What is the meaning of Amos 7:14? I was not a prophet • Amos begins by stating plainly, “I was not a prophet”. He is stressing that he did not enter ministry through a professional guild or personal ambition. • The Lord frequently chooses unlikely messengers—think of Moses protesting, “Who am I, that I should go?” (Exodus 3:11), or Jeremiah saying, “Ah, Lord GOD, I surely do not know how to speak” (Jeremiah 1:6). • This pattern magnifies God’s sovereignty: He equips whom He calls (cf. 1 Timothy 1:12). nor was I the son of a prophet • Prophetic “schools” or “sons of the prophets” existed in Israel (2 Kings 2:3), but Amos did not belong to one. • Heritage or pedigree did not qualify him. God’s call overrides bloodlines (John 1:13; Galatians 3:7). • Like Gideon, the youngest in a least-regarded clan (Judges 6:15), Amos shows that ministry lineage is unnecessary when the Lord commissions a servant. rather, I was a herdsman • Amos tended flocks in Tekoa. Shepherding was humble, gritty work (Psalm 78:70-71). • The Lord has a pattern of calling shepherds—Moses in Midian (Exodus 3:1) and David among the sheepfolds (1 Samuel 16:11). • Shepherding develops vigilance and courage, qualities crucial for confronting Israel’s leaders with truth (Acts 20:28-31). and a tender of sycamore-fig trees • Sycamore-figs were the food of common people; cultivating them required steady, manual labor. • Amos’s dual roles show he earned his living apart from prophesying, silencing any charge of profiteering (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:18). • Scripture honors diligent work—“Aspire to live quietly, attend to your own matters, and work with your hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). Amos models this ethic even while carrying a prophetic burden. summary Amos 7:14 highlights that God chose an ordinary laborer with no prophetic pedigree to speak His extraordinary word. The verse underscores divine initiative, the value of humble vocation, and the truth that calling, not credentials, authorizes ministry. |
    |