011. IV. Extracts From Sermons Of Exhortation And Warning (5)
IV EXTRACTS FROM SERMONS OF EXHORTATION AND WARNING 1. Ritual Useless to Deliver from the Consequences of Moral Guilt (Amos 5) A lament (Amos 5:1-3). Let ring in your ears, O Israelites, the sad dirge which shall soon be sung over your nation:
Fallen, never again to rise, Is the virgin Israel;
Prostrate upon her soil she lies;
There is none to raise her.[1]
[1]
Repentance, not ritual, will save (Amos 5:4-9). For grim war shall speedily do its devastating work, and only a small fraction of your population shall survive. Would you escape your doom? Then do not resort to the public shrines with offerings in your hand. There is no salvation in so doing. Those sanctuaries, with their corrupt services, are themselves objects of divine wrath. Gilgal shall drink to her fill the gall of exile; Bethel, house of God, shall become a house of perdition.[2]The only and sufficient way to secure deliverance is to go directly to Jehovah with the earnest prayer of contrition. Lose no time, O perverters of justice! lest his vengeance overwhelm the northern kingdom, and it be too late to appeal for mercy to him who, meting out judgment to the strong as well as to the weak, rules supreme in nature and in human affairs.
[2] A rude attempt is here made to reproduce the play on words contained in the Hebrew, “Ha-Gilgal gālōh yigleh.”
Depravity of the leaders (Amos 5:10-12). Alas! you, who are Israel’s leaders, give no evidence of repentance. Your attitude toward one who denounces your crimes is that of bitter hostility. Intent only upon building palaces for yourselves, and upon gratifying your luxurious desires, you extort from the poor; you persecute an honest man in the courts; you grant the decision to the one who gives you the largest bribe. So completely is evil in the ascendency that a wise man submits to injustice without a protest. I warn you solemnly that you will never enjoy the fruits of your iniquitous conduct.
Advice and encouragement for the few faithful (Amos 5:14-15). To whomsoever my words appeal I repeat, persevere in your efforts to do that which is right in the sight of God, and he, the all-powerful and just, will not fail you. Undauntedly strive to put down public evil, and to purify the law courts; perchance a faithful few may yet survive the approaching destruction to enjoy Jehovah’s blessings and favor. The national disaster impending (Amos 5:16-20). For Israel as a whole the immediate future has nothing but woe. Instead of the present mad revels, wails of lamentation shall rise from every class. Deluded are those who long for the time when Jehovah will interpose in human history. “The day of Jehovah” shall bring no joy to this guilty people, but only misfortune and retribution.
Ceremonial offerings, without righteous conduct, a mockery (Amos 5:21-27). Hold not up your ceremonial services as a cloak to cover your crimes, for Jehovah takes no pleasure in empty forms. Put them away, for they are utterly repugnant to him. The multitude of your burnt and your meal offerings, and your elaborate ritual, are meaningless when not accompanied with righteous deeds. Would you win his favor? Then let your every act be governed by the laws of justice. During the years of your wilderness wanderings you could bring him no sacrifices, and yet was he not pleased with you? Conformity, not to ceremonial laws, but to those of right, is the essence of true service. Since justice is completely lacking in your national character, you shall be carried into captivity, bearing the heathen gods with whom you are now sharing the homage due Jehovah.
2. Israel’s Blind, Selfish Rulers Leading their Nation to Certain Ruin (Amos 6)
Heartless self-indulgence of the rulers (Amos 6:1-6). A curse on you, voluptuous, careless rulers, upon whom devolves the direction of these two powerful Hebrew kingdoms! Shutting your eyes to the grave dangers which threaten, you enthrone injustice, and devote your whole attention to gratifying your love of ease and luxury. As if life were only one long revel, you sing foolish songs, drinking yourselves drunk, anointing yourselves with costly perfumes, wholly indifferent to the ruin which hangs over this goodly land of Israel.
Sentence upon the rulers and nation (Amos 6:7-11). Therefore, when the foreign conqueror comes, these dissolute leaders, who have betrayed their trust, will be among the first to taste the woes of captivity. Jehovah, disgusted with all this vain show and criminal luxury, has determined to bring upon Israel all the horrors of war. Pestilence shall complete the direful work of the sword, so that the few panic-stricken survivors shall not dare to utter the name of Jehovah, lest still further judgment be called down upon them. In the general collapse, together shall crumble palace and hovel.
Israel’s conquest by Assyria inevitable (Amos 6:12-14). Think not for a moment that you will realize the impossible. You cannot persist in your course of injustice and expect to enjoy the rewards of equity. Trust not in your military strength and powers to save you; for already Jehovah is arousing an invincible nation, which will devastate your land, O Israelites, from your northern to your southernmost border.