Proper 10
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons:
With an Eye to the New
This text gives the third in a series of four visions (7:1--8:3) that the prophet Amos was granted during the reign of Jeroboam II (787/6-747/6) in northern Israel. The series is interrupted by Amos' confrontation with the high priest Amaziah at the king's sanctuary in Bethel (7:10-17). In the first two visions (7:1-3, 4-6), Amos turned aside God's judgment on Israel by fulfilling the prophetic function of interceding for his faithless people.
Now the Lord tells Amos that he can no longer pass over Israel's flagrant sins of injustice and idolatry. The Lord has set a mason's plumb line in the midst of Israel, and that covenant people is no longer upright and straight. Measured by the commandments and will of God for justice in society and sincere worship from her heart, Israel has become crooked, veering sharply from her obedience of and trust in the Lord.
Israel, like the church, was the people of God who pledged to worship him and to honor his will alone. But during the "boom time" of Jeroboam II's reign, commerce flourished to produce a growing wealthy class that enjoyed luxury (cf. 3:15; 6:4) at the expense of the poor. Often the poor were cheated in the marketplace (8:5) or denied justice in the lay courts at the city gates (cf. 2:7; 5:10, 12). Unable to pay their debts, the poor peasants were thrown into prison or subjected to slavery (2:6; 8:4, 6). As the structures of society gradually broke down, debauchery increased (cf. 2:7-8; 6:5-6), while the consciences of the rich were placated by participation in an elaborate cultus (4:4-5; 5:21-23). At the same time, the leading class thought to find security behind strong military fortifications (6:8-11, 12-14).
God will put up with disobedience and evil only so long, however. He is a God of unfailing love, to be sure, who is slow to anger and patient in forgiveness. He repeatedly warns his covenant people of the consequences of their sin, through prophets and various calamities (cf. 4:6-11). But when the people will not listen and persist on a course that hinders God's good purpose for his world, God will not overlook their threat to his lordship.
The Lord therefore tells Amos that by an unnamed conqueror (cf. 6:14), he will pass through the midst of Israel, destroying their phony worship, their unjust community, and their government. The "high places," the local worship sites throughout the countryside, will become desolate of people, because the people will have been carried into exile. The "sanctuaries" of both Bethel and Dan, where Jeroboam I erected golden calves to be worshiped, will be laid waste. And the monarchy will fall victim to the "sword" of the Lord.
Amos' words have now become a threat to the government. Not only has Amos' prophecy attacked the state cult, but it has also spoken treason against the crown. The priest Amaziah, who is in charge of the royal sanctuary at Bethel, therefore sends a message to the king in the palace in Samaria, some fifty miles away, to report what Amos has been preaching (vv. 10-11). "Thus Amos has said," he reports. He does not believe Israel will go into exile or that Jeroboam will fall by the sword, because he does not believe Amos is speaking the Word of God.
Amaziah does not wait for the king's reply. He personally tries to banish Amos from the royal sanctuary. Go back to Judah, he orders, and prophesy there. Amaziah does not care if Amos preaches, because Amaziah does not believe the words of the prophecy. But he does not want such subversive words said at the king's place of worship, where they are likely to cause an uprising against the throne.
Amos, however, defends his ministry. I am not a professional prophet, he says, and I am not a member of a prophetic guild -- such is the import of verse 14. But "the Lord took me ..." (v. 15). Amos is under a divine compulsion; he has to preach. His words are truly the Word of the Lord. But because Amaziah has not believed that Word, Amaziah's children will fall by the sword when Israel is invaded, his wife will become a harlot for the conquering soldiers, Israel's land will be divided as a spoil, and Amaziah himself will be carried into exile, where he will die. In 721 B.C., therefore, northern Israel falls to the troops of Assyria, her population is carried into exile and disappears from history, while her land is given to foreigners, known later as the "Samaritans."
God, who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Habakkuk 1:13) will not allow evil to persist forever in his world. When the poor are trampled in the dust while the rich luxuriate in the vita dolce, when the worship of God becomes a mockery and his covenant people rely on everything and everyone but him, God speaks his Word, a Word that is now given us through the scriptures. And that Word is a powerful, effective force that shapes the course of history until it is fulfilled (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24). Such is the message of Amos that we must hear and ponder.
