“…and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.”
Somebody has been drinking the water, they say. It is a metaphor that points out the crazy things coming from someone’s mouth. The water is not poisonous, but it points to someone believing a lie and broadcasting it as truth. The more and more they speak, the deeper the lie becomes until it passes off as truth.
The prophet Amos is writing things from the Lord during the time when Israel still had a king, and the nation was still 12 tribes. This verse comes from what the Lord spoke against Israel. Verse 4 of chapter 2 tells us that they have been led astray by false gods. We look back now and see how far off the nation had become. Poor leadership influenced by outsiders was a major factor. The Israelites did not fully get rid of all of the old Amorite people or their gods when they first took over the land God had given them.
Our verse is a sign, so to speak. It points to a people whose faith is failing. When you continue to practice sin, you are planting seeds. Those seeds grow into full-blown obsessions that drive you away from the Lord. A sign of these seeds actually growing is when you do not want to hear anything about the Lord. The Israelites had prophets who continually told them what the Lord was speaking. This must have been a tough spot because these prophets were the only people calling out the sin among the people, and they did not like it at all.
The sign of sin was that they told the prophets not to prophesy. “Hey, we do not want to hear what God says, just shut up and go away!” If you find yourself going to church while practicing sin, and you get convicted about that sin, and your response is to stop going to church, well, we can read why you are doing that.
The Bible says that they “commanded” the prophets not to prophesy; it was not a suggestion. Depending upon how deep you are into whatever you are doing, you might get ugly when the Lord convicts you, but the message is still from the Lord. Just like the Israelites had to make a decision, you do as well. Stop practicing the sin and start to heal, or continue to quiet the voice of the Lord and fall further into the garden of sin, where His voice is hard to hear. Are you listening to the Lord, or do you find yourself quieting His voice of correction?
Prayer: Father, help me to see the sin in my life. Holy Spirit, point out the sin in my life that pulls me farther away from you. I pray that I turn from this sin and follow Jesus. I want to follow you, Jesus, and I have faith and strength to walk in your ways through your Spirit, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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