Daily Devotional • December 3
A Reading from Amos 3:12-4:5
12 Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,
says the Lord God, the God of hosts:
14 On the day I punish Israel for its transgressions,
I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house,
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall come to an end,
says the Lord.
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan
who are on Mount Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!”
2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:
The time is surely coming upon you
when they shall take you away with hooks,
even the last of you with fishhooks.
3 Through breaches in the wall you shall leave,
each one straight ahead,
and you shall be flung out into Harmon,
says the Lord.
4 Come to Bethel — and transgress;
to Gilgal — and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;
5 bring a thank offering of leavened bread
and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;
for so you love to do, O people of Israel!
says the Lord God.
Meditation
Reading today’s lesson, it is not surprising that Amos’s prophesies to Israel were rejected. The surprise, perhaps, was that he made it out of the land alive.
Most likely, the written form we have today is a souped-up version of the original message, cast in boldface as a response to its author’s being sent out of Israel. It foretells that the horns of the altars and the great houses will come to an end. It is both hilarious and painfully insulting that it refers to the wives of the rich as “cows” who shall be “flung out”; they oppress the poor while demanding “something to drink!”
The lesson closes with a prophecy: “Come to Bethel — and transgress; to Gilgal — and multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning.” It means, “You’ve been called to repentance and you refuse it, but you still go through the motions of fidelity. Go ahead, then! It only increases your wickedness and sours your souls, but if that’s what you want, go ahead!” It reminds me of when I was about eight and a visitor to our home left a pack of cigarettes behind. My younger brothers and I sneaked one and tried it. Our father led us outside and let us smoke through several cigarettes. I still remember the photograph of the three of us lying down, sick to our stomachs. After that, none of us ever tried it again.
“Go ahead!” can be another, second, and deeper call to repentance, for it is intended to prove that the way of wickedness destroys, and reveals the way of obedience to be the way to true joy.
David Baumann is a published writer of nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. In his ministry as an Episcopal priest, he served congregations in Illinois and California.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Rumonge – The Anglican Church of Burundi
St. Martin’s by the Lake Episcopal Church, Minnetonka Beach, Minnesota
This ministry of The Living Church Foundation is made possible in part by a special bequest from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer.
