(a) I am no prophet nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees "Give an account of the event which led to this statement. (b)...

Answer Details

(a) The event which led to this statement (Amos 7)

The words, "I am no prophet nor a prophet's son, but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees," were spoken by the prophet Amos at Bethel, in reply to the priest Amaziah.

Amos had been prophesying against the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Jeroboam II. In a series of visions, God showed Amos coming judgement. In one vision Amos saw the LORD standing beside a wall with a plumb line, declaring that He would set a plumb line in the midst of His people Israel and would never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac would be desolate, the sanctuaries laid waste, and God would rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to King Jeroboam, accusing Amos of conspiracy in the midst of the house of Israel, claiming the land could not bear all his words, for Amos had said that Jeroboam would die by the sword and Israel would go into exile. Then Amaziah confronted Amos directly: "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary and it is a temple of the kingdom."

In answer, Amos denied being a professional prophet: "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'" He insisted that he prophesied only because God had called and commissioned him, not for pay or by profession.

(b) What else the speaker said on this occasion

Amos then pronounced a personal judgement on Amaziah for trying to silence God's word. He said, "Now therefore hear the word of the LORD... Thus says the LORD:

• "Your wife shall be a harlot in the city,
• and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword,
• and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
• you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
• and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land."

Thus Amos affirmed both his divine call and the certainty of God's judgement despite opposition.