Prophetic Justice Like Water & a Present-Day Tragedy

 

                                                                   Ruth at Ein Gedi, April 2023

I hate, I despise your festivals,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them,
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
    I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
    I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

                  Amos 5:21-24 NRSVue

Not long ago I saw these verses from the Hebrew scripture book of the prophet Amos in which God expresses total disdain for empty worship which is all show and no go. The imagery of justice as a raging torrent is powerful and so fitting in Israel. It can be a land of extremes when it comes to waterways. During periods of the year rivers and streams can be bone dry only to become highly dangerous when a rain storm at a distance turns them into surging flumes, often filled with rocks and boulders. There is nothing reassuring in this passage when it comes to phoney religion and Amos tells us that God's justice is meant to be a constant and unstoppable force. 

When we were in Israel in April we visited Ein Gedi, a stream which descends through a beautiful canyon and is described in 1 Samuel in relation to an incident wih King Saul and David, the eventual monarch. An unusual thunderstorm the day before had our family hosts checking to see if the Nature Reserve would be open for hiking and while it was, a portion was closed as a precaution. 

There was a news item four days ago about a rockslide at the falls pictured above at Ein Gedi which killed an eight-year-old boy and injured others. A family outing at a popular spot ended in tragedy. Our folk in Israel reminded us that we sat at the spot where the slide occurred and I took the photograph, above, from that location. 

So often visiting places in Israel helps to give the 3-D image of the words on the pages in the bible. Even though we've been to Israel before, returning created a sense of this once again, and we are grateful. How sad, though, for the child who died, and the loss for this family. 

Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem prepares to receive casualties from a rockslide in Nahal David hiking trail in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, Aug. 24, 2023. Credit: TPS.