Proper 23 • Amos 5:6–7, 10–15 • October 14, 2012 By Reed Lessing
Early in his rule Jeroboam ben Joash (793–753 BC) changed the
political map of Israel. Through military conquests the
territories east of the Jordan were recovered and annexed (Am
6:13), the northern border was extended to Lebo-Hamath, and the
southern border was enlarged all the way to the Dead Sea (2 Kgs
14:25). The Northern Kingdom had reached the summit of its
material power, the height of its economic prosperity, and the
pinnacle of its territorial expansion. Though everything looked
great on the outside, Amos saw that the inside was rotten to the
core. And the prophet could smell it from as far away as his
home town of Tekoa. Comments on the Text The sermon’s focus is
upon Amos 5:10–15, thus the comments only involve these verses.
Verse 10: The hymn of Amos 5:8–9 extols Yahweh as the God who
changes seasons, days and nights, and sea and water. He also
turns strongholds into rubble. This is bracketed by Amos’
description of people who resis