The focus of the second half of Amos 7 (i.e. Amos 7:10–17) is all about authority. Who has the authority to speak God’s truth and teach God’s people? In answer to that question we are presented with a confrontation between Amos and Amaziah. Amaziah says, Go home, Amos, back to Judah where you come from. Amos replies, Your wife will become a prostitute and your family will be destroyed. This is serious stuff. What separates these two men? Amaziah speaks for the establishment and Amos speaks for God.

Looking carefully at the words of Amaziah (Amos 7:10–13), notice what he says: This is the king’s sanctuary and I am the royal chaplain. You do not have the authority to come here and preach, because you do not have the right credentials. You do not belong here. Not only that, but Amaziah also has a real go at Amos. He questions his motives, saying that he is only in it for the money. Someone like Balaam prophecies for bread (Amos 7:12). Then he twists his words. Amos had spoken of the sword being against the house of Jeroboam, now it is a conspiracy for murder (Amos 7:10). At no point does Amaziah actually engage with Amos’s argument or respond to the things that he has been saying. He simply seeks to bully him. He speaks for the establishment; all other voices must be silenced.

Compare that with Amos (Amos 7:14–17). Amos freely admits his limitations—he is not someone who has been trained in the art of prophesying. He did not choose the career of a prophet hoping to climb the ladder. No, he has been called by God. One day he was farming his sheep and looking after his fig trees; the next day he was marching for Israel. There is, however, one true thing that Amaziah said about him: Amos really is a seer. The Lord revealed things to him. This is what the sovereign Lord showed me, he says in Amos 7:1, Amos 7:4, and Amos 7:7. Amos proclaimed what he saw, he relayed what God revealed to him, and this is what made him a true prophet of God. He was a genuine voice of authority coming from the outside.

Because Amos was a true prophet sent by God, he did not hesitate to speak to the establishment. Throughout the book of Amos we have seen how he criticized the rich and the powerful for their business and sexual ethics. He highlighted the empty rituals of their worship services; he spoke to the wealthy women and the judges in the law courts. Amaziah was silent because he was part of the establishment—he is the king’s man, therefore he cannot say anything that might upset someone. His salary depends on keeping people happy. But Amos is God’s man, thus it is not his job to keep everyone happy and affirm their life choices. His words might make people uncomfortable and they might touch on topics which should rather be avoided, but they were truth from God. He was saying what God was saying to Israel.

Again, we should consider our need for a prophet. We need someone like Amos who can stand outside of our culture and speak with objective critique. Not someone who speaks for the establishment or their own political interests, but someone who speaks for God. And that is the kind of prophet that we have in Jesus Christ. During his life on earth Jesus was also constantly at odds with the establishment. Jewish religious leaders twisted his words and questioned his credentials. But Jesus resolutely proclaimed God’s truth. The fear of man did not stop him; he kept going even though it eventually led to his death. Jesus was a radically independent voice from outside the establishment. His teaching was full of authority and his questions exposed the darkness of sinful hearts, yet he was not vindictive or judgmental. He loved people and spoke to them from a position of real concern. And when he spoke, it was not only a man speaking for God, but God himself speaking to his people.

We need an outside voice who can speak to us and to our culture today, and in the words of Jesus Christ we have such a voice. Here in the Bible, we have Jesus’ word to us. Even in the book of Amos we have his words—the Spirit of Christ having been at work in him—a radically independent Word from God.