Go Back Where You Came From

Last week God hung a plumb line beside a wall.

This week the line gets a response.

A priest named Amaziah runs the religious show at Bethel.

He sends word to the king: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel." (Amos 7:10, NIV)

Then he finds Amos himself.

And what he says is remarkable for how polite it is.

"Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom." (Amos 7:12-13, NIV)

Notice what he doesn't say.

He doesn't say Amos is wrong.

He doesn't argue the plumb line.

He says: not here.

Career Advice

"Earn your bread there."

That's the line that gets me.

Amaziah isn't a villain in a cape.

He's offering a reasonable career move. Somewhere else. Where the message costs nothing.

And look at his reason.

"This is the king's sanctuary."

Not God's house. The king's.

Somewhere along the way he stopped asking whether the wall was true.

He started asking whether it was comfortable. Approved. Good for business.

I've watched versions of this in churches. In companies. In families.

The truth is fine.

It's just not welcome in this room.

The Harder Mirror

It's easy to read this and cast ourselves as Amos.

Ask the honest question first.

Where am I Amaziah?

Where have I told someone to take their honesty somewhere else because it was disruptive?

Where am I defending a sanctuary that's really mine, my reputation, my routine, my version of the story, and calling it God's?

Anyone who has ever said "now is not the time" to a person holding a plumb line has stood where Amaziah stood.

The line doesn't care whose sanctuary it is.

If You're the One Holding the Line

Two things.

Being asked to leave a room isn't the same as being sent away by God.

It can feel exactly the same.

It isn't.

Amaziah had the power to throw Amos out of Bethel.

He didn't have the authority to cancel what God had said.

And second, check that it's the line you're holding.

Amos wasn't sharing an opinion.

He was reporting what he had been shown.

If your concern is mostly your opinion, hold it loosely.

If it's what the line says, hold it steady.

This Week

Think of one person who has said something hard to you lately. Even clumsily.

Ask: what line were they holding up? Am I defending a sanctuary instead of looking at the wall?

Then think of one hard thing you've been sitting on.

Ask: is this the line, or is it my opinion?

If it's the line, who needs to hear it? And how do I say it so it can be carried?

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Being asked to leave isn't the same as being sent.

Onward,
Chris Behnke