THIS IS WHAT the Sovereign LORD showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2“What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered.
Then the LORD said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.”
3“In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!”
4Hear this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the poor of the land,
5saying,
“When will the New Moon be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market wheat?—
skimping the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating with dishonest scales,
6buying the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.
7The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget anything they have done.
8“Will not the land tremble for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.
9“In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10I will turn your religious feasts into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.
I will make all of you wear sackcloth
and shave your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.
12Men will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the LORD,
and they will not find it.
13“In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men
will faint because of thirst.
14They who swear by the shame of Samaria,
or say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’
or, ‘As surely as the god of Beersheba lives’—
they will fall,
never to rise again.”
Original Meaning
THESE VERSES ARE divided into two main sections: (1) the fourth vision of summer fruit that symbolizes the end of Israel (8:1–3), and (2) a message about how the end of Israel will bring wailing and no revelation from God (8:4–14). The vision itself is connected to the plumb-line vision in 7:7–9 because both have the same structure and the same conclusion that God “will spare them no longer” (7:8; 8:2). This continuity suggests that the fourth vision is also given at the city of Bethel, shortly after Amos’s confrontation with Amaziah (7:10–17).
This vision is also closely connected to the verses that are appended to it (8:4–14). Both sections describe a future time of mourning and wailing (8:3, 8, 10) and death (8:3, 14), which will take place on “that day” (8:3, 13; cf. 8:11), at the “end” (8:2, 10).1 The repetition of these ideas has the rhetorical effect of confirming the point and sealing the matter in the mind of the listener. While the appended material after the third vision discusses the disaster that will happen because of the rejection of God’s words from the prophet (7:10–17), the material appended to the fourth vision refers to a time when people will want to hear a revelation from God but will find it is unavailable (8:11–12). Indeed, God will spare his beloved people no longer.
Within the judgment speech in 8:4–14 Amos raises some issues discussed earlier in the book. Especially repetitious are the accusations concerning the poor (2:6b–7a and 8:4), but these new accusations are put in the new context of explaining how the merchant class cheats the poor (8:5–6). The theme of mourning (8:3, 8, 10) draws from similar ideas in 5:16–17 and 6:9–10, falling and never rising again in 8:14 is related to 5:2, and the “day” is probably the same as the “day of the LORD” in 5:19–20.
Such repetition shows the unity of Amos’s messages as well as the creative way in which he is able to repackage the same motifs to different audiences. Such repetition is probably needed because in chapters 7–9 he is in Bethel, speaking to a new audience that has not heard his earlier prophecies at Samaria (chs. 1–6).2 Without the repetition of this information, Amos’s new audience at Bethel will not be able to understand fully the basis for God’s judgment and Amos’s understanding of what God will do on the Day of the Lord. References to temple songs (8:3), Sabbaths, New Moon festivals (8:5), and swearing by the name of some god (8:14) reveal a shift of application to a temple audience, probably a group of people just outside the Bethel temple.
Vision of the Ripe Summer Fruit (8:1–3)
THE FOURTH VISION begins with the key introductory notice that God has given Amos another new revelation. The ripe summer fruit in the vision involves a wordplay between qyṣ (summer, summer fruit) in the visionary images and qṣ (end) in the explanation of the vision (8:1–2).3 This is a dramatic picturing of future events that reemphasizes the finality of God’s decision to destroy “my people Israel” and “spare them no longer.” What a tragedy! Not only will the king and temple be destroyed (7:9), but God’s own special covenant people will cease to exist in the near future. This is not a temporary separation for a trial period, but the end—the end of the nation. This prophecy is unqualified by any “if” or “when” phraseology; there is no escape clause or hint of hope at this point (see 5:14–15 for the hope of a remnant). If the compassion of God is no longer available, there is nothing to stop this disaster from happening.
The final part of this vision explains the implications of this great event for worship at the temple (8:3). On “that day” of judgment, events at the Bethel temple in Israel will be quite different from the day when Amos visited it.4 The contrasts are striking. Now there is joyous singing, but these songs will turn into wailing. There will be “an inarticulate, shattering scream”5 because of disaster. Now there is life and many people, but there soon will be dead bodies lying everywhere.6 The military defeat will be complete, and the dead bodies will remain in a disgraceful unburied state, available for vultures and wild animals to eat. All one can do is gasp in horror at the enormity of the slaughter, turn one’s eyes away from the mutilated carnage and bloated bodies, and flee from the unbearable stench of death and rotting flesh.
This scene will be so tragic and so far beyond belief that a deathly silence will fill the temple (cf. 6:10). No enemy is named, nor is there any explanation as to how this will happen. These are insignificant details in comparison to the immediate emotional reaction to the presence of so much death at the temple. It is clear that the Bethel temple will not protect the worshipers, for God will bring mass destruction.
