Sermon: Truth that Costs Something, Amos 7:7-17

A Sermon for the People of First Baptist Church of Austin

July 13, 2025

Amos 7:7-17

Truth that Costs Something

Our text this morning is a challenging one.  It’s full of images of judgement and destruction, heated language, and dramatic encounters. It almost feels like it needs a trigger warning or “not safe for children” label. It’s uncomfortable. Even reading the text aloud from the pulpit made me squeamish. My guess is you felt the same way.

It’s not often we read from Amos. It’s not exactly comforting reading. It would be easier to skip over it’s blunt language and difficult truths. No one wanted to hear what Amos had to say 2800 years ago, and I’m not sure we are ready to hear it again today.  Amos requires a lot of work for us to understand what is going on. We know that in order to responsibly read scripture, we must know the context of the text first.  We need to know some background so that we don’t pull verses out of context and use them however we feel fits our modern context. Or, worse, misunderstand the nature of God. So let’s do a little of this work now:

Amos is short- only 9 chapters, and the book is grouped together with 11 other prophets we call the minor prophets. Don’t let the name fool you. The designation doesn’t refer to it’s importance, but rather it’s size. There’s nothing minor about a prophesy that predicts Israel’s demise. The Hebrew Bible calls them “The Book of the Twelve Prophets” and they are all written before the destruction of the two kingdoms.  

Amos is set in the 8th century BCE in Mesopotamia. Meanwhile around the world, the city of Rome was being founded, marking the beginning of Roman Civilization.  The 8th century is also considered the start of Classical Antiquity where you see the start of the Ancient Olympic games and the dating of Homer’s epics. Greek city-states continued to expand across the Mediterranean and Black Seas, creating trade and cultural routes. The 8th century marks the beginning of a significant time of prophecy to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which is where we will pick up with Amos.  

Let’s do a quick history lesson- Ancient Israel is divided. The north and south were divided into two kingdoms and it was a relatively peaceful time of history. The northern kingdom was located in a strategic and advantageous geographical position where trade routes were plentiful and the country was experiencing economic wealth as a result. Roads and infrastructure allowed for the exchange of money and culture. They were deeply influenced by Canaanite culture, linguistics, and religion. King Jeroboam II reigned for 41 years and was known for his ability to bring about the stability, prosperity and peace to his kingdom.  It might be helpful to think of the northern kingdom as cosmopolitan, elite, and wealthy. 

Amos, on the other hand, was a regular guy from a small town called Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Judah.  It was located near Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The southern kingdom was isolated with it’s highlands and hills. The region is mountainous and rocky, with fertile valleys that sustained farming. They likely grew olives, grapes and grains. Further south was a desert region that was suited for grazing animals.  They did not benefit from an infrastructure of roads that promoted trade and therefore most of the people in the south were humble farmers and shepherds, making do with the realities of the difficult terrain in order to survive. 

Amos was a blue collar worker doing the hard manual labor of caring for his flock as a shepherd. He likely moved from place to place as he sought resources, while also taking advantage of the fruit from the local sycamore tree, which is actually a type of fig tree and not like our North American sycamore tree at all. The text calls him “a dresser of sycamore trees.” We might call him a“redneck,”- someone who is inventive and resourceful, making due with what he had. He was no stranger to the dirt and the muck, likely smelling like the animals he cared for. 

Understanding the juxtaposition of the extreme wealth inequities and lifestyle differences between the elite or “The 1%” in the Northern kingdom and the Southern kingdom is key in our understanding of Amos’ prophesies. Why was God so mad at the Israelites that he sends Amos to confront them?

Economic oppression was pervasive and God had enough.

The cultured elites in the north were living in luxury,- beds made of ivory, lavish feasts with the finest meats and wines, expensive oils, with abundant leisure time, expensive lotions and elaborate music, while the 99% experienced poverty with limited means for producing wealth.

It feels eerily similar to the wealth inequity we as Americans experience-a small group of rich elite using their wealth to continue to drive a wedge further and further between the haves and have nots, at the expense of real human lives and their livelihoods. We are not strangers to wealth inequality.

So this humble farmer and shepherd answers the call from God to go and rebuke the elite of Israel for the way they have profited from the (poor and the marginalized) and have exploited the most vulnerable in their society for their own economic gain. He calls them out for their atrocious behavior of selling human beings into slavery.  He condemns how their justice system was anything but just- where the wealthy could buy favorable verdicts, and judges took bribes instead of doing what was right. He condemns the way they abused the poor with unjust tax laws that benefited only the rich. 

As you’d expect, Amos wasn’t well liked. He was instantly despised, not just because he was a “redneck” from the south who didn’t conform to their elite standards, but because he openly confronts their greed and lavish lifestyles.

No one likes being confronted when it questions their lifestyle and puts their security at risk.  

