Stories of the Prophets Part 2

"Hear ye, Who turn justice to wormwood And cast down righteousness to the earth; Who trample upon the poor And afflict the just; Who take a bribe And thrust aside the needy in the gate: I know how manifold are your transgressions, Saith the Lord, G.o.d of hosts, And how mighty your sins, The end of my people Israel hath come, Saith the Lord, G.o.d of hosts, I can no longer forgive."

This outspoken attack upon Samaria, its rich, and its military n.o.bles, was so extraordinary that it amazed the crowd. Having spoken, the "farmer" turned away and was soon lost among the bazaars. Some looked after him, astonished at his recklessness in laying himself open to the revenge of the powers that be. Others looked after him, amazed at his bravery and fearlessness.

That night many in Samaria had heard of the unknown stranger and his speech in the market place. At many dinner tables the question was asked:

"Who is this man who dares to lift his voice against the high and powerful in behalf of the poor and downtrodden?"

"Who is this man who dares to proclaim the doom of the Kingdom of Israel in the days of its greatest prosperity?"

CHAPTER III.

_The Man Who Dared._

There lived a man in the little town of Tekoah, in the Kingdom of Judah, twelve miles south of Jerusalem, who made a living from "dressing sycamore trees."

In ancient Palestine, the fruit of the sycamore that grew in Judah was dried, ground into flour and used for making coa.r.s.e bread. This bread was eaten by the very poorest people, who could not afford to buy wheat.

Now, the man who lived from gathering poor fruit, out of which poor bread was made, for poor people, must, himself, have been very poor.

But a poor man may love his country as much as a rich man; and, when the foolish war between Amaziah of Judah and Joash of Israel broke out, this "dresser of sycamore trees," from Tekoah, followed his king on the battlefield.

At the battle in which Amaziah was defeated and Joash gained his greatest victory, leading to the destruction of part of the fortifications of Jerusalem, this man, fighting valiantly in the front ranks, with many other patriotic Judeans, laid down his life for his country. He was buried in the trenches, an unknown hero, whose name is not even in the records.

But history gives us the record of his son, named Amos. Left with his widowed mother, after the war, the burden of finding a living for the two was soon thrust upon him. There was only one thing that he knew by which he could earn money--"dressing sycamore trees."

He went at his work with a vim. As he grew up, and his and his mother's needs increased, his wits became sharpened. Why could he not dry and grind the sycamore fruit himself? This he did and increased his income. Then, his mother suggested that she would bake the flour into bread, if he would sell it. Amos agreed to that, and the little family thrived.

One day Amos brought the idea to his mother that their sycamore bread could be sold at a better price in Jerusalem. He asked for permission to go there and his mother, desiring more that her son should see the capital than that he should get higher prices for the bread, said:

"Go, my son, and G.o.d be with thee."

That trip to Jerusalem and the several trips that followed, made a great impression upon the young man and gave a remarkable turn to his whole life.

He saw Jerusalem, of whose beauty and glory his father had often told him, a fallen city. It had not yet recovered from the terrible results of the war with Amaziah of Israel; King Uzziah had not yet restored the treasures and vessels of which the temples had been looted; and, in the quarter of the city where Amos sold his bread, oh! such poverty, such wretchedness, such desolation!

His heart was filled with grief. He went to the trenches where he knew his father lay in an unmarked grave, and wept bitterly. There, at his father's grave, a wonderful thought came to him. A new light entered into his life and a great determination for his future career. His mind once made up, he soon outlined a plan for himself, and having the determination to carry the plan through, he made rapid progress.

With the additional profits that resulted from his business trips to Jerusalem, Amos bought sheep and goats and became a shepherd, as well as a gatherer of sycamore fruit.

The great rocky wilderness that slopes from the limestone hills of Tekoah down to the Dead Sea was just the place where sheep and goats could prosper.

So, in addition to the thriving business of his old trade, he dealt, also, in goat milk and wool and in the animals themselves.

Often, as he sat on the hillsides, in the cool of the sycamores, and watched his flocks, his mind would turn to the things he saw and heard in Jerusalem. He had heard there that Bethel, one of the sanctuaries of Israel, was always filled with pilgrims at festival time--and he determined upon a trip to Bethel, twenty-two miles north of Tekoah.

He returned greatly disheartened.

"Wealth and feasting saw I there," Amos told his mother, "and wine and song, and altars reeking with blood of fatted lambs and oxen; but G.o.d was not in the heart of the people of Israel."

His mother chided him gently. To say such things was blasphemy; for sacrifices were demanded of all the people by the religious laws of the state; and it was also commanded that a portion of the sacrifice should be consumed by him who brought it--therefore the feasting. As to the song and wine, did not the Sweet Singer say, "Serve the Lord with gladness?"

