Amos 5
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
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.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!"
Our vacations have centered on water this year. Boston Harbor, Galveston Bay, and the Pedernales River. The coastal waters we saw were calm, and the river was not flowing because of the drought impacting most of Texas. Yet most of my life has been spent near water, the bay system in Texas and rivers, like the Guadalupe, Pedernales, or San Jacinto, and when they get churned up in a flood, hurricane, or even in normal seasons, water can be treacherous. Water can generate power and its strength can do good or do harm. Riptides in bay systems can pull you out without much notice, and undercurrents and strong flowing water can cause you to flail and fight with little chance of success.
God uses the water in verse 24 as a comparison known as a simile. Justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream. Justice for what?
God points to the godless as those who celebrate and sing praises, but are not faithful. Luther notes that the "wicked" are those who believe their offerings are sufficient, relying on works.
In another metaphor on water, Christ tells us this in John 7:
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Christ, and the Holy Spirit, are our living waters, flowing through us to produce faith and are the only way our "offerings" can be sufficient.
Water can do harm, and water can do good. In two different passages, we see water take down the wicked, and we see it quench the spiritual thirst in man.
We pray for that living water, and we pray, as men of God, that the water flows through us with our families and neighbors, and our community.
No comments:
Post a Comment