The End Will Bring Wailing but No Word from God (8:4–14)
THIS MATERIAL APPENDED to the fourth vision is made up of three short paragraphs. We assume that these words are given right after the vision, to the same audience in the city of Bethel. It answers the natural questions that many in the audience have: Why will this happen? Who will do this? Will God or any other god come to our aid and give us some word of hope to help us through this time of mourning?
The answers found in this judgment speech begin with an accusation of oppression of the poor (8:4–6), which gives one reason why God will judge the nation. Verses 7–10 describe who will bring this disaster on the nation (God himself) and how people will react to his attack on them (they will mourn). The final declaration informs the listeners that the people will not get any words of hope from any God/gods on that day (8:11–14).
Earlier when Amos was in Samaria, he accused the “cows of Bashan” (4:1) of oppressing the poor and the wealthy people living in palace fortresses of mistreating the innocent and weak (2:6–8; 3:9–10; 5:1–13). Now he focuses on the merchants, who trample all over the needy. Thus, it is not just one group of people who mistreat weaker members of society; every group seems tempted to mistreat the group below it. Huffmon thinks the oppressors in 8:4–6 are middle-class merchants who sell or loan wheat to poor farmers for planting in times of famine, while Lang derives these abuses from a rent-capitalism system of farming.7 Whatever the exact nature of the economic system for these shady business deals, Amos focuses on the acts of the oppressors in verse 4, and their motives and methods in verses 5–6.
The acts of oppression (Amos 8:4) include “trampling on the needy” and “doing away with the poor of the land.” Those who need help and cannot make it on their own receive no compassion or assistance but are taken advantage of. In their weak and defenseless position, they cannot protect themselves from those more economically powerful. There were manageable ways outlined in God’s law for the poor to regain their self-respect and begin to stand on their own two feet. Israel’s tradition encouraged people to help and share freely with the needy (Ex. 22:21–23; Deut. 16:11, 14; 24:17–21). In the present situation, however, those with the economic ability to help refuse to assist them; in fact, they purposely exacerbate the problems by manipulating things to their own advantage. In this way they “do away with” the poor. Such deeds, in other words, result in their annihilation, probably through starvation, poor health, or slavery.8
Amos quotes what these evil people say to one another about their methods of oppression and their true motivations (Amos 8:5–6). These are not pagans who reject or refuse to observe Hebrew customs. Rather, they are religious or practicing Hebrews in Israel who go to the New Moon festivals (cf. Lev. 23:23–25; Num. 10:10; 28:11–15). They observe the Sabbath as a holy day to worship God (Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15), where there is to be no selling or work (Neh. 13:15–22; Jer. 17:21–27). They maintain a semblance of orthodoxy in their outward observances of religious holidays.
Their formal piety, however, is betrayed by their true inner desires. They can hardly wait until these nonworking and nonprofit-making days are over. Their hearts are not enthralled by these special days off work, for their real desire is to sell and buy, to make a profit from having the marketplace open. If such people spend their hours thinking about their business while at a worship service, their religious facade does not bring pleasure to God’s heart. It is not hard to identify the inner values that motivate their behavior.
The method of oppression these merchants have chosen is the age-old trick of short-changing both the buyer and the seller so that the middle-man always wins (Amos 8:5). By having two sets of weights and different sizes of measuring containers, the wheelers and dealers can outfox anyone. If someone comes wanting to sell grain, they use an oversized container (e.g., a bushel basket that is larger than the standard) so that it takes more grain to fill the basket. When the merchants then sell the grain, they use an undersized bushel so that the customer will not get the full amount he or she deserves.
Another way to skim extra profit is to have two sets of weights for their scales, one that weighs things heavy and the other that weighs light. If all else fails, the merchants can include a little dirt, chaff, or other useless fillers in a sack of grain so that it will not cost so much to fill it with “grade A” wheat. In his law, God required merchants to use just weights and measures (Lev. 19:35–36; Deut. 25:13–15; Prov. 20:10) and despised those who would stoop to using false scales (Prov. 11:1; 16:11).
Through these dishonest methods the wealthy merchants end up “buying the poor with silver” (Amos 8:6). As debts mount up for the poor through these schemes, people are forced to sell themselves or their children into slavery to cover their debts. This is not just a descriptive statement of what is happening but is part of the quotation of what the merchants say. The tragedy is that on Sabbath days, the merchants want to get back to work so that they can end up driving more people into debt in order to own these people.
God is angry over this greed and these injustices, so he swears an oath that he “will never forget anything they have done” (8:7). By this oath God binds himself to a specific, unalterable course of action. He will not change or pass over this brutality against the poor for any reason. Accountability will be demanded for every single act; nothing will be forgotten.
