Behold I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.—Amos vii. 7. “Let me here subjoin, Myron, the history which follows, which will show you clearly in what relation the prophet stood to the priests: ‘Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel, the land cannot remain tranquil for the words which he speaketh. For thus Amos saith; Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. And Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread and prophesy there: but prophesy no more at Bethel: for it is the king’s sanctuary and royal palace. Then answered Amos and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman, and I lived on sycamore fruit. And the Lord took me, as I followed my flock, and he said to me, Go prophesy unto my people Israel. Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord. Thou sayest Prophesy not against Israel And stream not forth against the house of Isaac! “But the Lord saith, Thy wife shall be a harlot, And thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword. Thy land shall be divided by the line, And thou shalt die in a polluted land, And Israel shall be carried captive out of his land.[47] Footnote 47: Amos viii. 10. “Hosea, the son of Beeri, is first of all commanded to contract a symbolical marriage, to indicate the infidelity of the congregation of Israel against Jehovah. Then he breaks forth in the highest and boldest strain of indignation. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah! Cry aloud at Bethaven ‘They are after thee, O Benjamin!’ Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke, And upon the tribes of Israel I make known what shall surely be. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the landmark; Therefore will I pour out my wrath upon them like water.[48] Footnote 48: Hos. v. 8. “The prophetic words were soon accomplished, in the rapid downfal of the kingdom of Israel. Assyria, which Jehovah calls the rod of his indignation,[49] made Menahem, the next king after Zechariah, tributary; and Tiglath-pilesar carried away many of the inhabitants of Israel. Galilee, and the district beyond Jordan were lost. Hoseah, the last king of Israel, contrary to the advice of Isaiah, made a league with So, the king of Egypt, and was defeated by Salmanassar. Samaria was destroyed, the inhabitants carried beyond the Tigris, to the neighbourhood of the river Chebar, and the Lord put away Israel from before him, as he threatened by his servants the prophets.