ABR#2 Amos

I have begun to read the Bible alphabetically (see here for my rationale), reading each book three times (in different translations) and trying to get into the mind of the original author and readers as well as listen to God’s message for today. Here’s what I’ve discovered from reading Amos.

First impressions of Amos’s character: (which I suspect may be similar for any prophet, but Amos happens to be the first I’ve read in this way)
His method of persuading people to change their wicked ways is to threaten them with punishment from God. Maybe these punishments are not all to be taken literally. He says, for example, that God will pursue them down to the world of the dead, or up to heaven, or into the depths of the ocean – so there must be some element of hyperbole here. It is not clear how many of these dire predictions ever came true. The one human encounter is with Amaziah the priest at Bethel. This ends with Amos predicting a horrible end for the priest and his family, but there is nothing to say whether this was an accurate foretelling or just Amos’s way of dealing with his critics.

Yet Amos clearly has compassion for the nation and at times prays (successfully) for God to withhold punishment. Occasionally he pleads with Israel to repent and thereby avoid their terrible fate.

Amos’s idea of God is of someone who is very much in control. Nothing happens without God’s say-so. Hence any disasters are interpreted as either punishment from God or a warning to turn back to God otherwise the real punishment will be even worse.

Amos’s high moral standards are the reason for his passionate denunciation. In a warm-up section he threatens fire and destruction against Israel’s neighbours (including Judah) and in doing so highlights the kind of behaviour which is unacceptable – oppressing people with savage cruelty; selling a whole nation into slavery; sending a whole nation into exile; mercilessly hunting down fellow nations; ripping open pregnant women during wartime; dishonouring the bones of a foreign king; and (in the case of Judah) hating God’s teaching, disobeying his commands and worshipping false gods.

Historical setting and basic message:
In the reign of Jereboam II (while Uzziah was king of Judah), Israel prospered enough that the privileged classes could afford two homes – one for winter and one for summer. One reason for Israel doing so well was that their neighbours were weakened by warring amongst themselves, allowing Israel to expand their territory. Hence the situation in Israel is one of peace, security and luxury – at least for the well-off. Amos’s key message is a) that this prosperity has come about through oppression of the poor and b) therefore the good times will not last and destruction will fall upon the nation.

It sounds as if most of the book is a record of a fairly brief visit to Bethel, where Amos delivered his message before being told to leave. Who actually wrote it down? No-one knows. Did Amos record it when he was back home in Tekoa? Was he a charismatic enough figure to have attracted disciples who followed him and took notes? Was it a member of his audience who was impressed by this fiery Southerner? And were these words simply recorded for posterity, or were they published in order to keep ramming home the point to his contemporaries?

The various natural disasters which failed to turn people back to God must have been either long ago or localised in their effect, because the idea of a nations reeling under one disaster after another is at odds with the general mood of prosperity.

Style:
Amos has a few visions – scenarios shown by God, or pictures which introduce God’s message (sometimes using word-play on the name of the object seen). But Amos also regularly uses his own picture-language to illustrate and drive home his point. A lion features several times in such ‘sermon illustrations’, and often this dangerous roaring beast in some sense represents God.

The prophecy against Amaziah and his family sounds like a judgement pronounced on him because he dared to oppose Amos (God’s true prophet). Did Amos have the same power promised by Jesus to the disciples, that they could declare people’s sins forgiven or not and what they declared would come to pass? Is Amos placing some kind of ‘curse’ on Amaziah, or is he only revealing what God had planned anyway? Or is he just being nasty and vindictive to upset Amaziah?

The ending of the book is more cheerful. The council of Jerusalem (in Acts) quotes this last part of Amos as if it was about all the nations being gathered into the kingdom of David. The original passage sounds more like a promise that when the kingdom is rebuilt Israel will conquer the other nations. Despite the fact that prosperity (at the expense of the poor) is the problem, Amos ends with a vision of a restored kingdom which will be so prosperous that corn will grow faster than it can be reaped and grapes grow faster than they can be trodden into wine.

Relevance for today:
Amos addresses a situation which resembles life today on a global scale. Some countries are well off and enjoying a good standard of living, but this is at the expense of those who are oppressed by unjust trade laws. Perhaps we need the vehemence of Amos’s wake-up call to open our eyes to the suffering of the poor and to realise the fragile nature of our apparent peace and security.

Some of his accusations are surprisingly modern. For example – you are more interested in acquiring the latest trainers than in thinking about the exploitation which produces them! Or – you lazy cows sponge off the labour of others and expect your husbands to keep you well-supplied with booze! Or – you pretend to be respectable by following the trappings of religion but your heart isn’t in it. All through Sunday you can’t wait to get back to your self-indulgence and your dodgy dealings.

One of the few positive exhortations of Amos is to let justice and righteousness flow like a continually moving river. His call is not for a few good deeds here and there like refreshing splashes of water, but for justice and righteousness to be a constant way of life with more and more goodness endlessly pouring out of us.

Conclusion:
I wouldn’t like to meet Amos in the flesh. He has the rough raw passion of the newly called amateur preacher. He goes on and on about disturbing and uncomfortable issues. He has strong views on what God thinks about it and what God plans to do about it. But whilst some aspects of his understanding of God may be off-putting, his analysis of a corrupt affluent society is alarmingly perceptive.