HEBREW WORD STUDY  – HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS – ‘AVADAV HANEV’IM עבדיו  הנביאים Ayin Beth Daleth Yod Vav   Hei Nun Beth Yod Aleph Yod Mem

Amos 3:3-7: “Can two walk together unless they are agreed? (4) Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? (5) If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? (6) If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it? (7) Surely the Lord GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

If you are part of a prophetic group or charismatic fellowship you will have likely heard verse 7 quoted many times.  It does seem to give justification for the role of the prophet even for today.  Surely God will not do anything in this nation without first revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets. 

But did you ever look at the prior verses? For one thing, it does it really say “nation?”  If you read verse 6 God is talking about a city or an ‘iyr in Hebrew which is a fortified town or city.  It is an urban center that is protected or fortified.  Note the prior verses which ask rhetorical questions. Can two walk together and not be agreed? Does a lion cry out of his den if he has caught nothing?  Will people not be fearful if a trumpet is sounded.  If the Lord brings calamity to a city will he not first announce it?   In other words, there is always a warning before something happens.  My point is God does not just warn a nation, He warns cities, communities, organizations, families, and individuals before he allows the enemy to do his work. 

But is this verse really saying that God sends a prophet to warn of coming calamities.  It says that he reveals His secrets to the prophets.  That does not have to be a warning. God specifically says that He is behind the calamities.  When He is behind the calamities He will reveal His secret, note this is singular.  He has a secret behind the calamity.  

That word reveal is interesting. It is the word golah which is a word used for an exile or captivity or uncovering.  When one is sent into exile it is because their crime or sins were uncovered, revealed. In other words, God will not allow calamity to come without first uncovering the reason for the calamity.  Note the word secret is the word sod.  These are secrets of intimacy.  They are like secrets of one’s heart. God will not allow any calamity to come without first uncovering the sin that has broken His heart.  Generally, a wife will not file for divorce without first revealing the secrets of her heart, the things her husband did to break her heart. 

So why reveal it to a prophet?  Well, note He says His servants (plural) the prophets.  The word prophet is navi’im from the root word navah.  A navah is simply one who is prepared to hear the word of the Lord.  There was an office of the prophet who had prophetic gifts.  But navah does not have to exclusively refer to such a person.  A navah could be anyone who is open and prepared to hear the voice of God.  That is why God specifically says: “His servants – the ones who are prepared to hear His voice.” 

I do not doubt there exist those who have prophetic gifts.  The denomination that I am ordained in claims these gifts do not exist today.  However, during my time of teaching in a Bible college, I had met a couple of people who displayed what I felt was a genuine gift of prophecy. In fact, one showed up at my door at 2:00 AM in the morning and said he was driving around for hours fighting with God whether to reveal to me a prophetic vision he had about me and finally, at 2:00 AM agreed with God to get me out of bed to deliver the news that a rather tragic event would take place in my life. The next day I got a phone call with such tragic news that did alter my life.  So, I am inclined to believe there are prophets today who do warn of events that are about to take place.  However, I believe this verse, because it uses the adjective avad – servant is a reference to anyone who is open to receiving a word for the Lord. 

I have known many people who claim to have premonitions of an event that is about to take place and then it actually does. Maybe they were a servant navah, servants of God open to His voice. I have heard stories of Christians who felt led to change their plans at the last minute only to learn that if they followed through with their plans they would have fallen into dire circumstances or they would have missed a great blessing from God. 

The point is any believer can be an ‘avad navah a servant of God who is prepared to hear His voice and learn the secrets of His heart. You don’t have to occupy the office of a prophet to hear the voice of God. David told us in Psalm 25:14 that the sods – the secrets of God’s heart are to those who fear Him. The word fear is yara’ which is to fear offending, wounding, or breaking God’s heart. 

You see when God is about to allow a calamity to fall upon a iyr or community that will sweep up His servants, the whole thing will break His heart but those who are listening and prepared for the voice of God will have adequate warning. 

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