Not Qualified

Amos 1:1-4

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 He said,
"The LORD roars from Zion
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds' pasture grounds mourn,
And the summit of Carmel dries up."
3 Thus says the LORD,
"For three transgressions of Damascus and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.
4 "So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael
And it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.

"Now, let me get this straight, there's a sheep herder outside... a sheep herder from JUDAH, no less?"

"Yes sir; but, he says he is a prophet of God."

"Oh, REALLY? So he was lying about with his sheep and suddenly felt the urge to prophesy the destruction of our country and the sinfulness of our king...here in Bethel, one of the holiest places in the universe?"

"He also tends to sycamore trees, sir."

"Great.....sheep and trees, then.."

"Yes sir...that's what it seems."

"Tell him it might be healthier for him if he were to go back to Judah....very quickly...make that, RIGHT NOW."

There are few more compelling figures in the First Testament than the sheep herder turned prophet, Amos. Amos comes from the land of Judea to preach the destruction of the northern kingdom to Israel. While this, in and of itself, is enough to remember him by, Amos is also memorable for several other reasons.

Amos, to absolutley no one's surprise, is not a professional prophet. There would have been many "prophets" who grew rich flattering the ruling class; but, Amos was one who came from nothing, and nowhere in-particular, to shake the very foundation of Israel.

Amos is also the first prophet to record his own words. Pressured, almost immediately, to leave the northern kingdom by the authorities in Bethel, Amos is able to continue his prophetic impact through the writings he has created.

Amos is another in the long list of unqualified hodge-podge that God uses to bring his message to the powerful. When Amos showed up, as maddening as it must have been to the authorities, it also must have seemed a bit ridiculous.

"But, he doesn't even look like a prophet!"

Sure enough, though, the prophesies of Amos came to pass, and Amos is remembered as a powerful prophet instead of as a simple shepherd. His words, from a literary perspective, are sophisticated, powerful, and well constructed...all of the things you wouldn't expect from him. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that the message proved so powerful; because it came from someone so unqualified.

Sometimes, as we lurch abut the daily grind in Midian, we receive the opportunity/challenge to hear a message from one who is not qualified to express it. Almost always, this is very annoying...just..so...tedious. Some other times, we are pulled to provide a message, even though we know that we are not qualified. If we speak up at those times, we will probably be ridiculed.

The strong temptation is to either silence the one speaking out of turn, or to "mind our place," when others speak. In such situations, it might be helpful to remember Amos... and that the Lord's understanding of qualifications differs a bit from our own.

Sometimes the unqualified are the ones we should be listening to....as God has a tendency to use them for everything He wishes to say.