Testaments: 3 - The Plummeting
I watch a plumb-line swinging from the void.
Some thread of justice dropped from heaven’s height.
It does not bend for kings or priestly rite.
Rather marks the walls that unchecked power destroys.
The temples hum, yet the poor avoid.
The wealthy feast on theft and simple sleights.
They sell the world for gold sandals, in the light
Of widows whom their merchants have employed.
You chant, but do not believe. You lie and you cheat.
You build with blood, bone, sweat, and stone.
A lion roars yet no one runs in fear.
But I have seen the mighty trampled under rioting feet.
A quake of action, not just words alone.
A harvest comes. The sickle’s edge is near.
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Book of Amos
Estimated Date of Composition:
circa 760–750 BCE
Form:
Prophetic Oracle (Primarily Poetic)
Context:
Amos is the earliest prophetic book preserved in the Hebrew Bible. A shepherd from Tekoa in Judah, Amos delivered oracles primarily against the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, a time of economic prosperity and social inequality. His prophecies—dense with poetry, irony, and repetition—condemn both Israel and its neighbors for injustice, exploitation, and hollow ritualism. He introduces a seismic shift in biblical thought: Yahweh is not just a national deity, but a moral force who judges all nations. Scholars note the book’s sophisticated structure, rhetorical artistry, and likely layers of redaction.
References:
• Paul, Shalom M. Amos: A Commentary on the Book of Amos. Fortress Press, 1991.
• Barton, John. *Amos: The Prophet and His Oracles.* Oxford University Press, 2012.