But Amos was not so easily discouraged. He concluded that the wrong idea the people had about God, how to worship Him and what He demanded of them, was the cause of all the evil. Amos, therefore, selected the sanctuaries during festival season as the place where he must do his preaching. He went especially to Bethel, the king's sanctuary, where Jeroboam brought his sacrifices and where the great nobles and soldiers and richest merchants gathered and reveled in their feasts. One day Amos broke in upon a reveling group, with the unexpected call: "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!" Such a call was, indeed, unexpected. The Israelites, assembled at the sanctuary, offering their sacrifices, believed that they were _with_ their God. Some one told Amos as much, and the crowd jeered at the fool, who evidently did not understand his religion. This laughter ceased suddenly, however, when Amos began to chant a mournful dirge: "Hear ye this word which I take up for a lamentation over you, O house of Israel! Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel! Cast down upon her soil she lies, There is none to raise her up. The city that taketh the field with a thousand, Hath but a hundred left; And the one that taketh the field with a hundred, Hath but ten left." A young officer, who felt that the army, the pride of the Kingdom, had been grossly insulted, rushed forth from the crowd and exclaimed, hotly: "Thou art a false prophet! Prophesy no more." Then he continued, explaining to Amos and to the crowd, that God could not have sent such a message to the house of Israel. God was with them, he said, and was gracious to them. Israel was stronger, mightier than ever before and Israel was, that very day, at Bethel, at Gilgal, at Beersheba, bringing thanks-offerings to God. Amos stood stolidly by and listened until the young man had finished. Then he replied: "Thus saith God to the house of Israel: Ye that oppress the poor and crush the needy, That trample upon the just and cause the poor of the land to fail, Seek _Me_ and live, But seek not Bethel, And Gilgal do not enter, To Beersheba go not over; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity And Bethel shall come to naught. Seek God and not evil That ye may live And so God, the Lord of hosts, May be with you, as you say. Hate evil and love good, And establish justice in the gate. Perhaps God will be gracious, The God of hosts, to a remnant of Joseph." The young officer shook his head in disgust and walked away. Others, however, remained awhile, meditating upon what Amos had said. Amos, too, when he went his way, felt that his words had made an impression. He thought they had fallen, like seeds, upon fertile soil. Would these seeds take root? Would they grow and flourish? Would they bear fruit when the crisis for Israel came? But first a crisis for Amos came, when he had to fight for his life.