Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. – Amos 7:14

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 2, 2026): Amos 7

It is an old story. The commoner who becomes the princess. The musician who gets a chance to play with their favorite band. The beer league goalie who gets called up to the big leagues in an emergency.

I remember a version of the last one. Decades ago, I was settling in to watch a hockey game. The Calgary Flames were playing; I forget who their opponent was. But one of their goaltenders had been injured during the pregame warm-up. The commentators opened the broadcast, setting up the game about to be played. But before the game was discussed, they had a message. The Flames had asked the broadcasters to send a message to a minor league goalie named Mike Vernon. They needed Vernon to come to the arena to back up the goaltender on this night. Apparently, Vernon was watching the game with some friends when he heard the message. By the end of the first period, a young Mike Vernon came out of the locker room and sat on the bench with the rest of the Flames. I have often wondered what it felt like to hear your name called out on television and have your plans for the evening blown up in that way.

Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, is upset with Amos. It is important to note that Amaziah was compromised long before Amos began his prophesies. Being a priest at Bethel meant he had left the faith represented by the Temple in Jerusalem, exchanging it for the faith represented by the Golden Calves set up at Bethel and Dan in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amaziah was concerned about his own position and likely felt that Amos was threatening his job. As a result, Amaziah sent a message to King Jeroboam II, accusing Amos of attempting to raise an army to oppose the King’s purposes. Amaziah tells the Prophet that he was not wanted in Israel. If he wanted to cause trouble, he was welcome to cause it back home in Judah, but not here.

Amos responds that he is not a prophet. He had no desire to prophesy in either Israel or Judah. He was not a prophet, nor was he the son of a prophet. He was a shepherd and would love to return to tending his sheep and the sycamore trees back home. But God had called his name and given him a message for Israel, even though he was just an amateur, and not a trained theologian. Amos would not stop prophesying because a professional priest didn’t like the message. As long as God was giving him a message, he would continue to speak it, despite the opinions of the professional religious leaders of his day.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Amos 8