Earlier Amos reported God’s oath as based on his holiness (Amos 4:2) and on himself (6:8); here it is based on “the Pride of Jacob” (8:7). Elsewhere in the Old Testament the phrase “the pride of Jacob” refers to the land of Israel (Ps. 47:4; cf. Isa. 58:14), but since this passage is not describing the land, “the Pride of Jacob” here must be a title for God himself. This understanding makes this oath formula comparable to the two earlier ones.9 Since gaʾon can mean “pride, glory, majestic one,” this usage seems to be an ironic condemnation of his listeners. They do not demonstrate any pride or glory in God, so God will swear on the basis of his truly glorious and majestic name to defend his real character (Ezek. 38:16, 23; 37:7, 21). If there is one thing the people can count on, it is that the Majestic One will act on the basis of his character.
The next verses (Amos 8:8–10) say that mourning will take place on the day of God’s judgment “for [on account of] this” (8:8a). That is, God will act because of the oppression of the poor in 8:4–6. This section focuses on two issues: God will judge the land, and the people of Israel will mourn. The mourning theme is repeatedly emphasized at the beginning of verse 8 and throughout verse 10 (continuing the emphasis in 8:3).
In a rather hymnic fashion (repeated in 9:5) Amos describes how the land will tremble and mourn. When God comes in theophanic power, the land will quake and melt before him (Ps. 97:4–5; Isa. 24:4; 64:1–3; Mic. 1:4; Nah. 1:5). Amos appears to be describing an earthquake (see also Amos 2:13; 9:1, 5) and an eclipse in these verses. The convulsions of the land during this earthquake are compared to the rising and sinking of the Nile River, a theme found in other accounts of God’s judgment of the earth (see Isa. 24:1–4, 18–20). This demonstrates both the majestic power of God over nature and the total helplessness of humankind, for when the ground gives way, people have no sure footing and nothing to depend on. The violent movement of solid ground is terrifying. The report of an earthquake two years after Amos’s prophecy in 1:1 is apparently seen as the beginning of the fulfillment of this warning.
In addition, there will be unusual signs of God’s power over the heavens. The sun’s light will cease in the middle of the day (probably an eclipse),10 symbolically representing the earlier warning that the Day of the Lord will be a day of darkness and not light (Amos 5:18–20). This removal of light was predicted in earlier curses (e.g., Deut. 28:29)11 and continued to be an important theme in later prophets like Joel (see Joel 2:10, 30–31; 3:15). But Amos is not predicting the final end of the world as Isaiah 24 does; rather, he is predicting the approaching Day of the Lord for Israel when the religious, political, and social status quo will end (fulfilled in 722 B.C., when the Assyrians captured Samaria).
This great disaster for Israel will lead to great mourning, weeping, wearing of sackcloth, shaving of heads, and bitter lamenting (Amos 8:10, continuing the theme of 8:3, 8). A great transformation will occur, which will turn the happy and optimistic oppressors in Israel into a deep depression. Joyous festivals and feast days will be filled with the sorrow of death and the hopelessness of bitter weeping. This change will come about because God causes it. “I will turn” and “I will make” are central to understanding the disaster about to encompass the people at the Bethel temple. Their God will turn against them and bring the nation to a final end (8:10; cf. 8:3). They think that the God they worship will protect them; but instead, he will annihilate them from the face of the earth.
The final paragraph (8:11–14) warns the people that on that final day there will be no word of help or comfort from God or from any of the pagan gods they worship. These two statements about what will happen on that fateful day are introduced with the clauses “the days are coming” (vv. 11–12) and “in that day” (vv. 13–14).
In the midst of this death and mourning, the Israelites will remember that the Creator is all-powerful, and they will look to him for help in their deep distress. But when they go to a temple or inquire of a prophet for a word of hope from God, there will be nothing. When they have lost all power and there is nowhere else to find hope, they will thirst for news from God. In their deepest moment of need, they will finally turn to God for some response and explanation (cf. Amos 4:6–12, where they were unwilling to turn to God). But at that point God will abandon his people (cf. a similar situation in Judah in Ezek. 9:9; 11:22–23), refuse to listen to their prayers, or respond with a prophetic word of reassurance (Isa. 59:1–2; Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 7:26).
The severity of this famine for God’s words is illustrated by the extensiveness of the search. Like a desperate and confused traveler who does not know where to find water, these confused people will be unable to find any message from God. Their deep desire is evident in their extensive and thorough search throughout the land, but their efforts will produce nothing. They will stagger around, roaming in misguided steps based on ignorance. It is as if the people have lost contact with God for so long that they do not know how to find him any more. The tragedy of this blind groping after an answer is shocking, but God will not be found (see Ps. 32:6; Isa. 55:6). The final verses (Amos 8:13–14) deepen the hopelessness of “that day” by noting that the strongest members of society will grow faint and end up resorting to other gods.
