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)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from November 27, 2005 (the First Sunday of Advent, Year Two). Some comments are repeated from an E-mail sent November 28, 2003, for November 29-December 1, 2003.

Today’s Old Testament reading is the first of twelve from the Book of Amos that essentially cover the entire book.

At the outset, we are told that “These are the words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah (785-733 B.C.) and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel (788-747 B.C.), two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1). According to Gregory Mobley, “The earthquake, mentioned again in Zech. 14:5, cannot be precisely dated” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Amos 1:1; Mobley gives the dates for the reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam). On the basis of the information in this verse, Gene M. Tucker says the work of Amos “can be dated ca. 750 B.C.,” and adds, “Thus he is the earliest of the prophets whose words have been handed down in writing” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1985, s.v. Amos, the Book of).

Ehud Ben Zvi says “The superscription introduces the book and characterizes it as a prophetic book,” apparently by anticipating the “words of Amos” (divrê ‘āmôs) as prophetic words (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Amos 1:1). These “words” are words “which he saw” (1:1), though visions as such are only presented in the last three chapters. The phrase, “this is what the Lord GOD showed me,” introduces several visions (7:1, 4, 7; 8:1); compare “I saw the LORD standing beside the altar” (9:1). Earlier messages are presented as oracles of judgment. “Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel” (3:1). “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan” (4:1). “Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel” (v. 5).

Amos himself is not presented as a prophet (nāvî’) but as a “shepherd,” or “sheepbreeder” (cf. William L. Holladay, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 1971, s.v. dq2no, nōqēd, which occurs only here in the “undisputed instances”). Later Amos confesses, “I am no prophet (nāvî’), nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees” (7:14). The term “herdsman” here is another hapax legomenon, that is, it occurs only once (Holladay, s.v. rq2OB, bôqēr). Yet he confesses to a prophetic calling, for “the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’ ” (7:15). Though his ministry takes place in the northern kingdom of Israel, addressed, for example, to Samaria (4:1), Bethel (4:4), the “house of Israel” (5:1), with a confrontation of “Amaziah, the priest of Bethel” (7:10, cf. vv. 10-17), and a prophecy of the death of Jeroboam II of Israel (7:11), we are told that he is from Tekoa, “a town in Judah, ca. 16 km (10 mi.) south of Jerusalem” (Mobley, on 1:1). The book of Amos dated

After these introductions, Amos sets the tone for his indictments to follow by referring to the LORD as a roaring lion. “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” (v. 2). Ben Zvi calls this a “motto”: “The book is unique,” he says, “in opening with a motto, a short, general thematic statement that is meant to (re)focus how the book should be understood.” After characterizing “its general imagery” as following “that of many theophanic reports,” he adds that “it is common in these reports to depict a manifestation of the deity’s power as leading to an upheaval in the natural world. . . . But one detail in the text is of utmost importance. The lion roars from Zion. The Jerusalem-centric message is abundantly clear, and the book presents itself as a work that conveys the message of that roaring lion from Zion, namely Jerusalem” (op. cit., on v. 2).

Although we have been told that the message of Amos is directed to Israel, that is, the northern kingdom (v. 1), Ben Zvi sees a broader target. In reference to verse 2, he adds,

Carmel is a fertile, mountainous area in the Northern Kingdom (southeast of modern Haifa), but the Heb word ‘carmel’ refers also to farmland (cf. Isa. 32:15) or an orchard (and particularly to a vineyard). The general character of the pastures of the shepherd supports and plays on the broader meaning. The geographical reference is not meant to restrict the horizon of the text to particular region of the Northern Kingdom. (Ibid.)

Amos begins with a series of prophetic condemnations of Israel's neighbors--Syria (vv. 3-5), Philistia (vv. 6-8), Phoenicia (vv. 9-10), Edom (vv. 11-12), Ammon (vv. 13-15), Moab (2:1-3), Judah (vv. 4-5)--circling, as it were, to hone in on Israel (vv. 6-8). Each indictment begins with the formula, “For three transgressions of _______, / and for four I will not revoke the punishment.” According to Gene M. Tucker, revised by J. Andrew Dearman, this phrase, “a refrain in the series of announcements . . . probably means an indefinite but finally decisive number of violations.” They add that “the meaning of the Hebrew phrase translated I will not revoke the punishment, lit. ‘I will not cause it to return,’ is uncertain, but it likely refers to the Lord’s promise not to stop the effects of the transgressions” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Amos 1:3).

