Revelation 1:9-20 — An Imperial Christophany

May 28, 2013

The Christophany–the appearance of Jesus to John–sets the tone for the letters to the churches (Revelation 2 & 3) and provides the ground for patient endurance through the dramatic conflict that the Apocalypse will unfold in the second and third visions (Revelation 4-16 and Revelation 17-21). It is, therefore, important to pay close attention to how Christ comes to his churches as the first vision opens.

This introduction to the letters to the seven churches easily falls into three sections:  (1) Prophetic Commission (1:9-11); (2) Christophany Described (1:12-16); and (3) Divine Speech (1:17-20).

1.  John is commissioned to write what he sees “in a book” (or on a scroll) and send it to the seven churches.

John has shared  in the suffering of the Christians in Asia Minor. The language of “tribulation” and “patient endurance” reflects the shared experience of cultural hostility. John is on Patmos because he was willing to bear witness to the word of God and Jesus. There is no need to speculate about the horrors of Patmos (or mines, etc.). Rather, John probably suffered from the common practice of exiling or deporting anti-government prophets and astrologers (see Oster, Seven Congregations, 66). John’s insistence on allegiance to the kingdom of God, his warnings about assimilation, and his prophetic denouncement of idolatrous Roman imperialism (all seen in the Apocalypse itself) probably landed him in exile (deportation or banishment). Partners in the kingdom of God will share in its tribulations and will need to persevere in faith. John identifies with his audience.

On a particular “Lord’s day,” John was “in the Spirit.” Since the “Lord’s day” has a specific referent–his audience would know what that is, it appears that it is the common day of worship among Christians. Second century Christians identified this as Sunday (cf. Didache 14.1; Ignatius, Magnesians 9.1; Gospel of Peter 12.50; Barnabas 15.9). Calling it the “Lord’s day” probably contrasts with other days associated with the Emperor or cultic rituals. John fell into a trance on the day of the Lord’s resurrection which is quite appropriate for what he will see.

Given John’s description of his work as a “prophecy” (Revelation 1:3), “in the Spirit” refers to a prophetic vision or experience. The model is Ezekiel who received a prophetic visions while he was “in the Spirit” (Ezekiel 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24; 8:3; 11:1; 37:1).

But John hears something before he sees anything. A loud voice sounded like a trumpet behind him. The imagery is important here since trumpets were both Jewish and Greco-Roman symbols for the entrance of the divine.  Trumpets are associated with theophanies in the Hebrew Scriptures (cf. Isaiah 18:3; Joel 2:1; Zechariah 9:14; Exodus 19:16; 20:18) and in Greco-Roman literature the voices of the gods are compared with the sounding of trumpets (see Aune, Revelation). This language, then, announces a theophany (in this case a Christophany).Seven Churches of Asia

What John hears is a commission to write a book. John the prophet (“in the Spirit”) is commissioned to write a prophecy (1:3) based on what he sees. The book, however, has a specific audience, that is, the seven churches of Asia. The message of this prophecy is specifically tied to the experience and life of the churches in Asia (the “seven” probably represents the whole church in Asia). Several of these cities were part of the Koinon (Fellowhsip or League) of cities in Asia that were particularly dedicated to “the local practices of the imperial cult, emperor veneration, and patriotic enthusiasm, ” specifically Laodicea, Pergamum (with imperial temple), Ephesus (with imperial temple), Smyrna (with imperial temple), and Sardis (Oster, Seven Congregations, 71-2). The cultural pressure to participate in the guilds, the processions, the oaths of allegiance, and the sacrifices would have been enormous within this Koinon. The prophecy of this book is designed for and geared toward the situation of these seven churches in Asia.

2.  John describes the first thing he “sees” and it is an appearance of the risen Christ among his churches.

It is important to appreciate the dramatic nature of the Christophany. The description of the risen Christ is both connected to the authority with which he addresses the churches and his appearance as a divine figure. Jesus is the Lord who addresses his congregations in contrast to the Emperor; the church must listen to their Lord rather than to Caesar.

