Commentary on Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

In a course on the prophets, a professor of mine once commented that any time he did a Bible study on Amos, about half the people didn’t show back up after the first session. And it’s little wonder why. This is a prophet¹ who speaks very directly with little to no filter regarding the social injustice he observes in Israel, and of the impact it will have on the survival of the nation.

For instance, to expose the excesses of the haves at the expense of the have-nots, Amos has no problem referring to certain individuals as “cows of Bashan” (4:1). To highlight the stark disconnect between ritual worship and the way that far too many people are actually treated in society, Amos declares that God hates Israel’s (religious) festivals, assemblies, offerings, and songs (5:21–23).² Yes, it can be quite uncomfortable to hear Amos, particularly when we realize that his indictments against ancient Israel have biting applicability to us moderns.

Amos is no more buffered when he speaks to the results of people neither embodying righteous principles among one another nor upholding justice when unrighteous behavior is called into question. In a word, the result is death. This grim forecast is the cloud that hangs over chapter 5.³

Most translations lead the reader to see chapter 5, at least in part, as a lament. While there are certainly elements of lament in the chapter, the term misleadingly brings to mind the lament genre of the Psalms, most of which end on rather resounding notes of hope.⁴ Gowan rightly gives the beginning of chapter 5, however, the heading “funeral song” since the Hebrew word rendered “lament” by the New International Version and “lamentation” by the New Revised Standard Version (5:1) is qina, which points not to the classic lament genre but rather to a funeral dirge.⁵

In Amos 5:2, the dirge likens Israel to a virgin⁶ who has died. This alone is a great tragedy, for to die childless is to have no memory preserved and thus to suffer ultimate oblivion in death. Worse still, this childless one who dies is “forsaken on her land,” probably indicating a lack of burial.⁷ So the outlook presented for Israel is about as shocking and grief-inspiring as it could get—akin to a childless person dying and left without so much as a burial. It is not a pretty picture, but it is important to note the tone this sets for the chapter in which we find our pericope.

Amos wants to be unequivocal and unmistakable regarding the road he sees Israel heading down and where it will lead. It’s no time for polite language when you see someone about to blindly walk off a cliff. While the danger of the impending cliff is a major focus of much of Amos’s messaging, there is also a hint of the possibility, if not to avoid, at least to be able to survive the fall off the cliff. There are two key aspects to this possibility.

Although Amos is convinced that God’s judgment is coming against Israel, he seems also convinced that judgment does not fully define who God is, particularly in relation to God’s people. Today’s passage ends with Amos saying, “It may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” This is no “get out of jail free” card. It is only a possibility of God being gracious, and it would only be to a remnant (in other words, after nearly everyone has gone over the cliff). Nevertheless, Amos’s words indicate that our behavior can never be so bad as to completely snuff out God’s mercy and grace.⁸ Furthermore, there is no death from which God is unable to bring life.

Nevertheless, our behavior is important and does have consequences, for it is egregiously unrighteous behavior among the Israelites that led them to the precipice in the first place. In calling for righteousness and justice, Amos is calling for action. These are not academic ideas. They are unmistakable principles that should guide, direct, and govern a people’s behavior—not for the sake of following rules, but so that a people might have life.⁹

Indeed, in this handful of verses, Amos twice (verses 6 and 14) urges the Israelites in the direction of life. To be clear, for the Hebrew mindset having life means much more than just having a pulse. Having life means holistic prosperity and wellness—things that many are being robbed of by the unrighteous behavior of the elite.

Regarding Amos’s call to action, to repentance—a change of direction, you might say—note the active imperatives: “seek the LORD” (verse 6), “seek good” (verse 14), “hate evil, love good, establish justice” (verse 15). Worship and ritual are by no means bad things. But if they don’t produce the fruits of at least an attempt toward righteous behavior, then why bother? God doesn’t hate worship—God hates empty, meaningless worship that just goes through the motions and has no impact on a person’s life. Thus, the urgings to hate evil and love good in verse 15 are not just about feelings; they are about active dispositions that result in righteous behavior.

It would appear to be too late for those to whom Amos speaks: “The end has come upon my people Israel” (8:2). So why mention the possibility of God’s graciousness? Why encourage anyone to “seek the LORD, seek good, establish justice”? Perhaps it is because, as a colleague of mine has commented, “God plays the long game.” God’s long-range plan and intention for humanity will not be thwarted by humanity’s failings. God can bring forth new beginnings where all we see are endings. Perhaps a remnant will heed the words of Amos. Perhaps a people many millennia later will read these ancient words and see the cliff a little sooner than their ancient forebears. It may be that the Lor, the God of hosts, will be gracious to a remnant.

Notes

1. Although Amos shuns identification with this term: see Amos 7:14.
2. However, as correctly noted by many commentators, Amos here does not condemn the practice of ritual or worship, but only that which does not produce behavior worthy of God’s chosen people.
3. Donald E. Gowan, “The Book of Amos: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in The New Interpreters’ Bible Commentary, vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994), 385.
4. A noteworthy exception is Psalm 88.
5. Gowan, “Book of Amos,” 385.
6. New International Version; Hebrew betulah
7. Gowan, “Book of Amos,” 386.
8. See also Exodus 34:6; Psalm 86:15; 103:8.
9. Or as the book of Deuteronomy often puts it, “so that it may go well for you in the land which the LORD your God is giving to you.”