How to Read the Bible

16. “Let Justice Well Up like Water”: Reading Amos

16 “Let Justice Well Up like Water” Reading Amos Primary Reading: Amos. Amos as a Typical “Classical Prophet” The writings of Amos provide a good starting point for understanding books attributed to the classical prophets. (Amos is structured as a book, although ultimately a later editor incorporated it into a larger biblical book, The Twelve [Minor] Prophets. See “Name and Structure” in chapter 2.) As a relatively short text, Amos gives us a workable opportunity to outline the structure, function, and style of prophetic books. This chapter first highlights mistakes commonly made in reading Amos, due to common misunderstandings of classical prophecy. Then it examines the book’s persuasive tactics and themes, specifically the five main points found in classical prophecy that Amos exemplifies. It concludes with observations on the formation of Amos into a book.1 Common Mistakes Made in Reading Amos If we lack training in how to read prophetic texts, we usually think about them in terms of the types of texts we are familiar with. Thus, the Book of Amos is often read as a predictive text—a work intended to foretell the future. Further, we read him like a contemporary rabbi who condemns listeners for not following the norms of the Torah. In addition, we assume that the prophet Amos wrote the book that bears his name—just as we find it in our Bible. 149 Not a Prediction The main purpose of classical prophecy was not to predict the future. Prophets do spend a lot of time talking about the future, but they do so for two reasons. One reason is to convince the people to repent. The second reason is that if Israel suffers, it means that God has judged and punished them for their covenant infractions. Amos 5:6 illustrates the first point unambiguously: “Seek the LORD, and you will live, / Else He will rush like fire upon the House of Joseph / And consume Bethel with none to quench it.” Establishing the second point was more complicated. Remember that in a polytheistic society, nearly everyone believed that any of the many gods could punish a person or a group. (That is why Amos’ Northern contemporary Hosea had to contend that the God of Israel is responsible for nature—rather than the Canaanite deity Baal. See especially Hosea 2.) In addition, many neighboring peoples believed that nature or the forces of nature were sometimes more powerful than the gods. Amos—like the other classical prophets—wished to challenge both of these basic views about reality. He held that the God of Israel is responsible for everything that happens. In the words of 3:6: “Can misfortune come to a town / If the LORD has not caused it?” This is not a prediction; rather, it is an explanation of how the world works. Not Referring to the Torah Amos makes his points about the need for repentance and about divine punishment , but not by urging the people to follow the authoritative Torah text. We can be fairly certain that his failure to mention such a text is because in his day, no such Torah existed. This claim may seem surprising. Consider, then, what Amos means when he says: “Did you offer sacrifice and oblation to Me / Those forty years in the wilderness, / O House of Israel?” (5:25). In context, this is a rhetorical question whose answer is clearly “no.” When Amos posed this question , he was taking for granted his audience’s belief that the Israelites did not offer sacrifices during the wilderness period. Yet according to the (Priestly) Torah passages in Leviticus and Numbers, Aaron the high priest presided over countless sacrifices during that period. Likewise, Amos’ words cannot easily be reconciled with Deuteronomy. For example, he says that one of the punishments of Israel will be “tonsures on every head” (8:10). This refers to pulling out or shaving one’s hair as a mourning ritual . However, that practice is expressly prohibited in Deuteronomy 14:1.2 It 150 How to Read the Bible would be odd for a prophet who knew Deuteronomy to suggest this as a divine punishment. In fact, the major theme of Deuteronomy is the proper worship of God in one central sanctuary, which in his day could only have meant Jerusalem. Yet Amos never condemns worship at northern “high places.” Indeed, he lends the shrine of Bethel prestige by prophesying there! I do not...