Concerning the first point, parts of the description of Jesus appear in the introduction to each letter to the seven churches as we will see in future posts. But the second point is more significant in terms of the overall impact upon the original audience.

The risen Christ appears in symbols that are heavily grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures and Greco-Roman cultural forms. The Hebrew symbols are drawn from various visionary and theophanic texts, that is, where God appears to the prophets (cf. Zechariah 4:2, 12; Daniel 7:9, 13; 10:5-6; Isaiah 11:4; 49:2). The Hebrew contexts identify what John sees as a heavenly (even divine) figure who bears great authority (speaks with a “great voice”). The Greco-Roman connections, from depictions of Caesar’s own brilliant radiance emanating from his crown (or the Sun-god Helios) and the deity of the Emperor represented by “seven stars” on coinage, depict a reigning god whose authority is unquestioned (Oster, Seven Congregations, pp. 77-80). Consequently, what John sees radiates divine authority and presence that contrasts with that of Caesar and the Greco-Roman gods.

The risen Christ is the “Son of Man.” This is not an allusion to his humanity, but to his glory. The Son of Man is an eschatological title; it belongs to the one who will bring judgment to the earth and set things right. This is the one who comes on the clouds with the power to subdue the enemies of God. The Christophany is a judgment scene. Christ has come to judge the churches and then the empire. st_john_beholding_the_seven_candelabra

This picture of Jesus, represented on the left by Albrecht Durer (d. 1528), is no cuddly friend or a shepherd who carries a lamb on his shoulders. On the contrary, this is an imperial figure–the Messianic Lord Jesus–who comes to address the congregations of Asia.

3.  John is reassured and recommissioned by the living Christ.

The Christophany was terrifying. Like other prophets who encountered the divine, John–perhaps involuntarily–fell down as if he had fainted (cf. Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 8:17; 10:9-11). In this instance the glory of the risen Christ was not intended to comfort the churches but to confront them. The vision and John’s response, like Isaiah’s before him (Isaiah 6), prepares us to hear the prophetic oracles (the letters to the seven churches) that will follow. They are, in large measure, judgment oracles that call for repentance, non-conformity, and a counter-cultural commitment to the kingdom of God.

The theological announcement is astounding. There is no reason to fear because the risen Christ is the “first and the last, and the living one.” The first claim associates him with Yahweh, the one who was, is and is to come (cf. Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Revelation 22:13). The second is theological elaboration of what it means to be “firstborn from the dead”–the foundation of new creation itself.  He is the one who lives! GATE-HELL

The resurrection of Jesus is the ground of eternal life. The resurrection inaugurated a new creation where death no longer reigns but Christ reigns. He has the keys–the power to open the doors (gates)–of Hades (the realm of the dead) and Death itself. The “gates of Hades” had a well-known portal (called Plutonium) in what is now southwestern Turkey (see also this re-creation).  On sarcophagi and other depictions, the “Gates of Hades” are locked and closed.  Whoever enters never returns. But the risen Christ announces that he has returned and he has the keys to unlock Hades.

The powers of Hades and Death symbolize the cosmic forces arrayed against the kingdom of God. But they have no ultimate power anymore. The risen Christ has authority over the principalities and powers that presently engulf the earth.

On the authority of the risen Christ, John will write his prophetic message. He will confront the churches and the empire, and he will announce the judgment that is to come against both.

As if to reinforce both the authority of the message and the specificity of the audience, Jesus identifies the seven stars and the seven lampstands. The risen Christ walks among his churches; he is present among them (the seven lampstands). And he holds “the angels of the seven churches” in his hand. The seven stars are some times identified with church leaders (bishops?), or the messengers that brought the letters to the churches, or (most probably) the angelic representatives of the churches before the throne of God. Whatever the case may be, the emotive impact is that the risen Christ has a vested interest in these congregations. They are his and he has come to deal with them.

