WAEC Christian Religious Studies (CRS) 2015 Theory — Question 8

Model answer

Amos was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees when God called him to prophesy in Israel. Amos was vibrant and blunt as he spoke against the social and religious wrong practices of the Israelites of his day. Amaziah, who happened to be the priest at Bethel, reported Amos to the king of Israel, Jeroboam, accusing him of conspiracy and treason: 'Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel.' Amaziah added that Amos had prophesied that the king of Israel would die by the sword and Israel would go into exile. Amaziah confronted Amos and told him that he was forbidden to speak against the king and the temple; Amaziah mistook Amos for one of the false prophets of the time and called him a seer. He commanded Amos to return to Judah where he came from and prophesy and earn a living there. Amos told Amaziah that he was not a fake/professional prophet, but that the LORD had called him to prophesy in Israel while he was tending his flock and dressing sycamore trees. He then told Amaziah that his wife would become a harlot in the city, his sons and daughters would fall by the sword, and Amaziah himself would die in an unclean/exiled land, because Bethel was the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom, and Amos had challenged Amaziah that his message was truly from the LORD.