Amos in 1:1 identifies himself as one of the “sheep breeders of Tekoa,” and then in 7:14 he repeats this by saying, “I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheep breeder and a tender of sycamore fruit.”
Not your typical school for spiritual leadership, one might think, until you consider the folks that God used in the Bible:
Moses: Who was called after watching his father-in-law’s sheep
David: Who was called while watching his father’s sheep?
Amos: Who is called while caring for the flock?
Where do you find shepherds? You find them caring for and feeding the flock, loving on folks, watching over the needs of others, and willing to lay down their lives for the benefits of others.
Tekoa was a small village 12 miles south of Jerusalem known for a special breed of sheep that was sought after for its wool. Apparently he also took care of a crop of sycamore figs that were pollinated by a small wasp that, if left in the fig, would cause it to rot, so Amos would have to puncture each fig before the fig ripened to allow the wasp to escape. Saints remember what the Lord says in Zech. 4:10: “For who has despised the day of small things?” Because these are the “eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
God delights in calling hicks from Tekoa to come and speak on His behalf to the religious elite in Bethel because God calls us to speak to what He values as precious and to let out that which is captive!