in relationship with God will find His leading sufficient. During the
apostolic period these were known as the “pneumatikoi.” These were individuals
filled with the Holy Spirit and led by that Spirit. The bible tells us that these
are the true children of God.[xii]
Peter at Pentecost assured us that all who repent and are baptized receive this
Spirit.[xiii]
He did not say, “Maybe they might receive it.” While this is the promise, it can
be threatening to those who want to control the empowerment of others. Support
for the ecclesiastical status quo is often a required of those to be empowered
by church authority. Charismatic empowerment coming directly from God via the
Holy Spirit upsets that apple cart. If everyone regardless of age, gender,
ethnicity, or culture were empowered to share the gospel equally with others,
there would no longer be a need to funnel money and power to a few leaders controlling
religious mega-corporations. Instead the good news would spread one to one as
it did in apostolic times.
Whether
those who hold the reigns of ecclesiastical power today realize it or not, even
if they fight against it, the very bible they are promoting tells us that the Spirit
will burst those bonds of restraint and the pneumatikoi will be revealed to
those who have the spiritual discernment to see and understand.[xiv]
In the words of the prophet, Joel, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on
all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream
dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and
women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”[xv]
Maybe the time is now.
