Adult Teaching Resources July 10, 2016

Transcription

1 Adult Teching Resources July 10, 2016 Getting On in Glti: Pul s Angriest Letter (My 29-July 3) Living Like You Men It Gltins 6:1-16 Nothing Minor About These Prophets (July 10-31) The Lening Tower of Isrel Amos 7:7-17 Full Pockets nd Empty Herts Amos 8:1-12 A Seriously Broken Home Hose 1:1-10 A Love Tht Won t Let Go Hose 11: Subscribe to Nurturing Fith to ccess the core Bible content for this lesson. Find links nd videos relted to this lesson. 1 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

2 The Lening Tower of Isrel Amos 7:7-17 FIT Teching Guide by Rick Jordn This dult teching outline is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Before the Lesson: Bring plumb line, level, lser level, etc. for the informtion session. Prepre udio/visul equipment to show the YouTube video bout Oscr Romero for the informtion session. Fellowship Question Use one of the following to brek the ice, to begin discussion, nd led into the study: One tool I own tht could be used in construction project is Hve you hd demolition done in your home? If so, ws it for resons of ppernce, prcticl use, or need to replce becuse of dmge? Informtion [Hold up plumb line or level.] Who cn tell me wht this is? Why would you use it? In tody s pssge, Amos sees God holding something like this in God s hnd. It ws metphor of God s role s the generl contrctor for the kingdom of Isrel. [Hve clss member red Amos 7:7-9.] God is tking look over Isrel nd doesn t like the wy things look. Things were not the wy they should be in Isrel. The lst time I used plumb line ws to put up wll pper. I put blue chlk on the string, let the plumb line settle, held the string t both ends, then popped the string onto the sheetrock. Now, there is perfectly stright line to put the edge of the wll pper ginst. If I did not use the plumb line, wht re the odds tht I would put the wll pper up perfectly stright? If I just used my best judgement or decided I would wing it, the pper would undoubtedly be skew. Frnkly, if it were just little skew, I might let it be. My wife, however, is of different opinion. It needs to be perfectly stright or it comes down. God is mesuring something less tngible nd more importnt thn wll pper. Our printed lesson notes tht the plumb line ws presumbly n indiction tht God 2 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

3 Informtion continued hd built Isrel true to plumb from the beginning, clling the people into clerly defined covennt designed to keep them stright. Now, God hd returned with plumb line to test whether they hd remined true. Isrel ws out of plumb. It ws distorted nd ws not ccording to blueprint. The blueprint ws God s covennt with God s people. It cme first through Abrhm. [Hve clss member red Genesis 12:1-3.] The covennt ws not merely tht there would be new people group. Note tht God wnted to bless ll people through the Hebrew people. Moses brought the Hebrew people out of slvery in Egypt. In the wilderness, they were offered renewed covennt. This next pssge, clled the Shem, ws repeted by Jews twice dy. [Hve clss member red Deuteronomy 6:4-9.] There ws one God nd the Jews were the people of God. But things went wry. God sent Amos to point out how skew the wlls of this people hd become. Prt of the imblnce of the people ws due to economic imblnce. The rich were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer, nd the rich were busing the poor. Prt of the imblnce ws due to the buse of women. Prt of the imblnce ws the ttempt to worship nd plese other gods. [Hve clss member red Amos 2:6-8.] So God wrns - renovtion is coming. The wrning is coming through n unusul person. Amos is not public speker or religious professionl, like priest. Amos is frmer tht God clled wy from his sheep nd fields to spek to the ntion. We give him title tht he rejected prophet. But if person wlks like prophet nd tlks like prophet, well When we use the word prophet or prophecy, wht do we men? (someone who tells the future; someone who predicts wht will hppen, etc.) A prophet s job ws not to foretell the future. In fct, this ws strictly forbidden. No one shll be found mong you who prctices divintion or fortune telling (Deut. 18:9-12) Insted, the prophet s role in serving s the spokesperson to the people nd on behlf of God s desires ws to spek the truth to power. Thus, prophets often told wht others did not wnt to her, tht ll should know of God s expecttions for n equitble society, where the poor, widows, nd orphns stood on equl footing with the rich nd influentil While they were not predicting the future, they were ttempting to chnge the future. Tht is, they were clling on ll to cese selfishness, repent from sinfulness, nd reclim the time-tested covennt reltionship with Yhweh of justice nd righteousness. (Dvid Jordn. Living with Fith. Chrlotte: Pure Fith p. 75.) Amos hd been preching tht the people must chnge. But his messge ws rejected. God tkes mesurement nd this wll is going to fll. 3 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

