Priorities - or - Why Amos 1:1 Rocks

"The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."

Jeroboam II was king of Israel during a period of remarkable prosperity and peace. He expanded the territory of the nation. He was king for 41 years...longer than Saul and David...the longest reign of any king Israel ever had.

In total, he is mentioned in about 1/2 dozen verses in the older testament. Relatively little is known about him or his reign.

Amos, a shepherd of all things, a stranger from Judah proclaims a message from God and it is preserved for all time.

God's scoreboard doesn't look at all like ours. We think we know what's important because we live at a time and in a place that makes daily life seem important. The people living in Israel during the reign of of J II surely felt as if God was blessing their efforts and work and worship - just look at their prosperity. Then comes Amos to drop the bomb that their prosperity was not because of but a result of defiance of God.

Beware of using your own scoreboard to figure out the score.