Daily Devotion – November 2, 2020 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Amos 5:18-24
5:18 Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light;
5:19 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.
5:20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
5:21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
5:22 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.
5:23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
When you read these verses, whom do you hear speaking?
Since the prophet (Amos) is usually the voice of the Lord, we can assume these words are coming from the Lord’s mouth. And they are not pretty words. They are words of doom and danger.
First come the images of darkness, then danger from unpredictable wild animals, and then darkness again.
Next come the words of hate, words that the Lord has no regard for what his chosen people offer up to him. Their festivals, prayers, solemn assemblies, offerings, and songs are ignored by God. Those things were meant to honor God, or appease God, or plea to God, and they are floating upward into a vacuum. God is not there.
Last come the things God says he will accept: plentiful justice and righteousness. Nothing else.
What can that mean for us?
If we come from backgrounds of pious practices, we might not be pleased by these words. Surely prayers and hymns to God make God happy. Surely honoring God’s image and name lets God know we respect the Almighty. But what does Amos say God wants? Justice rolling like water, righteousness (right relationships) like an ever-rolling stream – never-ending. Not just one good deed but a whole ecosystem of acts, a system where everyone can expect good deeds all the time.
Tend to your relationships. Make them right. Give up something for them. Make sure the other guy gets what he needs. Make sure your sister can live her life fruitfully.
Putting God in a box and getting all the trappings right yields…nothing but emptiness, loneliness.
Putting our relationships to our neighbor right makes God smile upon us. And that, my friends, is what everyone wants.
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for teaching us what is important to you – not parades or ceremonies or even the most beautiful music in the world, alone. What you regard is our paying attention to the needs of others in our very circles. When we make life better and fairer for someone else, we become co-creators with you of a trustworthy world. That will make everyone smile. Amen.
