One of the incredible things about the book of Amos revolves around who Amos is. He is not a priest. He never went to Bible College. He was neither a theologian or a scholar. He was just a guy who was employed in keeping cattle. In other words, you could say he was an old-time cowboy. Yet, God used him in a great way to reach Israel with the Word of God.
Amos 1:1 “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 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.”
Here is the thought that amazes. God is all knowing and all powerful. He is the Creator. He has the scholars and the theologians who study the Word of God. He did not choose them to share His Word. He chose a cowboy. What that means for you and for me is that we can be used by God. Nowhere in Scripture do we find some great list of the qualifications of Amos. What we have is apparent. We see his availability. I have often said the that best ability we can offer God is availability. This is exactly what we see with Amos. God does not always call the qualified, but God can qualify the called. This brings to my heart a sense of amazement. Why? Because the Lord is willing to use me. Nobody special from a little town, a cowboy when I was younger. Every day, I’m amazed. Let us noy lose the sense of awe and wonder that the God of the universe would use us, regardless of our background and where we came from. It is amazing that we can be used by God.