WAEC Christian Religious Studies (CRS) 2025 Theory — Question 5

Model answer

1. Amos was a shepherd in Judah whom God called to prophesy in Israel. 2. Amos went to the Northern Kingdom and preached against the social and religious decadence of his day. 3. Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, reported Amos to King Jeroboam II, accusing him of conspiracy and treason. 4. Amaziah then confronted Amos and forbade him from prophesying at Bethel, since it was the king's sanctuary. 5. Amaziah mistook Amos for one of the professional prophets who prophesied for a living, calling him a 'seer'. 6. Amaziah commanded Amos to return to Judah, his home town, to earn his living and never again prophesy at Bethel. 7. Amos rejected this characterisation, explaining that the Lord called him from tending his flock and dressing sycamore trees. 8. For challenging him, Amos pronounced judgment on Amaziah: his wife would become a prostitute in the city, his children would fall by the sword, his land would be divided, and he himself would die in a foreign land, while Israel would go into exile.