Amos was summoned by God to warn the Northern Kingdom of Israel of its impending doom due to the collapse of justice and the moral and spiritual decline of the nation. It should be understood that Amos did not travel to Israel in the footprints of Elijah and Elisha; working miracles and wonders. He went by divine commission with a prophet message. He had no soothing or cushiony words to comfort the poor and those in adversity. Indeed, he had only threatening words of vengeance and punishment for those who defied God's will. Justice, not mercy, was what Amos insisted upon.
In Amos' mind, social justice was a vital part of the covenant responsibility. He declared it so ferociously and defined it so sharply that the community of Israel must have thought he was crazy. Of course, people tend to think you are "crazy" when you speak candidly and truthfully. We are not too far removed from the response of the children of Israel. We live in a time when you are expected to sugar coat, sweeten, soften it down a bit. But pardon me, I digress.
Amos was a realist who dealt with things as they were. Justice was what his God demanded, and it was the smug substitution of form and ritual for justice that aroused his righteous indignation. Amos spoke for God and God alone and the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Let's be clear; justice to Amos is not just conformity to a civil code, though it is involved to some degree. But for him, it was having the right dealings with and relationship toward others in the covenant tradition. It grieved Amos to the core of his being to see that justice and righteousness were so perverted that the very covenant with God was dishonored and defiled. Much of the practices of Israel were in direct violation to the covenant laws. So much so that it seemed as if Israel was in a conspiracy against its own poor.
Amos insisted that true religion begins and ends in recognition of the holiness of God: a holiness which must find its expression in the personal and corporate life of Israel. He perceived with astonishing clearness that the physical and intellectual strength of a nation can be destroyed by immorality and overindulgence.
However we may want to look at it, the prophecy of Amos went directly to the heart of matters. It stripped pretence from the judicial system, where nepotism and preferential treatment rather than justice prevailed; from industry and commerce, where the love of man had been replaced by the love of gain; from altars of religion, where officials were busy with their services and indifference to reality.
Amos bluntly told Israel that they were a bunch of greedy, unjust, dirty and profane people who defended and excused themselves on the ground that they were God's elect and therefore, no real harm could befall them. Amos adamantly rejected this notion and vociferously declared that God had no favorites and that in actuality the opposite was true. The fact that Israel had been chosen above all the nations of the earth had placed greater moral obligations upon them. To the extent that they failed to meet these obligations would their punishment be greater than that of their enemies.
Neither did Amos "bite his tongue" when admonishing the women of his day whom he called "cows of Bashan" because they only cared for luxury and worldly pleasures (4:11). He describes them as a group of heartless, ignorant women who used folks to gratify their own lustful appetites.
It's troubling to the spirit when one thinks about what the people of Israel thought the "Day of the Lord" was going to be like. In their imagination, it would be a grand and glorious event when God would defeat all their opponents; give them the privilege of rule, and shower them with all the material advantages her patriots desired. Oh how much they were looking forward to the 'Great Day of the Lord.'
Then enters the joy killer, Amos, with words of dread, judgment and doom.
I wonder if there is any similarity between ancient Israel and modern America. Just wondering!
Rev. Saundra L. Washington, is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow, Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances, Homilies that Teach.
The Coming World War III [with Russia]In my book, "The... Read More
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated to all of Israel,... Read More
The Sun god, Mithras, was the most widely worshipped deity... Read More
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."... Read More
William Jennings Bryan said: "Christians desire that their children shall... Read More
There are hundreds of named men and women in the... Read More
The Path Is Winding:Ever wonder why things that happen in... Read More
As the clock ticks down to the fateful day of... Read More
Romans 1:16-1:32. Can there be a compromise between the two:... Read More
Webster's dictionary explains majesty meaning a title used to speaking... Read More
Christ died. This is a historical fact not to be... Read More
Jesus spoke as much about Heaven as He did about... Read More
French & Dutch Reject EU Constitution & British Table It-We... Read More
RESPONSE TO PAULINE CHRISTIANITY: - The whole of Christendom is... Read More
As you will see in the Scripture verses I will... Read More
Church building is a term used to designate both the... Read More
Recently, the Presbyterian Church (USA) beat a drum for justice.... Read More
The farmer handed buckets to us, the blueberry pickers. "You're... Read More
Amos was summoned by God to warn the Northern Kingdom... Read More
The Greek language had three words for "Love" First there... Read More
Over the last few months hundreds of thousands of people... Read More
Some people look at the biblical book of Revelation as... Read More
One of the more insightful warnings Christians can receive bears... Read More
Organized Religion has served mankind well, by uniting civilization and... Read More
1 INTRODUCTIONAS IN THE ABSTRACT2 WHY PRIESTHOOD IS NOT A... Read More
In the mid 90's, a Presbyterian minister named Steve Brown... Read More
The whole universe originated from Tao. Mankind also originated from... Read More
The subject of this document is so unpleasing to the... Read More
Anyone who has read their Bible would have to concede... Read More
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized ?in the name of... Read More
Prv:18:2 A Fool Receiveth Not The Words Of Prudence: Unless... Read More
Surely, Not All Evils!(circa 2000)St. Paul wrote a letter to... Read More
... Read More
A few days ago, I was watching TV, and I... Read More
Christ died. This is a historical fact not to be... Read More
There is a new term being thrown around "phenophilia", no... Read More
The study of evolution puts into perspective our relative insignificant... Read More
Deliverance is to be rescued or salvation. Thanks be to... Read More
I want to say a word about faith. Recent events... Read More
We all must know that the Catholic Church has used... Read More
MAN: Good afternoon Professor Knowledge. Let me cut to the... Read More
2 Kings 9:30-9:36. How many her today believe in the... Read More
In part 1 of this series of end time articles,... Read More
Why MeAs a Christian I feel the need to say... Read More
The Bible says that an unholy trinity will arise in... Read More
I remember hearing a minister years ago as he quoted... Read More
This article will deal with the next set of judgments... Read More
As the human race maps out the genome and unlocks... Read More
Some may ask, why can't I have a lot of... Read More
My wife had a vision recently of a string of... Read More
Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.In my view, the significance... Read More
There is continuous creation, out of the new ideas discovered... Read More
There are hundreds of named men and women in the... Read More
Exposing Hidden SinFor nothing is secret that shall not be... Read More
The framework for the message this morning will consist of... Read More
Revelation 19:7 states, "Let us rejoice and give honor unto... Read More
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the... Read More
Hold on to your hat! Here comes one of the... Read More
This article was inspired by a book by E. W.... Read More
After the 1000 years are up in the Millennium Kingdom,... Read More
Americans waited for an explanation of the molestations of thousands... Read More
Jesus said there'd be days like this.The disciples came to... Read More
Why does every one believe that Jesus is the son... Read More
The other day I had a meeting on the web... Read More
I find myself amazed and appalled that such strong antipathy... Read More
America has had its great share of renowned preachers, missionaries... Read More
Religion |