4 Informtion continued But things were complicted. Although Amos ws getting his messge from God, the religious leders discredited him nd even suggested tht he ws thret to their wy of life which, of course, he ws. [Hve clss member red Amos 7:10-13.] Amos hs prophesied ginst the king ( I will rise, sword in hnd, ginst the house of Jerobom, verse 9). To Amos this is n nnouncement of divine judgement, but to Amzih it is sedition. The religious rdicl thretens the estblished order, which is why he is often ccused of politicl mischief-mking nd finds the stte nd estblished religion in legue ginst him. (Henry McKeting. Amos, Hose, Mich: The Cmbridge Bible Commentry of the New English Bible. Cmbridge p. 57.) Amzih sid something tht revels just how completely he hd identified religious fith with estblishment power. It ought to send chill up the spine of every religious leder who ever considered sucking up to power: Don t prophesy nymore t Bethel, becuse this is the king s snctury nd the temple of the kingdom (7:13). With those words the religious justifiction of politicl empire is complete, nd fith is reduced to ptriotic cheer-leding. (Dn Clendenin. The religion nd the stte re united, nd they re lso ginst Amos. Wht re some problems when the institutes of religion nd government merge? Erly Americns of the Bptist persusion were frequently persecuted becuse they refused to join or support the officil church of the stte. The seprtion of church nd stte, or the wll of seprtion tlked bout by colonil Bptist Roger Willims, Americn leder Thoms Jefferson nd the U.S. Supreme Court, is simply shorthnd for expressing deeper truth: religious liberty is best protected when church nd stte remin institutionlly seprted nd neither tries to perform or interfere with the essentil mission nd work of the other The seprtion of church nd stte does not require bnishment of religion from public life. In fct, colonil Bptist leders John Lelnd nd Isc Bckus, for ll of their insistence upon the principle of seprtion, were thoroughly involved in public policy debtes nd ttempts to influence legisltion in their dy Seprting the institutions of church nd stte protects both. History teches nd contemporry geo-politics revels tht ntions tht bjure helthy seprtion of church nd stte wind up with tepid, ttenuted, mjoritrin religion, t best, or theocrcy, t worst. (My emphsis. From the website of the Bptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty. bjconline.org/mission-history-church-stte-seprtion/) This is not to sy tht seprting religion nd stte will prevent ttcks from one on the other. The Romn Ctholic rchbishop of El Slvdor, Oscr Romero, ws mrtyred for confronting his ntion s leders for mny of the sme resons tht Amos hd for speking truth to those in power. [Summrize the following nd/or show this five minute video. (Stop the video t 5:30.) If the video link does not work, you my find it by serching YouTube with the words, 4 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

