is thereby set under an almost irresistible compulsion to proclaim God’s word (Amos 3:8; cf. Jer. 20:9). Third, unlike the early prophets, who devoted their entire lives to their profession, Amos serves as a prophet of the Lord for only a limited amount of time. He is given a task to do and the words from the Lord by which to do it. Once the task is accomplished, he is released to return to Judah and to resume his normal life as “a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees” (7:14 RSV). Fourth, the