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Amos, True Justice

One of the most essential and proclaimed attributes of God is his justice. God is completely just. Everything he does is the perfectly just thing to do. This central aspect of God's character is a relief to some and unsettling to others. Many find comfort in the knowledge that God will one day take care of all evil. Still many others find this news to be nerve racking, probably because they realize that this includes them.

God's justice does not end with himself. He expects those who follow him to be just as well. In the Law of Moses there are many statutes and commands concerning the treatment of prisoners and the punishments for various crimes. This is obviously an important aspect of justice, but this is far from a complete definition.

Our world and culture defines justice much like described above. It is punishment for those who do wrong. Justice is really only used when describing criminals or those who work to punish evil. This definition, though partially correct, is not complete. As the people of Israel discovered the hard way, God's justice is far more than simply punishing criminals.

Background

The book of Amos was written roughly around 760 BC, during the reign of Jeroboam II in the north and Uzziah in the south. The author is the prophet Amos. He is not a career prophet, as indicated in chapter 7:14-15. Amos was a simple farmer, a "herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs" in Judah. God entrusted him with a message, and Amos obeyed.

Amos preached to the northern kingdom of Israel. It was a time of great wealth and prosperity. The Assyrians had backed off their attacks and imperial pressure, the government was stable, and much land had been recaptured. It is in this time of excess and economic growth that Amos speaks. 

Themes

There are two primary themes that run throughout the book of Amos; the treatment of the poor and the worship. These two issues go together and should not be separated.

God is furious with the people of Israel for their abuse and mistreatment of the poor and those less fortunate. The Israelites have gotten rich largely off the backs of the poor. They feast and relax while the poor among them are sold like slaves and worked to death. The book of Amos portrays this fundamental issue as primary reason for Israel's impending destruction. 

This issue seeps into their worship. Apparently the Israelites are doing everything right. They are doing the right sacrifices, keeping the proper feast days, and following the rituals correctly. But because of their treatment of the poor, God hates their acts of worship. They are paying lip service to God in their praises and blatantly ignoring God in their lives. 

So God intends to punish Israel. They will pay for their lack of justice by facing God's justice. Because they didn't take care of the poor and the weak they will be destroyed.

Theological Point

True justice is taking care of those less fortunate than ourselves. It is more than the simple punishment of criminals. Justice is being aware of the plight of others and doing something about it. This is an incredibly significant issue, as God deemed Israel worthy of destruction for not doing it.

Look at the world we live in today. Too often we are guilty of the exact same thing Israel did. We live in a time of unprecedented wealth and economic opportunity. It is easy for us to get caught up in our own lifestyle of luxury. We have entire TV channels dedicated to making houses look prettier.

We are selfish, just like Israel. We are so incredibly focused on our own comfort, status, and wealth that we forget to look and see the plight of those around us. We are so focused on being on top, we forget that this means that someone is has to be on the bottom. According to the book of Amos, God hates this.

Conclusion

There is a reason God's justice makes so many people uncomfortable. It makes me uncomfortable. When I come face to face with who God really is I find that I am far from perfect. This is the point of the prophetic books. They show us who God is and how he feels about the sin in our lives. Sometimes it is sin we didn't even know we had. 

The book of Amos speaks to an issue that is present in our world today. Our world needs true justice, and we can't rely on the world to give it. It is our duty, as Christians, to seek out those less fortunate than us and to take care of them. This is not optional.

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