5 Informtion continued Monseñor: The Lst Journey of Oscr Romero (Excerpt 2) wtch?v=rcgwfuglohm Or, here is nother YouTube video, found with the words, CAFOD: Oscr Romero: A life for God nd the poor. Be wrned tht this one hs some grphic imgery. (Begin the video t :57 nd stop t 4:51.)] Romero ws n unlikely mrtyr. He hd studied in Rome, distnced himself from leftist rdicls nd their violence, nd erned reputtion s cutious conservtive. The Slvdorn government ws quite hppy with his ordintion s rchbishop in 1977, wheres Mrxist priests who ministered mong the cmpesinos (pesnt frmers) were dismyed. Then he did n bout fce. A few weeks fter his ppointment s rchbishop, Romero s close friend nd Jesuit priest Rutilio Grnde ws slughtered by mchine-gun becuse of his ministry mong the cmpesinos. The murder mrked decisive turning point. When I looked t Rutilio lying there ded, sid Romero, I thought, If they hve killed him for doing wht he did, then I too hve to wlk the sme pth. Romero refused to meet with ny government officils until they did n investigtion. Tht never hppened, nd so in his three yers s rchbishop Romero never ttended ny stte functions. The following week Romero cnceled locl services nd held single Mss in Sn Slvdor to honor Grnde; it ws ttended by 150 priests nd 100,000 people. For the next three yers he spoke forcibly ginst the trocities of the Slvdorn government nd its pr-militry guerills the terror, torture, deth squds, rpe, nd humn rights buses. Every week in his sermons, listened to on the rdio by pesnts ll over the country, Romero detiled the horrors in n understted but explicit mnner. Romero becme the most outspoken critic of the government nd pssionte defender of the dispossessed. His first deth thret cme from none other thn President Arturo Molin, who wrned him tht priestly grments were not bulletproof. In his very lst sermon, on Sundy Mrch 23, Romero explined his Amos-like voction: I hve no mbition of power, nd becuse of tht I freely tell those in power wht is good nd wht is bd, nd I do the sme with ny politicl group it is my duty. The next evening t bout 6:30pm, gunmn shot Romero s he celebrted the Mss t smll chpel in the L Divin Providenci hospitl where he lived. Lter investigtions estblished tht the ssssintion ws contrcted by the government militry. One week lter, 250,000 people ttended Romero s funerl Mss. Thirty yers lter, on the nniversry of his deth (Mrch 24, 2010), Slvdorn president Muricio Funes officilly pologized on behlf of the government for Romero s ssssintion. A modern-dy Amos, tody Romero is honored s one of four 20th-century mrtyrs in Westminster Abbey, London. (Dn Clendenin. [Hve clss member red Amos 7:14-17.] Isrel hd lost her wy. God sent frmer to proclim truth to power. Amos ws wht we would cll ly person. Professionl ministers find it hrd to be both prophetic nd pstorl, 5 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

6 Informtion continued becuse of skill sets, clling, nd in relity becuse one role is rewrded professionlly nd one role is often dngerous professionlly. One minister put it this wy: In my United Methodist denomintion, there is ldder tht clergy re expected to climb, from ssocite pstor of lrge church, to senior minister of smller church, nd finlly to senior pstor of lrge congregtion. To climb tht ldder it will hrdly do to ruffle too mny comfortble fethers. Amos is chief ruffler of fethers. Not to put too fine point on it, sermons from Amos could knock one off the ldder to success We must mke plce for him tody. His uncompromising demnds for justice, his withering unwillingness to llow vcuous worship to cover over our unwillingness to cre for the poor nd needy of the lnd, his continul cll for overt concern for those mong us who re in gret need, his thorough rejection of the comingling of church nd stte, re themes tht never go out of style. Of course, if Amos were Methodist, he would serve different congregtion every Sundy! (John. C. Holbert. Amos-John-Holbert ) We believe in the priesthood of ll believers. Is there lso plce for the prophet-hood of ll believers? How cn ly persons spek nd ct in wys tht professionl ministers cnnot, to mke positive impct on the world? Trnsformtionl Exercise In Mtthew 24, we hve description of group of people who would not hve pssed the plumb line test tht Amos offers. Jesus hs expecttions of his followers, but this crowd did not mesure up. [Hve clss member red Mtthew 25:41-46.] Tht is hevy thought to end our lesson with. But tht is the purpose of prophetic messge. It mkes us evlute our lives by God s plumb line. Are we true to plumb? [Close in pryer something like this: Thnk you, God, for sending us messengers who mke us uncomfortble. They remind us of your mesurements of loving others nd we discover tht we do not mesure up. Cover us with your grce. Give us the will nd the energy to be the people you hve plnned for us to be. Amen.] Comments or Questions for Rick Jordn? You my send comments to the lesson pln uthor t rjordn@ cbfnc.org. Rick is lso vilble to led workshops nd conferences on Christin Eduction, with prticulr emphsis on how best to use the FIT Fith model. 6 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

