“Why would you have the day of the L ord? It is darkness, and not light. More than any other prophet, Amos describes this coming day of judgment in terms of darkness. Because of all this, the Lord will exile his people ( Amos 5:27 7:17) and will bring upon them the “day of the Lord,” a day of climactic judgment.
Yet, lazily indulging in God’s gift of prosperity, their worship of God had turned hollow ( 5:21–23 compare 4:4–5) and heartfelt concern for one another had withered ( 2:6–7). God had redeemed Israel in mercy from Egypt ( 2:10 3:1), and the Israelites were now to act in mercy toward one another accordingly. Yet as was so often the case down through Israel’s history, they failed to love one another as they had been called to do ( Amos 3:10 5:7, 12 8:4). In Israel and Judah during the eighth century b.c., at the time of Amos’s prophecy, the people of God were prospering materially. God had called Abraham in order that his descendants, the children of Israel, might exercise precisely such mercy and justice, so that they would be a light to the nations of the world ( Gen.
During such times of prosperity, God’s people are called to embody his character, gladly extending mercy, compassion, and generosity to those in need. Yet in his great kindness, or as a hint of the prosperity to come in the new earth, or to test his people, or for other reasons, God often allows human beings to flourish in terms of material prosperity. When sin entered the world, the ground was cursed so that only through toil and hardship would mankind’s work prove fruitful ( Gen. To prosperous nations around the world today, and particularly prosperous Christians in those nations, the prophecy of Amos is a clear call for active engagement with the poor and afflicted, especially among God’s people. The key idea in Amos is that God is just and impartial and will judge not only the nations but also his own people for their life of ease and apathy amid human suffering. The message of Amos lands on the global church today with as much force and necessity as it landed on the people of God 2,700 years ago.
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