Sermon: God’s Drum Major for Justice
Scripture Lesson: Amos 5:21-25 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?”
Introduction: God is a just God and He desires His world to be a just world. The Lord vindicates his people, punishes evil, and cares for the marginalized. He opposes the wicked, whether individuals or nations and He will one day set all things right. God’s promises are sure!
Psalms 25:8-10 says, “The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands”
Deuteronomy 32:4 calls God, “A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
Psalm 89:14 describes God this way, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”
God is just. It is part of His character, which means He is always just. The message of Amos speaks to our world today with as much force and necessity as when he spoke to the world, the nations and God’s people 2,700 years ago. The key idea in Amos is that God is just and impartial and will judge not only the nations but also his own people for their life of ease and apathy amid human suffering. The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of Jerusalem. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one. Rather, he was “a grower of sycamore figs” as well as a shepherd (Amos 7:14–15). Amos’s connection to the simple life of the people made its way into the center of his prophecies, as he showed a heart for the oppressed and the voiceless in the world. Amos was God’s drum Major for justice! Privileged people seldom fight for the underprivileged and voiceless. God must raise up a voice.
What does it mean to be a drum major for justice? Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. introduced that idea to his congregation as he thought about his own eulogy, He implored his congregation to remember his attempts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort prisoners. The drum major for justice is one who serves for the benefit of others. Often, we forget our connections to each other. Amos repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally. Those same conditions exist in our world today.
Amos 2:6–8 The Lord says, “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished anymore. For they have perverted justice by accepting bribes and sold into slavery the poor who can’t repay their debts; they trade them for a pair of shoes. They trample the poor in the dust and kick aside the meek. “And a man and his father defile the same temple girl, corrupting my holy name. At their religious feasts they lounge in clothing stolen from their debtors, and in my own Temple they offer sacrifices of wine they purchased with stolen money.” Those same circumstances exist in our world today.
Amos 3:10 “My people have forgotten what it means to do right,” says the Lord. “Their beautiful homes are full of the loot from their thefts and banditry.”
Amos 4:1 “Listen to me, you “fat cows” of Bashan living in Samaria—you women who encourage your husbands to rob the poor and crush the needy—you who never have enough to drink!”
Amos 5:11–12, “You trample the poor and steal their smallest crumb by all your taxes, fines, and usury; therefore, you will never live in the beautiful stone houses you are building, nor drink the wine from the lush vineyards you are planting. For many and great are your sins. I know them all so well. You are the enemies of everything good; you take bribes; you refuse justice to the poor.” Those same exploitations continue in our world today.
Amos 8:4–6, “Listen, you merchants who rob the poor, trampling on the needy; 5 you who long for the Sabbath to end and the religious holidays to be over so you can get out and start cheating again—using your weighted scales and under-sized measures;”
Those same conditions exist in our world today as we hear about out-of-control credit, gambling, inflation, smaller packaging and higher prices. The idolatry in Amos’s day was men worshipping the God of wealth and materialism. Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God. If there is one book in the Bible that speaks insightfully and relevantly to the issue of justice for our time, it is the book of Amos. At the heart of Amos’ message is the call to live in justice. Amos had a passion for justice. He was a prophet “par excellence” of social justice. The message of the book of Amos can be presented under three basic themes or theological topics defined by justice, namely: (1) justice among the nations; (2) justice within His nation; and (3) justice and piety expected of a nation. We will look at these themes.
1. God’s Calls for Justice among the Nations
Amos begins by indicting various nations for their wickedness and injustice, beginning with the nation to the north To Live in Justice: The Message of Amos For Today of Israel (Syria), then moving on to the nations to the west (Philistia and Phoenicia), the south (Edom and Ammon), and the east (Moab), and finally indicting the sister nations, Judah and Israel.
In these early chapters and throughout the book of Amos, we are confronted by the fact that God calls all people, all nations to account for their behavior. God’s standards of justice are universal, for they are rooted in God’s righteousness, God’s holiness, yes, God’s character. It has been said, that “There was no monopoly held by any people, race or religion on righteousness; justice, goodness and truth were the standards for all mankind on planet earth or they would have to give an accounting to God for any deviations” It is important to note that the injustices committed by these nations are similar to the injustices that we tragically see today among the nations. Let me underline a few:
Damascus, the Syrian empire is accused of cruelty, violence, and atrocities because she has “threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron” (1:3).
Gaza, the Philistine empire is accused of slave trading “because she took captive whole communities and sold them”(1: 6).
Tyre, the Phoenician empire is accused of breaking a covenant or treaty “because she…disregarded a treaty of brotherhood” (1:9).
Ammon, the Edomite Empire is accused of imperialism and atrocities “because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders” (1:13).
Unfortunately, each of these injustices can be seen in our world today and contributes to the reason why we live in times of global crisis. Civility is gone and cruelty and violence among nations have been institutionalized and commercialized by the modern “threshing sledges of iron” that represent the lucrative market of weapons or armaments of war.
The slave trade is a cruel experience by many, where certain ethnic groups are sold in the marketplace. In other cases of human trafficking, young girls and boys are sold into slavery and prostitution by the underground market and others. Where is the justice, where is the love?
The breaking of treaties is seen clearly in many nations whose loyalty is dictated, not by covenant or treaty among sovereigns, but by the sovereign and universal globalization of the market. Many modern treaties are not worth the paper on which they are written when the “god” Mammon reigns! Everything goes to the highest bidder. Sooner or later, what the nations sows, that they shall reap; what you plant surely will grow, what goes up must come down and what goes around comes back around. what any nations sow, that they shall reap. God is still sovereign—over creation.