The function of this Christophany is similar to function of the theophany in Psalm 50. There Yahweh shows up among the assembled people of Israel, but Yahweh does not come to comfort but to judge. Yahweh calls Israel to faithfulness. That is the point of the Christophany.

The opening vision of Revelation is not the slaughtered Lamb who redeems but the Imperial (Lordship) presence that holds the church accountable.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Amos 8:1-14 — The Pride and Greed of Jacob

April 19, 2013

The dialogue between Amos and Amaziah (7:10-17), which interprets the third vision (7:7-9), is followed by a fourth vision (8:1-3) with a further interpretative comment (8:4-14). Ripe for judgment, Yahweh reminds Israel exactly why they will face eventual calamity. God judges them for their economic practices and the greatest calamity they will experience is divine silence.

In the third vision Amos sees a basket of ripened summer fruit ready to eat (or sell). The fruit must be sold or eaten soon. The time for waiting has passed.

The “end” (the extremity, the end of the road) has arrived. Their sins have brought them to this point and God “will never again pass by them.” There is no more recourse; there will be no more delay. The decision has been made. Their festive temple songs will now become howls of distress and hurt as the dead bodies pile around them and are strewn over the land.

What is the appropriate human response in the midst of such horror? When the  ”end” arrives, the prophet calls for “stillness” or “silence.” “Hush,” says the prophet. Perhaps the silence is a reverence for God, maybe even an avoidance. Perhaps it is shock as people look at the devastation around them. Whatever the case, horror begets silence as there is literally nothing to say in the face of such tragic circumstances. It is over; there is nothing more to say.

But Amos does not want to leave Israel without a rationale or some idea of what to expect. The third vision is interpreted by a chiastic oracle (“Hear this,” 8:4).

Rationale for Judgment (8:4-6): Economic Injustice

Description of Judgment (8:7-8): Land Trembles.

From Feasting to Mourning (8:9-10):  Lament

Description of Judgment (8:11-12): Divine Silence

Rationale for Judgment (8:13-14): Idolatry

Two rationales for judgment, seemingly always present in Amos, resurface in this interpretation.  One is economic injustice and the other is idolatry.

Amos complains that Israel’s economic practices oppressed the poor. The prophet identifies the specific practice of lightening the ephah (which measures grain) and weighting the shekel (which measures silver). When merchants use unfair weights and measures, they buy and sell to their own interests. Archeological remains in Tirzah demonstrate that sometimes merchants used two different weights–one for selling and one for buying (cf. Mays, Amos, 144). Prohibitions in the Torah, as well as in Ancient Near Eastern codes, demonstrate that this was a common practice (cf. Leviticus 19:35-36; Deuteronomy 25:13-16).

With such economic advantages, merchants did not like to close their shops on New Moons or Sabbaths. They were more interested in economic gain than they were worship or devotion. Indeed, they targeted the poor and needy as the object of their greed. As Shank (pp. 282-3) points out in his College Press commentary, the merchants short-changed the poor, charged excessive prices, cheated with false measures and weights, forced the poor into slavery who could not pay their debts, and sold inferior quality goods (even the “sweepings” along with the grain). This is called the “pride of Jacob” (Amos 8:7).

“I will never forget their deeds.” I wonder if this should not give the American economic system, or any economic system, pause for introspection.  If God will never forget how the poor and needy were oppressed, cheated, and sold inferior goods for the sake of profit or gain, Americana–including global economics–should “hear this word” of the Lord. If economic practices bring judgment–and this is what Amos specifies rather than sexual immorality–American Evangelicals should heed the warning as they protest the demise of “Christian America” while the poor are caught in the middle of the American economic machine.

Amos, however, does identify a further sin other than economic injustice. The bottom of the chiasm references idolatry. As the people thirst for water due to the judgment of God (ironic in that the judgment is pictured as a flood), the people who swear by the gods (“Guilt”) of Samaria from Dan to Beersheba will know the terror of the Lord. Idolaters will fall, “and never rise again.” Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south (Amos 5:5) were idolatrous worship centers much like Bethel (located in the middle of Palestine). Divine judgment will cleanse Israel of its idolatry. Those who swear by these false gods may look to them, but they will receive no help…either from them or from Yahweh who is now silent.

