“Oh, oh”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, December 5, 2023

(Amos 3: 1-11 Forward, p. 37) CEV p. 929

Amos is most certainly a name that has fallen out of favour among moderns, probably as one source suggested, ‘because of its lingering negative connotations with the highly politically incorrect radio show Amos ‘n Andy that flourished in the 1940s and 1950s’. I would further suggest that Amos as a Hebrew prophet is even more unpopular today.

I say this because he comes down hard on the northern kingdom, variously knows as Samaria or Israel, during the mid 700s B.C. He lambasts them for two evils, their misuse of ‘religion’ and their social injustice. With regards to ‘religion’, they are outwardly very observant, but have managed to corrupt it with practices borrowed from other religions and cultures (what we would call ‘syncretism’). They have the ‘form’ of religion without the reality of it.

And, as for social injustice, this period has been one of immense change, from a largely rural economy and culture to a predominantly urban one. That has resulted in a huge upheaval in terms of property rights, labour and power. These things have become centralized and concentrated into the hands of just a few people, a largely urban elite composed of the royalty, priests, prophets and judges, a well-heeled and powerful aristocracy. Opulence and conspicuous consumption have become ‘the name of the game’ for this select few and the poor and disenfranchised have ‘lost out’ big time. As a result of these two evils, neither of which they have done anything to correct, Amos says that judgment is soon to descend upon them. He doesn’t identify the coming disaster by name, but it is quite apparent that he is referring to Assyria. And this immanent punishment for deserting their covenant responsibilities to both God and their neighbour will be the twin calamities of the destruction of their nation and the exile of its people. But, even so, Amos ends his ministry and message with a note of hope for the future, with the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of a great Messianic age (see Amos 9:11-15).

So, what are we today to make of this, of these warnings? Biblical scholars and commentators are united in cautioning us not to apply past utterances of Scripture to ourselves unless there are some clear parallels between

them and their situation and ours. However, in saying this, are there not some very clear and definite parallels. Let me then pose this on two levels. Firstly, let me ask, ’Has not much of modern religion, especially in the mainline denominations, lost much of its power and effectiveness? And, have we not allowed it to become infected or influenced by all sorts of other priorities and ideologies and cultural norms? I would certain suggest that this has taken place. Often we are no longer the ‘salt’ or ‘light’ that we should be.

And, on the count of social injustice, hardly a day goes by without mention of modern instances of this. Here’s a few instances of late: four companies in the United States basically control the entire nation’s market in four things, pork, cookies, pasta and pasta. And now a major private equity firm is posed to buy up the sandwich chain, Subway, after already owning Arby’s and several other fast food chains. And numerous court cases get shelved simply because there isn’t sufficient staff to handle the backlog of cases and so justice isn’t served. And housing prices have become so exorbitantly high that many people cannot even afford rents and have to share crowded or substandard housing. And, of course, there are the few who control power and the purse-strings and, as with their forebears in Israel, live in opulence and conspicuous consumption. And so, I would say, God’s warning applies just as much to us as to them. And so, the question lingers: they, the people of Israel, did not listen, much less respond and correct their ways, so what then about us? It is a fair question for each of us, for our churches, and indeed, for all of our society and world.

Forward notes: “Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from its den, if it has caught nothing?” (verse 4).

“In this verse, God scolds the people of Israel for not heeding his words. A lion roars for a reason. We must respond to the cry.

“This story of hearing—and not hearing—reminds me of one of my daughters, who often cried for reasons my husband and I could not identify. When our beloved baby cried, we were a little like the people of Israel. Sometimes we could discern this little person’s message, but oftentimes we could not. We didn’t speak her language, and she didn’t yet speak ours. But this little frustrated being was not going to give up on us. And neither will God.”

Moving Forward: “Are you listening to—or ignoring—God?”