The Rev. Dr. Aaron Teter ’24 – Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Scripture

Amos 5:18-27
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light,
19 as if someone fled from a lion
and was met by a bear
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall
and was bitten by a snake.
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god, your images, which you made for yourselves; 27 therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Devotional

In the days of Amos, the kingdom of Israel was flourishing. Their king Jeroboam had been around for a long time. He had expanded the nation’s boundaries. He had drawn in great wealth through his policies. He had pleased the powerful with what they considered to be a successful reign as their king.

However, the Lord took issue with Jeroboam’s success because he was exploiting the poor. Through his policies, Jeroboam was forcing the poor to provide the rich and powerful with the resources of the land so that, “the wealth of the land flowed upward, away from the small farmers, serfs, and slaves who composed the overwhelming majority of the population, [it flowed upward] to the large landowners, the nobility, the great temples, and the crown [itself]” (Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture, Ellen Davis, 68-69).

Therefore, the Lord sent the prophet Amos to declare judgment and proclaim a different vision of success for the kingdom of Israel. Success would mean that Israel would live by God’s version of justice—a justice that would roll down to all instead of flowing up to support only those at the top. God’s version of justice would be like torrents of water that broke through the barriers at the top to flow down and provide everyone with an ever-living and flowing stream. “Let justice roll down like torrents of water,” said Amos, “let righteousness flow like an ever-living stream.”

Let us seek this version of justice as we celebrate the season of Advent. Let us anticipate God’s justice in the birth of Jesus Christ, who was born, not among the rich and powerful, but among the poor and lowly so that he might reveal God’s justice to be an ever-living stream that rolls down to all, no matter their place in life.

Prayer

God of justice, thank you for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has revealed the full expression of Your justice in this world. May You teach us to walk according to His ways and, in so doing, become a people of Your justice. Amen.