(((Pause)))

On a London-bound flight in 1983, the head of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas sat next to British and French actress and singer Jane Birkin.  The legend goes that Jane reached above her head to place her straw basket into the overhead compartment and everything fell out, causing Jane to lament about her inability to find a leather weekend bag that she liked.  It was then that Jane sketched the design for her ideal bag onto an airsickness bag.  Dumas liked her design and took it back to Hermès to begin working on a new bag design, which included pockets. All good bags (and dresses) need pockets, right? A year later, Hermes had created a black leather bag specifically for Jane Birkin based on her original sketch from the plane. JB was stamped on the front of the bag.  Hermes later commercialized the bag, calling it “The Birkin Bag.” 

Over the years, the Birkin bag has become a status symbol of the uber rich and celebrities alike, fighting for the chance to own this exclusive leather tote. The bags take up to 40 hours to handcraft, with other limited addition bags taking longer. They have limited availability, which adds to their allure. These rare bags signal wealth and prestige, because not just anyone can own a Birkin. It is notoriously difficult to purchase a bag directly from Hermès.  There is no wait list. You can’t buy them online. You can’t just go into the store and buy one, even if you could afford the sky high price tag, which ranges from the low end of $10k upwards to $2 million dollars.  If you want one of these bags, you have to be offered the opportunity to purchase a Birkin.  If you want one of these bags, you have to spend considerable time developing a relationship with a sales associate who will then determine whether or not you are fit to own a Birkin. Then you can own one.

Jane Birkin’s original Birkin Bag has become the most desirable bag in fashion history.  Just a few days ago, Jane’s bag was sold at a Paris auction for a whopping $10.1 million dollars.  TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Only one other fashion item sold for more- a pair of ruby red slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” which sold for $32.5 million in 2024.

It’s hard not to see the extravagant in a story like this, especially as the needs of the people around us grow bigger and bigger. But what happens when the church is complicit in it? Not only does Amos call out the 1%, but the religious leaders of the day are included in Amos’ warning of God’s impending judgment. Enter: Amaziah. 

Amaziah is the priest in Bethel, a site of an ancient religious shrine.  This was an important site for the kingdom of Israel.  It was a state sanctioned institution that was entwined with state power, national identity and economic privilege. It was a place where official worship happened under the king’s approval, often used to legitimize corrupt leadership and mask systemic injustice.  

So when Amos shows up condemning their worship and proclaiming the future fall of the kingdom, Amaziah sees Amos as a threat.  As a religious official representing the king, Amaziah tries to censor Amos’ words to silence Amos and distance himself from his activities. It’s clear that faith and political power are inextricably linked. Amos’s proclamations are not welcome in this establishment. Yet Amos won’t back down, even to the religious establishment. He hurls a striking prophesy of pain, sorrow, and death.

The God of Israel liberates slaves; rather than legitimizing enslavers. 

The First Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts recently underwent a church clean out, like we did, (and are still doing), and they stumbled upon an old box that had something unusual in it. A volunteer thought it was a prop from a Christmas pageant, but brought the box to the pastor to confirm before donating. Instantly Rev. John Odams recognized what this prop actually was: it was a handwritten scroll from 1847 that contained the names of 116 Baptist ministers in Massachusetts that had signed their name to a document called, “A Resolution and Protest Against Slavery.” This document was a testimony to the bravery of these Baptist pastors and their churches to stand up against slavery, what they called, “entirely repugnant.” It was signed just two years after Baptists split over slavery in 1847, and then 14 years later, the beginning of the Civil War would happen. The director of the American Baptist Historical Society said, “The document embodies the story of the struggle…that people had to reach the conclusion that slavery was their problem, their responsibility, that their morality was called into question.” 

It would have been so easy for these Baptist ministers in Boston to say, “this isn’t my problem.” Or to question, “what can we do anyways?” But they understood how toxic slavery was to their society and the ideals for which they stood. They took seriously the call of their faith to put their foot down against evil, against the enslavement of fellow human beings.  

Speaking truth to power is certainly not easy. It is risky. It requires bravery and courage. Sometimes the risks might feel like they outweigh the rewards. We don’t know what is ahead for us, but the time is now that we speak up against the unjust powers all around us, the ones that persecute the poor, that deny healthcare to the ones who need it the most, that cut funding to rural hospitals, that eliminate programs that feed needy children, that deny lawfully present immigrants aid, that takes from the poor to give to the rich, that rewards polluters while raising energy costs, that funds war and enriches war profiters, that octuples (thats right- an 800% increase) the budget to prioritize the building of detention centers. 

The time is now that we must be like Amos and speak truth to power- That god is on the side of the poor and oppressed. The time is now that we be bold and speak up against the injustice around us.  How will you stand up for the injustice around you? All of you have different gifts, talents, and passions, but somewhere they meet the world’s greatest need.  Go and do so.