Lutheran Option: Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Deuteronomy is a covenant document, modeled after ancient covenants that were made between a king and his subjects. The contents of such documents laid out the requirements that the king expected of his subjects. But then at the end of such treaties were found a list of curses that would fall upon those who disobeyed the requirements (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), but also a list of blessings that would come upon those who obeyed (Deuteronomy 28:1-14; 30:1-10). Our text opens with a list of some of those blessings, in verse 9. God promises "good" (Hebrew) to all those who obey his commandments and his delight in all those who love him (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5).
At the center of Deuteronomy's law is the command to love God with all our heart and soul and might. At least eleven times, Deuteronomy sets forth that requirement for the covenant people of God, Israel, and of course our Lord repeats it for his church (Mark 12:30). The commandments in Deuteronomy, then, are intended to teach God's people how to love God, just as do the commandments of Jesus in the New Testament.
For many people in our congregations, however, it seems impossible to follow Jesus' requirements. Besides, they reason, we Christians are no longer under the law. Rather we are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the law. And that is true. We are no longer under the law. We no longer have to work our way into favor with God. Through our participation by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are counted righteous in the eyes of God.
Yet, our Lord Christ intends his commandments to be taken seriously (cf. Matthew 7:21). He expects us to obey them. And he does not think it is impossible to do so. Rather, Jesus' teaching is in accord with the words of Deuteronomy that we read in our text: "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" (v. 14).
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit," writes Paul (Romans 5:5). "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts ..." (Galatians 4:6). "I will put my law on their hearts," Hebrews quotes from Jeremiah. God has poured out Christ's Spirit into our hearts, so that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20), and by the power of his Holy Spirit, we are enabled to walk according to his commandments in newness of life.
Of course we cannot live the Christian life all by ourselves! Our sinful ways are always with us, and though we want to do good, we do just the opposite (cf. Romans 7:18-20). But God has not left us alone! Having sent his Son to redeem us from sin and death and to justify us in his sight, God through Jesus Christ now sends his Spirit to dwell in the hearts of all of those who trust him. And by that Spirit, you see, we can do far more abundantly than anything we ask or think. In the power of Christ's Spirit, we can do the good and obey our Lord's commandments and live a truly Christian life. By the Holy Spirit, "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."
Now the Lord tells Amos that he can no longer pass over Israel's flagrant sins of injustice and idolatry. The Lord has set a mason's plumb line in the midst of Israel, and that covenant people is no longer upright and straight. Measured by the commandments and will of God for justice in society and sincere worship from her heart, Israel has become crooked, veering sharply from her obedience of and trust in the Lord.
Israel, like the church, was the people of God who pledged to worship him and to honor his will alone. But during the "boom time" of Jeroboam II's reign, commerce flourished to produce a growing wealthy class that enjoyed luxury (cf. 3:15; 6:4) at the expense of the poor. Often the poor were cheated in the marketplace (8:5) or denied justice in the lay courts at the city gates (cf. 2:7; 5:10, 12). Unable to pay their debts, the poor peasants were thrown into prison or subjected to slavery (2:6; 8:4, 6). As the structures of society gradually broke down, debauchery increased (cf. 2:7-8; 6:5-6), while the consciences of the rich were placated by participation in an elaborate cultus (4:4-5; 5:21-23). At the same time, the leading class thought to find security behind strong military fortifications (6:8-11, 12-14).
God will put up with disobedience and evil only so long, however. He is a God of unfailing love, to be sure, who is slow to anger and patient in forgiveness. He repeatedly warns his covenant people of the consequences of their sin, through prophets and various calamities (cf. 4:6-11). But when the people will not listen and persist on a course that hinders God's good purpose for his world, God will not overlook their threat to his lordship.
The Lord therefore tells Amos that by an unnamed conqueror (cf. 6:14), he will pass through the midst of Israel, destroying their phony worship, their unjust community, and their government. The "high places," the local worship sites throughout the countryside, will become desolate of people, because the people will have been carried into exile. The "sanctuaries" of both Bethel and Dan, where Jeroboam I erected golden calves to be worshiped, will be laid waste. And the monarchy will fall victim to the "sword" of the Lord.