Amos 5:8 “He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the LORD is his name.” God reigns over the planets and the stars, setting their boundaries and controlling their movement. God reigns and watches over the nations and controls history itself. Amos 9:7 “Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?” God was watching and controlling the move of nations in history. God demands justice among the nations! God is telling the people of Israel that they are not so special after all. He has done as much for other people as he has done for them. Israel is put on the same level as the most distant people, the Ethiopians and is grouped with its worst enemies, the Philistines and Syrians. In a just world, nations can be strong without being aggressive, brute strength should always be tempered with mercy. Slave masters don’t have to be cruel, they too have a master and all will give account to God. I am reminded on a verse from the hymn, “This is my Father's world” which says: This is my Father's world: O let me never forget, That though the wrong seems often so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father's world: Why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King: let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad!” Our God calls for justice among the nations of the world.
2. God’s Calls for Justice within the Nations
As often happens in the history of nations, political stability and economic prosperity brought about self-sufficiency and indifference among the Israelites. But God placed a “plumb line” in Israel, with equal implications for Judah and for the nations. The “plumb line” revealed that were all a society inclined toward idolatry (the love of money), oppression, exploitation and violence—and indeed, bent towards injustice. Judgment would come! Look at what Israel was doing, in Amos 2:6-7,
“They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.”
It is critically important for us today to understand that the standard of justice placed before the king and the dominant class (the governor, landowners, businesspeople, judges and military), as well as all the people, is that of Justice toward the poor. We will all be judged by how we treat the weakest members—this is the heart of Amos’s message. Why is this so? I believe that the teaching of Scripture is clear (in Amos as in the other prophets) that beyond God’s intrinsic love and championing for the stranger, widow, poor and needy lies also the reality of idolatry. As the commandments teach us: “I am the Lord your God…You shall have no other gods before me… for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exod. 20: 1-5).
While many of the Israelites may not have worshiped idols of wood or rock (as many may not today), yet they rendered “worship” to the god of wealth (Mammon). The desire and anxiety for riches (greed), an obsessive note in the lives of the dominant class, led to their oppression of the poor and needy and the corruption of the courts, the market, the religious system and society at large. The central message of Amos was judgment against social injustice promoted by greed. That is the same specific form of the sin of idolatry consuming much of society today. The lesson is clear: idolatry is at the heart of social injustice and the eventual downfall of a nation. Proverbs 14:34 tells us, “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” In Amos 5:24, Amos gives his nutshell advise, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never- falling stream.”
Amos said, God is calling all the people to exercise justice and righteousness. That is, they are to flood the community with acts of justice and righteousness, like a stream that never stops flowing. Amos is not presenting an either or here narrative: either worship God or do acts of justice and righteousness? Amos is saying exercising justice and righteousness is true worship. A central concern in the book of Amos, and in all the biblical teaching about society, is that God has a passionate concern for justice for all—especially the poor, the weak and the oppressed members of society. God demands justice in the nation!
3. God’s Calls for Justice and Holiness of a Nation
The Israelites had forsaken the needy and oppressed. They pretended to worship the true God by the multitude of their offerings and gifts. They even excelled in the composing of music for temple worship. Amos 6:5, “You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians as King David was.” There was a form of revival—yes, the temples were crowded yet it was an abomination to God. Listen to God’s words:
“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)
Throughout Scripture we can find important truths about worship that relate authentic worship to our behavior toward the poor and oppressed. The words of Amos are echoed by the prophet Isaiah when he says:
“Is such the fast that I choose a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice…to let the oppressed go free…? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; When you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” You see Isaiah 58: 5-7 addresses the issues Amos addressed.
The fast or worship that pleases our God is accompanied by acts of mercy and justice toward the poor, the broken and the oppressed. Furthermore, such true worship has the great promises of God’s blessings. The prophet Isaiah continues:
“Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer…The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.” (Isa. 58: 8-9, 11)
There is a seamless relationship between ethical behavior and true worship, between justice and piety. Who we are and how we behave are intimately related in our giving worth to our God. For true worship, whether expressed in our daily walk or in a building called a temple or church, must be “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). In the New Testament, for example, we find these profound and disturbing words in Matthew 25:42-45:
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” They will also answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
There is a great mystery here, for as we serve with justice the poor and needy in our midst, we are in a deep yet spiritually profound sense doing it to the Lord. We are ascribing worth to our Lord. We worship him. May our worship be in spirit and in truth. May we in our worship be just in what we do. God is a just God and He desires His world to be a just world. The Lord vindicates his people, punishes evil, and cares for the marginalized. He opposes the wicked, whether individuals or nations and He will one day set all things right. God’s promises are sure! Let us work to bring about a more just world. God still need drum majors for justice, who live among the people and know their suffering; people who are willing to speak truth to power. People who will remind us of God love for justice, peace and righteousness. People who have not been deceive by lust and greed and have not succumbed to frustration, depression and worry. Despite the wars and rumor of wars, despite discrimination and injustice, understanding that these things will not have the last word. The end is not yet. This is My Father’s world. Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Change takes a long time, but it does happen. Like many of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous quotations, these words echo through the ages. They offer hope and give rise to a sense that progress toward freedom, equality, and indeed, God’s justice is inevitable! Amos concludes His prophecy with a promise of restoration. God promises to restore the fortunes of Israel just as He promised King David. He will repair, raise up, and rebuild the fallen dynasty of David. He will bless them with national stability and grant them peace of mind. Let us work towards national stability and peace of mind. God desires a just world. Amen.