Amos uses two metaphors to describe the judgment. First, the land will tremble as it is flooded with judgment. Just as the Nile rises and falls every year in Egypt, so the flood of judgment will pour over the land of Israel. The result will be mourning and lamentation.

The second metaphor Amos uses is a famine, but this is not a lack of bread  or water. Rather, it is the silence of God. Israel will get its wish. Just as Amaziah told Amos to leave as they had no interest in his message, so Yahweh will no longer send prophets among the people to warn them of the coming judgment. The flood of judgment will be accompanied by the silence of God. They will want to hear from God and they will seek a word, but God has already spoken and will speak no more to Israel in the context of this judgment.

The middle of the chiasm is striking. Judgment day is a day of mourning. The day is catastrophic–darkness will envelop the land at noon and their festive celebrations will turn into mourning. Everyone will wear the sackcloth of lamentation and shave their heads as they weep. The mourning will be so great it will be as if everyone in the nation is mourning the death of an only son. Lament and bitterness will fill the day; nothing will alleviate the pain and hurt. Israel, which should have mourned for its sins, will now mourn its dead.

The northern kingdom’s sins–unjust economic practices and idolatry–spelled its doom as a national entity. Those categories are important to God–it is about the poor and justice as well as about loyalty and allegiance. “I will never forget any of their deeds” should ring in our ears as a warning to all nations that economic justice and allegiance to the kingdom of God are primary concerns for God.

The Christian Faith, instead of absorbing the cultural values of its context, should embrace the message of Amos and speak prophetically to a culture for whom economics and allegiance are more about self and the nation than about the poor and God.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Amos 4:1-13: “Yet You Did Not Return to Me”

March 4, 2013

This is the second of Amos’s three prophetic speeches against Israel. They each begin with “Hear this word” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). The first announced God’s coming visit in judgment against Israel while the third will voice lament. The second highlights divine patience and persistence in seeking to turn Israel from its sins.

While this second speech remembers Yahweh’s incessant attempts to hinder Israel’s sins, it also boldly announces that God’s patience has reached a limit. Even as Yahweh, through the prophet Amos, runs through a series of divine acts (4:6-11) intended to produce repentance, Yahweh sarcastically encourages Israel to continue its opulent lifestyle and idolatrous worship (4:1-5). God has had enough. The time for repentance is finished. Judgment is coming (4:12-13).

Yahweh Addresses Israel’s Wealthy Elite (4:1-5).

Amos begins where his last sermon ended–at Bethel and in the summer/winter homes (3:14-15)–but in reverse order. The connection between the end of the previous oracle and the beginning of the present one forms a B-A-A’-B’ structure. Amos moves from Bethel to “winter/summer homes” and then from “Bashan/Samaria” to Bethel. The allusions of 3:14-15 are explicit in 4:1-5.

Wealthy women who live in their winter and summer homes are like “cows of Bashan.” They are well-fed and lounging in luxury where their husbands or servants are pictured as wait on them. It is a life of ease in their “great houses” filled with ivory. But this wealth was acquired through the cruel oppression of the poor and needy. They have much because they have taken from those who have little (cf. Amos 2:7).

Amos mocks their religious observances. Bethel (Jeroboam I’s new worship center where he erected a golden calf) and Gilgal (apparently a worship center at the very place where Israel first camped in Canaan; Joshua 5:9) are places where Israel assembled to worship Yahweh though in idolatrous fashion. They practiced Torah. In fact, they practiced Torah in hyper-fashion.

Animal sacrifices were not required every morning, but they brought them every day. Tithes were only required every three years but they brought some every third day (Deuteronomy 14:28). They even burned leavened bread for their Thanksgiving sacrifices when only unleavened was required (Leviticus 2:11; 7:12-15). They publicly announced their Freewill offerings when that was not required (Leviticus 22:18-25). Whether Israel actually practiced this hyper-”obedience” is immaterial or whether Amos is mocking their devotion, Amos’s description ridicules their motive.

