In chapter five of the book of Amos, we have one of the most-quoted and memorable lines of the entire book, one that Martin Luther King Jr. highlighted as the words of an ardent pursuer of justice (“Letter from Birmingham Jail”). After throwing out Israel’s worshipfulness, Yahweh demands through Amos: “But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream” (Amos 5:24 CSB).
Isolated from the context of the book, the words read poetically—almost like a salve to paste over the hurts we see in the world. But the context of Amos makes clear that God’s demands for justice are far from a babbling brook. In chapter five, Yahweh rejects all of Israel’s worship. All of their services, their offerings, and their music (vv. 21–23). He wants none of it, because the people who brought it to his temple turned around and rejected justice for the poor, the disenfranchised, and the underprivileged.
We have to understand that justice as Israel defined it meant vengeance against the pagan world for violating humanity. But justice as God defines it meant bringing Israel back into alignment with his covenantal expectations. And at the center of that realignment was how Israel viewed her own poor.
Like Israel, we have good reason to want God to do something about the evil that we see in the world.
But the warnings of Amos come with a far more nuanced picture of justice than we might think or even want. God’s contention with Israel revolved around the people’s failure to maintain faithfulness in their covenant relationship with him. His issue wasn’t with their worship—they maintained the demands of the temple well, bringing tithes, sacrifices, and worship near-daily. His issue was with the second part of the great commandment—loving their neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).
As God’s people, we’re called into a relationship with God that carries two demands: love for him and love for each other. Jesus remarked to his disciples that the world would recognize his followers not for their religiosity or even their advocacy, but for their love for fellow believers (John 13:35).
If we’re failing in the church to care for the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters, if we’re failing to obtain justice for them based on their skin color, yearly income, or political affiliation, if we’re overlooking the suffering of other Christians to “just preach the gospel,” if we’re propping up celebrities to “save face” even though they abused their power to molest women, we run afoul of Amos’s condemnation.
We cannot have a right relationship with God if we’re simultaneously oppressing, ignoring, or silencing our sisters and brothers who deserve justice. And when the justice of God does indeed roll down like water, we’ll find ourselves not safe on the shore, but in the midst of the torrent.
Excerpted and adapted from an article by Jed Ostoich, from Discovery Series “Living Justly, Loving Mercy—A Biblical Response to Our Broken World”, published by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Read Also:
What does God ask of us as His followers?
Don’t we all want mercy for ourselves and to see justice in the world? What if both of these actually start with us?
What are God’s expectations as we explore the answers? Experience the freedom of learning to live out God’s command “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
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