7 Digging Deeper by Tony Crtlege Digging Deeper is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. Wtch for the shovel icon in the The Bible Lesson, nd then reference tht item in this Digging Deeper resource. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Showdown t the Not OK Corrl Just for fun imgine tht the prophet Amos nd the high priest Amzih confronted ech other like Wild West gunslingers except they were wordslingers: Amzih stood silhouetted in the sunset, witing for his dversry, Amos. Amzih ws Chief Priest, High Sheriff, nd Hed Brtender t the Bethel First Isrelite Temple nd Sloon, s well s being the king s number one mn in town. Life ws good, nd he wnted it to sty tht wy. He ws in chrge of enforcing the lw, nd this Amos ws n outlw, s fr s he could tell. Amos ws preching ginst the wy Amzih led worship in the temple t Bethel. He criticized the mount of wine they were drinking there, nd he thought it ws wrong tht they hd picked up on the Cnnite prctice of cultic prostitution. Not only tht, but Amos hd criticized the King of Isrel himself, nd hd predicted Jerobom II s downfll. So Amzih hd duly reported Amos goings on to the king, nd now he ws witing to do him in. High noon hd come nd gone, but Amos hd not ppered. The silver spurs on Amzih s sndls rubbed pinfully on his heels, but still he wited. The big holster filled with scrolls weighed hevily on his right hip, but still he wited. The sun bore down upon him, but he just djusted his big blck ht, dusted off his bdge, nd wited some more. Finlly, out of the west, Amos cme striding into down with his tll white stetson hloed by the setting sun. He seemed to be unrmed, but Amzih knew he ws dedly just the sme. As Amos pproched, Amzih shifted his weight from one foot to the other, but stood his ground outside the temple doors. Finlly, Amos stopped no more thn ten pces wy. The men stred ech other down through n wkwrd silence before Amos mde his move. Without wrning, the outlw prophet whipped up long bony finger, pointed it stright t Amzih, nd fired off three quick shots: Fire One: Amzih! The Lord showed me plgue of locusts coming to et every bit of grss in Isrel, Amos sid. But I pryed for the Lord to forgive, nd he held bck. Fire Two: Then the Lord showed me shower of fire tht cscded from the hevens nd dried up the ocens nd turned the lnd into cinder, but I pryed for the Lord to forgive, nd he held bck. Amzih felt bit of relief. Amos hd shot twice, nd it ppered tht he hd missed both times. But then cme the third shot. Fire Three: Quick s flsh, Amos reched into his robe nd pulled out smll pointed object tied to string. Tht ws not ll, Amzih! I sw the Lord himself stnding beside 7 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

8 Digging Deeper continued wll, holding plumb line to it, nd he sid Behold, I m setting plumb line in the midst of my people Isrel, nd they don t mesure up! This wll cn never be mde stright! I m not holding bck nymore, but ll the ltrs nd sncturies in Isrel will be rzed to the ground, nd I will rise ginst King Jerobom with the sword! Amzih felt the jolt of tht fierce volley rttling ginst his bones, but he shook it off nd drew his own wepon scroll with the king s commnd written on it. He pointed the scroll t Amos, let it unroll in the breeze, nd shouted with the most uthorittive voice he could muster: I m the king s representtive. Get out of town, you old seer! Flee this lnd nd go bck home to Judh. If you pln to prophesy gin, don t do it round here! But Amos dodged the bullet. You re mistken, Amzih I don t clim to be prophet! I m no professionl religionist: I work for living. I rise sheep nd I mnge n orchrd of fig trees. I didn t sk for this job, but the Lord clled me from the frm nd sid Go, prophesy to my people Isrel! Pointing tht long, dedly finger gin, Amos cried out You tell me not to prech, Amzih, you tell me to get out of town nd I will. But know this, you holy hypocrite: your dy is coming. Your entire fmily will be lost to you, nd your lnd will be given to strngers, nd you will die in n unclen foreign lnd, nd Isrel will go with you. You just remember tht! With tht, Amos turned on his heel nd wlked out of town, bck into the ornge sun until he reched the rod to Judh, where he turned south nd mrched himself right out of Amzih s life. But Amzih ws shking where he stood. Amos prting shot ws still ricocheting inside his hed. Some my hve thought Amzih hd won the dy, becuse Amos ws leving, but Amzih knew the truth. Amos hd left the scene, but Amzih hd lost the duel. Wht do we know bout Amos? Wht the scriptures tell us bout Amos personl history cn be subsumed in very few verses of the book tht bers his nme: he is not mentioned in ny other book of the Bible, nd by very few erly commenttors: Amos 1:1 speks of the visions of Amos, who ws mong the shepherds of Teko, which he sw concerning Isrel in the dys of King Uzzih of Judh nd in the dys of King Jerobom son of Josh of Isrel, two yers before the erthquke. In his confronttion with Amzih (7:12-15), Amos declred tht he ws no prophet but dresser of sycmore trees who lso kept sheep, but the LORD took me from following the flock, nd the LORD sid to me, Go, prophesy to my people Isrel. Since the time of Augustine, most interpreters hve identified Amos s rustic from the Juden villge of Teko who ws clled by God to go north nd prophesy to the people of Isrel. The ide tht Juden pesnt would dre to go nd berd the gret king of Isrel mkes for gret story. The trditionl view hs enjoyed long cceptnce, though some rgue tht Amos ws more thn simple Juden shepherd. 8 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

9 Digging Deeper continued The word noqed is not the usul word for shepherd, nd my refer to one who supervises other shepherds. And, the phrse bolesh shiqmim, usully trnslted fig-pincher or dresser of sycmore trees, is bit problemtic, becuse sycmore figs do not grow in Teko, which is t 2,500 feet elevtion, but only below 1,000 feet. So, it is often suggested tht Amos my hve been n griculturlist of some welth who hd interests in other prts of the lnd. Others point out tht shepherds tend to wnder fr with their flocks, nd tht Amos might hve greed to tend the sycmore trees in return for llowing the sheep to grze on others lnd. Other scholrs question whether Amos ws relly southerner. A town tht my hve been nmed Teko hs been identified in the north, but it ws not inhbited until the lte Iron Age, long pst Amos dy. However, some suggest other evidence to think tht Amos ws in fct ntive of the north, perhps mid-level mnger of the royl flocks nd lnds, who preched ginst his own king nd ws exiled to the south, where he settled in Teko. Stnley Rosenbum is n outspoken proponent of this view (Amos of Isrel, Mercer University Press, 1990). He rgues tht Amos is too cultured nd eloquent to be rustic, nd too fmilir with the inner workings of Isrelite government nd society to be southerner. He points out tht Amos uses number of foreign lon words nd dilecticl spellings tht indicte tht he spoke with northern ccent. Also, he rgues tht the word flee in 7:13 (brh) usully mens to flee from one s homelnd. One thing seems cler: whtever his originl home nd occuption, Amos thought of himself s lymn. He ws not professionl prophet, not n ppointed religious leder. He ws clled by God to proclim messge, nd he did it with courge nd flir. A religious people? The people of Isrel were pprently quite religious. They hd splendid temple t Bethel nd religious services were well ttended, ccording to Amos 4:4, 5:21, nd 9:1. People often mde pilgrimges to other sncturies (4:4, 5:5, 8:14). Tithes, offerings, nd scrifices were contributed cheerfully (4:4-5), nd impressive festivls cpped the religious yer (5:22-23). The people looked forwrd to even better dys (5:18; 6:1; 9:10b). They thought of themselves s fvored by God, but Amos disgreed, nd insisted tht Yhweh would not ccept their worship, becuse it ws n empty fith of ritul but not ethics fith tht kept the fests but did not feed the hungry. There is lso considerble evidence tht Isrelite religion hd incorported elements of pgn worship into it. Jerobom I, who first led the northern kingdom, hd instlled golden clves t new temples in Dn nd Beersheb. Smrin worship prctices such s the worship of the sky gods Bl nd Astrte were probbly widespred on the high plces scred ltrs built top mountins or hills. There ws time when such sites were lso used for the worship of Yhweh, but fter the construction of the temple, worship on the high plces ws no longer considered legitimte. 9 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