Israel worships Yahweh in this manner only to display their wealth. Yahweh rejects their worship, at least in part, because they gained their wealth by oppressing the poor. Their worship–even hyper-worship–had become a form of rebellion (transgression). They feigned the love of God while at the same time they failed to love their neighbor (poor).

Consequently, the women who now luxuriously recline in their great houses will be taken by fishhooks into captivity through openings in Samaria’s breached wall (4:2-3). Assyrians were known for using hooks in the noses of their captives to lead them into exile (cf. 2 Chronicles 33:11). The metaphor, however, is even more chilling. These women will be dragged out their great houses like fish out of the sea. They will be “cast out into Harmon” (Amos 4:3). Harmon is apparently some distant and unwelcome place, but contemporary scholarship has not been able to identify it. Some, however, think the name is a version of “Hermon” which would then refer to the peak that overlooks the fields of Bashan. It might mean that the women who, metaphorically, grazed Bashan in peace and splendor are now removed to the desolate peak of Hermon.

Yahweh Remembers the Warnings (4:6-11).

Five times Amos repeats the formulaic phrase: “yet you did not return to me, declares the Lord” (Amos 4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11). It is the final two lines in each of the descriptions of God’s interaction with Israel as Yahweh attempted to turn Israel from their sins. But Israel would not return to God.

Yahweh used famine (4:6), drought (4:7-8), crop devastation (4:9), disease and war (4:10), and tragic disasters (4:11) to persuade Israel. Each of these events originated in the will of God. “I gave” (4:6), “I withheld” (4:7), “I struck” (4:9), “I sent” (4:10), and “I overthrew” (4:11) clarify that God is responsible for these “evils” (cf. Amos 3:6).

While Yahweh intended them as warnings, Israel did not heed them. Perhaps they did not even recognize them as such. Israel failed to see the hand of God in these disasters and discern their meaning. The “evils,” however, should have reminded them of God’s past dealings with the nations in their own history. Such disasters should have become occasions for self-evaluation and introspection. Instead, they look elsewhere for their meaning.

Famine, drought, locust, pestilence like in Egypt and disasters like Sodom and Gomorrah are signals for how God has previously engaged nations as their own history recounts. The memories of Egypt and Sodom underscore God’s acts. Israel should have known but failed to listen to the voice of God in these moments.

God acted in Israel, as Yahweh had among the nations at various times, in order to lead them to repentance. The Apocalypse reminds us that God still moves among the nations for similar purposes (cf. Revelation 9:20-21; 16:9-11). Though we are unable to discern without prophetic insight the nature of God’s actions in the world, moments of pain and hurt are always appropriate for prayer, fasting and introspection. Being with God or returning to God are redemptive responses to “evils” in our lives.

Yahweh Announces Judgment (4:12-13).

As if to relieve all doubt, Yahweh announces that this is a divine judgment. “I will do this to you,” says the Lord. The coming disaster is no mere coincidence or freak of nature. It is an act of God.

The time for repentance , however, is now over. When the Lord says “prepare to meet your God, O Israel,” this is no invitation to repentance or even covenant renewal. Rather, as Paul notes in the Hermeneia series (p. 151), this is “a summons to a final battle.” Every previous attempt by Yahweh to turn Israel and renew the covenant with them was ineffective. This final encounter is not redemptive but punitive. When Israel meets God in this moment there will be no parley, no truce, and no delay. Judgment is imminent.

The successive uses of the “declares Yahweh” followed by the summons to meet God issues in a doxology (Amos 4:13).  The praise articulates the majesty and power of God. Yahweh is the Creator who formed the mountains and the winds. Yahweh is the most high God who walks upon the hills. Yahweh created them and reigns upon them.

