Then and Now . . . Think about it!
Immediately after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two separate kingdoms. Only two tribes remained faithful to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. The other 10 tribes, together formed the northern kingdom and made Samaria its capital. The relationship between the separated kingdoms was never peaceful.
In the beginning, the people from the north came to the Jerusalem Temple for worship and sacrifices. Around 10 BC, Jeroboam I, King of the Northern Kingdom, realized that this practice could unite people of both kingdoms and bring more revenue to Jerusalem, so he built a sanctuary at Bethel and dedicated it as a royal sanctuary. Eventually this place became the pride of Samaria.
The choice of the place for the royal sanctuary was very political. The word ‘Bethel’ means ‘the house of God’. Historically this place is very dear to the people of Israel. This was the place where Abraham first worshiped God when he entered the Promised Land (Gen. 12:8). Later while running away from his brother Esau (Gen 28:18), Jacob offered sacrifices to God and again during the safe return when Jacob made peace with his brother (Gen 35).
Two centuries later, around 8 BC, during the time of the prophet Amos, the northern kingdom had reached the peak of its political greatness. Externally, everything was glorious: there was territorial expansion, political peace and national prosperity. But internally and spiritually, the northern kingdom was languishing. Religion was namesake Jewish, but dominantly idolatrous; the justice system was hijacked by the elite; oppression of the poor became rampant, and immorality was the way of life.
In this background, God called Amos as a prophet to warn the king and priests of the northern kingdom. Amos was a lay person who was both a farmer and a shepherd. He was burdened by the message of God, who was concerned about His self-destroying people because of their numerous sins. (The word ‘Amos’ means ‘burdened’.) God commissioned Amos to preach repentance from their sins of idolatry, immorality and injustice.
Today’s First Reading is a discussion between Amos and Amaziah, the high priest of Bethel. Burdened by God’s unfathomable love for His people, Amos risks his life to preach the good news. It was his zeal for Yahweh that made him proclaim the message of repentance and return to God. This prophetic message is very relevant to our times too – attachment to prosperity and worldliness will take us far away from God and Salvation.
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD