Now we come to a book we’re going to
spend some time in: Amos. What do we know about this guy?
Amos was a shepherd and a farmer who
lived in Tekoa, a few miles south of Jerusalem. Sometime between 760 and 753
B.C., the Lord called him out of his occupation(s) and sent him from his home
in the South (Judah) up to the North (Israel). This was during the time of
Israel’s King Jeroboam II, probably near the end of his reign. This was also a
time of great material prosperity for Israel. There were few if any major military threats
on the horizon, and it was even regarded as the dominant nation in the region.
But with this time of relative peace
and prosperity, there were problems which needed to be addressed. This
prosperity was not for everyone: A few people gained a lot of wealth and used
their resources to gain even more and to oppress their fellow Israelites. They
used illegal or unethical means to truly exploit those further down on the
economic ladder.
Along with this came abuse of the
justice system. Judges routinely took bribes and favored the rich over the poor
in court. In this way the poor were deprived of their last voice available to
them.
There was also ubiquitous idolatry.
The northern kingdom never was all that faithful, but during this time period
it was especially egregious. And of course when people worship idols and false
gods, they do things their own way (instead of God’s way) in other areas, such
as sex. Thus we also had rampant sexual immorality.
To this sinful nation, the God of
Israel sent his ambassador as a last ditch effort. He takes
“no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their
ways and live,” so he sent his representative, his “mouth” to call them back to
himself before it was too late.
And what type of Lord is this, this
King who send his herald? We know him as our Savior, our Friend, and our
Shepherd. But he’s more than that—he’s the Lion. A Lion whose tremble-inducing
roar is signaling that his judgment is coming. As C. S. Lewis put it, he’s
good, but he’s never safe.
In a sense, Amos was a failure: Israel never did repent. After Jeroboam died, the kingdom was split by
factions, and became weaker and weaker. Assyria arose as a national power, and
Israel became its vassal. Conspiracies and royal assassinations came one after
the other, and eventually Assyria came in, killed much of the population and
carried the rest off into exile. The nation of Israel was no more.
But in the ultimate sense, and as
far as the Lord Almighty was concerned, Amos was a complete success. As we discussed
a couple of weeks ago, God’s messengers are not responsible for the response of their audience.
They're only responsible for faithfully carrying the message. Amos did
that, despite frequent and violent opposition, and at the end of it all, he
heard “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
So what can we take from this so
far?
Well, let’s see. A nation that
boasts of a godly heritage, but which has mostly squandered it. One in which the wealthy exploit the poor using
legal and illegal means. A nation in which every man does
what seems right to him without regard for God’s way of doing things. A nation
in which the Lord's standards regarding sex and other issues are ignored or even
laughed at. A nation in which people routinely worship everything except the only One who’s worthy of it.
Nope, doesn’t ring any bells.
Father God, like a wise man said, when I
look at my nation, I tremble at the notion that you are just. But I also cling
to the fact that you take no pleasure in the death of nations or of people.
Your heart is to forgive and restore. Please do so.
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