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Text: Amos 8:4-7, plus 7:14-15, 2:6-7 and 5:24.
Amos lived off the land tending fruit trees and sheep and I imagine he was content doing so. But then he received a different calling and he had a burden to carry across the border of his home in Judea to the northern tribes of Israel. The burden was the Word of God that needed to be heard in a nation where some were rich and comfortable but the Law of God had been forgotten.
There are two words important to understanding the message of Amos: righteousness. There is no end of books written on these Biblical words, but here is my quick take: Justice is the right relationship from one person to another and righteousness covers all the actions in that relationship. In God's covenant law given to Moses and proclaimed afterward by Judges and Prophets, there was an abundance of care for one another. Justice did not mean that there was no poverty. It was presumed that people may fall on hard times. But if you were poor, there were provisions for you and God made it clear that He heard your voice. As Amos reminds the people, the voice of the poor should also be heard in the law courts and places where they plead for help.
This Sunday, we'll look at how all people are to "walk in love" according to Amos, whose feet took him many miles to bring the Word of the Lord to Israel. What do justice and righteousness look like today and what would our lives be like if these things flowed like an ever flowing stream? We'll see when we go "Walking with Amos".
The worship video below begins with the sermon:
