Wednesday, July 4

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Wednesday

“Dead Religion Destroyed”

We’ve been walking through the book of Amos this week and have so far looked at the person of Amos, and the message of Amos. Over the next three days we’ll explore the three main offshoots of Amos’ theme, “God Hates Dead Religion.” Those themes are dead religion pictured, dead religion destroyed, and true religion restored. Today we’ll look at dead religion pictured. 

As we discussed yesterday the entire book of Amos is more or less a portrait of dead religion. Amos paints his portrait of dead religion with three primary colors. The first color in the portrait of dead religion is economic injustice, the second color is forgetfulness of relationship with YHWH, and the third color is the worship of empty rituals. Let’s take a quick look at each of the “colors.” 

Economic Injustice:

We looked at this first color a little bit yesterday but we’ll expand on it some more today. The biggest marker of the dead religion of the Israelite’s was their economic injustice. The Israelite’s had become rich at the expense of the poor among them, and had even begun to sell their fellow Israelite’s as slaves to turn a profit. Needless to say, God was upset. In Amos 5 YHWH declares that, 

¹¹ You trample on the poor
    and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
    you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.
¹² For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.

All right, so the Israelite’s were being judged for the great economic injustice in their lives, what’s that got to do with us today though? Well Amos message was spoken to a community that was overflowing in financial blessing. It was a message spoken to a people who had prospered while others were starving. It was a message spoken to a people who had become comfortable in their wealth, who had built mansions for themselves while others slept on the streets. Does any of that sound a little closer to home than a nation from thousands of years ago? Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying that everyone who reads this is as guilty of Israel’s economic injustice just for owning a home in the Tri-Cities area. What I am saying though is that given our socio-economic situation here in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, when we come to a book of the Bible that condemns those who “trample on the poor,” and have “built mansions,” we should probably be paying close attention. 

Relationship Forgotten:

The next color that Amos paints his picture of dead religion with is the color of relationship forgotten. Amos condemns the Israelite’s throughout the book for their forgetfulness of their relationship with YHWH. As far as we can tell what had happened was something like this. The Israelite’s had drifted away from YHWH for a number of reasons. At the center of the drift though was the belief that because the Israelite’s were YHWH’s people YHWH would love, protect, and provide for them regardless of their fidelity to a relationship with YHWH. It seems that during the time of Amos the Jews had become complacent in their calling as the “chosen people” of God. Unfortunately what they’d forgotten was that being God’s chosen people entailed not only blessing, but responsibility. 

Again, the question that remains is, what’s this got to do with us today? There are millions of self-professed “Christians” around our country who have no relationship with God to speak of, yet have spent their entire lives believing that God loves them because they were raised in a Christian home, got baptized as a child, and show up at Church most Sundays. Perhaps you’re one of them. If you are then this morning you need to hear what the Israelite’s of Amos’ day needed to hear, there is no relationship with God apart from a joyful obedience to His commandments and a faithful submission to His authority over your life. Dead religion damns, but Jesus saves. 

Worship of Empty Rituals:

The final color that  Amos paints his portrait of dead religion with is the worship of empty rituals. What’s so shocking about the Israelite’s during the time of Amos is that this group of people who were oppressing the poor, sinning against YHWH habitually, and forgetting their relationship with Him daily, continued to go through the motions of worship through religious rituals. Well, believe it or not God doesn’t like that very much. Indeed He saves His strongest words in Amos to condemn those who love the rituals of religion, but don’t love Him. In Amos 5:21-23 He declares, 

²¹ “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
    I cannot stand your assemblies.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.

You’re probably sensing a theme here, but once again I don’t think that this picture Amos paints of dead religion is that far removed from what so much of American Christianity looks like today. After all, is there a better image to represent a people that love religious activities more than they love God than the fact that every Church across the country, including this one experiences its two biggest worship services on Christmas and Easter? The reason we pack services out on Christmas and Easter is largely because we, like the Israelite’s to whom Amos is prophesying are a nation full of people who love religious rituals but don’t love God. Be sure to check back in tomorrow as we see dead religion destroyed in the book of Amos. 

Grant Diamond