Revisiting Amos 5:24

Especially since 2018, apparently the most popular post on this blog is a short piece I wrote in the spring of 2016 on interpreting Amos 5:24. In that post, I argued, on the basis of the context in Amos as a book and Amos 5 as a chapter, that the popular understanding of Amos 5:24 as a hortatory call for the practice of justice is incorrect, and that the verse was intended as a call for judgment on Israel. Because of the popularity of the post and because of the confusion that commenters seem to have about why I wrote the post, I want to send this as an update.

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The Connection to Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I said in the original post, I am very thankful for Martin Luther King’s civil rights work. I think the honor we give him as a nation is deserved and appropriate. I think it unfortunate that Martin Luther King became a weird point of disagreement among Christians in 2018. My disagreement with what I believe was King’s interpretation of one verse in the whole Bible is neither an attack on him nor an attempt to undermine the civil rights movement, nor is it an undercutting of the Scriptural bases for the equality of all men under God and under the law.

The point of my previous post was actually connected neither to Martin Luther King nor to his life’s work. It was to present an interpretation of a single verse in Amos. Since Martin Luther King’s speech is one of the most famous uses of that verse in popular culture, I used that as the starting point for my post. Since then David Platt’s sermon on Amos 5 at Together for the Gospel in 2018 has probably become a more appropriate starting point for evangelicals on discussing this verse. But again, the starting point is not the point of the post.

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The Interpretations of Amos 5:24

There are basically two understandings of Amos 5:24.

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Amos 5:24, ESV

1. The verse is God’s call to Israel to act justly as a nation.
2. The verse is God’s pronouncement of coming wrath on Israel as a nation.

The point of this post is to present arguments from Amos 5 for both of these interpretations in order to suggest the most appropriate application of the verse for Christians today.

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Why is This Unclear?

The reason we have two competing interpretations for this verse is because it is not worded as a clear second person command or a clear invocation of judgment. Were the verse worded as “Let your justice roll down like waters, and your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” or if it were worded as “Practice justice and righteousness that they may flow down like waters,” then the first interpretation would be clearly favored. If the verse were worded as “But let judgment roll down like waters, and justice like an ever-flowing stream,” then the second interpretation would be clearly favored. Since the verb is third person jussive (“Let…roll…”), and “justice” and “righteousness” aren’t ascribed to personal agents, there is some native ambiguity to the statement in the verse.

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Arguments for the First Interpretation

The basic argument for the first interpretation is that Amos 5:24 should be seen to reiterate commands given to Israel to act justly in previous verses in the chapter. For example:

• “Seek me and live” (v. 4)
• “Seek Yahweh and live” (v. 6)
• “Seek good, and not evil, so that you might live” (v. 14)
• “Hate evil, love good, set justice in your gate; perhaps Yahweh the God of Hosts will be gracious, leaving a remnant” (v. 15)

These verses seem to suggest that God is commanding Israel to reform their ways and follow him by seeking justice in the nation.

Second, the word “righteousness” in Amos 5:24 sometimes refers to acting justly in a legal or courtroom sense but also frequently refers to good, upright deeds. The word even has a technical sense that refers to alms giving, to which certain Jewish Aramaic and Arabic words are related. The word nowhere refers to the idea of punishment. Additionally, the imagery of “water” and an “ever-flowing stream” appears refreshing and positive, not destructive and judgmental. This seems to contradict the second interpretation.

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Arguments for the Second Interpretation

There are several arguments for the latter interpretation, that Amos records God’s invocation of wrath on Israel. At the very beginning of the chapter, Amos does not title Amos 5 in a way that would make you think Israel could escape God’s judgment by reforming their ways. The title in verse 1 refers to the whole chapter as a “lament” for Israel.

Hear this word which I am lifting up against you, a lament for the house of Israel:

The virgin, Israel, has fallen; she will not again rise.
She is abandoned on her ground; there is no one to raise her.

For thus says Lord Yahweh:
“The city which goes out as 1000 will be left as 100,
And the one that goes out as 100 will be left as 10 for the house of Israel.”

Amos 5:1-3

Since the chapter begins with a pronouncement of coming judgment that will affect all of Israel, the idea that there are commands that Israel could keep and result in preservation seems unnatural.

Consider also the end of Amos 5.

“…And I will exile you beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, the God of Hosts is his name.

Amos 5:27

So from beginning to end, Amos 5 pronounces surely coming judgment on Israel. Now previous chapters in Amos show us two interrelated reasons for this judgment: (1) Idolatry and (2) social injustices. Both these themes who up in Amos 5.

• “They hate the ones who correct in the gate, and they abhor those who speak blameless things.” (v. 10)
• “…because you have trampled the weak and taken grain tax from him…” (v. 11)
• “For I know your many transgressions and your mighty sins: opposing the righteous, taking bribes, you turn away the needy in the gate.” (v. 12)
• “And lift up Siccut, your king, and Kiyyun, your image, your star-god, which you have made” (v. 26)

These sins underscore the need for complete judgment on a completely sinful people.

It’s worth noting that Amos 5 follows the progression we see in the prophets as a whole. During Judges, Samuel, and Kings, we continually see God offer chances for Israel to repent and avoid the punishment of exile. As we move into the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, we see that the coming of God’s judgment in exile is sure, Israel will be wiped out. There’s a progression as Israel falls deeper into sin: Prophets call people to repent and be spared, later prophets call people to repent to delay God’s judgment, and finally prophets call people to repent though God’s judgment is here, in hopes that some would repent and be preserved through the trials. Amos 5 should be read this way. Justice and righteousness represent God’s wrath sweeping Israel away and eventually replacing the sinful nation with the righteous remnant.

But is complete judgment compatible with the commands to seek God and righteousness that we used to support the first interpretation? Isn’t Amos 5:24 more likely just another command to social righteousness? I believe the second interpretation is stronger because it can account for the arguments for the first. How is this possible?

First, though Yahweh’s wrath implied complete judgment on Israel, from the time of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, Yahweh told Israel that they would sin and fall away, he would punish them with complete exile from their land, but he would also preserve a remnant. When Yahweh says “justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream,” he is not saying that the generation of Israel he is addressing will suddenly break out in justice and righteousness that refreshes the land. When he commands Israel throughout Amos 5 to act righteously, this does not imply hope for national repentance in Israel. This is a command for individual Israelites to cling to Yahweh as he forms them into a remnant. When Yahweh restores that remnant to their glory in the land, then righteousness will flow like a stream. The land will be refreshed through the righteousness of the restored remnant. Amos 5:24 is essentially predictive, not prescriptive.

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Why Does This Matter?

When I started working on this update, I wasn’t sure I would still hold the same position on Amos 5:24 that I hold today. Why was I motivated to work through my belief on Amos 5:24 and write about it? First, because interpretation of God’s Word matters. But second, because while Amos 5:24 does imply that we should pursue justice in society (or “social justice” is you will), it’s about more than that. Amos 5:24 tells Christians that we should pursue justice in society lest God should bring wrath on us for our failure. But Amos 5:24 also reminds us that God ultimately ensures that his people will be righteous. Amos 5:24 is a warning to us, but it is also a comfort. We know that God disciplines whom he loves. He will not let sin remain among his people. And eschatologically, through salvation in Jesus Christ, God will make his people and all things perfect.