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."