Monday 05 November 2007

Background

The prophet Amos was a blunt countryman who did not mince hiswords when condemning conduct which was contrary to God's will andpurpose. One of his major targets was people who professed to bevery religious, but whose treatment of other people was unfair andunjust.

In this passage he exposed as a delusion the idea that the onlything in which God is interested is our religious practice.

The people against whom the harsh words were spoken appear to havebeen rich and powerful, senior figures in society. In that society,they were responsible for administering justice. The phrase, 'inthe gate', which comes twice in this passage, refers to the placewhere justice was dispensed. For Amos, justice was a mockery if itwas not fair and impartial. Yet those who administered it wereevidently taking bribes, favouring other rich and powerful peopleand ignoring the needy.

For Amos, all this was bad enough, but the situation was even worsethan that. These unjust judges thought of themselves as veryreligious people. They looked forward to "the day of the Lord" whenthey believed God would come in person and reward them.

They went in for big religious festivals, for making music for Godand offering him lots of sacrifices. They believed that all thesethings would make God pleased with them. Amos has to tell them thatthe opposite is true. God will be angry with them because they havenot made the connection between the worship they offer and the waythey treat others.

To Ponder

What does this passage tell us about the way inwhich we should worship God?

Is there anything we can do to bring more justiceand righteousness into the situations in which we findourselves?