{"id":8711,"date":"1999-11-07T19:50:14","date_gmt":"1999-11-07T18:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theologie.whp.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/?p=8711"},"modified":"2025-04-09T16:44:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T14:44:42","slug":"amos-518-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/amos-518-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Amos 5:18-24"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drittletzter Sonntag des Kirchenjahres | 7. November 1999 | Amos 5:18-24 |<\/span> Lucy Hogan |<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0093Let Justice Roll Down\u0094<\/p>\n

A friend of mine, an Old Testament scholar, has published a book
\nin which he explores the relationship between the Old Testament, ethics, and
\nthe Christian Life. He has taken his title, Let Justice Roll Down<\/i>, from
\nthe wonderful image of God\u0092s expansive love and faithfulness, in the fifth
\nchapter of the prophecy of Amos:<\/p>\n

But let justice roll down like waters,
\nand righteousness like
\nand everflowing stream. Amos 5:24<\/p>\n

If preachers had only to preach on verse twenty-four of chapter
\nfive, we would be pleased. How wonderful it is to tell our congregations about
\nthe justice of God. It is truly good news when we can proclaim that God\u0092s
\njustice and righteousness will reach into our lives like a stream that will
\nnever be subject to the vicissitudes of nature. Drought can never dry up
\nGod\u0092s love and grace. In this epigram, Amos has captured the image
\nperfectly, and thus the reason my friend chose that line as his title. But we
\nare hardly fair to Amos the prophet, nor do we paint an accurate portrait of
\nhis message, if we merely treat him as an entry in Bartlett\u0092s
\nQuotations<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Taken in its entirety, the prophecy of Amos is harsh and
\nuncompromising. It is a message that condemns those who enjoy the wealth of the
\nworld at the expense of the poor, and far from being a message of reassurance
\nand consolation, this is a message that contains little, if any, hope. The
\njustice and righteousness of which Amos speaks are more words of judgment and
\nless words of comfort, and we ignore this at our peril. Furthermore, the
\nprophecy of Amos is a word of judgement that is as applicable today as it was
\nalmost three thousand years ago.<\/p>\n

Amos tells us that he was among the shepherds of Tekoa when he
\nreceived his call to become a prophet about 760 B. C. E. Tekoa was near
\nJerusalem in Judah, yet this man of the southern kingdom went north to Israel,
\nto pronounce God\u0092s word of judgement. Was he a simple shepherd? Probably
\nnot. The sophistication of his oratorical skill would seem to indicate that
\nAmos used this as a rhetorical device, much the same way an American politician
\ndid in the mid-seventies. During the Watergate hearings, one of the senators
\nfrequently began his questions by noting that he was \u0093just a poor country
\nlawyer.\u0094 That poor country lawyer would then proceed to outsmart and
\noutwit any and all of the witnesses.<\/p>\n

Amos, the \u0093poor country shepherd,\u0094 began his message by
\npronouncing God\u0092s condemnation on Israel\u0092s neighbors. Damascus,
\nGilead, Gaza, Tyre, all had sinned, and all would be punished. Like children in
\nschool who delight when their classmates meet with punishment, the Israelites
\nno doubt enjoyed hearing how the fire of God was going to rain down on their
\nneighbors. Each of their neighbors were to experience severe, devastating
\nretribution for their disobedience. Not even the strong walls of their cities
\nwould be able to stand up to God\u0092s holy fire. Consequently, Amos drew in
\nhis listeners, lulling them with a false sense of superiority, readying them
\nfor the blow that was to come.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the finger of the prophet was pointed at them, \u0093Thus
\nsays the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not
\nrevoke the punishment.\u0094 (Amos 2:6) Like all of their neighbors around
\nthem, Israel, too had sinned against God, and it was the mission of Amos to
\npronounce God\u0092s judgement.<\/p>\n

And what was it that they had done, or not done? Over the years of
\npeace experienced by both the northern and southern kingdoms, the disparity
\nbetween the rich and the poor in Israel had widened drastically. There were
\npeople in Israel who enjoyed great wealth and luxury. They ate well and lived
\nin beautiful homes. And it was to them that Amos directed God\u0092s message.<\/p>\n

Their peace and prosperity had come from God, but in response they
\n\u0093trampled on the poor and took from them levies of grain.\u0094 (Amos
\n4:11) While they enjoyed God\u0092s graciousness they \u0093built houses hewn
\nof stone,\u0094 (Amos 4:11) and reclined on \u0093beds of ivory,\u0094 sang
\n\u0093idle songs,\u0094 drank \u0093wine from bowls and anointed themselves
\nwith the finest oils.\u0094 (Amos 6:4-6) They were distracted by their empty
\ncelebrations, ignoring and forgetting the poor who suffered, because their
\nwealth came at the expense of the weak and oppressed.<\/p>\n

