MLK - But let justice run down like water...


Here is something I read from What’s in the Bible: The Story of God through Time and Eternity by R.C. Sproul and Robert Wolgemuth, which I think has deep significance for January 18, 2016:
But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream (Amos 5:24) 
During the years of the civil rights movement in America, this was one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite biblical passages. He knew what Amos knew: A nation that disregards the cries of the poor and the respectful treatment of all her citizenry is a nation in peril—a nation out of plumb.
As with Dr. King’s upbraiding of complacent Americans, Amos got in the faces of the Jews. He warned them that their offerings and sacrifices were a stench to God’s nostrils because while they were outwardly performing their religious duties, they were treating one another with disregard. The poor were “sold for a pair of shoes” whole the women had “become like the fatted cows of Bashan.”
Justice did not prevail because, during Amos’s time, it was common for judges to accept bribes, so that the rich would always be declared innocent and the poor would be thrown into prison or worse.
Amos preached on a subjected that predated the ministry of the prophets: the “Day of the Lord.” for thousands of years, Jews had longed for the day that God Himself would come to destroy the wicked and save the righteous. This was to be a good day for saints, but a bad day for the unrepentant sinner.
One can certainly say that Dr. Martin Luther King in some way connected to the mind and message of the prophet Amos. Amos’ vision of the “Day of the Lord” and even the dream of Dr. King, while in some way finds expression in the vindication of the least, lost, and lowly of this world, still anticipates ultimate realization in the future. When Jesus Christ appears again, the dead shall be raised from the graves. The saints shall be resurrected to eternal life in a new heaven and new hearth and the sinners to eternal condemnation in the lake of fire (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:1-58; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; Heb. 9:27-28; Rev. 20:11-12; cf. Dan. 12:2).

All the saints sing, come Lord Jesus come.

Blessings!

WGN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grappling with the Craziness of an Election Year with the Book of Kings

Image
Well this is another election year, which makes the Tuesday after the first Monday in November the terminus ad quem for all the political madness that comes beforehand in the USA. With all the mudslinging, rioting, and overall incivility, it is hard to believe were still have over five months to go. I am going through the Book of 1-2 Kings at the moment, and the refrain “Only the high places were not taken away” caught my eye, and as I began to meditate upon them, I found them to be a bit helpful in grappling with all that goes on during these turbulent election years. Here a little background is needed. After the days of Solomon there came about a civil war that divided the children of Abraham living in the promise land into two nations—the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. There eventually came about a series of rulers in the kingdom of Judah whose reigns the biblical writer describes this way: Jehoash did right in the sight of the LORD…Only ...
Read more

The Good Thing About God and Judgment

Image
Today, I was continuing my trek through the extensive Paul and the Faithfulness of God by N.T. Wright. There is so much content in this extensive two-volume work, I can only soak in a small percentage of it. Working through Wright is always a work in progress. He is just one of those astute theologians who leaves no stone unturned in developing a point. Wright makes this observation about the way the larger story of the New Testament conveyed in Paul’s works concerns God’s judgment in the world, which is part of the way he has come to setup his rule over the world. On p. 481 Write notes,  The word “judgment” has of course been allowed to slip into negative mode in the contemporary western world, with “judgmentalism” one of the classic postmodern villains. But even a postmodernist whose car has been damaged by a drunk driver wants a court to pass “judgment” against the offender. “Judgment” is in fact a positive thing. It is what restores health to a society, a bala...
Read more

As the Dust Settles in Haiti…

Last Sunday as I was getting my groceries totaled up, the checker asked if I would like to make a donation to Haiti, which I did. The amount was practically nothing, but it did remind me that for the entirety of the previous week, it seemed as if the entire world zeroed in on what was going on that half of the Island of Hispaniola, which was devastated by a massive earthquake on January 12, 2010. News sources consider this the largest earthquake that country had experienced in the last 200 years, and many report an estimated 50,000 lives perished. Events like this always remind me that human life is so precious, yet at the same time, one can never know when life’s flame shall be extinguished. There were lots of voices chiming in on the Haiti situation, and many of them were quite helpful, instructing people on what they could do to help survivors. I even had an acquaintance share his intention to travel to the island to do some aid work. I say Godspeed! I also heard a few disheartening...
Read more