Amos did not reply. He knew that his good-hearted mother had given expression to the idea of G.o.d's worship as all the people, both of Israel and of Judah, at that time, understood it. They brought the sacrifices, as prescribed by the priests at the sanctuaries; a portion of the slaughtered animal was given to G.o.d on the altar, and the portion that was eaten by the sacrificer was looked upon as a meal--a banquet--partic.i.p.ated in by him and G.o.d, together; such a meal soon became a feast, with wine and song. Unfortunately, these banquets often degenerated into drunkenness and revelry.

Amos felt that such worship of G.o.d was not right, but he had not yet discovered what was wrong.

When the period of prosperity opened up for Israel, with Jeroboam II's conquest of Damascus, Judah also felt the good times. Amos, now an experienced master herdsman, took the advantage afforded by the peace and improved business conditions. He traveled with his stock-in-trade to far northern markets, to Samaria, to Damascus, to Hamath, and, from there his caravans wended their way east, even as far as the City a.s.shur, the capital of a.s.syria.

He was not a mere trader, however. He was a close observer and a student of men and things wherever he led his caravans. He talked with strangers about other lands which he had not visited and became, therefore, well acquainted with political, religious and social conditions everywhere.

All this made no change in the outward circ.u.mstances of Amos. Success did not turn his head. He did not build himself a palace, but remained with his mother in the village of Tekoah, where he was born and raised. He did not indulge himself with fine clothes and high living, but continued to dress simply and live plainly.

His mother was often greatly worried about Amos. When he returned from a far northern and eastern trip he would betake himself to his beloved hills and sycamore groves and flocks. He would work with the most lowly of his sycamore fruit gatherers; but he would often spend hours by himself in the woods or in the wilderness.

It was during these lonesome hours that Amos added high thinking to his simple living. The grandeur of Samaria and the wealth he saw displayed in Bethel did not deceive him. Neither did the peace compact between Jeroboam II and a.s.sur-dan III blind him to the exact state of affairs in the relationship between the two countries.

He knew that Tiglath-Pileser III, the successor of a.s.sur-dan, had crushed all rebellions in a.s.syria, which a.s.sur-dan III had failed to do, and was reorganizing the army of the great empire. He knew that Damascus, which had been weakened by Jeroboam II beyond hope of recovery, would be the first point of conquest for the young and energetic Pul, as Tiglath-Pileser was called. Next before him, to the south, lay the rich Kingdom of Israel, the booty from whose palaces and sanctuaries would be an enormous prize for the a.s.syrian emperor and his army. After Damascus, must come Samaria!

In other words, Amos saw distinctly that the time was near when Israel would have to fight again for its independence and its very life; and he asked himself, "Is Israel prepared?"

Clearly it was not. The rich had become unfit for war, because of their luxuriant living. The poor had become unfit for war, because of their oppression by the rich. Should the a.s.syrians invade the land, how could such a nation of weaklings defend its home and its liberty?

Israel must be warned! It must be awakened from its stupidity to a realization of the danger ahead! The rich must cease their extravagances and become manly men again! The poor must be given their rights, must be treated justly and righteously, that they may become manly men again! Only a nation of moral, upright, G.o.d-fearing men can hope for victory! If the a.s.syrians should defeat and crush Israel, it will be G.o.d's punishment visited upon Israel for its sins and crimes.

Amos had often discussed these things with his mother. She was not surprised, therefore, when, one day, upon his return from a long trip into a.s.syria, Amos said to her, "I am called to the cities of Israel.

My mission will be prolonged many days."

The good woman knew and understood. Laying her hands upon his head, she repeated the blessing with which she had blessed him when, as a timid young man, he made his first trip to Jerusalem:

"Go, my son, and G.o.d be with thee."

And so it was that Amos, the herdsmen of Tekoah, had dared to speak for the poor people in Samaria, and to prophesy the fall of the Kingdom.

His first speech attracted little attention, but others, in various parts of the country, to the same effect, followed. Many laughed at them; few thought seriously about them.

But Amos was not so easily discouraged. He concluded that the wrong idea the people had about G.o.d, how to worship Him and what He demanded of them, was the cause of all the evil. Amos, therefore, selected the sanctuaries during festival season as the place where he must do his preaching.

He went especially to Bethel, the king's sanctuary, where Jeroboam brought his sacrifices and where the great n.o.bles and soldiers and richest merchants gathered and reveled in their feasts.

One day Amos broke in upon a reveling group, with the unexpected call:

"Prepare to meet thy G.o.d, O Israel!"

Such a call was, indeed, unexpected. The Israelites, a.s.sembled at the sanctuary, offering their sacrifices, believed that they were _with_ their G.o.d. Some one told Amos as much, and the crowd jeered at the fool, who evidently did not understand his religion.