Amos 1:1-5, 13-2:8

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said:

The LORD roars from Zion,

and utters his voice from Jerusalem;

the pastures of the shepherds wither,

and the top of Carmel dries up.

3 Thus says the LORD:

For three transgressions of Damascus,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;

because they have threshed Gilead

with threshing sledges of iron.

4 So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

5 I will break the gate bars of Damascus,

and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,

and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;

and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir,

says the LORD. (Amos 1:1-4, NRSV)

.                       13 Thus says the LORD:

For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;

because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead

in order to enlarge their territory.

14 So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah,

fire that shall devour its strongholds,

with shouting on the day of battle,

with a storm on the day of the whirlwind;

15 then their king shall go into exile,

he and his officials together,

says the LORD.

2:1 Thus says the LORD:

For three transgressions of Moab,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;

because he burned to lime

the bones of the king of Edom.

2 So I will send a fire on Moab,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,

and Moab shall die amid uproar,

amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;

3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,

and will kill all its officials with him,

says the LORD

4 Thus says the LORD:

For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;

because they have rejected the law of the LORD,

and have not kept his statutes,

but they have been led astray by the same lies

after which their ancestors walked.

5 So I will send a fire on Judah,

                                    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.

6 Thus says the LORD:

For three transgressions of Israel,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;

because they sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals-

7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,

and push the afflicted out of the way;

father and son go in to the same girl,

so that my holy name is profaned;

8 they lay themselves down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge;

and in the house of their God they drink

wine bought with fines they imposed. (Amos 1:13-2:8, NRSV)

Amos begins with a series of prophetic condemnations of Israel's neighbors--Syria, Philistia, Phoenicia, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah--circling, as it were, to hone in on Israel (2:6-8). While all of these are serious indictments, for example, charging the Ammonites who have "ripped open pregnant women in Gilead in order to enlarge their territory" (1:13), Amos, the prophet from Judah, is addressing Israel. They "sell the righteous for silver,/and the needy for a pair of sandals" (2:6). They "trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth,/and push the afflicted out of the way" (2:7). The indictment adds "several forms of religious corruption" (vv. 6-8, G.M. Tucker, HarperCollins Study Bible). The prophet recounts ways God has helped them. "I destroyed the Amorite before them" (v. 9). "Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,/and led you forty years in the wilderness,/to possess the land of the Amorite" (v. 10). He blessed them with prophets and nazirites, but "you made the nazirites drink wine,/and commanded the prophets,/saying, 'You shall not prophesy'" (v. 11). Consequently, Amos pronounces judgment to come. (Comments are repeated here from an E-mail sent November 28, 2003, for November 29-December 1, 2003.)

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, NRSV)

The comments on the reading from 1 Thessalonians are repeated here with some adaptation from Monday, December 6, 2004 (Mon. of the 2^nd Week of Advent, Year 1.) All the readings for that day were full of judgment and warnings!

1 Thess. 5:1-11 exhorts us to be ready for the coming of the Lord, which "like a thief in the night" (v. 2) brings "sudden destruction" (v. 3), but the "hope of salvation" for those who "belong to the day" (v. 8). Those who “say, ‘There is peace and security’” will meet with “sudden destruction . . . as labor pains . . . and there will be no escape!” (v. 3). But Paul assures the Thessalonians, “But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness” (vv. 4-5). So, amid all this darkness and gloom (cf. today’s reading from Amos, and the persecutions anticipated in Jesus’ eschatological speech, below), there is hope and promise for God's faithful people. Today’s reading from Luke includes the promise, “By your endurance you will gain your souls” (Lk. 21:19). The passage in 1 Thessalonians concludes with this: "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11). And so, we should encourage one another as Paul directs. We are called to be faithful and lift up our heads to see God's promised blessings.

Luke 21:5-19

This passage from Luke is found in column 3 of the table which follows below. The table and the comments which follow it are repeated here from August 20, 2005, when the Gospel reading was Mark 13:1-13, found in the center column of the table. (The biblical texts are from the NRSV, as noted above.) Note the references to Luke’s perspective which are included in the comments below the table.

Luke describes the setting in his own way, not including the reference to the Mount of Olives (Mt. 24:3; Mk. 13:3), but giving the impression that the speech continues in the temple (Lk. 24:1, 5), . But Jesus’ prediction is the same. “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down” (Lk. 21:6). “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down” (Mk. 13:2; cf. Mt. 24:2). In the continuation, one might say that Luke’s version emphasizes the point that the time is not near. “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them” (Lk. 21:8). “The end will not follow immediately” (v. 9). Luke’s version gives a time reference, “before all this occurs,” for the arrests, persecutions, trials and imprisonments (Lk. 21:12). And it emphasizes the “opportunity to testify” (v. 13) which these trials provide, something which he illustrates in detail with the story of Paul’s speeches of defense in Acts. The parallel statement is more general. “And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations” (Mk. 13:10; cf. Mt. 24:14). Matthew says that people “will betray one another” (Mt. 24:10), but Mark and Luke spell that out as betrayal by family: brothers, fathers, children, parents, relatives and friends (Mk. 13:12; Lk. 21:16). Matthew alone refers to “false prophets” (Mt. 24:11; cf. Mt. 7:15-20 in contrast to Lk. 6:43-45), a likely reference to false teachers within the Christian community.

I would say that the three Gospels present a common overall picture of Jesus’ end-time predictions, with nuances reflecting situations and concerns of their respective Christian communities. Luke maintains the perspective of a historian (cf. his chronological details, Lk. 2:1-2), and apparently sees Jesus’ predictions about the destruction of Jerusalem as fulfilled in some detail during the Jewish war with Rome (A.D. 66-70).

Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God. (Luke 19:43-44, NRSV)

All these Gospels emphasize that Christians should endure the persecutions. “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mk. 13:13; Mt. 24:13). “By your endurance you will gain your souls” (Lk. 21:19).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com