Yet Jeroboam had by this time gained all his victories, and never before had the King of Samaria appeared to be more firmly seated on the throne:  what, then, did this intruder mean by introducing himself as a messenger of wrath in the name of Jahveh, at the very moment when Jahveh was furnishing His worshippers with abundant signs of His favour?  Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, interrupted him as he went on to declare that “Jeroboam should die by the sword, and Israel should surely be led away captive out of his land.”  The king, informed of what was going on, ordered Amos into exile, and Amaziah undertook to communicate this sentence to him:  “O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:  but prophesy not again any more at Bethel:  for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house.”  And Amos replied, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdman, and a dresser of sycomore trees:  and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.  Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord:  Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac:  therefore thus saith the Lord:  Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou thyself shalt die in a land that is unclean, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land."*

     * Amos vii. 9-17.

This prophecy, first expanded, and then written down with a purity of diction and loftiness of thought which prove Amos to have been a master of literary art,* was widely circulated, and gradually gained authority as portents indicative of the divine wrath began to accumulate, such as an earthquake which occurred two years after the incident at Bethel,* an eclipse of the sun, drought, famine, and pestilence.*** It foretold, in the first place, the downfall of all the surrounding countries—­Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah; then, denouncing Israel itself, condemned it to the same penalties for the same iniquities.  In vain did the latter plead its privileges as the chosen people of Jahveh, and seek to atone for its guilt by endless sacrifices.  “I hate, I despise your feasts,” declared Jahveh, “and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Yea, though ye offer Me your burnt offerings and meat offerings, I will not accept them:  neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.  Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.  But let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."****

* S. Jerome describes Amos as “rusticus” and “imperitus sermone,” but modern writers are generally agreed that in putting forward this view he was influenced by the statement as to the peasant origin of the prophet.

     ** Amos i. 1; reference is made to it by the unknown prophet
     whose words are preserved in Zech. xiv. 5.