The Israelites were to fear God and swear by his name (Deut. 6:13; 10:20) and not swear by the names of other gods (Jer. 12:16; Zeph. 1:4–5). But when God abandons them, these people will swear oaths of loyalty to other gods to try to get an answer from them (Amos 8:14). The translation of verse 14 is difficult, but there appears to be three oath formulas used in reference to deities at three different places: Samaria, Dan, and Beersheba.
The oath related to Dan is not that difficult because 1 Kings 12 refers to the setting up of one of the golden calves at Dan many years earlier, in the time of Jeroboam I. Amos does not identify this god, but in light of Hosea’s strong condemnation of Baalism in Israel, it is unlikely that any kind of pure worship of Israel’s God still existed at Dan. Archaeologists have uncovered the sanctuary area in Dan, and a horn was found from the large altar there, but this does not explain the religious beliefs of the worshipers at this temple.12 At best, there is a syncretistic worship of Yahweh, Israel’s God, along with other gods.
The references to the “shame of Samaria”13 and the “god of Beersheba” are less clear, though 1 Kings 16:26–34 indicates that Ahab did build a Baal temple at Samaria. Amos appears to be making a negative judgment on the worship going on at this temple, for certainly the people going there would not use this kind of negative terminology. Although other passages refer to worship at Beersheba (Amos 5:5), little is known about the God/gods worshiped there or what it means to swear “by the life of the way of Beersheba” (which the NIV translates as “the god of Beersheba”).14 This translation is possible because the Ugaritic drkt (which means dominion, strength, might) may also be an epithet for a deity. If this is accepted, then all three phrases in verse 14 refer to attempts by Israelites in their day of distress to gain words of hope and consolation from gods other than Yahweh.
Yet in spite of all their efforts, there will be no answer of protection or salvation from any of these gods. The nation of Israel will suffer defeat, and the people will die. Amos ends this section with a brief and unequivocating conclusion: These people will “fall, never to rise again” (8:14). The earlier vision (8:1–3) and this final statement emphasize that death will bring an end to the nation of Israel.
Bridging Contexts
EARLIER BRIDGING CONTEXTS sections have discussed several of the theological themes that appear in the present passage. These include Amos’s treatment of the idea that God will judge those who oppress the poor (2:6–8; 4:1–3; 5:10–13), God will spare his people no longer (7:7–9), and the end of the Israelites is at hand and their lives will be filled with mourning (5:1–17). Therefore, we will deal here only with the unique features of this section: the consequence of being rejected by God, the oppressive business ethics of the merchants, and the nation’s famine for a revelation from God.
The theology of divine rejection. Most people do not like to consider the possibility of divine rejection. The Lord is known as “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:6–7a). Since nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38–39), how can he ever come to the point where he says to his own chosen people: “I will spare them no longer” (Amos 8:2)? How can God purposely turn joy into wailing? If he could graciously have compassion on the violent people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:9–10) and forgive the vile king Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:12–19), why is he not willing to be compassionate to Amos’s audience in Israel?
One should not compromise or in any way diminish the magnitude or breadth of God’s compassion, for it is a clear and indisputable aspect of his relationship to humankind. But immediately next to Exodus 34:6–7a, which trumpets God’s grace, are the sober words of 34:7b: “He does not leave the guilty unpunished.” Paul’s letter to the Romans also tells us that “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom. 1:18).
This condemnation is especially appropriate for those who know about God’s will but choose to reject what he says. The Jews have no excuse for they know God’s righteous decree but do not practice it (Rom. 2:17–29). Amos and Paul know that the stubborn and unrepentant hearts of the people in their audiences will bring on them God’s wrath because God gives to each person according to his or her deeds (Amos 8:7; Rom. 2:5–6). Paul states that for “those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger” (Rom. 2:8).
If God is a holy God, who is just in his relationships, then there is a solid basis for believing in his wrath. If people stubbornly reject and willfully rebel against his will, there are consequences once the long-suffering patience of God runs out. God provided Israel with numerous trials to bring them to repentance, but they repeatedly were unwilling to turn to him (Amos 4:6–11). God graciously held back their punishment in two visions of destruction (7:1–6), but there has been no hint of Israel’s repentance or humility before God. What can God do with these people? In this context his wrath seems unavoidable.
The only other possible way of resolving the broken relationship between God and the human race is either to deny the holiness and justice of God or to deny the sinfulness of humankind. Although no one would ever want to fall under the curse of God’s anger, it is a reality that cannot be removed by the clever wishfulness of human imagination, for the Bible states that everyone will have to bow before God some day.
