NOTES for Amo 2:6-10

As can be seen, that day of distress of which the prophet speaks as a punishment of God turns out to be something truly terrible, if even the bravest of the brave on that day "flee naked" like the last cowards. Which of the things named by Amos could so frighten the inhabitants of Judah or of the kingdom of Israel? Of course, war or epidemic is always frightening to everyone. But in every age there have been people who preserved courage even in a critical situation, however difficult it was. As can be seen, speaking of brave men turning before our eyes into cowards, the prophet has in mind not simply some terrible dangers threatening these brave men. The situation becomes clearer, however, if we remember that the question of courage and cowardice is a spiritual question, that courage in itself is a spiritual state, the consequence of a quite definite choice made in a concrete situation and of the resolve to follow this choice no matter what.

Of course, if one proceeds from the idea that the disasters and catastrophes falling on the people as a result of violating the commandment given by God are precisely punishments sent by God, the situation still remains only partly understandable: a courageous person is able to accept even punishment steadfastly, all the more if he understands that he has deserved it. But is this so? And does God need to punish a person for sin and apostasy, so to speak, with His own hand? For spiritual life is above all relationships, relationships with God and with neighbors. And what if a person breaks off relationships with God by violating the commandments He gave?

Then, evidently, all the consequences of such a break will fall on him. And in exactly the same way they can fall on a people if the whole people breaks off relationships with God, betraying the union-covenant once made. It is here that courage can truly leave even the most daring: for courage is possible only with normal spiritual life, in the case of full relationships with God. And in a situation where relationships with God are broken or reduced to a minimum, there can be no talk of courage. Then even heroes among heroes can indeed, like the last cowards, run away from a danger that in another spiritual state would not have appeared to them so terrible.

The day of disaster, which the prophet describes as God's punishment, turns out to be something truly terrible if even the bravest of the brave "run away naked" on that day, like the worst cowards. What among the things Amos names could have frightened the inhabitants of Judah or the kingdom of Israel so much?

Of course, war or epidemic is always frightening to everyone. But in every age there have been people who kept their courage even in a critical situation, however difficult it was. In speaking of brave people turning into cowards before everyone's eyes, the prophet plainly has in mind more than some terrible dangers threatening those brave people. The situation becomes clearer, however, if we remember that courage and cowardice are spiritual matters, that courage itself is a spiritual state, the result of a definite choice made in a concrete situation and of the resolve to follow that choice no matter what.

If we start from the idea that the disasters and catastrophes that fall on a people because they have broken the commandment given by God are punishments sent by God, the situation still remains only partly clear: a courageous person is able to accept punishment steadfastly, especially if he understands that he deserved it. But is that how it is? And does God need to punish a person for sin and apostasy, so to speak, with His own hand? Spiritual life is above all relationship, relationship with God and with one's neighbors. What if a person breaks off relationship with God by violating the commandments He has given?

Then all the consequences of such a break will clearly fall on him. And in exactly the same way they can fall on a people, if the whole people breaks off relationship with God by betraying the covenant once made. This is where courage can truly leave even the boldest: it is possible only in a healthy spiritual life, in full relationship with God. And in a situation where relationship with God has been broken off or reduced to a minimum, there is no courage to speak of. Then even heroes among heroes can indeed, like the worst cowards, run from a danger that in another spiritual state would not have seemed so terrible to them at all.

Through the prophet Amos, God addresses the nations that inhabited the Near East around the eighth century BC, and He denounces them for unrighteous behavior, pointing out that punishment inevitably follows sin. The denunciation begins with the pagan nations, but it does not stop with them. God speaks far more about His own people, Judah and Israel, the Southern and Northern Kingdoms. We should note that the main guilt of the pagan nations is not that they do not believe in the true God, but that they violate their own rules. The sin of the people of God is their failure to keep the commandments of Moses, their lack of love for God and neighbor.

Historians of religion have often compared the prophets with reformers and even with revolutionaries. Sometimes, when reading passages like today's, it can indeed appear that before us is not the preaching of a man of God, but that of a true rebelling accuser. And yet this is not so. Every social reform and every revolution always begins with the desire to change the old, established order of life: economic, political, or social. And this desire is born from the conviction that a person really is capable of replacing the old, imperfect order with a new one that seems perfect to him, or at least better than the previous one.