God had sent warnings: famine, drought, floods, blight, mildew,
\nlocusts, and pestilence, but the people ignored each of them. They seemed to
\nthink that empty worship would replace compassion, and sacrifices and offerings
\nwould compensate for a lack of justice and mercy.<\/p>\n

More than any of the prophets, Amos declares a word of doom and
\ndestruction with little or no word of hope. While the end of the prophecy ends
\nwith the possibility of restoration, scholars now seem to think that this is a
\nlater addition by someone disturbed by such a message of condemnation and
\ndamnation. Amos is very clear. The people of Israel have sinned against God and
\nthey will be punished. They would suffer for their transgressions.<\/p>\n

And the reality that was to come was indeed to be one of hardship
\nand suffering for the people of Israel. A generation after Amos the northern
\nkingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and about two hundred years later
\nthe people of the covenant were forced into exile in Babylon. Those who had
\nknown affluence and ease experienced the darkness and gloom of which Amos
\nforetold.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately the finger of Amos is also pointed at us. We, too,
\nlie on beds of ivory and drink delicate wines. Those of us who enjoy great
\nwealth do so at the expense of the poor, and God hears their cries.<\/p>\n

I live in Washington, D. C., the capitol of the United States. I
\nlive in a pleasant neighborhood of old homes and tall trees. My neighbors are
\nsuccessful professionals \u0096 doctors, economists, and government officials.
\nWhile our beds may not be made of ivory, we are probably the people to whom
\nAmos was speaking for I do not have to go too far before I find myself in the
\nmidst of neighborhoods where joblessness, deprivation, and hopelessness are
\netched on every face.<\/p>\n

The economic disparity is astounding, yet daily I must ask, what
\nam I doing to change this? How is my lifestyle made possible by this
\ndeprivation, my success by their failure, my privilege by their poverty?<\/p>\n

What are we to do?<\/p>\n

The prophets are very clear that the lives of the children of God
\nare not to be lived in spiritual isolation. Our God is a God of compassion,
\njustice, and righteousness, here, in this world. Amos reminds us that God is
\nour creator. God has given us life, and given it abundantly. Furthermore, God
\nhas, and is, and always will be faithful to that creation. But, in response to
\nGod\u0092s graciousness and love, empty prayers and superficial worship are not
\nenough.<\/p>\n

Our thanksgivings must be voiced as care and concern for the
\noppressed and rejected of the world for they, as God reminds us, are God\u0092s
\npeople:<\/p>\n

You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien,
\nfor you were
\naliens in the land of Egypt.
\nYou shall not abuse any widow or orphan.<\/p>\n

If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me,
\nI will surely heed their
\ncry; . . .
\nIf you lend money to my people, to the poor among you<\/b> . .
\n.
\nyou shall not exact interest from them
\nIf your neighbor cries out to
\nme, I will listen,
\nfor I am compassionate. Exodus 22:21-23, 25, 27<\/p>\n

We are called, by God, to respond to the world, not out of
\nselfishness and greed, but out of compassion and generosity. We are to love our
\nneighbor, not ignore them; to support and encourage, not neglect and scorn. But
\nwhat does that look like? It can take the form of quiet acts of personal
\ntenderness, but it may also be lived out on a global scale.<\/p>\n

As the countdown to the year 2000 continues, many church and
\npolitical leaders are engaged in an effort known as Jubilee 2000. Through their
\nefforts they hope to restructure world debt. Developing countries are crippled
\nby heavy interest payments to the powerful nations of the world. But, as God
\nreminds us, we are not to exact interest from God\u0092s people, the poorest of
\nthe poor.<\/p>\n

The \u0093Day of the Lord\u0094 does not, as Amos tells us, have
\nto be one of darkness and gloom, rather, we have the opportunity to forgive
\nthose debts and allow those nations to enter the new millennium free to focus
\non their own people\u0092s education, medical care, and economic development.
\nThe \u0093Day of the Lord\u0094 can be one when justice will \u0093roll down
\nlike waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.\u0094<\/p>\n

In reality the Day of the Lord has arrived. We, who are followers
\nof the risen Christ, know that the reign of God has come near. We have been
\ngiven the victory of new life in Christ Jesus. In response to that gift we are
\ncalled to love, as we have been loved, to forgive, as we have been forgiven,
\nand to share the blessings of God\u0092s grace. Through our efforts to lift up
\nthe oppressed, comfort those who sorrow, and bind up the wounds of those
\nbattered by the storms of life, we help to remove the human dams that stop up
\nthe rivers of God\u0092s justice and righteousness. May they be everflowing
\nstreams.<\/p>\n

\n

Dr. Lucy Hogan
\nWesley Theological Seminary
\nWashington,
\nD. C. USA
\nE-Mail: LKHogan@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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