Simply put, God’s wrath is his administration of justice. When this cold, abstract statement is implemented in the lives of people and nature, the consequences are enormous. There will be death, wailing, mourning, bitterness, and astonishment among human beings (8:3, 10). The earth will tremble and quake at God’s awesome presence, and the normal functioning of the heavenly bodies will be disrupted (8:8–10). Since the time when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the earth has groaned under the curse of sin (Gen. 3:17–18; Rom. 8:20–25). The covenant curses in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27–28 expand the connection between human disobedience and divine judgment. The prophets and Paul maintain this tradition of future divine judgment on the world but also look forward to a future kingdom when the effects of the curse will be lifted from humankind and nature (Isa. 11:6–9; Hos. 2:16–23; Amos 9:11–15).
Business ethics. Amos’s messages about God’s justice interact with and respond to real-life issues that permeate the lives of people in Israelite society. This means Amos is taking the time to know what is happening in the everyday lives of people as they try to make a living. He has to mix with the average farmers, go to the marketplace, watch the sellers and traders, listen to people’s complaints, hear the merchant’s side of the story, and investigate claims and counterclaims. He does not spend his evenings going to meetings, nor does he focus his energies on administrating a complex organization. He spends much of his time mingling with the rich and the poor so that he will have a message that deals with the reality his audience faces and that penetrates below the surface to the essential struggles in society. Everyone who wishes to apply God’s revelation to people’s lives needs to get to know the real-life issues people face so that the Scriptures can powerfully influence the process of resolving their dilemmas.
Making a living, feeding one’s family, and providing the basic necessities of life are central issues vital to every person. When any messenger of God sees people struggling with these problems, he or she will have an opportunity to minister to ears looking for answers. Sometimes the answer will come in the form of a cup of cold water in the name of Christ, helping someone find medical treatment, or giving a financial gift of charity to meet an economic need. These needs are not isolated problems but are related to the basic problem of needing good-paying jobs and the wise use of financial resources.
Although the church is not a business, an employment agency, a legal-aid society, a human-rights organization, or a food bank, God’s people work in these places and must assist people in need if the church hopes to have any credibility in this world. Amos and other prophets interfere in the business ethics of their day because they care about the people who are suffering and repudiate the dishonesty they observe. Amos’s sermons suggest that these kinds of ethical issues are of interest to God and should be of prime importance to all his people, particularly to preachers and teachers who lead churches.
The world of business is not just a secular opportunity to get rich; it is a theological task God cares about. We do not have the power to produce wealth on our own; God is the One who gives every person the ability to make a financial gain (Deut. 8:17–18). Thus, he has an interest in how people carry out their activities of making money. He knows that the implementation of ethical principles in daily business affairs will frequently be an accurate barometer of the true transformational impact that spiritual ideas have on the life of a religious person.
Amos does not provide a formal series of principles that can be copied by any existing or start-up business to assure that they institute the best moral practices into their company. But his critique of the business ethics of his day does include a few fundamental principles that must be a part of the economic endeavor that desires to please God with its involvement in the marketplace.
Motivations. Amos’s accusations (8:4–6) refer to motivations of business people and their conduct of business activity. Motivations are often revealed in a company’s mission statement as well as in the attitudes that the owners and employees develop in the process of carrying out their responsibilities (often termed the company’s culture). One of these attitudes relates to the conflict between business opportunities to be at work to make a profit and a person’s religious responsibilities to take time away from work to worship God. Two questions surface from an analysis of this passage:
(1) Is it more important to be open for business on Sunday or to worship God (and think about what God has done) and observe one day of rest from work?
(2) If one does set aside one day of the week for worship and rest, is there a contentment and joy in this celebration, or is there a mental preoccupation with work and planning how to make money even on this nonwork day?
These are questions of motivation, separate from the ethical questions about how one goes about making money. They relate to the values people place on business and the temptation to allow work to be the top priority for one’s time, energy, and thinking. Several years ago a person suggested that if all church people quit shopping on Sundays and shut down their businesses on Sunday, few people would be breaking the Sabbath. This may not be an accurate reading of many “post-Christian” communities any more, but it raises the question about how those who claim to be Christians treat the Sabbath day of rest. Has the desire to earn more money in modern culture been accepted as a legitimate value that is higher than the value God places on the observance of a day of rest and worship? The author of Ecclesiastes states that the person who “loves money never has money enough,” for “as goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (Eccl. 5:10–11).
