Amos 4:11-13
As it has been stated in here before, this is a text that we do not like to read. This word of judgment can be, perhaps, frightening; yet, it is often misunderstood. Make no mistake; it is a serious matter. God had passed by numerous times in warning, as we read, but now he would return punish the people for their injustice.
This text, however, not only reveals God’s judgment, but it also shows a stark contrast between the covenant God, Yahweh, and the covenant people, Israel. We see God as the creator (“He who forms the mountains, creates the wind…”). We see the God who guides the day and night and is above all of creation (“…he turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth…”). And, yet, it is revealed that this Creator God steps down to deal patiently and mercifully with his people like a parent guiding a child. As the Psalmist writes, “But with you there is forgiveness…” (Ps 130). Though the people reject God time after time, turning to idols, God remains patient in warning. Earlier in the chapter, the people are reminded of how God sent famine, drought, destruction of crops, disease, and the sword to warn the people of their destructive pattern of life. He beckons them to return to their faithful, covenant God, but they do not. The people remain in their sin. The God who created all things, called the people of Israel his own, and always remained faithful in his covenant stands in great contrast to the faithless, greedy, self-centered people of Israel for they sought only the spotlight for themselves through fame and fortune using the poor and needy as a pedestal upon which to stand. The beginning of chapter 4 speaks against those who oppress the poor and crush the needy. Yet, we witness a God who delivered the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt and now, once again, has heard the cry of the oppressed. He warned his people in the desert against such acts of oppression, but they refused to hear. Now, finally, enough is enough. Judgment is upon the people.
As I considered this text and the contrast that is revealed between God and Israel, I was reminded of the great contrast that, without a doubt, still exists.
Commonly, I see pictures and hear stories of picketers holding signs in front of clinics not speaking the message of truth in love but rather in condemnation and hatred, and then I remember the story of Jesus eating with sinners, responding graciously to a fragile people.
I recently heard the story of Christopher Hitchens, an outspoken atheist who has now been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. In an interview, he mentions that there are many people praying for him. Though some pray for his health, both physical and spiritual, there are others praying for his demise, and I hear the words begin to echo, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
I am reminded of many who still seek the American Dream of fame and fortune, often running the competition into the ground in order to make a name for themselves; then I read Paul speak of a God who stepped down from his throne to become a servant, who came not to crush but to be crushed. And I can’t help but wonder when will enough be enough?
There is, however, another contrast that comes to mind. It is one of great importance. This is the contrast between Israel in the time of Amos and us, the New Israel for, today, Christ has come, and praise be to God who, in the death and resurrection of Jesus, set us free from the bondage of sin and from our destructive pattern of life! As the new covenant people of God, let us not be like the faithless Israel who never learned and never changed. As Paul writes, we have been called out of the old life and into the new, kingdom life, the life that was intended for us from the very beginning. We do have a choice in the matter.
I recall a family in Athens, Texas who, though they could afford a life of great extravagance living in a mansion with many servants, they have chosen a reserved, modest life, using their resources to help others. Instead of choosing to run their business displaying earthly power, they, instead, run it at great risk (by earthly standards) often hiring ex-cons and others who have been turned away by society to give them a useful place. They lower themselves in the interest of others. I am reminded of Jesus calling his disciples who had once, perhaps, been rejected.
I think of a man who had the good life here in America. He had the life many dream of obtaining with an education, a successful business, and great wealth. He was headed for the top; yet, he gave it up to serve an orphanage.
As the people chosen, this is the life we too must choose, one that appears upside-down to the world but is, in actuality, right side up, one that doesn’t strive to make us a god but, rather, reflects the image of God and stands in great contrast to the ways of the surrounding world. We are called to be Christ’s body in the world, carrying the message of the kingdom to the world, displaying sacrificial love, the very image of Christ. We, like Christ who came not to be served but to serve, are to give wholly of ourselves for the betterment of others; yet, so often I find myself not too far beyond Amos, seeking not the kingdom but using whatever means necessary to seek the spotlight. Today, may we, as the people of God in the world, hear the words of Amos. Let us not remain in the life we once lived, like the Israelites, but return to our creator, be transformed by his word, and faithfully seek not our own glory but the glory of the one who was and is and is to come, Christ Jesus our Lord.
Grace to you,
Matt
