The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Amos 7:10-13,
"Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: 'Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. For this is what Amos is saying: "Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land."' Then Amaziah said to Amos, '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.'"
A definition of religion, from dictionary.com is adherence "to a particular set of beliefs and practices". As the priest of Bethel, Amaziah was a religious leader. As such he had much to protect in advancing his persuasion of the folks in their religious activity. Note the sense of desperation in his message to the king about what Amos was saying, "The land cannot bear all his words." All that Amaziah had built up among the people was possibly at stake. Keeping a tight reign on the hearts and minds of the people was a grave concern for Amaziah.
Such is the challenge for religious leaders. They make gains in promoting doctrine and practice. They become influential in persuading their methodologies and perspectives on the hearts and minds of folks. When they feel challenged, they see their efforts, what they feel as important, threatened and in need of quick defense. Often that defense comes in its best form, an offense. Such is how Amaziah took things into hand.
Where this left Amaziah was in a position of opposing the Lord. In protecting his turf as a religious leader, it resulted in an attempt to thwart the purposes and agenda of the Lord himself. An unwise and foolish position to find oneself in.
I suspect most religious leaders feel they represent God and so pursue their agenda with fervor. Here is the plight of the religious leader. God doesn't need them, as he doesn't need anyone. I am reminded of Paul's comment to Timothy, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..." 1 Timothy 2:5. And, yet, most leaders feel it is through them religion finds its best expression. In Amaziah's day, the nation had so drifted from the Lord that whatever religion Amaziah thought he was promoting was only at odds with God himself. When the Lord chose to speak to the people, he chose to speak through a shepherd, a caretaker of sycamore-fig trees, Amos, and not the religious leadership.
We live in such a day today. There exists so many religions, so many versions of what could loosely be called "Christianity", they cannot all be of God. Too many inconsistencies, too many differences, too many doctrines that stand in opposition to one another they could not possibly be all from the one and only God. I can't help but conclude that many religious leaders are of the strain of Amaziah. As opposed to claims of the contrary, many have to be at odds with the Lord himself as Amaziah was.
The Lord does not need a religious leader to reach his people and he certainly doesn't need a religious leader to promote his agenda of redemption among mankind today. There are undoubtedly many wonderful and godly religious leaders that serve the Lord in truth and sincerity. Likewise, there are undoubtedly many that stand in opposition to the Lord himself and will have to give an account of themselves on the day of judgment.
Not all religious leaders are to be trusted and listened to. That we should reserve to the Lord himself.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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