The best way to get at the Gospel in our Amos reading is to connect it to Christ. It is too easy and tempting to associate it with social justice today. Our people will not need much encouragement to go there. What they need is the surprising and salvific connection to Christ
The only way to know what type of text we are preaching today is to reach past our assigned pericope and grab the two verses that go past the end of our reading. In verses 16-17 of Amos 5, we get a clue that this is not just a rebuke, it is a formal funerary lament. It was common in biblical times to sing a funerary lament over the dearly departed. In our verses for today, Yahweh Himself is singing a funerary lament over Israel who is dead to Him. God has determined to make an end of His people in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (8:2; 3:5; 8:10), an end which will come at the hand of the armies of the Assyrian Empire, in their exile and disappearance from history. They are dead to Him because of their lack of justice and righteousness for the poor. The elders sit at the gate and render judgements over the poor that rob them with “fines” (verse 11) and “bribes” (verse 12) on their grain and goods so they can use this filthy lucre for their own benefit, to build their “chiseled houses” which they do not even inhabit. They rob the poor of justice and righteousness, and so God has called them to a deadly account.
However, the poor, weak, and lowly are called by Him to life (verse 6) and life only He can give. God grants the gracious promise that He will be with them (verses 14-15). He even promises them that, if no one else will defend them and only those authorities (elders at the gate) will rob them, then He will be on their side. After all, He is the God of “hosts,” which means there are angel armies on their side with God leading the charge (2 Kings 6:16; 2 Chronicles 32:7). What comfort and grace to those who are deprived of justice and only taste “wormwood” (verse 7) in this life. It is amazing grace for those who only know bitterness and injustice.
However, the poor, weak, and lowly are called by Him to life and life only He can give.
One theme in our text which leads us to the Gospel is the fact that truth often falls victim to distorted public opinion. This is seen clearest in the court of Pontius Pilate were Jesus stood in our place. So, the best way to get at the Gospel when preaching these verses is to compare the situation of the people of God in Amos to what happened to Jesus when He was before the seat of judgement with Pontius Pilate. There it was a question of truth, justice, and the righteousness of Jesus, who was Himself poor and identified with the poor and weak. In that account, Pontius Pilate was willing to sell Jesus down the river in order to make peace and contentment for himself. This was the opposite of justice and righteousness. At Jesus’ trial, the people of God act just like the ancient people of Israel in our text who simply let this happen, even though they know the elders and the chief priests were wrong to do so (verses 10-13). So, we recognize how, ultimately, the best way to get at the Gospel in our Amos reading is to connect it to Christ. It is too easy and tempting to associate it with social justice today. Our people will not need much encouragement to go there. What they need is the surprising and salvific connection to Christ and how He experiences and fulfills this text and our struggle for us which led to the cross and an empty tomb.
Because of the unfamiliarity your hearers may have with the context and story of Amos, you can use a textual structure called Framing the Story to organize your thoughts for preaching this text:
“In these methods, the sermon develops a single biblical story for the hearers and yet places that story into an interpretative context by using excursive material before the story, after the story, or before and after the story. This excursive material can be used in a variety of ways (for example, it can create a context in which the story will be heard or offer the hearers reflection upon the meaning of the story). In general, however, the material that lies outside the story has some interpretative effect relating to the meaning of the story or to the engagement of the hearers in the characters and action of the story.”[1]
------
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Amos 5:6–7.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Amos 5:6–7.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Amos 5:6–7.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
------
[1] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/textual/genre/narrative/story-whole-structures/framing-the-biblical-story/