Syria, addressed as “Damascus,” the capital (1:3b), has “threshed Gilead / with threshing sledges of iron” (v. 3d, e), and will be repaid in kind (vv. 4-5). Gaza, one of the Philistine cities, has “carried into exile entire communities, / to hand them over to Edom” (v. 6d, e), and will be punished with fire (v. 7). Gaza’s sister cities, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron are also included (v. 8). Phoenicia, addressed as “Tyre” (v. 9b). has “delivered entire communities over to Edom, / and did not remember the covenant of kinship” (v. 9d, e). According to Tucker and Dearman, “Since covenant of kinship lit. ‘covenant of brothers,’ does not occur elsewhere in the OT, its meaning is uncertain. It probably refers to a political treaty that Tyre violated” (Ibid., on v. 9). But Mobley refers to Joel 3:4-8, which he calls “an oracle against Phoenicia and Philistia,” and to 1 Kings 5:12; 9:13 (op. cit., on vv. 9-10). Edom is indicted “because he pursued his brother with the sword / and cast off all pity; / he maintained his anger perpetually, / and kept his wrath forever” (v. 11b, d, e, f, g). In reference to this indictment, Mobley notes that Edom “was a perennial rival of neighboring Judah, especially in the exilic and postexilic era” and adds that “the term his brother, i.e., Judah (Mal. 1:2), draws on the ancient tradition of kinship between Jacob and Esau . . . and also connotes a treaty relationship” (on vv. 11-12).

The indictment of the Ammonites (vv. 11-13) describes vicious cruelty, saying that they have "ripped open pregnant women in Gilead in order to enlarge their territory" (v. 13d, e), and the indictment of Moab seems directed at the king, “because he burned to lime / the bones of the king of Edom (2:1c, d). Judah, the home of the prophet, is not spared, but the indictment sounds familiar, “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” (v. 4d, e, f, g).

However, in some sense, all of this has been an extended introduction to the indictments of Israel, the northern kingdom. According to Mobley, “Amos’s ethical tour finally reaches home, where it surely shocked its audience” (on vv. 6-16). Tomorrow’s reading begins at this point, but overlaps with today’s. Israel is condemned because 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" (Tucker and Dearman, on vv. 6-8). 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.

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)

On December 11, 2006 (Monday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), comments were combined with some adaptation from Monday, December 6, 2004 (Monday of the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), from November 27, 2005 (the first Sunday of Advent, Year Two), and from May 16, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated here.

As noted last Saturday, Paul addresses the concern of some Thessalonian believers about the delay of the Lord’s coming. In today’s reading he gets rather specific. “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2), he says, meaning that the Lord will return at an unknown or unexpected time. The phrase, “the day of the Lord,” was “well established in Israelite tradition. . . . a time of joy for some and terror for others” (Philip F. Esler, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 1210 on 1 Thess. 5:2):

Thus Isaiah had written that on ‘that day’ a great trumpet would sound and the scattered ones in Assyria and Egypt would come to worship the Lord on Jerusalem’s holy mountain (Isa. 27:13). Zephaniah, on the other hand, had presented a bleaker picture: a day that would be a day of wrath, of anguish and torment, of destruction and devastation, when the Lord would bring dire distress upon the people (Zeph. 1:14-18). Paul must have imparted some of this material to his ex-idolatrous converts, no doubt painting a happy future for them and an unhappy one for sinful out-groups.

“When they say, ‘There is peace and security’,” says Paul, “then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, 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 Isaiah, and the persecutions anticipated in Jesus’ eschatological speech, below), there is hope and promise for God's faithful people. The Thessalonian believers are to be watchful, and “not fall asleep as others do, but . . . keep awake and be sober” (v. 6), asleep, of course, a spiritual sense. They are to be alert and expectant, ready for the coming of the Lord. They are to “put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation” (v. 8; cf. Eph. 6:16-17),. God’s plan for us is “not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him” (1 Thess. 5:9, 10). 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

Today’s reading from Luke is found in column 3 of the table which follows below.

On December 9, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), the following comments were combined with revision and supplement from December 4, 2004 (Saturday of the week of the First Sunday of Advent, Year One), from June 17, 2005 (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One), and from November 27, 2005 (the First Sunday of Advent, Year Two). Some comments are repeated from August 20, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One), when the Gospel reading was Mark 13:1-13, the passage in the center column of the table above. These combined comments were repeated on June 22, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year One) and are repeated again here. For recent comments on Matthew’s version, see the Archive for July 13, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two). For recent comments on Mark’s version, see the Archive for August 25, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 17, Year One).

In Daily Office Lectionary Year One, Luke’s version of Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse is the reading of three days, Friday in the week of the First Sunday of Advent, and Monday and Tuesday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent. The same series is used again in Year One on Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15 (e.g. December 9, 11, 12, 2007), and Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22 (e.g. June 22, 23, 25, 2007). However, only the readings of the first day in these series is used in the current season. The following table of references for passages in Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse helps put today’s reading in its larger context. The references for Luke for today are put in bold print (Lk. 21:5-6, 7-11, and 12-19), and they represent about a third of the total discourse. It is noteworthy that most of Luke’s material parallel to Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and 25 is found in Luke chapter 21, but some is found in chapters 17 and 19.

