Amos 2:6-16

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.

⁹ Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,

whose height was like the height of cedars,

and who was as strong as oaks;

I destroyed his fruit above,

and his roots beneath.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ And I raised up some of your children to be prophets

and some of your youths to be nazirites.

Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?

says the Lord.

¹² But you made the nazirites drink wine,

and commanded the prophets,

saying, “You shall not prophesy.”

¹³ So, I will press you down in your place,

just as a cart presses down

when it is full of sheaves.

¹⁴ Flight shall perish from the swift,

and the strong shall not retain their strength,

nor shall the mighty save their lives;

¹⁵ those who handle the bow shall not stand,

and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,

nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;

¹⁶ and those who are stout of heart among the mighty

shall flee away naked in that day,

says the Lord. (Amos 2:6-16, NRSV)

As noted yesterday (Nov. 27, 2005), the Book of Amos begins with a series of seven oracles against nations, beginning with Israel’s neighbors, but “circling, as it were, to hone in on Israel”: (1) Damascus (i.e. Syria) (Amos 1:3-5), (2) Philistia (i.e. Gaza) (vv. 6-8), (3) Phonecia (i.e. Tyre) (vv. 9-10), (4) Edom (vv. 11-12), (5) the Ammonites (vv. 13-15), Moab (2:1-3), Judah (vv. 4-5), and Israel (vv. 6-16). Amos was from Judah (Tekoa), but his message was for Israel (1:1; cf. 7:14-15). Some of the crimes charged to the neighboring nations in this series of indictments were apparently an old story; the Philistines, at least, were not a contemporary threat to Israel. But the primary audience, Israel, would sense that the indictments (Amos 2:6-8, 12), and the announced judgments (vv. 6a, 13-16) are addressed to them, and that in spite of God’s blessings, cited from Israel’s early history (vv. 9-11). Their sins include selling persons into slavery (v. 6), exploiting young girls (v. 7), and various forms of exploitation (v. 8). Gregory Mobley explains the phrase, “garments taken in pledge” (v. 8) as violating “the prohibitions in Ex. 22:25; Deut. 24:17. The exploitation of the poor is especially odious when commodities gained unjustly, the . . . garments and wine, were paraded before the deity at the altar of the house of their God” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Amos 2:8). But just as evil was their forcing nazirites to break their vow, “you made the nazirites drink wine” (v. 12a), and silencing the prophets (v. 12b, c). Mobley sums up the punishment: “The entire Israelite army is defenseless: archers, infantry, and cavalry.” [They are] naked [v. 16], unarmed and exposed; cf. Isa. 20:1-6" (Mobley, on vv. 13-16).

2 Peter 1:1-11

Salutation

1:1 Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

2 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

The Christian's Call and Election

3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature. 5 For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. 8 For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For anyone who lacks these things is nearsighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. (2 Peter 1:1-11, NRSV)

The customary salutation in Second Peter (2 Pet. 1:1-2) refers to the author as “Simeon Peter, a servant [or slave, cf. NRSV, note b] and apostle of Jesus Christ,” which adds “servant” to the salutation in First Peter, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:1). Thus Second Peter the terms sometimes found together in Paul’s salutations (Rom. 1:1), and sometimes used alone, e.g. “servant” (Phil. 1:1), “apostle” (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1, with special emphasis, “an apostle–sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead”). Paul exercised the freedom to vary his self-designation, depending on the circumstances of his relationship to the readers. (He has very little criticism for the church at Philippi, but a strong bond to them, including appreciation for their continued financial support of his ministry.) Some, who see in the salutation of Second Peter an attempt to clearly identify the message (though perhaps not its wording) as for the whole church from Peter himself, regard the phrase “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” as emphatic. The presentation of Peter as “an eyewitness of the voice from heaven, which confirms the apostolic testimony about Christ’s power and coming” (Patrick A. Tiller, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on 2 Pet. 1:16-18), which appears in tomorrow’s reading, is considered by them as an appeal to Peter’s authority. They would not see this as deception or fraud, but as a transparent attempt to maintain the testimony of Peter and his message for later generations of the early church. He does remind the believers that delay in the Lord’s coming does not disprove the predictions (2 Pet. 3:8-9). Be that as it may, we regard the message as inspired scripture and true to the preaching of Peter himself.

2 Peter begins with “a summary of Peter's teaching...stressing both God's grace and the need for moral effort if Christians are to attain final salvation” (1:3-11, R .J. Bauckham, HarperCollins Study Bible). “His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). In addition to “everything needed,” he has given us “his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature“ (v. 4). “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love" (vv. 5-7). Such action on the part of the believers will “keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 8). Therefore, they are called “to confirm your call and election,” for apparently, the possibility of stumbling remains (v. 10). But following Peter’s advice path leads to "entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (v. 11) (This paragraph is repeated with adaptation and supplement from an E-mail sent November 28, 2003, for November 29-December 1, 2003).

Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11.1-10; Lk 19.28-40; Jn 12.12-19)

21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 "Tell the daughter of Zion,

Look, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!"

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" 11 The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:1-11, NRSV)

NOTE: The accounts of Jesus Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem are presented in a four-column table in a separate file, Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.

John’s account omits Jesus’ preparations by sending two disciples ahead to get the “colt that has never been ridden” (Mk. 11:2; Lk. 19:30; cf. Mt. 21:2), with instructions for answering anyone who questions their action (Mt. 21:3; Mk. 11:3; Lk. 19:31). Matthew and John point out the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, which Matthew apparently construes to refer to two animals. In Zechariah “Donkey [and] colt, in the style of Hebrew parallelism” [refers to] a single animal (as in Gen. 49:11; Jn. 12:14-15)” (Gregory Mobley, NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Zech. 9:9).

The three Synoptic Gospels report the acclamation of the crowds based on Psalm 118:25-26 in which the key word, “hosanna” (Hōsanna, Mt. 21:9; Mk. 11:9; Hebrew hôshî‘āh nāh, Aramaic hôsha nā’), means “Help,” “Save,” or “Rescue, O LORD” and as such is an exclamation of prayer. But this appeal “became a liturgical formula; as a part of the Hallel (Pss. 113-18 Hebr. it was familiar to everyone in Israel” (A Greek English Lexicon . . . BAGD, 1979, under Hōsanna). The Hallel is used in Judaism: “The prayer liturgy is augmented with additional prayers, including the Hallel, a collection of blessings and psalms, recited on Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of each lunar month) and on the pilgrimage festivals” (Jewish Festivals in Israel, on the Internet at http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/People/Jewish+Festivals+in+Israel.htm, accessed November 25, 2005). While the aspect of petitioning prayer seems appropriate in the acclamation of Jesus, it surely anticipates victory. (The crowds, however, did not anticipate the form of Jesus’ victory, nor, apparently did the disciples.)

The following comments on the passage in Luke (Lk. 19:28-40) which is parallel to today’s reading from Matthew are repeated here from an E-mail message sent for Friday, November 26, 2004 (Fri. of the week of the Sunday closest to Nov. 23, Proper 29, Year 2).

Luke presents the events of Palm Sunday, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (Lk. 19:28-40). We usually associate Palm Sunday with Easter in the spring, but the praise of the crowd,

            Blessed is the king

               who comes in the name of the Lord!

            Peace in heaven,

               and glory in the highest heaven!

reminds of another coming (Advent), and the season that begins this Sunday. It also reminds us of the angels’ song on the night of the Savior’s birth:

            Glory to God in the highest heaven,

                And on earth peace among those whom he favors!

In this season that honors the Prince of Peace, let us pray for the peace of one another, and peace for our world.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com