Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Ah, prophecy. The oft misunderstood, yet totally great tool in the proverbial Biblical belt (not the conglomeration of Conservative values in the South, just to be clear.) But seriously, it’s impossible to go through the Bible and not come upon some form of prophecy. However, it wasn’t until this class (actually, until right before I wrote this blog post) that I realized Biblical prophecy isn’t the same as if I made an appointment with Madame Leota and let her spirits reveal themselves by ringing a bell.

“Madam Leota” by jdelgado at Deviant Art (Haunted Mansion is the best ride at Disney World and you’re lying to yourself if you disagree)

Rather, Biblical prophecy is more about warning people about the consequences of their visible actions than telling the future. As Barry Bandstra writes in his textbook’s chapter on Prophets: “Predicting the future was not the primary component of the prophetic task in the Israelite world. The basic function of biblical prophecy was to analyze political policies and social conditions in light of Yhwh’s demands of justice, loyalty, and faith in him. The prophet was most concerned that these moral and religious principles govern the corporate and personal lives of God’s people.” (page 195).

I’m always one to narrow things down to make it easier to digest, so let’s take a look at just one Biblical prophet and see what his specific argument was. If you know me well, you think I’m about to talk about Isaiah, don’t you? His is my favorite book of the Bible, after all. Well, BOOM TRICKED YA- I’m totally talking about Amos (although I am just focusing on his prophecies). Leh go.

Amos spends a lot of time laying the smack down on the Israelites. He’s like that friend you have who loves you and wants you to succeed, but has no qualms about telling you when you’re acting like a bitch or when you look like trash. And as much as that friend’s bluntness might sting, we all need that friend sometimes, just like the Israelites needed Amos. Ya see, the Israelites were doing some shitty things: Dads and sons were sleeping with the same women (ew… 2:7); People were being selfish and indulgent gluttons (6:4-6); and money had become more important than keeping the Sabbath (8:5). The big problem though, that is mentioned more than once, is how the Israelites were treating their poor:

For example, Amos 2:8 says: “… in the house of their God they drink wine bought with fines they imposed.” Amos 5:11-12 says: “Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.” Finally, Amos 8:4-6 says: Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

I’m making the argument that the mistreatment of the poor is the basis of why the Israelites were being punished. Yes, there is lewdness and gluttony and pretentiousness, but, to Amos, these aren’t the worst transgressions the Israelites are committing, no sir/ma’am. By treating the poor disrespectfully and taking advantage of them, the elite suddenly had the means to be gluttonous and lewd and drunk, while still continuing to take advantage of the poor. It was a cycle, and Amos knew it wasn’t the kind of cycle God would let keep going for very long.

Amos had a few choice words of warning for those who were defying the commandments: Amos 2:13 says: “So, I will press you down in your place, just as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves.”; Amos 6:7, in reference to those who were basking in the wealth they gained from exploiting the poor, says: “Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.”; and Amos 8 and 9 (the latter of which is titled “The Destruction of Israel), are basically completely made up of what God is going to do if things don’t change. My personal favorite (and by favorite I mean scariest) imagery from this section is 8:9- “I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.” Why is this my favorite? Because I live in Florida, and let me tell you, during the summer storms when the clouds are so dark and thick you forget what the sun looks like, you really do believe the end times are coming. So for God to make the Earth go dark when the sun should be the highest? Yeah, that sounds freaking terrifying. 

Do you see this, aka my childhood? No one wants this.

Amos did lay out some plans for redemption alongside his warnings. Amos 5:14-15 says the following: “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” That doesn’t seem too difficult, right? Amos gave the Israelites the answer! Just be a good, just person, and God won’t destroy you. Simple enough, right? 

Well… Maybe not. Here is where we get into some personal theology, but it’s also why I chose to write about Amos and not my main man Isaiah.

I think Amos is warning against the lifestyles that the Israelite elite have taken up. Of course, the fact they are able to have this sort of lifestyle because of their treatment of the poor is the big, underlying folly; however, I think Amos is also warning of the difficulty of shedding off this sort of lifestyle once you’ve fallen into it. I assume that the Israelites, at the end of the day, wanted to honor God and live according to his rules. But when you’ve become used to fattened lambs and calves, good wine, ivory beds, and money, even the nicest person will have a hard time giving it up. We see this struggle all throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Hell, we see it today- the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” makes people think that God can be their personal vending machine, after all. It’s a fact of humanity: people like their stuff. And Amos knew that! I think it’s why  Amos speaks of the way for the Israelites to save themselves in chapter five, but spends chapters six, eight, and nine going into detail about the punishments and destruction that are waiting just around the bend. He knows it’s going to take an act of God for them stop living the way they are, so that’s what he gives them- image after image of the destruction God could possibly bring against them.

Amos didn’t tell people they were safe because of their physical beauty, or youth, or power, or money- Amos made it clear that those who basked in glory obtained through discriminatory circumstances were in the splash zone of God’s wrath, and it didn’t matter about any of their physical assets. I’m not going to turn this into a blog post about my personal beliefs- I am trying to be academic about this. However, I do have to say, I find it so interesting that the lessons we find in Amos- treating those “beneath” us (I hate writing that because I don’t believe it but you know what I mean) with respect, not letting our greed drive us to hurt others, that we must avoid letting our obsessions with money and objects drive our actions, etc, are so pertinent, still, in 2016. As the political and social climates in the US and the world as a whole reach fever-pitches of insanity, I think we turn more and more to things rather than people and use people as stepping stones to get to those things because we are scared and want our “fair share”. This is how, in 2016, there are some who can look at certain politicians who spew nothing but hate, nonsense, and violence and say “that is my candidate.” When we’re used to something, we don’t want to give it up; when we’re fearful, we want more. This is what Amos was warning about- We cannot let “things” replace fair and just treatment of our fellows. We cannot let people with lots of “things” and “power” tell us that some of us are better than others. Those kinds of lies have never been perpetuated and found a happy end result. Amos warned the Israelites that God could literally wreck their shit with a snap of his fingers- humanity needs to realize the same warning can be made today, but I think now God is just sitting back and waiting for us to wreck ourselves.

Amos. The dude knew what was up.