Di Shepherd Wey Nobody Fit Silence

Go house, prophet. Go find your bread for another place. And no ever talk for here again. Di priest words dey echo for di stone walls of di king shrine. Di man wey e dey talk to get dust for im sandals, and im cloth dey smell like sheep. E no move.

Dis na Israel, di northern kingdom, for di days of King Jeroboam di Second. Times dey good, at least for some people. Di rich people get house for dry season and house for cold season, beds wey dem decorate with ivory, and plenty wine. Dem dey cheat di poor people for market and dem dey push dem comot from court. Na inside dis soft life Amos waka enter, one herdsman from Tekoa, one small town for di hills for south of Judah. E don dey talk hard words. God, e talk, dey hold plumb line against Israel, like builder wey dey check wall. And di wall don lean well well.

Amaziah na di chief priest for Bethel, and e don taya. E send message straight to di king. Amos dey plan against you, right for di middle of Israel. Di land no fit carry all im words. E dey talk say Jeroboam go die by sword, and dem go carry Israel comot from im land go exile. See say no be exactly wetin Amos talk. Amos don warn say God go rise against di house of Jeroboam. Amaziah make am sound like say e concern di king imself, like treason. Sometimes di easiest way to silence message na to make di messenger look like dangerous person.

Then Amaziah turn to Amos imself. You wey dey see vision, comot. Run go back to di land of Judah. Find your bread there, and do your prophesying there. But no prophesy for Bethel again. Dis na di king sanctuary. Dis na royal house. Listen to wetin e really dey talk. Dis place belong to di king. Religion for here suppose support di palace, no be to question am. And dem treat Amos like preacher wey dem hire, person wey dey talk for money, wey dem fit send go another place make e go find am.

Amos answer simple and honest. I no be prophet, and I no be prophet son. I be herdsman, and I dey take care of sycamore fig trees. And Di Lord take me as I dey follow di flock, and Di Lord tell me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. E no get title to protect and no salary to lose. E no choose dis work. E dey for field with di animals when God call am. Na only one reason make e dey here: because dem send am. And person wey God send, another person no fit just drive am go.

So Amos no back down. Now hear di word of Di Lord. You dey tell me make I no prophesy against Israel. Then dis na wetin Di Lord talk. And e give Amaziah one hard message. Di trouble wey Amaziah want silence go reach im own house. When di enemy come, dem go disgrace im wife for di city, dem go make her prostitute. Im sons and im daughters go fall by sword. Dem go use line measure im land and share am. E imself go die for land wey no clean, far from house. And Israel go surely go exile, far from im own soil. Di priest want make di warning stop. Instead e come back straight to am. Di shepherd turn waka go, and im words still dey hang for di air of di king shrine.

Why priest go call place of worship di king sanctuary? Di answer go back almost two hundred years before Amos. When di kingdom divide after Solomon, di first king for north, Jeroboam di First, no want make im people dey travel go south to di temple for Jerusalem. So e set up two gold calves, one for Bethel and one for Dan, and e make dem royal shrines. From di beginning, Bethel na di king chapel. To talk against Israel there na to talk inside di king own house.

Di shepherd prophet. You go find am for Amos chapter seven, verse ten reach seventeen. Amos no get certificate, no get big family name and no get permission from di powerful people. E get call, and e dey faithful to am. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. When somebody tell you make you keep quiet about wetin dey right, whose voice you go listen to?