Date Published: 01/31/10

RESPONDING TO “AMAZIAH” (I) By Victoria Baiye

There is no doubt that Amos was one of those that the Lord called and sent to tell His people how sinful they were, how displeased He was with them, and how He was going to punish them for their evil ways. While he was doing this, Amos 7:10-11 says, “Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words …”

Amaziah was called the priest of Bethel. Now, 1 st Kings 12:26-32 says, “And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin … And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.” Clearly, Amaziah was not a priest of the Lord but one of those set up by the sinful king Jeroboam who made God’s people to sin (1 Kings 16:26, 1 Kings 21:22, 2 Kings 10:29, 2 Kings 3:3). And he rose up against a man who was actually called by the Lord to carry a message to His people. Amaziah accused Amos before the king, and also tried to shut him up from speaking in the place where the Lord had commanded him to speak. He told him, instead, to go and prophesy elsewhere.

Many believers today have received assignments from the Lord and are faithfully carrying them out. However, there are also many people who could be referred to as “Amaziah” – on the surface they appear to be “priests and kings” unto our God, but in reality they are not working for Him. Some of them have never been on the Lord’s side while some were but are no more; some are people who think that others are doing better than they are so they constitute themselves into their enemies. The devil and demons are also “Amaziahs” that serious believers have to face. The common goal of both the seen and unseen “Amaziahs” is to stop you from fulfilling your divinely assigned role. One of the ways by which they operate is to incite the “kings” against you when you are doing right just like Amaziah tried to incite King Jeroboam against Amos. The “king”, by the way, may be other believers around you including church/unit leaders, your boss, spouse, etc. “Amaziah” is the one that would try to convince your pastor or unit leader that if he does not put a check on you, you will end up taking over the “kingdom” from him because as far as “Amaziah” is concerned you are a threat to the “king and his kingdom”. “Amaziah” will want to create as many enemies as possible for you both within and outside the household of faith because he wants you to be so busy fighting and defending yourself that you lose sight of the mandate from above.

Another thing “Amaziah” will try to do is lead you away from the center of God’s will. Amos 7:12-13 says, “Also Amaziah said unto Amos, 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 chapel, and it is the king's court.” Note, however, what Samuel told Saul in 1 st Samuel 10:3, “Then shalt thou … come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel…” So Bethel was meant to be a place of relationship with God but Amaziah wanted to send Amos out of it. “Amaziah” is an agent of distraction that wants to take you away from your “Bethel”.

“Amaziah” will tell you to abandon certain things the Lord wants you to do so that you don’t end up offending the powers that be. Meanwhile Psalm 62:11 says that power belongs to God. He will try to convince you that if you continue moving the way you know that God has asked you to you will end up treading on dangerous grounds and exposing yourself to trouble. The truth is, however, that anyone who comes against you for doing the will of God is on the side of the devil; it does not matter how long that person has been a Christian or what title he/she is carrying in God’s house. “Amaziah” will also try to withdraw what God has put in your hands and give you something else instead. He may also try to put fear in you just to make you abandon your calling and flee. This he may try to accomplish by telling you that where you are operating is the “king’s chapel and the king’s court”. In other words, you are trying to do things that are beyond you (which you are convinced by the Holy Ghost to be what God wants from you).

How have you been responding to “Amaziah”?