naming the evils

Our reading for this coming Sunday (October 2nd) is from Amos 1 and 2.

These are not easy passages, and your eyes might glaze over from all of the destruction and curses that are flowing from Amos' mouth.

Look at the way God's voice in Amos 1:2. God's message of judgment comes between two roars of a lion (Amos 1:2 and Amos 3:8). Judgment is proclaimed on 8 nations.

Compare the various judgments in Amos 1 and Amos 2. Notice which nation is most harshly judged.

I looked to the BCBC commentary on Hosea and Amos to help me understand exactly what the sins were for each nation. I've listed the sins beside each nation below.

The first nations mentioned are ones that share no recognized blood ties with Judah and Israel:
* Arameans (Damascus/Syria): greed, demanding revenue, extracting taxes
* Philistines (Gaza): selling an entire community into slavery (genocide)
* Phoenicians (Tyre): ruthless slave trade, failure to keep faith

The next ones are distant relatives:
* Edomites (Edom): vengeance, violence by the sword against his brother
* Ammonites (Ammon): invading other lands, killing, selling women into slavery
* Moabites (Moab): attitude of insult toward others

The final ones hit close to home:
* Judah: deliberately rejected God's laws, refused to keep God's decrees, pursued false gods
* Israel: debt-slavery, extortion (selling their neighbours to erase minor debts), oppressing the poor, sexual abuse, injustice and hypocrisy

These judgments follow a pattern. They begin with: Thus says the Lord. Then they state: For 3 transgressions of ... and for four I will not revoke the punishment. They state the charge of sinfulness "because they..." followed by the punishment "I will send..." They end with "says the Lord."

In the BCBC commentary, Guenther writes, "Israel's wealthy are preoccupied with accumulating goods; people and community are of little consequence. The conventional wisdom seems to be "Suppress compassion if you want to succeed." No one argues with success. No one except Amos." (p. 260)

* Imagine hearing these indictments against us today. Do any of them ring true?


* Which nations could you imagine being held accountable for sins today? Imagine a prophet today talking about nations that are far away from Canada, then ones who are closer, and then finally lacing into our nation, saving the largest list for Canada. How would this feel, especially if it were a foreigner and a common man like Amos delivering the message? This passage makes me think of another one: to whom much is given, much is also expected. (Luke 12:48)


* Can you name evils in our society today? What would they look like? Some might be subtle - like ways of thinking. Others might be more obvious - like our lifestyles or our government's policies.

* What evils would make God's voice roar today? Does it make our voices roar too?