Business operations. Another issue is the way business people make money in their operation. Amos addresses the fundamental issue of honesty and fairness. Are products sold for what they are worth, or are customers tricked by deceptive claims, insupportable promises, or false information? Is it appropriate to claim “no fat” on the label of a product that is incapable of including fat? It would be ridiculous to advertise “no fat paper” for your computer, but businesses will sometimes include erroneous information on labels just to sell products. A label of “new,” “improved,” or “super” can be nothing but hype, and a “going-out-of-business” sign on an oriental rug store may mean absolutely nothing about the closing of that business.
It is unethical to sell cars that were in accidents as new cars and dishonest to twist the numbers in a car lease to make it look like a person is getting a better deal than he or she really is. Those who shortchange the seller and overcharge the buyer may be clever, and some may make a great deal of dirty money, but they are the enemies of God. Those who discover such dishonesty need to stand up like Amos and denounce such practices.
The famine for a revelation from God. Amos realizes that when God destroys Israel, there will be a new desire to turn to him in the midst of this tragedy. People without any hope will naturally look to God for help and deliverance when they see no human way of solving their problems. Unfortunately, these people—who have until now rejected the message of God that is available to them—will find no revelation from God when they finally come to the point where they want to hear his message of comfort and hope.
Isaiah’s encouragement that his listeners should “seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isa. 55:6) suggests that if people do not respond now, it may be impossible to receive forgiveness from him at some later date; the Day of Judgment may arrive first. In some texts the problem is not that God is so far away that he cannot hear or help; he is still near and available. But people feel his absence when sin has caused a separation between them and God (Isa. 59:1–3). When things do not go as people expect, they wonder whether God is absent or whether he has noticed their acts of devotion (58:3).
Job felt abandoned by God and deeply desired to hear a word from him to clear him of the false accusations made by his so-called comforters (Job 13:24; 19:7–8).15 When people in the Bible refer to God as hiding, this may indicate his wrath and rejection of them (Deut. 31:17–18) or a fearfulness and loneliness because God is not actively answering a prayer right now (Ps. 13:1; 44:24). The prophet Ezekiel describes God’s literal abandonment of the temple in Jerusalem because of the sinfulness of the nation (Ezek. 8–11).16 In other words, the absence of God may be real and literal at times.
This sense that God is absent and not to be found is complementary to the idea that God’s power and words of assurance are unavailable. When God speaks, he is present; when he is silent in word or deed, he is absent or hidden from people’s perception. When people are in trouble, a verse from God can give an explanation of the cause of a problem, offer a word of hope, or make one aware of the need for remedial action. If God would just speak, at least the listeners would know why circumstances are so difficult, would not be in the dark about the future, and would not sense an isolation from God.
Communication of God’s words opens the door for understanding, acceptance, and the possibility of change. God’s silence offers no explanation but results in frustration, confusion, and hopelessness. It is always better to hear some news, even if it is bad news. At least there is communication and the possibility to understand and move forward.
Contemporary Significance
ISSUES RELATED TO the application of just relationships between people have already been addressed in the discussion of Amos 2:6–8; 3:8–9; 4:1–3; and 5:10–13, 15; thus, the focus here will be limited to the new areas of application that Amos raises. It is inappropriate to assume that all merchants in contemporary culture behave like those Amos describes in 8:4–6 or to project that most people in business have these same attitudes in our day and age. One major difference is that many merchants at that time still kept the Sabbath as a day of rest. Another is that few people today have anything to do with selling agricultural commodities. Nevertheless, the church does need to instruct its members on how to conduct themselves in the business world in a way that pleases God.
How does God impact our business? In order to make a sale, a seller must induce a buyer to think he or she is getting a quality product and a good deal on its price. But the seller’s motivation of making a profit requires that the selling price be larger than what it cost. Thus, one must naturally include a reasonable markup. Everyone understands that bulk purchases come cheaper and that for the sake of the convenience of smaller amounts, people are willing to pay a little more. The danger comes when merchants mark up products but add no value, motivate customers to buy with false information, or mislead customers by misrepresenting their product through deceptive claims. Sometimes there is more show than substance to advertisements because unproved statements that appeal to buyers are used to hide the true value of a product.
Although many people live outside the agricultural setting of selling grain as Amos describes it, the trusting relationship between sellers and buyers is commonly experienced at the grocery story. The dishonesty of fooling customers by keeping the same size box while reducing the weight of the product inside is a part of the present cereal wars. The company that brags about the hefty weight of its hamburgers usually has a small-print disclaimer admitting that this weight is connected to the produce before it is cooked, thus allowing the company to include inexpensive and disappearing water and fat as part of their quarter-pounders.