10 Digging Deeper continued Amos sw dy when both the high plces nd the golden-clf bering sncturies t Dn nd Bethel would be lid wste, even s the royl fmily would fll to n enemy s sword. Lord GOD Amos 7 is one of the few plces in scripture where the divine nme Yhweh is indicted by GOD in ll cpitl letters, rther thn the more fmilir LORD. This is becuse Amos fvored ddress to God ws doni Yhweh. When pplied to God, the nme doni is usully trnslted s Lord, but one wouldn t wnt to render Amos ddress to God s Lord LORD, so the trditionl trnsltion is Lord GOD, denoting the underlying nme Yhweh with the use of GOD in cpitl letters. Plummet, tin, or led? The word trnslted s plumb line ( nk) is used only here in the Hebrew Bible, nd is not known from other Hebrew sources. It is trditionlly trnslted s plumb line becuse tht is one of the few trnsltions tht mkes sense. Some scholrs, followed by the NET trnsltion, note the word is similr to the Akkdin word nnku, which mens tin. Thus, the NET hs He showed me this: I sw the sovereign One stnding by tin wll holding tin in his hnd. The LORD sid to me, Wht do you see, Amos? I sid, Tin. The sovereign One then sid, Look, I m bout to plce tin mong my people Isrel. I will no longer overlook their sin (vv. 7-8). If tht is correct, mking sense of the prophecy is chllenge. Some scholrs suggest tht, since tin nd led re both soft metls of similr color, n lternte mening could be led, hevy metl tht would mke n idel plummet for plumb line. Thus, by extension, led could be trnslted s plumb line. Jerobom The Jerobom mentioned in Amos 7:9 is not the Jerobom who becme the first king of Isrel in 922 BCE, erning the ire of prophets nd religious historins by estblishing two new sncturies nd instlling golden clves in them. Rther, Amos spoke of Jerobom II, who ruled the northern kingdom from BCE. Internl troubles in neighboring ntions left them reltively wek, llowing Jerobom II to preside over long period of pece nd prosperity. Unfortuntely, the good times spwned greed, corruption, nd bd times to come. The Crolin Isrelite I picked up Hrry Golden s quote from The Crolin Isrelite from n ddress by historin Wyne Flint during lecture t Cmpbell University on April 5. I hve not trcked down the exct issue nd dte, but Flint is very creful historin, so I trust tht the quottion is resonbly ccurte: No stte cn long prosper tht exiles its prophets nd exlts its fools. Jerobom The Jerobom mentioned in Amos 7:9 is not the Jerobom who becme the first king of Isrel in 922 BCE, erning the ire of prophets nd religious historins by estblishing two new sncturies nd instlling golden clves in them. 10 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