The concluding reference to the one who “treads upon the hills” is a metaphor for a conquering king. God moves along the ridge line of the greatest heights and  watches the battle. The Creator God has summoned Israel to battle and God will see it to its final end. The God who created the mountains will turn morning into darkness for the nation of Israel. [Some translations read the dawn breaks the darkness.

Yahweh did not hide this from Israel. Over and over again, Yahweh warned Israel about her fate. But she did not listen. Now the prophet, speaking for Yahweh, announces what Yahweh intends to do.

The Creator God who formed Israel, her covenant God Yahweh, will now destroy her.

Her destruction is a warning to Judah…and to us.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Amos 3:1-8 — An Oracle of Divine Punishment, Part I

February 20, 2013

The first two chapters of Amos set Israel’s sins within an international context.  As they heard Amos condemn one after another of their regional neighbors they were no doubt alarmed that Israel was included in the list and received the most attention. Israel is the focus of Amos’s concern.

The second major section of Amos (chapters 3-5) contains three oracles describing the punishment, sin and lament of the northern kingdom of Israel. Each begins with “Hear this word!” (3:1; 4:1; 5:1). In many ways, this is the heart of Amos’s work as it lays out Yahweh’s case against Israel.

The first oracle is titled by a superscription (3:1) followed by the divine announcement of punish exactly because they are God’s elect nation (3:2). The rest of the oracle describes the nature and rationale for this divine punishment (3:3-15).

Superscription: Yahweh Addresses Redeemed Israel (3:1).

Premise:  Yahweh punishes Israel because they are elect (3:2).

1.  Yahweh is responsible for the coming disaster (3:3-8).

2.  The nations will witness Israel’s destruction (3:9-12).

3.  Israels economic and religious centers will topple (3:13-15).

The opening address–the most extensive opening of the three oracles–reminds Israel that their identity was formed by the Exodus. God had “brought them up out of the land of Egypt” (cf. Exodus 32:7; 33:1; Amos 9:7). The superscription locates Israel as the recipient of divine grace. They are a redeemed people and yet God now must say something “against” (used twice) them.

Yahweh is not originally hostile to Israel. Quite the opposite! Israel, as a redeemed people, is the only “family” among all the “families of the earth” that God has “known.” God “knew” Israel so that “all the families of the earth” would be blessed (Genesis 12:3 uses the same Hebrew phrase that Amos uses here). This knowledge is not the same as the term “elect” or “chosen,” but is a more intimate or relational term. Yahweh had become intimate with Israel; Yahweh had revealed the divine presence to Israel. Yahweh communed with them. They shared life together.

It is precisely because God knew Israel that God determines to punish them. Their blessed identity as God’s family–the one whom God has known out of all the families of the earth–entails deep responsibility.  Their identity (people redeemed through the Exodus) and intimacy (God knows them) means that God holds them responsible for their way of life. Instead of becoming a light to the nations and blessing them, they followed the nations by embracing their values of wealth and power. Amos will point out some of these particulars in the second oracle (Amos 4).

The verb “punish” is typically translated in the older translations as “visit.”  God visits  Israel. Here, however, God comes (visits) in judgment.  The verb is also used twice in Amos 3:14. This divine visitation is equivalent to punishment, a judgment against the sins of Israel. Though elect, Israel is not immune to the historical processes of divine judgment.

Amos leaves no doubt that Yahweh is responsible for the disaster that is coming upon Israel. It is, in fact, a result of cause and effect.  But it is not a mechanical cause and effect as if it is impersonal and mechanistic in its outworking. Rather, it is a divine response to the sins of Israel. Israel has sinned and now Yahweh responds. The one who “knows” Israel now “visits” her in judgment.

Amos uses a series of six images to lead us to the climactic point of the seventh. Each is a matter of cause and effect, or perhaps better, it is ground and response.

Two walk together because they have agreed to meet.
The lion roars because it has caught its dinner.
The young cub cries because something has been taken from it.
A bird is entrapped because a snare has been set.
A snare has sprung because something has been taken.
The people are afraid because the trumpet has sounded.

