Amos 7:10 says, 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 is not able to bear all his words.  Amos had just prophesied that Israel was going to be taken away captive and Jeroboam was to die by the sword according to God.  Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, told Jeroboam that Amos had conspired against Jeroboam.  When those who are supposed to be God's priests, His spokesman on earth among other things, do not even recognize God's word when it is spoken, no wonder God was ready to allow them to be destroyed.  We, as God's people today, a priesthood of believers, must put God above all else, even the government.  Verse eleven says, For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.  As just discussed, Amos was accused of somehow being against Israel and Jeroboam.  Yet, Amos was only proclaiming what God had revealed to him.  We must speak out against corruption in government, and even more so in the worship of God, when we see it and especially when God leads us to.  Some religious leaders may even disagree with us and accuse us of being subversive, but we must always follow God's teachings and leadership.  God will never lead us away from what His word has always taught.  Verse twelve states, Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:  Amaziah told Amos to go away, to Judah, and prophesy there.  It is a sad commentary when those who are supposedly God's representatives attempt to send away those who are speaking God's word, whether in Amos' day or today.  Verse thirteen declares, But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.  Amaziah told Amos not to prophesy anymore in Bethel, because it was the king's chapel and court.  That was the problem.  Everything that should have been God's had been claimed as belonging to His people, and not to God.  It should have been viewed as God's chapel, not the king's.  We today must never claim the things of God as our own.  Verse fourteen says, Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:  Amos did not defend himself by stating his credentials, but did the opposite.  He said he was a herdman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit.  When God calls someone to speak to people for Him, He qualifies them.  We do not need to look for earthly qualifications, but for a divine calling in God's preachers and teachers today.  Verse fifteen declares, And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.  Amos said God took him as he followed his flock and told him to go prophesy to Israel, God's chosen people.  I believe that if a person is to be successful as a spokesman for God today, they must be taken by, or totally dedicated to, following God's will and go where He directs them.  Verse sixteen states, Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.  Amos then tells Amaziah that he was one of those who needed to hear God's word.  Far from ceasing to prophesy, Amos had a particular prophecy for Amaziah.  We can never allow anyone to stop us from doing what God has called us to do, even religious leaders.  Verse seventeen says, Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.  This was God's sentence on Amaziah and his family in particular and then on Israel in general.  We might think this rather harsh, but I don't believe that God just arbitrarily made this happen, but that He saw the outcome of the actions of these people.  If we refuse to listen to God's word, then the outcome is always going to be bad, even if it is only spiritually.