| Let Justice Roll Down
A friend of mine, an Old Testament scholar, has published a book
in which he explores the relationship between the Old Testament, ethics, and
the Christian Life. He has taken his title, Let Justice Roll Down, from
the wonderful image of Gods expansive love and faithfulness, in the fifth
chapter of the prophecy of Amos:
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like
and everflowing stream. Amos 5:24
If preachers had only to preach on verse twenty-four of chapter
five, we would be pleased. How wonderful it is to tell our congregations about
the justice of God. It is truly good news when we can proclaim that Gods
justice and righteousness will reach into our lives like a stream that will
never be subject to the vicissitudes of nature. Drought can never dry up
Gods love and grace. In this epigram, Amos has captured the image
perfectly, and thus the reason my friend chose that line as his title. But we
are hardly fair to Amos the prophet, nor do we paint an accurate portrait of
his message, if we merely treat him as an entry in Bartletts
Quotations.
Taken in its entirety, the prophecy of Amos is harsh and
uncompromising. It is a message that condemns those who enjoy the wealth of the
world at the expense of the poor, and far from being a message of reassurance
and consolation, this is a message that contains little, if any, hope. The
justice and righteousness of which Amos speaks are more words of judgment and
less words of comfort, and we ignore this at our peril. Furthermore, the
prophecy of Amos is a word of judgement that is as applicable today as it was
almost three thousand years ago.
Amos tells us that he was among the shepherds of Tekoa when he
received his call to become a prophet about 760 B. C. E. Tekoa was near
Jerusalem in Judah, yet this man of the southern kingdom went north to Israel,
to pronounce Gods word of judgement. Was he a simple shepherd? Probably
not. The sophistication of his oratorical skill would seem to indicate that
Amos used this as a rhetorical device, much the same way an American politician
did in the mid-seventies. During the Watergate hearings, one of the senators
frequently began his questions by noting that he was just a poor country
lawyer. That poor country lawyer would then proceed to outsmart and
outwit any and all of the witnesses.
Amos, the poor country shepherd, began his message by
pronouncing Gods condemnation on Israels neighbors. Damascus,
Gilead, Gaza, Tyre, all had sinned, and all would be punished. Like children in
school who delight when their classmates meet with punishment, the Israelites
no doubt enjoyed hearing how the fire of God was going to rain down on their
neighbors. Each of their neighbors were to experience severe, devastating
retribution for their disobedience. Not even the strong walls of their cities
would be able to stand up to Gods holy fire. Consequently, Amos drew in
his listeners, lulling them with a false sense of superiority, readying them
for the blow that was to come.
Suddenly the finger of the prophet was pointed at them, Thus
says the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not
revoke the punishment. (Amos 2:6) Like all of their neighbors around
them, Israel, too had sinned against God, and it was the mission of Amos to
pronounce Gods judgement.
And what was it that they had done, or not done? Over the years of
peace experienced by both the northern and southern kingdoms, the disparity
between the rich and the poor in Israel had widened drastically. There were
people in Israel who enjoyed great wealth and luxury. They ate well and lived
in beautiful homes. And it was to them that Amos directed Gods message.
Their peace and prosperity had come from God, but in response they
trampled on the poor and took from them levies of grain. (Amos
4:11) While they enjoyed Gods graciousness they built houses hewn
of stone, (Amos 4:11) and reclined on beds of ivory, sang
idle songs, drank wine from bowls and anointed themselves
with the finest oils. (Amos 6:4-6) They were distracted by their empty
celebrations, ignoring and forgetting the poor who suffered, because their
wealth came at the expense of the weak and oppressed.
God had sent warnings: famine, drought, floods, blight, mildew,
locusts, and pestilence, but the people ignored each of them. They seemed to
think that empty worship would replace compassion, and sacrifices and offerings
would compensate for a lack of justice and mercy.
More than any of the prophets, Amos declares a word of doom and
destruction with little or no word of hope. While the end of the prophecy ends
with the possibility of restoration, scholars now seem to think that this is a
later addition by someone disturbed by such a message of condemnation and
damnation. Amos is very clear. The people of Israel have sinned against God and
they will be punished. They would suffer for their transgressions.
And the reality that was to come was indeed to be one of hardship
and suffering for the people of Israel. A generation after Amos the northern
kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and about two hundred years later
the people of the covenant were forced into exile in Babylon. Those who had
known affluence and ease experienced the darkness and gloom of which Amos
foretold.
Unfortunately the finger of Amos is also pointed at us. We, too,
lie on beds of ivory and drink delicate wines. Those of us who enjoy great
wealth do so at the expense of the poor, and God hears their cries.
I live in Washington, D. C., the capitol of the United States. I
live in a pleasant neighborhood of old homes and tall trees. My neighbors are
successful professionals doctors, economists, and government officials.
While our beds may not be made of ivory, we are probably the people to whom
Amos was speaking for I do not have to go too far before I find myself in the
midst of neighborhoods where joblessness, deprivation, and hopelessness are
etched on every face.
The economic disparity is astounding, yet daily I must ask, what
am I doing to change this? How is my lifestyle made possible by this
deprivation, my success by their failure, my privilege by their poverty?
What are we to do?
The prophets are very clear that the lives of the children of God
are not to be lived in spiritual isolation. Our God is a God of compassion,
justice, and righteousness, here, in this world. Amos reminds us that God is
our creator. God has given us life, and given it abundantly. Furthermore, God
has, and is, and always will be faithful to that creation. But, in response to
Gods graciousness and love, empty prayers and superficial worship are not
enough.
Our thanksgivings must be voiced as care and concern for the
oppressed and rejected of the world for they, as God reminds us, are Gods
people:
You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien,
for you were
aliens in the land of Egypt.
You shall not abuse any widow or orphan.
If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me,
I will surely heed their
cry; . . .
If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you . .
.
you shall not exact interest from them
If your neighbor cries out to
me, I will listen,
for I am compassionate. Exodus 22:21-23, 25, 27
We are called, by God, to respond to the world, not out of
selfishness and greed, but out of compassion and generosity. We are to love our
neighbor, not ignore them; to support and encourage, not neglect and scorn. But
what does that look like? It can take the form of quiet acts of personal
tenderness, but it may also be lived out on a global scale.
As the countdown to the year 2000 continues, many church and
political leaders are engaged in an effort known as Jubilee 2000. Through their
efforts they hope to restructure world debt. Developing countries are crippled
by heavy interest payments to the powerful nations of the world. But, as God
reminds us, we are not to exact interest from Gods people, the poorest of
the poor.
The Day of the Lord does not, as Amos tells us, have
to be one of darkness and gloom, rather, we have the opportunity to forgive
those debts and allow those nations to enter the new millennium free to focus
on their own peoples education, medical care, and economic development.
The Day of the Lord can be one when justice will roll down
like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
In reality the Day of the Lord has arrived. We, who are followers
of the risen Christ, know that the reign of God has come near. We have been
given the victory of new life in Christ Jesus. In response to that gift we are
called to love, as we have been loved, to forgive, as we have been forgiven,
and to share the blessings of Gods grace. Through our efforts to lift up
the oppressed, comfort those who sorrow, and bind up the wounds of those
battered by the storms of life, we help to remove the human dams that stop up
the rivers of Gods justice and righteousness. May they be everflowing
streams. |
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