Point: Disaster came to a city because Yahweh did it (3:6b).

Disaster (ra’ah) is a common word in the Hebrew Scriptures which is variously translated evil, trouble or disaster. It may refer to moral evil (Jeremiah 3:5; 23:10) or it may refer to destruction (Jeremiah 4:6; 11:29). As disaster or destruction, it is “evil” in terms of the trouble and devastation effected. As Amos later writes, divine punishment (the captivity, see Amos 9:10) is intended for “evil (ra’ah) and not for good” (Amos 9:4). It is intended to destroy rather than bless. In this sense, God can bring “evil” upon a sinful people; he can curse rather than bless.

Amos clarifies the origin of the disaster so that Israel will not mistake what is happening. Yahweh does not want Israel to misinterpret the coming calamity. Israel might think of the disaster as unlucky, accidental or ill-fated.  But, says Yahweh, it is purposeful. God sends a messenger–Amos the prophet–to interpret the misfortune for them and reveal the divine purpose (secret or counsel). The prophets, including Amos, have stood in the divine council and received the interpretation of God’s visitation (cf. the use of the same Hebrew term in Jeremiah 23:18, 22). Through the prophets, Yahweh describes what he is doing, why he is doing and what the significance is for Israel. This is, in essence, the function of the text of Amos.

Just as the disaster is a divine response to Israel’s sins, so the prophet’s words are a response to the voice of God. Just as people are afraid when they hear a lion roar, so the prophets must speak when they hear the voice of God. Amos, then, is compelled to speak the message and announce God’s “visitation” upon Israel. Amos interprets the divine “visitation.”

A text like this causes us to wonder whether God is still engaged in such activity today.  It is not unique to Israel since such judgment is also announced against the nations surrounding Israel in chapters 1-2. Further, it seems that such judgments are still active in the Apocalypse (Revelation) where divine visitations still fall upon nations and fell upon Jerusalem itself in 70 C.E.

Might such disasters continue into the present by the hand of God? It is certainly possible, perhaps even probable. Maybe certain. But the problem is that we have no prophetic voices like Amos who have stood in the council of God to interpret those events for us. Without a sure and certain prophetic word, who can interpret the nature of a disaster that hits a city? I think must live with the ambiguity rather than project our own agenda onto the disaster.

Whatever the origin of a disaster and whatever its meaning, what we can hear in Amos is that the sort of sins with which God is displeased might lead to a divine visitation…whether upon Edom, or Israel, or the United States.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Amos 2:9-16 — Yahweh Makes A Case

February 6, 2013

As the last in the list of nations and the major focus of Amos’s ministry, Israel receives the most attention. In Amos 2:6-8 the prophet identified the reasons why Israel (the northern kingdom) will go into exile. They will suffer for their sins. They abused the innocent and poor, pursued sexual immorality, and approached God clothed in their economic abuses. Like the other nations, their sins will overtake them.

Amos, however, does not break away to another topic at this point as he did with the previous seven nations. Rather, Amos–speaking as Yahweh–argues his case with Israel and announces their punishment. We hear a passionate, though reasoned, word from Yahweh that arises from a heart that was broken by Israel’s betrayal.

Israel sinned, “yet it was I,” says Yahweh, who redeemed and blessed Israel throughout its history. Sandwiched between Israel’s sins (Amos 2:6b-8, 12), Amos, speaking as Yahweh, offers a passionate rehearsal of how God has loved Israel again and again (Amos 2:9-11). The divine initiative and participation is stressed by the use of the Hebrew pronoun “I” — “it was I” the text announces (used at the beginning of 2:9 and 2:10).

1. Yahweh destroyed the Amorites.
2. Yahweh delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage.
3. Yahweh led Israel in the wilderness for 40 years.
4. Yahweh gave Israel the land of the Amorites.
5. Yahweh raised up pious leaders within Israel.