11 Digging Deeper continued Rther, Amos spoke of Jerobom II, who ruled the northern kingdom from BCE. Internl troubles in neighboring ntions left them reltively wek, llowing Jerobom II to preside over long period of pece nd prosperity. Unfortuntely, the good times spwned greed, corruption, nd bd times to come. The Crolin Isrelite I picked up Hrry Golden s quote from The Crolin Isrelite from n ddress by historin Wyne Flint during lecture t Cmpbell University on April 5. I hve not trcked down the exct issue nd dte, but Flint is very creful historin, so I trust tht the quottion is resonbly ccurte: No stte cn long prosper tht exiles its prophets nd exlts its fools. 11 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

12 The Hrdest Question by Tony Crtlege The Hrdest Question is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Why were the kingdoms divided? Amos, like Isih, Mich, nd Hose, prophesied during time when the Hebrew people lived in two kingdoms, historicl relity tht mny reders don t fully pprecite. Wht hppened to the united Isrel under Dvid nd Solomon, nd how does tht impct our understnding of the sitution Amos fced? Here s brief history lesson: When Sul becme Isrel s first king, he ruled over n unruly consortium of tribes who didn t necessrily trust ech other. In prticulr, the ten northern tribes were often t odds with Judh, the dominnt southern tribe (Simeon hd lrgely been bsorbed by Judh). Benjmin ws often cught in the middle. After Sul s deth, Dvid ruled over Judh for severl yers while Isrel ws nominlly led by Sul s son Ishbosheth (or Ishbl). After Ishbosheth ws ssssinted, the elders of the northern tribes invited Dvid to become king over them s well. In sense, Dvid ws the first to truly unite the tribes. Under Dvid s ledership, Isrelite foreign policy ws undiluted Imperilism, s he defeted surrounding ntions in order to expnd Isrelite territory nd ensure sfe borders. Solomon ws not Dvid s oldest son nd others thought his brother Adonijh should hve succeeded Dvid, but Solomon becme the next king, nd perhps even more powerful thn Dvid hd been. Solomon s foreign policy involved consolidtion, concilition, plethor of politicl mrriges to foreign princesses, nd commercil llinces with other lnds. Solomon ws not s successful in his own country. While building the temple, his plce, nd other government buildings, Solomon drfted workers from ll over the country, forcing them to work for severl months ech yer in timbering, stonecutting, trnsporting mterils, or constructing buildings. The northern tribes believed tht they bore the brunt of both txes nd the lbor corvee, while Judh Dvid nd Solomon s tribe got off esy. Discontent simmered until Solomon died. Afterwrd, his unwise son Rehobom thretened to tret the northern tribes even more hrshly. The northern tribes responded by seceding from the union nd nming their own king, Jerobom the son of Nebt pointedly not descendnt of Dvid. Jerobom estblished new cpitl in the north nd built sncturies t Dn (in the fr north) nd Bethel (in the southern prt of the northern kingdom). The new kingdom, with lrger popultion, retined the nme Isrel, though the prophets lso referred to it s Ephrim (fter the lrgest northern tribe) or Smri (fter the city tht lter becme its most influentil cpitl). The southern kingdom, consisting minly of the tribe of Judh, kept the cpitl in Jeruslem nd went by the nme Judh. 12 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

