Just a Shepherd

The Story

Amos was not a professional prophet. He was a herdsman from the small town of Tekoa in Judah, who also tended sycamore fig trees. He had no religious training and no connections.

But God called him to carry a message to the northern kingdom of Israel. At the time, Israel was rich and comfortable. The wealthy lived in fine houses and attended religious festivals, while the poor were cheated, overcharged, and pushed aside. Amos spoke against it plainly. God didn’t want their songs and ceremonies if they ignored justice. He wanted justice to roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

The message wasn’t popular. Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, reported Amos to the king and told him to go home: “Go back to Judah and do your prophesying there. This is the king’s sanctuary.”

Amos didn’t back down. “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son,” he said. “I was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit. But the Lord took me as I followed the flock and told me to go.”

Reflection