“Amorite” is a name that represents the inhabitants of Canaan before Israel arrive. Amorites have been the perpetual enemies of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:19; 3:8; 7:1; 20:17, for example).The Amorites are the people God intended to remove from the land when their sins had filled God’s cup of wrath (Genesis 15:16). The metaphors remind Israel of how overwhelming the Amorites appeared to them when they first entered the land–they were giants and incredibly strong behind their walled cities. Nevertheless, God completely destroyed them–both their fruits and their roots. Yahweh uprooted the Amorites and gave the land to Israel.

Amos turns from what happened to the Amorites to what was given to Israel. Yahweh brought Israel from Egypt through the wilderness into the land once inhabited by the Amorites. This is the Exodus-Wilderness-Conquest narrative that forms the foundation of Israel’s faith and life.  Israel often rehearsed this story in their liturgies (Psalm 66:5-7) and oracles (sermons; Hosea 11:1; Micah 6:3-5). God loved Israel–redeemed them, provided for them, and gave them a land of abundance.

Moreover, God remained active within Israel even after they settled the land.  God raised up (1) prophets and (2) Nazirites). The language (“raise up”) has covenantal overtones–it represents God’s continued presence and engagement with the people. Prophets communicated Yahweh’s will to Israel; they represented God before Israel. They were messengers whom God sent to maintain relationship and encourage faithfulness within Israel. Nazirites are those who separated (or consecrated) themselves for pious purposes. Their commitment to abstinence, uncut hair and ceremonial cleanliness modeled humility and purity (Numbers 6:1-21). They represented the presence of God within Israel. The prophets and Nazirites railed against the decline of piety within Israel; they bore witness to Israel’s covenantal responsibilities as well as God’s gracious presence.

“Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” Is this not the truth? Has not Yahweh loved you beyond measure and beyond what you deserve? And what is your response? How do you repay the Lord?

Israel did not respect this divine presence among them. They scoffed at the piety of the Nazirites and shut the mouths of the prophets. They treated the pious much like they treated the poor. Moreover, they subverted God’s design for the prophets and Nazirites. However they may have caused Nazirites to drink wine–whether through seduction or mocking coercion or persuasion–their hostility to godliness was evident. Not only did not refuse to listen to the prophets they wanted to stop the prophets from speaking at all. In other words, Israel sought to remove all signs of God’s covenantal presence so that they might continue to pursue their own interests without a guilty or shamed conscience.

How will the Lord respond? “Behold,” Yahweh announces. Imminent judgment is coming, and it is coming from the same one who destroyed the Amorites and gave you their land. “It is I” is used for the third time in this text (2:9, 10, 13). Just as Amorite sins reached the point of no return and God removed them from the land, so Israel’s sins have now reached a point where God will remove them from the land as well. Israel will lose its birthright to the land.

Israel’s loss is described by metaphors that represent tragic reversals.  They are like a heavily loaded cart that cannot move. There is no escape even for the swift of foot, and the strong will have no strength. The mighty will not win the battle even if they are armed with bows. A fast horse will not provide an escape. The most courageous among the mighty will flee in fear.

The climactic expression is that Israel–even the most fearless among them–will “flee away naked in that day.” It will be a day of judgment; day when God calls Israel to account for its sins. The term naked (‘arom) is an evocative term which echoes other texts in Israel’s canon. It reminds us of the fear and shame Adam and Eve felt after they sinned, or the lament and mourning that accompanies devastation (Micah 1:8). Or, naked reflects the loss of everything–just as we came into the world, so we will leave it (Job 1:21; Ecclesiastes 5:1).

The day of judgment , which Yahweh will execute through the Assyrian nation, will reverse Israel’s fortunes. In recent times they had experienced growth, prosperity and leisure. Now the nation will fall. Its armies (the mighty) will flee for their lives and neither bow nor horse will save them. God has spoken. The mighty will flee naked on that day. Israel will suffer the same fate as Tyre, Damascus, Gaza, Moab, Edom and Ammon.

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

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