Lord, you have raised your hand high to punish them. But they don’t even see it. Let them see how much you love your people. Then they will be put to shame. Let the fire you are saving for your enemies burn them up.
Then these officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. What he says is making the soldiers who are left in this city lose hope. It’s making all the people lose hope too. He isn’t interested in what is best for the people. In fact, he’s trying to destroy them.”
But Baruch, the son of Neriah, is turning you against us. He wants us to be handed over to the Babylonians. Then they can kill us. Or they can take us away to Babylon.”
Amaziah was priest of Bethel. He sent a message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel. He said, “Amos is making evil plans against you right here in Israel. The people in the land can’t stand to listen to what he’s saying.
“Blessed are you when people make fun of you and hurt you because of me. You are also blessed when they tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me.
“Fellow Israelites, help us!” they shouted. “This is the man who teaches everyone in all places against our people. He speaks against our law and against this holy place. Besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple. He has made this holy place ‘unclean.’ ”
“We gave you clear orders not to teach in Jesus’ name,” he said. “But you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You want to make us guilty of this man’s death.”
We serve God in times of glory and shame. We serve him whether the news about us is bad or good. We are true to our calling. But people treat us as if we were pretenders.
These people complain and find fault with others. They follow their own evil desires. They brag about themselves. They praise others to get what they want.