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Amos 2:6-16
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath].
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.
9 “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,
though they were tall as the cedars
and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above
and their roots below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.
11 “I also raised up prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your young men.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13 “Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
14 The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.
The Book of Amos isn’t exactly daily reading for most followers of Jesus. It’s more likely one that most people have to consult the index in order to find. And it’s probably not one that most people would think of as a reading for the season of Advent. But that’s actually kind of a shame, because it’s addressed to the people of Israel in a time when its circumstances were surprisingly similar to our own. And this reading might have an equally surprising resonance for us in this season, when so much buying and selling goes on.
First of all, a little background: Amos is one of the minor books of the prophets at the back of the Old Testament. But “minor” doesn’t mean ‘unimportant.’ It just means it’s not very long.
In the case of the book of the prophet Amos, God spoke through that prophet during a time when the Israelites were enjoying great material prosperity. And while we might tend to think that we’re living in troubled times, if we’re honest we’d have to admit that most of us have it pretty good. We’re certainly safe, secure and prosperous compared to most of the people in the world.
So what is it that God is saying through Amos in this reading?
God says that although the Israelites are richly blessed, they are failing in their responsibility to see that his blessings are distributed equitably. There’s a big gap between rich and poor in the country, and the rich are using their power to hold the poor in virtual slavery. Poor people are regarded as having as little value as a pair of shoes. And the system of justice is rigged against those who have the least. Charges are being trumped up against the poor as a way of keeping them more-or-less in bondage.
What’s more, Israelite society has come to tolerate sexual exploitation – God complains that even within families, men “use” women, passing them around for their own pleasure.
Even the religious leadership seems to be involved in taking advantage of the poor, taking their very clothes as collateral for loans and then laying around the sanctuary on them, treating a sacred space like a lounge. Men who have taken religious vows are casually discarding those vows. And religious leaders who are supposed to be speaking in God’s name are instead keeping silent because the word of God would be inconvenient to the powerful.
God warns that a time of judgment is coming, and that when his judgment is brought against the society, even a strong army will be no defense against his power.
I don’t know about you, but this passage makes me pretty uncomfortable. In fact, the whole Book of Amos makes me pretty uncomfortable. The prosperity of our society, like that of ancient Israel, is distributed inequitably, and the income gap is getting greater and greater. And abuses seem to be multiplying. In a shocking number of places in our country, the authorities have essentially re-instituted ‘debtor’s prisons.’ Poor people are given heavy fines for minor offenses, and then they get more and more fines and fees when they can’t pay the original ones. The poor obviously can’t pay for private attorneys, and many states are cutting back on funding for public defenders. So it becomes a vicious cycle.
God spoke through Amos to condemn ancient Israel for “denying justice to the oppressed.” Doesn’t that strike a little close to home? Doesn’t that make you a little uncomfortable?
We Americans are so individualistic that we feel entitled to hang onto what we’ve got. But the book of the prophet Amos – and in fact this is true of the whole Old Testament – makes it plain that God holds the most materially blessed of his people responsible for seeing that the poor are provided for.
As you may know, our church is a member of a coalition to provide affordable housing to workers in our county. But nearly all of the residential land in Medina County is zoned in such a way that affordable housing can’t be built on it. Apparently our attitude as citizens of the county is that the workers in our businesses should serve us, and then go away, because they’re inconvenient to have as neighbors.
It almost goes without saying that there’s a disturbing level of sexual exploitation in our society. Human trafficking for sexual purposes remains shockingly prevalent – so it seems that – at least in spirit – “father and son using the same girl” is still a sad reality today. The experts say that human trafficking for sexual purposes generates more profit than the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer put together.
The book of the prophet Amos reminds us that God still expects those he blesses to work tirelessly – and sacrificially – to create a society committed to justice and fairness. God still expects his people to share their blessings with the poor and refrain from exploiting others for their own benefit. And when people refuse to live according to God’s word, they still risk God’s punishment.
It would be easy to think that the problem with our prosperous society is ‘all those other people,’ and not us. But of course, that’s too easy. If we benefit from the exploitation of others, then we bear some of the responsibility for that exploitation. The word spoken to God’s people through the Prophet Amos reminds us that unless we’re really committed to working for a more just and righteous society – and not one that just advances our own interests – then we’re part of the problem, and not part of God’s solution.
Let’s pray. Lord, move in our hearts to make us more and more committed to building a society that you would delight in – one that calls on all people to live according to your word, and one in which those who claim to be your people lead by example in our commitment to justice and caring for the poor and powerless. Amen.
Every Blessing,
Henry
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