Saturday 07 June 2014

Background

Imagine living in captivity. You had always believed that youwere God's chosen people, given a land to live in. Yet you are nowin exile in Babylon, fearing that you have been abandoned by yourGod.

The prophet Amos had warned of the destruction and devastationwhich awaits the people of Israel who have broken their covenantwith the Lord. Here, at the end of the book of the Bible whichtells of his prophesy, we have a later editor who writes of therestoration of Israel which is surely to come.

The description of what Israel will be like again is homely:people will rebuild ruined cities, they will have their own homesagain, they will plant vineyards and drink their own wine, makegardens and eat their fruit. This is almost a humble vision, not ofa great nation, but of a people who have come home again. There areechoes of the rainbow in the story of Noah (Genesis 9:8-17) - the rainbow is a sign thatGod will never again destroy all life with a flood, whereas thispassage promises that the people of Israel will never again beplucked out of the land given to them by God.

Amos does not suggest that this restoration is dependent on thepeople of Israel repenting. Instead it is a picture of a God who isrecreating the covenant made with the people. It is a picture of aGod who yearns for the best for God's own people, and offersenduring love and grace, despite their disobedience.

Here there are echoes with the New Testament story. God's son issent to a people who had forgotten God, out of God's love for them.But this was not to restore the people of Israel alone, but ratherall of humanity, living and to come, bringing them into a lovingrelationship with God.

To Ponder

• Have you ever felt exiled from God? What has given youhope?

• What is your image of a God-given home? Is it an individualvision, or is it one for a whole community?

• How has this story - and the others we have considered thisweek - affected your understanding of God?