and become manly men again! The poor must be given their rights, must
be treated justly and righteously, that they may become manly men
again! Only a nation of moral, upright, God-fearing men can hope for
victory! If the Assyrians should defeat and crush Israel, it will be
God's punishment visited upon Israel for its sins and crimes.

Amos had often discussed these things with his mother. She was not
surprised, therefore, when, one day, upon his return from a long trip
into Assyria, Amos said to her, "I am called to the cities of Israel.
My mission will be prolonged many days."

The good woman knew and understood. Laying her hands upon his head,
she repeated the blessing with which she had blessed him when, as a
timid young man, he made his first trip to Jerusalem:

"Go, my son, and God be with thee."

And so it was that Amos, the herdsmen of Tekoah, had dared to speak
for the poor people in Samaria, and to prophesy the fall of the
Kingdom.

His first speech attracted little attention, but others, in various
parts of the country, to the same effect, followed. Many laughed at
them; few thought seriously about them.

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.