And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah.
Here God pauses His charge against Israel to name His gifts: rescue from Egypt, land to live in, and then people — prophets and Nazirites from their own sons. It ends with a question aimed straight at the nation's conscience, and the next verse shows how they answered.
The list of gifts sits inside a charge against the nation. One commentator sets the gifts and the crime side by side.
To shame them, the prophet sets God's gracious and faithful care before them, both in the land and before that in Egypt (verses 9, 10). He also sets before them God's choice of their sons to be prophets and Nazirites. And what had they done? (verses 11, 12.)
Prophets and Nazirites are the two marks of a nation in a special relationship with God. One kind of person was set apart for Him. The other was sent from Him. Israel spoiled both, in two different ways.
He had given them the tokens of a special relationship with Himself. These were persons set apart for Himself, and others whom He had sent to them as messengers. But they had caused the first to defile themselves, and had told the second not to prophesy in the name of Jehovah.
The words "I raised up" matter. Israel's first order of things did not include prophets. They came only after that order broke down.
An extraordinary energy of the Spirit raised them up to guide Israel. The original settlement of things in Israel did not provide such a ministry. The nation was to stand in the remembrance and obedience of the words which Moses had delivered. See Deuteronomy 6, 11, 31. But when they forgot these words, an extraordinary presence of the Spirit of God became necessary. It then appeared in the person and ministry of the prophets.
The other gift is a word that needs unpacking. The name itself carries the whole idea.
The very term "Nazirite" speaks of "separation." The three things required of him all say this. He kept away from the fruit of the vine. His long hair set aside the dignity of manhood. He kept away from the dead. The vow, as looked at here, was voluntary and for a limited time. These are the things in which its character shows itself.
Notice whose sons these were. God raised up this devotion inside Israel's own families. The next verse shows what the nation did with it.
Amos mentions a further privilege of the people. God had given among them young people who wanted to live especially for God: "some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites" (v. 11). How had they treated these privileges? They should have rejoiced over the devotion of the Nazirites. Instead they discouraged these young men and tried to distract them from their consecration to God: "you made the Nazirites drink wine" (v. 12). They said, in effect, "Don't take things so seriously: a little more earthly joy and a little less dedication is better — one shouldn't overdo things."
Why go to the trouble of pulling someone down? The same writer presses the question, and finds the answer close to home.
One wonders what motivation led them to act in this way. If they would not encourage them, why not simply leave the Nazirites (and the prophets) alone? They could have done that even without feeling called or inclined to follow their example. Is the reason not this? The greater dedication of my brother or my sister pricks my conscience and condemns me.
The same appetite can show up in Christians today. One writer sees it in what people want from teaching.
One danger for Christians at the present moment is the desire for stimulants in teaching. This also characterised Israel (Amos 2:11). Stimulants are not food at all. In the end they even create a distaste for food. They only excite the imagination, the intellect, or nature. They never reach the conscience or the heart. Christ, and Christ alone, is the food of His people.
- Given. God recalls His gifts to shame Israel: prophets and Nazirites, named alongside the rescue from Egypt and the land.
- Given from within. These were their own sons and young men. God raised up the devotion inside Israel's homes.
- Given after failure. Prophets came by an extraordinary working of the Spirit, after the nation forgot the words Moses had delivered. The Nazirite's very name means separation.
- Spoiled. Israel spoiled both tokens of that special relationship. They defiled the separated one with wine and silenced the messenger.
- Still asked. God's question still stands. It reaches us whenever another believer's dedication pricks the conscience, and we discourage instead of encourage.
And ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
God has just listed His gifts to Israel: a land, His care in Egypt before that, and prophets and Nazirites — young men set apart to live for God — raised up from Israel's own sons. Verse 12 is Israel's answer to that kindness, and it raises a hard question: what kind of people work to shut down the gifts God gives them?
The charge lands right after a reminder of how well God had treated Israel.
To shame them, the prophet sets God's gracious and faithful care before them — His care in the land, and before that in Egypt. He also sets before them His choice of their sons to be prophets and Nazirites. And what had they done?
The verse names two groups, and God had raised up both of them in Israel. One writer sees the wine as pressure on young men who wanted to live for God.
God had given them young people who wanted to live for God in a special way: "And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites." How had they treated these privileges? They should have rejoiced over the devotion of the Nazirites. Instead they discouraged these young men and tried to pull them away from their consecration to God: "But you made the Nazirites drink wine." They said, in effect, "Don't take things so seriously. A little more earthly joy and a little less dedication is better. One shouldn't overdo things." Their attitude to the prophets was just as wrong: "and commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.'"
Handing a Nazirite a cup of wine looks harmless — until you see what the wine stood for.
"Wine and strong drink," which the Nazirite had to keep away from, would point to what gratifies, stimulates, and excites the flesh… As Nazirites we do not need the joys of men. We do not need what the world provides to keep us going. Our joy and strength are in the Lord.
Nobody is forced to interfere with another person's devotion. The question of why they bothered leads to an uncomfortable answer.
One wonders what motive led them to act in this way. Why did they not at least leave the Nazirites (and the prophets) alone, if they would not encourage them? They could have done that even if they themselves did not feel called or inclined to follow their example. Is the explanation not that the greater dedication of my brother or my sister pricks my conscience and condemns me?
The same writer turns the verse into a question for today.
Even today the prophet Amos asks us how we handle the dedication of others. Should we not beware of comments that put them down or discourage them? Should we not encourage them on this pathway and pray for them instead? The behaviour of the Nazirites can be a positive example and a spur for us to live for the Lord ourselves.
The order to stop prophesying comes back later in the book. This time a priest named Amaziah aims it at Amos himself.
The priest Amaziah tries to stir up the fears and jealousy of the king against Amos. At the same time he pretends to advise Amos for his own good. His aim is to get rid of the testimony from God, which he dreaded… Religion in Israel was a political arrangement, despite their effort to imitate the ritual of God.
If a people will not hear, God can stop speaking. Later in the book Amos warns them what that will feel like.
Amos announces a great famine. It will not be a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. God will withdraw His Word and the light of His revelation from them completely. They would then look for the word of the Lord they had despised, and not find it.
- Gift. God raised the prophets and the Nazirites up out of Israel's own sons. They were a kindness to the nation, not intruders.
- Gift corrupted. The cup pressed on the Nazirite attacked his separation. Wine stands for what excites the flesh — the very joy he had laid aside.
- Gift silenced. Amaziah the priest later turns the same order on Amos, because he dreaded the testimony from God.
- Motive. A believer with deeper devotion pricks our conscience. Discouraging him is easier than following him.
- Result. A people who tell God to stop speaking may get the silence they asked for. Then they search for the word they despised and cannot find it.