True Religion and Social Justice – SS2 Christian Religious Studies Lesson Note (Third Term)

Amos was a prophet sent by God to Israel to warn the people about two things: social justice and true religion. The people worshipped hypocritically, forsook the laws of Moses, cheated and oppressed the poor, and lived immorally. Amos told them God would punish them with exile if they did not repent.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• state the two aspects of Israel’s life that Amos focused on;
• list the areas of social decay which Amos attacked;
• explain how the rich exploited the poor in Israel;
• describe the punishment God announced through Amos.

Why did God send Amos to Israel?

At the time Amos prophesied in Israel, his focus was on two aspects of Israel’s life: social justice and true religion. The true worship of God had given way to immorality and hypocrisy in the worship of God. The Israelites had forsaken the laws of Moses. God was very angry and sent his prophet Amos to warn the people.

What areas of social decay did Amos attack?

1. The judges themselves, who were supposed to be custodians of justice, were totally corrupt.
2. As a result of the judges’ corruption, the poor could not seek redress in the courts. They were robbed of justice, and justice was given to the highest bidder, the wealthy.
3. The poor were occasionally robbed of their properties when they could not fulfil their pledges.
4. The poor were exploited by the rich. The rich became richer by using false weights and measures while selling to the poor.
5. The rich built store houses and lived in luxury with money gained from cheating the poor.
6. In spite of various forms of punishment like famine, drought, blight and mildew, locust infestation and depopulation, they still persisted.
7. The poor were humiliated and made to suffer unnecessarily.
8. Sexual immorality pervaded the social life of the people, as there was indiscriminate sex. A man and his father could go into the same woman.
9. The rich slept on the garments taken in pledge from the poor. This was wrong because whatever was taken in pledge was supposed to be left untouched until it was reclaimed. The same applied to the wine of those who were fined. But the rich drank such wine, in the house of God for that matter.
10. Their women fed fat on the proceeds of their husbands’ oppression of the poor. They drank wine from bowls, and so they were referred to as “cows of Bashan”.

Israel had turned into a nation that hated those who spoke the truth and those who rebuked evildoers.

What was the nature of God’s punishment?

While Amos was busy warning the people to desist from their evil ways, he also pronounced to them unequivocally God’s punishment if they failed to repent. Amos therefore warned them to prepare for total doom. God would punish them as follows:

1. The women of Samaria must go into exile “with hooks”, that is, fish hooks. This means they would be exiled in a painful and humiliating manner.
2. There will be wailing in the street squares and vineyards, signifying a terrible calamity which God will bring upon Israel.
3. A nation will be raised by God that will conquer Israel and carry her into exile.
4. Those who extort money from the poor will never live in the houses they built, and they will not drink the wine from the vineyards they planted.
5. The hope of those exploiting the poor will be shattered and their feasts turned to mourning.

Evaluation

1. State the two aspects of Israel’s life that Amos focused on.
2. Mention four areas of social decay which Amos attacked.
3. How did the rich make themselves richer at the expense of the poor?
4. Why were the women of Israel called “cows of Bashan”?
5. Describe three punishments God announced for Israel through Amos.

Assignment

Using examples from the note, explain how corruption among the judges affected the poor in Israel, and state the punishment God announced for those who exploited the poor.