Bible Study: The Call of a Shepherd

by Conrado Oliveras and Jed Koball

Amos 5:18-24 (New Revised Standard Version)

(v. 18) Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light; (v. 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. (v. 20) Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? (v. 21) I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. (v. 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. (v. 23) Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. (v. 24) But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Historical and Social Context of Amos

Amos is hardly the cheeriest of prophets. With scathing judgments and harsh accusations, his words have been the catalyst and sustainer of social movements and activists since his own day to the present. And so it has been that his words have stirred controversy or simply been dismissed for the tone and conflict they present. Nonetheless, they are there, and they still cry aloud amidst the worlds of apathy and injustice … both then and now.

Amos was a shepherd called to action. He lived during the times of King Uzziah of Judah (792-755 BCE) and King Jeroboam II of Israel (793-755 BCE). The near entirety of his book is written with deep anguish and overwhelming resentment for the injustice he saw being lived out among him. More specifically, in 5:18-24, Amos calls upon the heavens to release an overpowering justice and all-consuming righteousness.

Amos’s name is derived from a Hebrew verb meaning “to lift a burden” (amas). His name provides an interpretive key with which to open the prophet’s social world, evoking important questions. For example, what burdens in Amos’s social world provoked this young shepherd to abandon the only livelihood he knew, leave his home and family, and march defiantly to the nation’s capital in order to speak truth to power? What burdens could have been so weighty, so pressing, as to compel this radical act?

An examination of Amos’s social context reveals features of the prophet’s critique of poverty, marginalization, greed, militarism and the privilege of one group of people at the expense of another. Further examination of Amos’s social context unearths other important details. The immense, agriculturally fertile and militarily superior state of Israel dominated the stunted, rocky and barren territory of Judah. Judah was in political bondage to Israel, its political superior. Although ancient Israel enjoyed extraordinary political power and economic prosperity, neither the power nor the economic resources were distributed equitably among the populations of the small nation. On the contrary, wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few, ruling elites who controlled the government. Amos witnessed wealth flowing from the working, peasant class to support the luxurious lifestyle of a few politically powerful elites. The rich became richer, and the poor became poorer.

In (vv. 21-23), Amos unleashes a sharp critique of three Temple rituals: festivals, sacrificial offerings and worship. The message is clear. The ritual practices of the Temple are of little value without the practice of social justice! Amos uses stirring verbs to characterize Yahweh’s wholesale rejection of the practices of the priesthood and congregation. Without justice, Yahweh will only “hate and despise” their religious celebrations (v. 21). Yahweh “will not accept” their burnt offerings (v. 22). And Yahweh “will not listen” to their songs of worship (v. 23). Worship inside the sanctuary should also motivate religious people to transform the society outside the sanctuary. Thus, any congregation failing to make the connection between the practices of the Christian faith and engaged advocacy for social justice would face indictment from the prophet Amos.

Amos concludes his message with a rhetorical flurry, invoking cosmic images. Out of the hopelessness and despair of the eighth century, he imagines a vision where “justice” would roll down like waters.

To describe the character of this justice, Amos reached all the way back to the Genesis story of creation, using the word “waters” (mayim) in Genesis 1. To represent an overwhelming and unimaginable justice, Amos chooses an equally unimaginable image. He calls for justice, which surges like the primordial waters of creation in Genesis 1— the waters that supported the very foundations of the earth; the waters that were present even before God began to create; the waters that were so powerful that God would use the firmament of the sky to hold them back.

— Borrowed from Herbert Marbury, “The African American Lectionary,” 2008

Contemporary Context

The work and ministry of Joining Hands Against Hunger is rooted in partnership and is devoted to confronting grave injustices of our world. The context in which we live is one that straddles two lands, one of extreme power and one often depicted by extreme poverty. Joining Hands Against Hunger in Peru is a partnership between people of faith and strong conviction to make right relationship with God, with one another, and with the gifts of creation. The people of this partnership come from Peru and from the United States. And so it is from these contexts that we evaluate and take hold of the words of Amos … the call of a shepherd. And it is within these contexts that we begin to bear our burdens and speak truth to power.

In the streets of Lima or los caminos of the Andes, whether chatting with a taxi driver or a real live present day shepherd, there is undoubtedly one overarching theme that will shape the conversation — the environment. More specifically: global warming. And when one begins to speak of global warming, she or he cannot avoid providing an analysis of the problem — the causes and the solutions. The cause? Greed and industrialization, most especially the greed of the global North. The solution? Therein lies the problem … is there one and is it obtainable? Or will it require a minor (if not major) miracle of the heavens unleashing an overpowering justice and all-consuming righteousness. Throughout the streets of Lima and pathways of the Andes walk many prophets. And like Amos, they are speaking up.

As the church, as followers of Jesus, as caretakers of creation, how do we listen to our prophets? How do we take hold and heed their word?

Global warming is an immense and complicated injustice in the world, with immense and dire consequences being lived out right now. If the words of Amos alone are not overwhelming and frightening enough, the breadth and depth of the injustices we face in the world are certainly enough to make us feel inadequate and ill-prepared to do anything. We want to respond. We want to be the people Amos calls us to be in real, significant and meaningful ways… but how?

It is no coincidence that Amos revisits the image of creation in Genesis to uncover for us a glimpse of a just and reconciled world. The waters of Genesis are the waters that give us birth and life; they are the waters that sustain us; the waters that we are called to care and tend to. They are the waters that empower us. And most important of all, they are the waters that are unending and unceasing. They are waters of hope.

Peru has lost and is continuing to lose its snow caps. This has been accepted. What has not been accepted is that there is no hope. One can look and see that indeed there is hunger and hunger abounds. But through the eyes of prophets and shepherds the waters abound as well! The waters of justice and righteousness abound; the real waters that give birth and life to creation. The people of Peru, from the streets of Lima to the paths and pastures of the Andes are living in hope. Through reforestation projects, through water harvesting programs, through legislative action to care for the proper channeling of water and irrigation of crops, through the investigation of sustainable international trade of agricultural goods the people of Peru are joining hands and living in hope and living the call of Amos. For the waters are coming … with justice and with righteousness … the waters are coming. And hunger will be no more. Life everlasting! Amen.

Suggested study questions:

1. How are you (or are you not) able to see the effects of global warming in your own context? How might your lifestyle choices contribute to ongoing effects of global warming? What are you doing specifically to curb the force of global warming? More specifically, how are you caring for water locally and globally?
2. Amos challenges the religious bodies to consider their role in the world. How does your faith community address issues of social injustice? What role does your faith community play in social transformation? Is this challenging in your faith community? Why?
3. In Peru, one issue that affects how water is cared for is the exportation of agricultural goods. Of the growing scarcity of water in Peru, much of it is being channeled to produce products like asparagus. Peru is among the leading exporters of asparagus in the world. The United States is among the leading importers. There are many issues surrounding the trade of asparagus between Peru and the United States, for example, the industry provides many jobs in Peru and has become a significant component of the economy, yet it is also taking away jobs from farming communities in the United States. Another issue is that asparagus uses up to 10 times as much water to cultivate than most other green vegetables. Furthermore, asparagus is not even native to Peru, rather it was introduced through international trade agreements in order to provide an alternative to coca for Peruvian farmers. Considering the layers of issues as well as the overarching issue of global warming and decreasing water sources, how do you weigh these issues against one another? What is most important? What would justice look like?
4. Recognizing the interconnectedness of the Peruvian environment and economy with the economy of the United States and the trade agreements that bind them together, how do you speak truth to power? What is the truth you will speak? Who is the power you will speak it to?