But the prophet does not think that the goal of social activity should be some reform or the creation of a better society. He speaks of only one thing - violation of the Torah, the Law, given by God (v. 4). In fact, returning to the norms of life that correspond to the Torah is the only point of his prophetic 'reform program.'

At first glance, such an approach narrows both the reformer's freedom of action and the range of tasks before him. But no prophet ever set as his goal the establishment of social harmony in society. For Amos, following the commandments matters first of all because violating them destroys a person's relationship with God, and this is far from only the private affair of individual people. For if there are many such violators, they begin to hinder those who want and are ready to live a normal, full spiritual life (vv. 11-12) - and then the time of reckoning comes (vv. 13-16).

And the point is not that God takes revenge on someone for something. What matters to Him is not an abstract society or people, but a concrete person, with whom He forms concrete and always entirely unique relationships. Society can either help this or, on the contrary, hinder it. And if it begins to hinder it, then in God's eyes it loses all value, and then catastrophe becomes inevitable.

The day of disaster, which the prophet describes as God's punishment, turns out to be something truly terrible if even the bravest of the brave "run away naked" on that day, like the worst cowards. What among the things Amos names could have frightened the inhabitants of Judah or the kingdom of Israel so much?

Of course, war or epidemic is always frightening to everyone. But in every age there have been people who kept their courage even in a critical situation, however difficult it was. In speaking of brave people turning into cowards before everyone's eyes, the prophet plainly has in mind more than some terrible dangers threatening those brave people. The situation becomes clearer, however, if we remember that courage and cowardice are spiritual matters, that courage itself is a spiritual state, the result of a definite choice made in a concrete situation and of the resolve to follow that choice no matter what.

If we start from the idea that the disasters and catastrophes that fall on a people because they have broken the commandment given by God are punishments sent by God, the situation still remains only partly clear: a courageous person is able to accept punishment steadfastly, especially if he understands that he deserved it. But is that how it is? And does God need to punish a person for sin and apostasy, so to speak, with His own hand? Spiritual life is above all relationship, relationship with God and with one's neighbors. What if a person breaks off relationship with God by violating the commandments He has given?

Then all the consequences of such a break will clearly fall on him. And in exactly the same way they can fall on a people, if the whole people breaks off relationship with God by betraying the covenant once made. This is where courage can truly leave even the boldest: it is possible only in a healthy spiritual life, in full relationship with God. And in a situation where relationship with God has been broken off or reduced to a minimum, there is no courage to speak of. Then even heroes among heroes can indeed, like the worst cowards, run from a danger that in another spiritual state would not have seemed so terrible to them at all.

Through the prophet Amos, God addresses the nations that inhabited the Near East around the eighth century BC, and He denounces them for unrighteous behavior, pointing out that punishment inevitably follows sin. The denunciation begins with the pagan nations, but it does not stop with them. God speaks far more about His own people, Judah and Israel, the Southern and Northern Kingdoms. We should note that the main guilt of the pagan nations is not that they do not believe in the true God, but that they violate their own rules. The sin of the people of God is their failure to keep the commandments of Moses, their lack of love for God and neighbor.

Historians of religion have often compared the prophets with reformers and even with revolutionaries. Sometimes, when reading passages like today's, it can indeed appear that before us is not the preaching of a man of God, but that of a true rebelling accuser. And yet this is not so. Every social reform and every revolution always begins with the desire to change the old, established order of life: economic, political, or social. And this desire is born from the conviction that a person really is capable of replacing the old, imperfect order with a new one that seems perfect to him, or at least better than the previous one.

But the prophet does not think that the goal of social activity should be some reform or the creation of a better society. He speaks of only one thing - violation of the Torah, the Law, given by God (v. 4). In fact, returning to the norms of life that correspond to the Torah is the only point of his prophetic 'reform program.'

At first glance, such an approach narrows both the reformer's freedom of action and the range of tasks before him. But no prophet ever set as his goal the establishment of social harmony in society. For Amos, following the commandments matters first of all because violating them destroys a person's relationship with God, and this is far from only the private affair of individual people. For if there are many such violators, they begin to hinder those who want and are ready to live a normal, full spiritual life (vv. 11-12) - and then the time of reckoning comes (vv. 13-16).

And the point is not that God takes revenge on someone for something. What matters to Him is not an abstract society or people, but a concrete person, with whom He forms concrete and always entirely unique relationships. Society can either help this or, on the contrary, hinder it. And if it begins to hinder it, then in God's eyes it loses all value, and then catastrophe becomes inevitable.