Amos' words have now become a threat to the government. Not only has Amos' prophecy attacked the state cult, but it has also spoken treason against the crown. The priest Amaziah, who is in charge of the royal sanctuary at Bethel, therefore sends a message to the king in the palace in Samaria, some fifty miles away, to report what Amos has been preaching (vv. 10-11). "Thus Amos has said," he reports. He does not believe Israel will go into exile or that Jeroboam will fall by the sword, because he does not believe Amos is speaking the Word of God.
Amaziah does not wait for the king's reply. He personally tries to banish Amos from the royal sanctuary. Go back to Judah, he orders, and prophesy there. Amaziah does not care if Amos preaches, because Amaziah does not believe the words of the prophecy. But he does not want such subversive words said at the king's place of worship, where they are likely to cause an uprising against the throne.
Amos, however, defends his ministry. I am not a professional prophet, he says, and I am not a member of a prophetic guild -- such is the import of verse 14. But "the Lord took me ..." (v. 15). Amos is under a divine compulsion; he has to preach. His words are truly the Word of the Lord. But because Amaziah has not believed that Word, Amaziah's children will fall by the sword when Israel is invaded, his wife will become a harlot for the conquering soldiers, Israel's land will be divided as a spoil, and Amaziah himself will be carried into exile, where he will die. In 721 B.C., therefore, northern Israel falls to the troops of Assyria, her population is carried into exile and disappears from history, while her land is given to foreigners, known later as the "Samaritans."
God, who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Habakkuk 1:13) will not allow evil to persist forever in his world. When the poor are trampled in the dust while the rich luxuriate in the vita dolce, when the worship of God becomes a mockery and his covenant people rely on everything and everyone but him, God speaks his Word, a Word that is now given us through the scriptures. And that Word is a powerful, effective force that shapes the course of history until it is fulfilled (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 24). Such is the message of Amos that we must hear and ponder.
Lutheran Option: Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Deuteronomy is a covenant document, modeled after ancient covenants that were made between a king and his subjects. The contents of such documents laid out the requirements that the king expected of his subjects. But then at the end of such treaties were found a list of curses that would fall upon those who disobeyed the requirements (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), but also a list of blessings that would come upon those who obeyed (Deuteronomy 28:1-14; 30:1-10). Our text opens with a list of some of those blessings, in verse 9. God promises "good" (Hebrew) to all those who obey his commandments and his delight in all those who love him (cf. Deuteronomy 6:5).
At the center of Deuteronomy's law is the command to love God with all our heart and soul and might. At least eleven times, Deuteronomy sets forth that requirement for the covenant people of God, Israel, and of course our Lord repeats it for his church (Mark 12:30). The commandments in Deuteronomy, then, are intended to teach God's people how to love God, just as do the commandments of Jesus in the New Testament.
For many people in our congregations, however, it seems impossible to follow Jesus' requirements. Besides, they reason, we Christians are no longer under the law. Rather we are saved by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the law. And that is true. We are no longer under the law. We no longer have to work our way into favor with God. Through our participation by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are counted righteous in the eyes of God.
Yet, our Lord Christ intends his commandments to be taken seriously (cf. Matthew 7:21). He expects us to obey them. And he does not think it is impossible to do so. Rather, Jesus' teaching is in accord with the words of Deuteronomy that we read in our text: "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" (v. 14).
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit," writes Paul (Romans 5:5). "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts ..." (Galatians 4:6). "I will put my law on their hearts," Hebrews quotes from Jeremiah. God has poured out Christ's Spirit into our hearts, so that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20), and by the power of his Holy Spirit, we are enabled to walk according to his commandments in newness of life.
Of course we cannot live the Christian life all by ourselves! Our sinful ways are always with us, and though we want to do good, we do just the opposite (cf. Romans 7:18-20). But God has not left us alone! Having sent his Son to redeem us from sin and death and to justify us in his sight, God through Jesus Christ now sends his Spirit to dwell in the hearts of all of those who trust him. And by that Spirit, you see, we can do far more abundantly than anything we ask or think. In the power of Christ's Spirit, we can do the good and obey our Lord's commandments and live a truly Christian life. By the Holy Spirit, "The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it."