Misrepresentation of products can come in all forms, but all of it is motivated by the desire to show a product in a way that will encourage customers to buy. Although some business people might respond that “everyone else is making similar deceptive claims,” most books on business ethics maintain that “customs, conventions, and the accepted courtesies of a society are not the foundation of ethics.”17 Deep convictions of right and wrong should undergird ethical principles, and respect for the personal dignity of each person gives root to the honest treatment of others.18
Since buyers usually do not have enough information about the expenses of producing a product, the actual fair-market value plus a reasonable markup is usually unknown. This lack of information can lead to unethical price fixing by collusion among sellers. Charging whatever the market will bear is not an appropriate ethical pricing policy, though a few sellers in ancient Israel up to today periodically attempt to implement schemes that give the customer inflated costs for doing business or deflated rewards for producing goods.19 Illustrations of ethical problems in doing business abound in business textbooks;20 these can function as case studies for ethical analysis and the development of appropriate moral responses to business situations.
Although some may think of “business ethics” as an oxymoron as unthinkable as “military intelligence,” this perception should be understood as a sign of the society’s desperate need for principled and trustworthy business practices. Because so many scandals have been uncovered in the last twenty years (often much worse than Amos’s example of having two different sets of weights), an examination of business ethics needs to be addressed by churches in order to enable Christians to avoid the pitfalls of “business as usual.” Ethical theories of egotism, relativism, utilitarianism, religious ethics, and ethics determined by conscience should be examined for strengths and weaknesses.21 Since as people often get uncomfortable when preachers start talking about money, perhaps an interactive seminar on business ethics could open the door to a more comfortable discussion about God’s concern with all financial matters.
Part of any discussion on business ethics must deal with attitudes and motivations people have toward their business activities. Amos identifies an attitude of impatience with a Sabbath observance of no work and an internal drive to end religious duty and get back to making money (Amos 8:5). This accusation pushes the reader to ask: What are my motives? Are my actions heavily based on motivations related to making more and more money? How does my fear of the Lord motivate me to conduct myself in business settings (2 Cor. 5:9–11)? How does my servant attitude shape my interrelationship with customers (Phil. 2:1–11)? How does the love of Christ constrain me to not live selfishly (2 Cor. 5:14–17)?22
Believers need to be motivated by basic convictions of honesty and truthfulness, the challenge of fulfilling their God-given purpose in life, accepting responsibility for their choices, and honoring God in what they do.23 When the worship day is preoccupied with thoughts of getting back to work, there are problems both with an obsessive motivation to make money and with a lack of motivation to rejoice, remember, and enjoy the blessings of a divinely appointed day of rest. These two motivations may cause the grocery-store clerk or the manager of a department store to work on Sunday, but there are probably many Sunday workers (and Sunday shoppers) who never think much about whether they should work (or cause others to work).
Although some may feel they have to work on Sunday because they may lose their jobs, many others never think about their motivations for working. The church seldom addresses this issue today; thus, people accept the cultural norms that business has dictated a life of not honoring God on his day of rest. When there is no motivation to honor God, Amos’s warning and condemnations suddenly seem applicable.
Is there really going to be a day of judgment? Some people do not believe that God’s justice will cause the curse of his wrath to fall on anyone. In an age where religious pluralism is rampant, many feel it is wrong to claim that there is only one way to heaven and that everyone must accept Christ as Savior or suffer judgment. With so many new immigrants and foreigners going to university, it is no longer unusual to see a family or fellow employee who comes from a different cultural and religious tradition. Many of these people are hard-working, moral people, who are responsible neighbors and colleagues.
Religious pluralism believes that each person has a right to make his or her own choice of religious beliefs and that one cannot say that one is right and the other is wrong.24 This quickly leads to a relativism that compromises the uniqueness of the Christian faith,25 denying that Christ is the sole mediator between God and humankind. Although this pluralistic approach used to sharply divide evangelical Christianity from radical liberalism, in recent years a group of writers have tried to develop a middle ground between these two camps. In all these discussions, one important topic that arises is: What will happen to the good religious people who take a pluralistic view on these issues, and what will happen to the unevangelized after death?26 Will God’s wrath fall on them?
Concerning the unevangelized, E. Trueblood concludes that the simple solution that sends them all to hell “is neat and simple, but it is morally shocking and consequently not a live option of belief for truly thoughtful or sensitive persons of any faith.”27 J. A. T. Robinson believes that the strong love of God will not give up on any sinner; thus, he concludes that there will be universal salvation for all and no one in hell.28 Some popular literature ridicules Christian doctrine with snappy titles like “Soft-Selling Hell: Don’t Worry Says a Catholic Theologian, It’s Really No Worse Than a Three-Star Motel.”29
L. Dixon has reviewed these theories and demonstrates from the mouth of Jesus that the future judgment of those who reject Christ is real.30 God’s judgment, of course, is not limited to what will happen in the future, nor is it aimed at the unevangelized. The shocking and almost unbelievable truth is that even God’s own chosen people will suffer under his wrath if they do not repent and turn to him. A holy and just God does not play favorites but will judge those who know of his love more severely if they willfully reject his sovereign grace and salvation.