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).

When the beauty of the temple is called to Jesus’ attention (Lk. 21:5), he predicts its destruction (v. 6; cf. Mk. 13:4; Mt. 24:3). He is asked, “When will this be?” (Lk. 21:7; Mk. 13:4; Mt. 24:3), and, according to Matthew, “What will be the sign of your coming (parousia) and of the close of the age?” He responds with several comments on signs of the end-times. “Beware that you are not led astray,” he says, because there will be those who say “I am he! [i.e. the Messiah]” and “The time is near” (Lk. 21:8; cf. Mk. 13:6; Mt. 24:5). He also refers to “wars and tumults” (Lk. 21:9) or “wars and rumors of wars” (Mk. 13:7; Mt. 24:6), conflicts between nations (Lk. 21:10 and parallels), earthquakes, famines, pestilences and terrors (v. 11 and parallels). Jesus suggests that one should not immediately respond to such signs. By the time Luke recorded these sayings, there had perhaps already been a few instances of such claims. According to Luke, Jesus said “Do not go after them” (v. 8). Also, “wars and insurrections” do not necessarily mean that the end will “follow immediately” (v. 9). Luke refers to “insurrections” (akatastasias) where Mark refers to “rumors of wars” (akoas polemōn). Again, it’s possible that Luke chose a word which reflects his knowledge of the Jewish insurrection. (I would see that as a recognition, and perhaps a clarification, of Jesus’ prediction.) Even such wars as when “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (v. 10) or “great earthquakes . . . famines and plagues” do not necessarily signify the end.

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.

Jesus provides reassurance for the disciples, “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to understand or contradict” (v. 15). “You will be delivered up . . . and some of you they will put to death; you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish” (vv. 16-18). Many of these things have happened repeatedly, but our Christian hope remains. When and how the “end” will come (Mk. 13:13; Mt. 24:13) is something God knows. The three accounts of Jesus’ predictions that the disciples would face persecutions when called before synagogues or brought to trial “before governors and kings” (Mt. 24:9-14; Mk. 13:9-13; Lk. 21:12-19) have a parallel in Luke 12:1-11and Matthew 10:17-25. In one version the disciples are not to “be anxious”about what to say (Mk. 13:11; Mt. 10:19; Lk. 12:11), but in today’s reading Luke says they should not “meditate beforehand how to answer” (Lk. 21:14). Again, Luke’s term (promeletān) may reflect his experience (or Paul’s). As we know from early church history, the persecutions anticipated by Jesus were sometimes real and severe. But the promise for the disciples is that the Holy Spirit will be with them (Mt. 10:20; Mk. 13:11; Lk. 12:12), or as Luke puts it in today’s reading: “I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict” (Lk. 21:15). We are reminded that persecutions may lead to martyrdom (Mt. 10:21; Mk. 13:12; Lk. 21:16), but if it is “for my [Jesus’] name’s sake” (Mt. 10:22a; Mk. 13:13; Lk. 21:17), “not a hair of your head will perish” (Lk. 21:18); “by your endurance you will gain your souls” (v. 19). “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mk. 13:13; Mt. 24:13).

Eric Franklin notes some differences in the three presentations of the Eschatological Discourse.

Luke’s introduction (vv. 5-7 differs substantially from those of Matthew and Mark in that, whereas they have the discourse delivered away from the temple and in some sense over and against it, Luke has Jesus give it in the temple itself as part of his general teaching to the people (v. 38). He has Jesus pay more attention to the destruction of the temple for its own sake and does not see it as the inevitable prelude to the end of the age (v. 7; cf. Mt. 24:3; Mk. 13:4). The historical events have an importance in their own right and are not to be seen purely as signs of his coming (v. 8), for the end is not an immediate event (v. 9). (Eric Franklin, The Oxford Bible Commentary, p. 954, on Lk. 21:1-38)

One should not overemphasize Luke’s perspective to the point that it becomes counter to what Jesus himself said. But many consider that Luke’s Gospel was written after the destruction of the temple. Franklin offers an interesting summary statement:

All three Synoptic Gospels present this extended discourse as the conclusion of Jesus’ ministry and the immediate introduction to the passion narrative. On the one hand, it brings to a climax Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom, the hostility this provokes, and the challenge it makes to the disciples, and, on the other, it acts as the backcloth against which the passion and resurrection of Jesus is to be viewed. It brings all these happenings into relation with the future experiences of the disciples as they face the problems of maintaining faith in the midst of a hostile world. Past and present will together issue in the open revelation of God’s kingdom which the appearance of Jesus as Son of Man in glory will establish. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus have revealed his ultimacy. In the light of this faith, the present of Luke’s readers can be seen as contributing to the final revelation of him and of the Kingdom that he guarantees. (Ibid., pp. 953-954)

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

deanworden@comcast.net