There are 146 verses in the Book of Amos, and 106 of them repeat the failures of Israel – disobedience, disunity, warnings, judgments – over the centuries. This is what we see over and over in all the Prophets, but especially so in the Minor Prophets.
It is a bit like “Mutiny on the Bounty”, with the ship’s captain straining to regain control by broadcasting orders to the mutineers before they all sail to their own destruction: “Now hear this! Now hear this!”
Through Amos, God gives a series of commands which, if obeyed, would have saved them:
- “Proclaim…and say, ‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains…and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst” (3:9, ESV).
- “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,…who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husband, ‘Bring, that we may drink” (4:1).
- “For thus says the Lord God to the house of Israel: Seek me and live…seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it…” (5:4, 6).
- “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you…” (5:14).
- “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord…will be gracious to the remnant…” (5:15).
- “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (5:24).
- “Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, ‘…that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat…” (8:4-6).
Now hear this! Hear the theme closest to the heart of God in identifying where we fall short of his glory – social justice.
But note very carefully that social justice is not a new concept to be hijacked for political exploitation as it is today. True social justice upon which we can find restoration, through the never-ending love of God and repentance, has to do with treating the poor and needy with respect and fairness and inviting them in as family, not killing their babies and telling them it is better this way.
To learn this lesson, Israel had to incur the ultimate wrath and judgment of God – total destruction and exile in foreign lands.
Now hear this! Is this a warning to America, too? Have we perverted God’s definition of social justice for political gain?
Take the commands of Amos seriously. Gather in unity to assess how we treat the poor.
Our response must be in the form of repentance. But the reward is the Lord’s never-ending love in the form of restoration. Why wait until we have endured his judgment?
“I will restore the fortunes of my people…and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them…I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I gave them,’ says the Lord your God” (9:14-15).