Yes, there will be a day of judgment, as Amos predicts. Although Amos never focuses on the existence of hell, his words of impending disaster are meant to warn his fellow Israelites of the curse of God’s wrath on their nation. Human death and natural disasters will bring an end to life as normal in Israel. The Israelites can ignore Amos’s teaching, doubt that God will ever do this to them, espouse a doctrine of universal salvation for the seed of Abraham, or claim that Amos is insensitive, but none of these solutions will change the historical fact that God did in fact destroy the nation of Israel in 722/721 B.C. History has proved that Amos was right, and the future will show which view of divine justice is correct for our age.
Amos’s audience is deceiving itself with false hopes, and some follow that path today. Soft-selling judgment and hell may be popular in a modern pluralistic and relativistic culture, but it never has or never will have much of an effect on what God does to establish his version of justice on earth. If people do not change their thinking about the fundamental character of God, the agonizing effect of his wrath will come on all who reject the teaching of God’s Word.
Where is the Word of God? Amos 8:11–14 focuses on the nation’s inability to find God or receive a word of comfort or encouragement from him in the midst of their punishment. The most common situation where this attitude is expressed today is when a tragedy strikes a family. Almost everyone knows of someone who has died of cancer at a relatively young age, who has had a child die of a mysterious sudden death syndrome, or who has had a family member killed in a car accident.
I recently read the story of a woman from Rose Lake, Minnesota, who experienced the death of two relatives in childhood, the near-death of her firstborn son shortly after birth because of pneumonia, the sad discovery that this child was autistic, and the misguided comments of friends and “comforters.”31 Later when this autistic child was badly burned on his legs, together they went through the agonizing process of skin grafts, including some that did not take. Yes, in these situations God seems to have had his hands in his pockets and to be looking the other way. Where was this all-powerful God, and why did he not choose to intervene?
Although more theological and philosophical, Philip Yancey’s book Where Is God When It Hurts? deals with the problem of pain and attempts to provide some general answers. Yet in the end, no one can fill the emptiness of that feeling when God seems absent.32 When God is absent, there is no word of explanation, no hope of change, and no meaning derived from a terrible experience. People cry out for a good word from God, but real trust involves faith in the things that people cannot see.
Although this passage does not say anything about the absence of prophets or the prophetic word since it focuses on the impotence of Israel’s pagan gods (Amos 8:14), it seems that the famine for a divine message must partially be due to the fact that there will be no prophetic figures who can deliver or are willing to deliver God’s revelation. In spite of strong oaths of commitment on the part of the seeker and desperate searching at various locations, the prophetic and priestly mediators have lost contact with the divine and are unable to satisfy the needs of their worshipers.
The question of application then comes: Are there people today who desire a message from God but who cannot find it, because their pastor or spiritual mentor has no real relationship with God? It is easy to point to some other church across town where the gospel is not preached, but each congregation and each pastor probably could conduct an unbiased analysis of what they are doing. E. Achtemeier asks why “three million Americans now practice transcendental meditation, five million engage in yoga, three million have turned to eastern religions, nine million belong to healing groups.”33 If the church was providing the truth of Scripture, would these people be searching for some meaning to life in these strange ways?
Achtemeier recognizes that we often blame the secular materialistic culture for leading people astray, but she concludes that the real reason for the famine in our land is “precisely because we church leaders have failed to proclaim the message. Could it be that people come to us week after week, searching for the word of God, and go away unfed and hungry?”34 So many churches are torn apart by the type of hymns or choruses they sing, the purchase of Sunday school supplies, denominational bureaucracy, and a million other trivial and asinine issues of little eternal significance. No wonder hurting people who want to hear God never hear his voice.
Sometimes God seems absent and far away to outsiders because the insiders are so busy squabbling that the voice of God is drowned out. Other congregations are so fearful of offending outsiders in their seeker-sensitive services that they have gutted the service of God-talk and replaced it with group counseling sessions that appeal to the material, social, and psychological needs of people. The famine is sometimes simply due to an unwillingness to have a prophetic voice in a lost world.
The final situation where God is absent is in the presence of sin. When people repeatedly and consistently refuse to recognize his will, God literally rejects and removes himself from them so that justice can be carried out. After the golden calf God had to remove his presence from the rebellious people lest he destroy them all (Ex. 33:1–3). Ultimately, this will happen at the end of time, when the wicked are judged and thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7–15).