ms. kenny religion 9 march 2014. writing prophets
TRANSCRIPT
AMOS: A CRY AGAINST RICHES GAINED BY INJUSTICE
Amos: a shepherd from Judah who goes north to preach against the sinful kingdom of Israel in about 750 B.C. (during the reign of Jeroboam II)
Amos: harsh, blunt, and angry who is said to roar like a lion
AMOS Shepherd, so dressed in rustic garments
compared to the northerners rich attire Goes to Bethel first to talk to the people,
then Samaria Condemns their unjust exploitative
actions toward the poor and weak, tells that God will punish them for this
In Samaria, he compares the rich women to fat cattle who are waited on hand and foot – and that someday they will be dragged away like dead animals
WHY SO ANGRY AMOS? God’s Law was set up to take care of
everyone – rich and poor, and had been abandoned
By abandoning God’s Law, it has led to the oppression of the poor
NO EMPTY RITUAL: “LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN” MLK Jr. referred to the prophet Amos in a
famous sermon, when he explained that the Lord hates and abominates celebrating religious rituals with an insincere heart
When we worship, we must process, sacrifice, and sing with hearts that love God “like waters, / and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24
In other words, God condemns empty worship.
AMOS’S VISIONS OF ISRAEL’S FINAL FATE Amos watches Israel burn during dry
season Foresees Israel’s eventual downfall from
so much sin Refers to Israel as “Jacob” and pleads for
Israel to God God eventually lets Israel fall to its own
destruction Eventually gets told to go back to Judah Tells off the high priest before going home
HOSEA: GOD AS A BETRAYED HUSBAND By the end of Israel (786-721 B.C.) – just
before they get conquered by the Assyrians – things are very bad
Hosea – a prophet from the north Hosea is involved in a very unhappy
marriage with Gomer, a wife he loves Gomer has left Hosea for other lovers,
just like Israel has deserted God for the Canaanite god Baal
HOSEA IS A PARABLE OF BETRAYAL Hosea relates his own experience of
betrayal to find the words he needs The first 3 chapters of Hosea deliver this
message, relayed as a parable The remaining 11 chapters are
fragments of oracles condemning Israel’s sin
WHAT IS AN ORACLE?• a : a person (as a priestess of ancient
Greece) through whom a deity is believed to speak
• b : a shrine in which a deity reveals hidden knowledge or the divine purpose through such a person
• c : an answer or decision given by an oracle OR• a : a person giving wise or authoritative
decisions or opinions • b : an authoritative or wise expression or
answer
STRANGE NAMES Hosea is told to give his 3 kids strange
names that literally mean: “shameful butchery” “not pitied” And “not my people”
By the time Hosea says the third name, the people of Israel understand that Hosea is describing them breaking the Covenant.
This is a highly threatening idea. They had always assumed that God’s
Covenant would be there and stave off punishment. (Hosea 1:1-9)
BE EXILED BUT COME BACK TO ME Hosea is the first book of
the Bible to feature the relationship between God and Israel as a marriage and to use the language and images of marriage in describing it (metaphor)
To God, “infidelity” in Israel’s behavior means betrayal of justice, compassion, integrity, true worship
GOMER & ISRAEL AS FOREVER BELOVED
Gomer could be sentenced to death for her infidelity. Instead, Hosea wants to punish her for a little while, then take her back tenderly.
In other words, God is saying that he will not wipe out the people of Israel, even though they deserve it.
Instead, they will be put through a time of exile and abandonment.
This will eventually bring Israel back into its loving relationship with the Lord.
ASSYRIA DEFEATS AND SCATTERS ISRAEL Assyria – the fiercest, most brutal
power in the Ancient Near East It is impossible for Israel to be secure
against them, even if they banded together with other hostile neighbors
Assyrians take down the capital Samaria in about 721 B.C.
2 Kings 17:18
So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left…
A FLIGHT TO THE SOUTH Some people of Israel flee south to
Judah, because of their common identity as Chosen People of God
Many of their stories are integrated/edited into Scripture from this time
SAMARITANS Samaritans – intensely disliked by Jews
during biblical times Samaritans – descendants of the
Israelites who remained in the north after Samaria’s collapse; common people, not leaders, who intermarried with Assyrians and foreign colonists
Samaritans – centuries later, are like distant, lost cousins of people of Judah
Religion was seen as polluted by paganism, so the post-exiled Jews didn’t like them