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Donald Gowan's The Theology of the Prophetic Books is one of the best books on the prophets around. He argues that the message of the prophets, rooted in warnings like Deuteronomy 5:25-31 and 8:19-20, is that Israel will die for her sins. It's not just that her circumstances are going to get worse - she's actually facing death. The prophetic hope is a hope for restoration from death, for resurrection. The death and resurrection of Israel is the theme of all the prophetic books.
Here's how Gowan sees this working for Amos:
1) The prophet sings a dirge over fallen Israel, a funeral lament, 5:1-2. This is preceded by a series of statements of what Yahweh has done in the past, all of which are followed by “yet you did not return.ENothing else got Israel’s attention, so they will perish as a nation.
2) The dirge is taken up by the whole people, 8:16-17. And this is because Yahweh has “passed throughEIsrael as He did Egypt at the Passover, 8:9-10.
3) Thus, Israel is facing an “end,E8:2, not merely an interruption of normal life. She is going to cease to exist as a nation.
4) The reason given for Israel's death is that she is the chosen people, 3:1-2, and therefore accountable before Yahweh in a way that other nations are not.
5) Specifically, Israel is accountable for her treatment of the poor and weak, 2:6-15; 8:1-7; 8:4-6; 5:10ff.
6) As the Preacher says, oppression of the poor is common. But Israel is supposed to be different at this point. Gowan points out that the only threat in the motive clauses of the law is a threat against those who oppress the poor, Ex 22:21-24.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 07:41 AM
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