The Plumb line and where to find it (July 10 2022)

 Scripture: Amos 7:7-17

Sermon: The Plumb line and where to find it

Date: July 10 2022

Location: United Church of Hyde Park

 

0. Greetings

The Book of Amos is a famous book and a controversial one used by people for different purposes. Such as Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech quotes from the Book of Amos, saying “LET JUSTICE ROLL DOWN” (Amos 5:24) to “denounces religious hypocrisy and economic inequality.”[1] The connection between social justice and Amos was strongly secured during the civil rights movement in the 1970s. However, and ironically, the same verse is also used by some conservative Christians, such as “pro-life Christians,” to denounce those too liberal/pro-choice Christians. They are worried that the evil behavior will bring humankind back to the dark age, and then suffer from the wrath of God.[2]

1. the background and context of/around the scripture

There are five visions of Amos from God in this book. The scripture is among them. The first vision is the punishment of locusts (7:1-3). Locusts ate all the grass and harvest. But Amos asked to spare, and God answered accordingly. The second vision is the punishment of fire (7:4-6). The fire from the sky burned all the properties of the king. But Amos asked to spare, and God answered accordingly. The fourth vision is the basket of fruit (8:1-14). It represents the end of time for Israel. And God will spare no more. The fifth and final vision is the destruction of Israel, the northern kingdom. God stood beside the altar of temple Bethel, and the altar was shattered, and none could escape from the temple. “The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.” (9:8a)

 

2. the vision and the conversation

The scripture today has two sections: the third vision and a conversation.

The third vision of Amos is the plumb line. The plumb line is known to be the measurement of the foundation of the wall and the building. If the wall and foundation are leveled and aligned, then the building will be solid and strong. If not, the building will collapse at any time and put the building itself and the people associated with it in great danger. The vision here provides us with the idea that God holds a standard and uses it as the measurement to judge the people of Israel, the northern kingdom, in this narrative.

We knew that after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of David was divided into two entities: the northern entity was called Israel, the capital was Shechem and Tirzah, and then Samaria, and the southern entity was called Judah, Jerusalem was the capital. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E. and Jerusalem eventually fell to the Babylonian Empire and was destroyed in 586 B.C.E.[3]

The scripture continues to address that “the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (7:9), and God will spare them no more. It is also known that there were two “sanctuaries” in Israel, compared to only one in Judah. They were the Temple Dan, on the border of the tribe Dan, and the Temple Bethel, which was closer to Jerusalem. The vision indicates none of Israel’s sanctuaries or the kingship of the northern kingdom would survive but the temple at Jerusalem and Judah.

So, what went wrong with the northern kingdom, Israel?

This was the concern of the priest, Amaziah. Before Amaziah started the conversation with Amos, he reported to King Jeroboam what Amos had said. And Amaziah asked Amos to leave and never prophecy in Israel, but to earn his living in Judah by prophesying there. From the same conversation, we can learn more about Amos. He is not a born prophet, but “a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees” (7:14), called by God from the deep south of Judah to prophecy to the people of Israel in the north. The conversation also implies that Amos did not speak for his living or benefit, but merely being the messenger of YHWH.

 

3. the conflicts

We might have some questions in our mind: (1) what went wrong with the northern kingdom, actually, and (2) what did the plumb line represent?

3.1. what went wrong with Israel

If we were like Amaziah, a priest at the temple Bethel, we might be thinking what’s going on! A southern guy came up here, with no religious inheritance, but a herdsman and dresser of trees, and spread those strange words against me, and against my king, and against the whole kingdom! It is ridiculous! I am more capable of prophecy and know better about everything here.

Some of us might have been told before about the correct and proper reason why Amos was sent. Some might point out that Israel worshipped other Gods and deities, had gold calves, or did something behaving like prostitutes. The priest of Bethel and Dan did not follow the commandments or protocols, and they lost their responsibilities of leading the worship. The function of the temple was also lost. So then, there is no reason to keep the temples or the kingdom. Letting the enemies ruin them is God’s plan.

It might sound quite comprehensive to us, especially if we compare to 1 Kings 12:32-33 that King Jeroboam misled the people of Israel. From the intertextual readings between Amos and 1 King, It is easier to use religious difference and deviance to judge a person. Or, on the contrary, by using religious excuses to justify personal or communal agenda.

However, archeology tells us another story. Evidence discovered at the site of Dan and Bethel indicates the worship behavior in Israel was highly similar to what we know in Jerusalem, Judah, during the Neo-Babylonian and Assyrian periods. This means religious, and liturgist factors should not be the reason to condemn the northern kingdom, especially not to condemn the priest of Bethel, Amaziah, and his family. Bethel, means the house of the most-high, the house of God. Apparently, Bethel was the center of the YHWH worshipping, the same as Jerusalem. So, what went wrong?

 

3.2. what does the plumb line represent?

This comes to the second question of this narrative: what does the plumb line represent, and where to find it? There are some clues. Chapter 3, YHWH says, “Assemble yourselves on Mount Samaria, and see what great tumults are within it and what oppressions are in its midst. They do not know how to do right, says the Lord, those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” (3:9-10) Chapter 4 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy” (4:1) “I overthrew some of you as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a brand snatched from the fire; yet you did not return to me, says the Lord.” (4:11). Chapter, “They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain.” (5:10-11)

Therefore, the famous and controversial scripture, Amos chapter 5:24 “But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” which is allocated after YHWH’s asking for the removal of the worship, offerings, and assemblies, could be understood as it was not the religious worship liturgies or components or idolatry that insulted YHWH. It indicates, that the lack of hospitality, exploitation of the poor, and the silence toward the injustice are the reasons YHWH wants to condemn the Temple Bethel, the priest, and the king. It is about the real, suffered, and disadvantaged lives, that YHWH cares. But, those who worshiped YHWH didn’t, those who led the worship did not, and those who led the kingdom did not. And this condition drove YHWH angry. Bethel is no longer a divine presence but the hub of “the oppressor of the poor, a plunderer of the ordinary people.”[4]

In other words, the punishment toward the priest, Amaziah, and the king, Jeroboam, aims at the elites of Israel, who took advantage of the disadvantaged. Their worship and religious value became hypocritical elements. And YHWH hated it very much.

It is ironic to see that Amos, a nobody from the south, sent by YHWH, pointed out their failure, crime, and the reason to be ruined. It reminds me of a children’s story that only a kind pointed out that the king is naked, not the adults.

The plumb line mentioned in Amos’ vision, I believe, refers to the condition of the visible poor and the suffered people. Finding the disadvantaged people, who were robbed, is finding the plumb line. Therefore, the elimination of injustice is the foundation of the sanctuary of the divine. The religious and political hypocrisy is to be condemned.

 

3.3. where to find the plumb line

On June 28, Reuters reported on its website titled “U.S. Supreme Court takes aim at separation of church and state.”[5] The opening sentence of this article says, “The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court has chipped away at the wall separating church and state in a series of new rulings, eroding American legal traditions intended to prevent government officials from promoting any particular faith. In three decisions in the past eight weeks, the court has ruled against government officials whose policies and actions were taken to avoid violating the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment prohibition on the governmental endorsement of religion - known as the ‘establishment clause.’”

The article also indicates, “The court's conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, in particular, have taken a broad view of religious rights. They also delivered a decision on Friday that was hailed by religious conservatives - overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion.” Decision-making premised on “secularism” is the target of these series of Supreme Court’s surprising rulings, says Cornell Law School professor Michael C. Dorf.

I learned from the history, that when Christianity and the Roman Empire became one, Christian agendas were Empire’s agendas. It was the darkest time of humankind. Collaborations defeated the unconditional love and stream of grace. It is a shame that religious formalism has become the core value of the Supreme Court, which was supposed to guarantee the freedom of everyone in this country from any kind of oppression or inequality, regardless of their background, sex, gender, and religious beliefs. By endorsing the Christian agenda and idea alone, non-Christians and those can-not-pass Christians, are about to suffer. Abortion is not merely a topic, but is about the people, whose rights are now taken away, and they cannot be themselves anymore. The images of God are now broken. They are robbed and now naked. Letting the disadvantaged people suffer is not what Amos’ God would prefer.

 

4. hope and plumb line everywhere

On the fifth Sunday after the Pentecost, each of us here today could be Amos, a nobody, but is filled with the holy spirit. We are capable of speaking the truth and pointing out the failure at the face of power. Tell people the plumb line, from the poor’s perspective. Although our denominations have different perspectives toward abortion, “reproductive justice” is supported by the United Church of Christ and Presbyterian Church (USA) since the 1960s. It is the time for all of us to join the Caucus, form the force and raise the voice, and deliver the message. Our explicit behavior reveals us as disciples of Christ, who will stand in solidarity with the poor, take care of the robbed, and overturn the table against the den of robbers. Facing this circumstance, we shall say, “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."[6]

Amen.

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[1] https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/passages/main-articles/let-justice-roll-down-like-waters-amos-5--6

[2] https://www.priestsforlife.org/library/8377-abortion-worship-and-justice

[3] https://www.bibleodyssey.org/en/tools/map-gallery/i/map-israel-and-judah

[4] Michael Carden, ‘Amos’ in The Queer Bible Commentary, page 459.

[5] https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-takes-aim-separation-church-state-2022-06-28/

[6] https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm#:~:text=sisters%20and%20brothers.-,I%20have%20a%20dream%20today!,flesh%20shall%20see%20it%20together.%22