Amos would feel right at home

I wonder what people who think that God is not political think about the Old Testament prophets. Do they just spin the uncomfortable parts away? Do they have cognitive dissonance? It seems like there is always an excuse why something doesn’t apply. I’m currently reading “How Minds Change” by David McRaney and it is eye opening to say the least. If I have learned anything from the book it is that it would be a waste of time to try to convince any one of anything with facts as if all they needed was more information. That’s not how minds change. It’s much more complicated than that.

At any rate, here’s what I know about Amos. He was a shepherd and farmer in the northern part of the kingdom of Judah. He was called to go to the northern kingdom of Israel and was active between 760-755 BCE.

And what pray tell was it that caused him to leave home and go be a pain in the side of the leadership of Israel? Injustice. There’s no other way to describe it.

King Jeroboam II was in charge. There was relative peace over all, the kingdom had accumulated wealth and land due to military victories. It was also a time in which the northern and southern kingdoms weren’t trying to kill each other.

But that peace and “prosperity” were consolidated in the hands of the few and at the expense of the many. Before we go on, I need to state something – human history has shown numerous times that wealth didn’t come about because of hard work. It came about because of abusive practices. This was certainly true in the time of Amos.

The wealthy had power. And they used that power to exploit the poor. Excessive taxes were levied. Not on the rich, but rather on the poor. Money flowed up to the upper class. The wealthy stole the poor’s land. The wealthy bribes the judicial system, which ensured that the poor would not receive a fair hearing. The wealthy owned multiple homes while the poor struggled to survive. Debt slavery was a real thing – even over insignificant debts.

And on top of this economic exploitation, the wealthy used religion for their own gain too. They had all the official religious rituals and festivals – they maintained a facade of the right words while dismissing God’s demand for justice and righteousness. They used religion for their own empowerment, emptying it of its transformative power for society and creation. Their real worship was their own power and wealth – idols that have been around humanity for a long time.

It’s in this context that Amos preached to Israel accusing the wealthy of exploitation, abuse, and greed. He condemned their hoarding of wealth and their injustice towards the poor. He declared that their time of peace and prosperity would not last and that judgement would come upon them. And he pleaded with them to return to faithfulness – “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Given all of this, I think Amos would feel right at home in the USA in 2025.

A “Great Gatsby” themed gala took place at Mar-A-Lago as SNAP benefits were being about to be cut.

A huge multi-million dollar ball room being erected in the midst of a government shutdown where workers are going without pay, and food insecurity is on the rise.

A bailout of a foreign country while our own citizens struggle to make ends meet.

Medicaid cuts that will take place in the future as the wealthiest receive tax cuts.

The list goes on and on. And the sad part is that none of this is new. Humanity has been playing this tune across time and cultures for what seems like forever. It’s not even new in our own country’s history. The Gilded Age of the late 1800’s was no better. Robber Barons made a fortune while the poor suffered.

Oh yes, Amos would feel right at home.

Would he even have to change his message? I’m not convinced that he would. Here’s what he preached in Chapter 5.

21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
²² Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them,
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
    I will not look upon.
²³ Take away from me the noise of your songs;
    I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
²⁴ But let justice roll down like water
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

A more modern US contextual rendition might sound something like this:

I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your galas. Even though you offer me your rhetoric offerings and your photo ops, I will not accept them, and the offerings of well-rehearsed claims of faith I will not look upon or listen to. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your praise songs. But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.