Amos was sent to Israel, the northern of the divided kingdoms. After denouncing six pagan nations, he turned his attention to Judah, the southern kingdom, but his pronouncement was pretty general, like those against the pagan nations: Judah has not followed the law of God (2:4).
Then he turns to Israel and gets quite specific:
This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane my holy name.
They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines. (2:6-8)
There’s a lot going on here. Clearly sexual immorality and idolatry are being practiced, but the emphasis of the passage seems to be on their mistreatment of the poor and the weak. They’re selling the innocent and denying justice to the oppressed — denying them justice in court, probably when the rich sue them, claiming they owe them what they do not. Or perhaps accusing them of something evil, as Jezebel did Naboth, having him executed for blasphemy in order to acquire his vineyard (1Kings 21).
God’s standard for justice is impartiality: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (Lev 19:15). Rich or poor shouldn’t matter; apply the law evenly. But, let’s face it, partiality to the rich is a much greater danger than partiality to the poor, so that gets mentioned more often. And this is just such a case: They’ll sell the needy (take a bribe to rule against them) for as little as a pair of shoes.
They also keep garments taken in pledge, which was forbidden:
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate. (Ex 22:26-27)
From the rest of the passage, it seems the wine was probably taken as fraudulent fines. The girl father and son use is probably a slave girl being abused as “community property” instead of treated as a wife (cf, Ex 21:7-11).
Again and again in the Law, God gave Israel rules for protecting the poor and the weak, rules to ensure they receive justice and have food and other basic necessities. Again and again they have broken them. Amos will return to the topic of their abuse of the poor several times, but the judgment will not change.
“Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the LORD. (Amos 2:13-16)
The God who cares for the poor and weak expects his people to do the same. And he takes it personally when they do not. We do not have the explicit instructions Israel had in the Law of Moses, things like leaving the edges of fields unharvested, but the principles remain. We know what is important to our Father in heaven, and it should be important to us, too.
Remember the words of the Master:
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:32-34)
Related posts:
Helping the Poor Biblically
The God Who Sees The Poor
Image via Pixabay
And may He find us, His children, being faithful to His calling.
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