The forgotten side of the relationship with God
Amos 3:1-15, 4:1-3
A while back, a friend shared an incident about taking her son to a birthday party where the birthday boy received the newest iPhone model from his parents. As the boys were horsing around, he dropped the phone, and the screen got cracked. The boy took the gift to his dad expecting it to be replaced as soon as possible. Such a behaviour of entitlement is a recognisable pattern in our Western context. What is forgotten, however, is the other side of the relationship, accountability for our actions and not just the privileges. A special family relationship that provides love and care also involves responsibility. This is true in a human context, but also with God, though cultural expectations increasingly prioritise ‘our happiness’ as the main purpose of a relationship with God.
What Israel forgot and its consequences
Amos addresses a similar issue. Israel has been singled out by God, saved from Egypt (Amos 3:1) and known intimately (NASB ‘chosen’, Amos 3:2). One can imagine Israel’s pride in their identity and privileges though they have forgotten the covenant basis of this special relationship, a mutual commitment between God and His people made at Sinai (Exod 19:4-6). It is because of their failure to live out their commitment to Him (their sins) that punishment will come (v.2). Implicit in the question about two men walking together by agreement (Amos 3:3) is this same covenant. The image of a lion roaring over its prey echoes God’s roar in judgment (Amos 3:4; 1:2) and suggests a cause-and-effect connection. If God speaks judgment, it is because Israel has sinned. The same link is expressed in the metaphor of the entrapped bird (Amos 3:5). If Israel had not been ensnared by sin they would not be captured and waiting for judgment. Finally, just as the trumpet call strikes fear in the heart of a city as they wait for the enemy attack, so certain is it that the disaster they will experience is the Lord’s doing (Amos 3:6).
Cause and effect: God will act
Yet God reveals His will to the prophets, so the people may be warned (Amos 3:7-8). God desires to save them. However, Israel has no self-awareness or understanding of how to live right (Amos 3:10). Even their oppressive neighbours – no innocents themselves – are called to witness Israel’s extreme violence (Amos 3:9). In consequence, God will strike at the people’s syncretistic worship (Bethel became the key shrine after the split from Judah)[1] and at their luxurious lifestyle (Amos 3:14-15, 4:1). Bashan in the northeastern Transjordan area had rich pastureland and its fat cows were famous. Comparing Israelite women to these suggest a lavish and idle existence spent in feasting (4:1). Yet, they will be cast out and humiliated just as they crushed the needy to gain their wealth (Amos 4:2-3).[2] Captives were often led into exile with a ring through their nose or lips and a rope threaded through it to pull them along like animals. Fish hooks also evokes a common metaphor of fishing used for the conquest of weaker nations (e.g. Hab 1:14-15).
The culture’s influence on our worship of God
Once again, Amos’ words are surprisingly relevant in our modern context. We are endlessly told by the secular world that ‘we are worth it’, that the good things of life are our inalienable rights and we ‘deserve’ happiness. While as Christians we know better – or at least should! – the culture’s influence is so pervasive that it is difficult not to feel affronted and angry when things do not go our way and God does not grant what we set our hearts on. Today, many Christians hold to an understanding of grace that focuses on our privileges but detaches it from a mutual relationship of love and commitment. Such a view resembles the secular culture’s insistence on rights without responsibilities. Like Israel’s Bethel, we mix truth and falsehood in our worship of God. Yet when we truly grasp His grace and the immense cost of Jesus giving His life in exchange for ours, it cannot fail to take hold of our hearts. May we not forget that grace is not an impersonal lottery ticket but God’s loving gift in relationship that evokes gratitude and a desire to love Him back.
[1] Bethel was the place of Jacob’s encounter with God and sacred (Gen 28:17-22). It was used as a worship centre in the judges’ time, where Israel could inquire of God (Judg 20:18). However, after the Jerusalem temple was built, Israel was meant to worship only there (Deut 12: 11, 13-14). The northern kingdom’s first king, Jeroboam I, set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:25-33), so the people would not need to travel to the rival kingdom of Judah for worship. However, Bethel was the wrong place and it mixed the worship of God with idols.
[2] The location of ‘Harmon’ (Amos 4:3), if it is a place name, is uncertain. It may be a reference to Mt Hermon in the far north indicating being cast into a far place into exile. Alternatively, it may mean casting dead corpses out.
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