Amos 5:18-27

The Dark Day of the Lord

18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the day of the Lord?

It is darkness, not light;

19 as if someone fled from a lion,

and was met by a bear;

or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a snake.

20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,

and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals

I will not look upon.

23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;

I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

24 But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; 27 therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. (Amos 5:18-27, NRSV)

Amos preaches that "the day of the LORD," when "Israelites expected to be vindicated against their enemies" R. L. Hicks & W. Brueggemann, NOAB, 2^nd ed.), is not something to desire: "It is darkness, not light;/as if someone fled from a lion,/and was met by a bear;/or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,/and was bitten by a snake" (Amos 5:18-19). The passage follows for which Amos is best known: "I hate, I despise your festivals,/and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies...Take away from me the noise of your songs;/I will not listen to the melody of your harps./But let justice roll down like waters,/and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (vv. 21-24). (Comments are repeated here from an E-mail sent December 5, 2003 for the weekend.)

Jude 17-25

A Reminder of the Apostles’ End-time Predictions

17 But you, beloved, must remember the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 for they said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts." 19 It is these worldly people, devoid of the Spirit, who are causing divisions. 20 But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; 21 keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some who are wavering; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies.

Benediction

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 17-25, NRSV)

The Epistle reading for Saturday concludes the short book of Jude with exhortations to "remember the predictions of the apostles" (v. 17), "build yourselves up on your most holy faith" (v. 20), "keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on some who are wavering; save others..." (vv. 21-23). For Sunday, Paul comforts believers with a reminder that "it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you" (2 Thess. 1:6), further discussion of judgment, but a prayer "that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith" (v. 11). For Monday the Epistle readings turn to Revelation and will continue there for a while. (Comments are repeated here from an E-mail sent December 5, 2003 for the weekend.)

Matthew 22:15-22

On Paying Taxes to the Emperor (Mk 12.13-17; Lk 20.20-26)

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:15-22, NRSV)

Jesus responds to questions from the Pharisees about paying taxes to the emperor (Mt. 22:15-22; cf. Mk. 12:13-17 and Lk. 20:20-26, where the details are essentially the same) and from the Sadducees about the resurrection (vv. 23-33). Matthew sees the former as motivated by "malice" (v. 18). "If Jesus approved paying taxes he would offend the nationalistic parties; if he disapproved payment he could be reported as disloyal to the empire" (E.E. Tilden & B.M. Metzger NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Mt. 22:17). A former student of mine, now Dr. Sue Scott, passed on an interesting perspective on this incident. When Jesus asked for a coin and his opponents produced one which bore the emperor’s “head” and “title,” they proved to be breaking the commandment about “graven images”:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:4, NRSV)

J. Andrew Overman comments on the question, “Whose head?” “Only coins from the imperial mint, probably silver denarii, had images and inscriptions honoring the emperor as divine” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Mt. 22:20). The Rabbis would have considered the image as such as breaking this commandment. By that standard, the Pharisees in effect condemned themselves. (Comments are repeated here with supplement and adaptation from an E-mail sent December 5, 2003 for the weekend.)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com