13 The Hrdest Question continued After the kingdoms split, the two ntions becme more vulnerble. Their lnd, fertile strip nestled comfortbly between the high nd dry plteus est of the Jordn nd the Mediterrnen Se to the west, ws highly ttrctive to other countries. Two importnt highwys (the Vi Mris nd the King s Highwy) rn through it. Plestine ws crucil link for commerce between Egypt to the south, Syri to the north, nd the Mesopotmin gints to the est. The division of the kingdoms cn be dted to bout 922 BCE, followed by tumultuous 50- yer period of civil wr nd generl unrest. Around 875 BCE, Jehoshpht ushered in time of stbility in the south (Judh), nd King Omri estblished strong dynsty in the north. He moved the cpitl from Tirzh to Smri, which becme the most impressive city of the north, with city wlls tht were 33 feet thick on the wekest side. Long fter Omri s deth, Assyrin nnls referred to Isrel s bît Humri, the house of Omri. Under the Omrides, the northern kingdom becme closely ligned with Phoenici, s typified by Ahb s mrrige to Jezebel, princess from Tyre. This ws prosperous period: if hd not been for Jezebel nd the incident with Nboth s vineyrd, Ahb might hve been remembered s new Solomon. He even mde n llince with Judh by mrrying his dughter Athlih to Jehorm ( ). In 841 BCE, the Assyrin king Shlmneser III ( ) overpowered the Syrin colition tht hd previously withstood him, nd brought his rmy s fr s the Mediterrnen Se. In the yers to follow, Isrel nd Judh were constntly t odds over whether they should lly themselves with the Armens (Syrins), who often thretened, or with the Assyrins, who might keep Arm (the Hebrew nme for Syri) in check. An Isrelite generl nmed Jehu took dvntge of the conflict nd murdered the king of Isrel (Jorm, ), long with ll the descendnts of the house of Omri (2 Kings 9-10). For good mesure, he lso sssinted Ahzih, who hd just come to the throne in Judh, long with 42 other princes of Judh. With these cts he liented most of his former llies nd hd no choice but to lign himself with Assyri, which required the pyment of tribute. Only few yers lter, Judh cme under ttck from the Syrins, nd ws sved only by mssive bribe pid by the young king Josh (2 Kings 12:18). These uphevls would hve been remembered by Amos fmily nd his udience, for they were no further in their pst thn World Wrs I nd II re in ours. About the time Amos ws born (probbly round 810 BCE), Add-Nirri III of Assryi ( ) hd begun nother serious push into the West. Assyri s incursions ginst the Syrins enbled Isrel to brek free of Dmscus domintion over them s Jehosh ( ) defeted Dmscus (with Elish s encourgement). About this time, n unfortunte thing hppened. Amzih of Judh ( ) hired bnd of Isrelite soldiers to id in his wr with Edom. They won the victory, but he did not give them ny of the spoils. The ngry Isrelites pillged Judh on their wy home (2 Chronicles 25), leding to wr between Judh nd Isrel. The Isrelites defeted Amzih s forces t Beth- Shemesh, then pushed on to Jeruslem (17 miles wy), where they breched the city wlls 13 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016

14 The Hrdest Question continued nd plundered the temple (2 Chron. 25:20-24). This probbly took plce round 792 n event Amos would hve known bout. Amzih ws cptured nd held hostge in Smri, while his son Azrih (lso known s Uzzih) took his plce on the throne. When Jehosh died (782), his son Jerobom II relesed Amzih s sign of good will, but he did not return to the throne. Fortuitously, the Assyrin king Add-nirri III died, leding to decline in Assyrin power. Argishti I becme king in Urrtu (780) on Assyri s northern border, drwing their ttention wy from the west. To the south, Egypt ws cught up in civil wr tht kept tht ntion out of Plestine for while. Other kingdoms ttcked Syri, llowing Isrel to regin some lost territory. The end result ws the dwning of n ge of politicl stbility for both Isrel nd Judh. Jerobom II ruled from in the north, while Uzzih ruled Judh from The politicl climte ws stble nd there ws pprent pece, but ll the old grudges were still very much live. Thus, we recognize tht Amos did not spring forth newly htched when he begn preching round 760 BCE. He hd lived through mny things tht ffected his own perception of things, nd other significnt events hd tken plce in the life of his prents nd grndprents. The politicl chessbord of Amos dy included mny plyers. Allinces were mde nd broken on regulr bsis. Ntions lined up ginst ech other nd often mde llinces, not with their neighbors, but with the power on the opposite side of their neighbors, thinking this would help keep everybody honest. Amos understood tht it wouldn t tke much to upset the chessbord: if God wnted to bring judgment on the people of Isrel, ny one of severl ntions stood redy to wield the sword. 14 Nurturing Fith July 10, 2016