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“What Do We Do Now?” An Election Reflection from Amos

“What Do We Do Now?” An Election Reflection from Amos

Last updated on: November 6, 2026 at 5:32 pm by Rick Rice

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“What Do We Do Now?” An Election Reflection from Amos 2026-11-06T17:32:21-05:00 Rick Rice

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“What do we do now?” Parts of our society probably ask that question after every national election. The reason for the question should be obvious: too many people have invested energy, emotions, and hope in the political process. When their preferred outcome fails to materialize, they feel lost. “What do we do now?”

What Do We Do Now? Look at the Big Picture

None of this is new, nor is it specific to the United States. It seems more prevalent here. I suspect that’s because Americans cherish our political system. Even with its flaws, it enables us to participate on a level that others do not experience. We’re relative newcomers to the international political scene (after all, we just celebrated our 250th anniversary as a country). Perhaps we just haven’t developed the same degree of cynicism as others may have.

This sense of angst, hopelessness, or even dread is neither new nor specific to Americans. One of the alternate Old Testament readings for this Sunday (November 8) in churches that utilize the Revised Common Lectionary is Amos 5:18-24:

Woe to you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion and a bear confronts him, or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. Will the day of the Lord not be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

“I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your festive assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll out like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Amos Speaks to the Nation of Israel

Amos prophesied in the mide-700s BC, a period of relative calm and prosperity for the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The nation divided following the death of Solomon; the northern ten tribes became the kingdom of Israel (or Samaria, after its capital city), while the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin joined together as the kingdom of Judah. Solomon’s son Rehoboam led Judah after the division, while Israel selected Jeroboam as its king. In order to keep his people from traveling to Jerusalem in Judah to worship, Jeroboam built two shrines in Israel – at Dan and Bethel. Eventually, those shrines became associated with idol worship. Needless to say, God was not pleased.

By Amos’ day, the northern kingdom was prosperous due to its position on trade routes. When the Assyrian Empire began its rise, other nations around Israel – like Aram, for example – were no longer able to threaten Israel or interfere with its trading relationships. The country grew rich; not surprisingly, that wealth resulted in a gap between rich and poor. So God called Amos to go north to Israel and proclaim God’s message to them.

Amos had to “go north” because he was from Judah. He was not a prophet by trade; the beginning of the book of Amos tells us that he is a shepherd and a farmer. But God called Amos to go, and Amos went. So imagine how difficult it was for Amos to proclaim God’s message. First, he was from Judah, not Israel; he was an outsider. Second, he came to tell them that God was not pleased with them, in spite of their economic prosperity. Finally, God’s message is that His judgment was coming, and the kingdom would fall.

“What Do We Do Now?” God’s Judgment on Ancient Israel

So He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer. The high places of Isaac will become deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins. Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (Amos 7:7-9). (Note: the Jeroboam referred to here is Jeroboam II, not the first Jeroboam who led Israel after the kingdom divided.)

Well, as you might imagine, the people of Israel did not take kindly to Amos’ message. Amaziah, who served as the priest at Bethel, told him: “Go, you seer, flee to the land of Judah; and eat bread there and do your prophesying there. But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.” (Amos 7:12-13). About 30 years later, Israel fell, just as Amos had predicted. The Assyrians conquered Samaria, relocated many of the people who lived in Israel, and brought foreigners in to resettle the northern kingdom.

“What Do We Do Now?” Lessons for Today

Longing for “The Day of the Lord”

If you’re familiar with the Old Testament, you know this story. So what does it have to do with us? What does it have to do with 21st century America? Let’s look at the message God sent through Amos. First, woe to you who are longing for the day of the Lord. The Israelites had come to presume upon God’s favor; when things went badly for them, they prayed for “the day of the Lord.” However, when things were going well, they often forgot about God and “did their own thing.” As is often the case, “doing their own thing” looked a lot like selfishness and self-gratification; they gave God lip service while ignoring His commandments.

Performative Worship vs. Transformative Worship

That’s the next thing we see in Amos’ message: God rejected their “worship.” “I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your festive assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened oxen. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.” That’s harsh! While they apparently reveled in their assemblies, with great offerings and music, God was not pleased at all. When God says, “I hate your festivals, I will not accept your offerings,” He obviously means business!

God’s Call to Justice

The end of Amos’ message echoes God’s command throughout His covenant relationship with the Israelites: “Let justice roll out like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” We’re familiar with Micah’s familiar call to God’s people: “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

What Do We Do Now?

Focus on God’s Word

Well, what does this have to do with us? First, I’d remind you that God’s Word always has something to say to His people. As Paul reminded Timothy, all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). And remember: when Paul wrote that, the “Scripture” he was referring to was the Old Testament. So when we read Amos – when we read any Scripture – we should trust that God has something to say to us!

Second, I’d suggest that the parallels are closer than we might want to admit. While too much of “the Church” has focused on politics, God calls us to focus on Him. When we start to treat God as a means to an end, rather than seeing Him as our only King, we are sure to go off-course. And just as surely, God will do a course-correction for us! The question is, will we listen?

How Can We Best Honor God?

So what do we do now? We refocus our attention on God, and what He has called us to do, rather than allowing political leaders to set our agenda. Specifically, too many of us have allowed political leaders to convince us that their way is God’s way. That often results in us compromising in some areas, convincing ourselves that one goal is more important than another.

That’s a dangerous course for us to take, because it substitutes our judgment for God’s judgment. I saw a post recently that justified Christians voting for “the lesser of two evils” in our political decisions. Now, let me be clear: any choice between human political platforms and candidates is of necessity a choice between two flawed options. No matter what some people may claim, Jesus Himself was not on the ballot in our most recent election (nor in any other election we’ve ever had). Too many times, we shift from “the lesser of two evils” to viewing elections as “good vs. evil.” That reminds me of God’s message through Isaiah: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20).

These last few days have led to a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing among Republicans, and a lot of triumphalism among Democrats. For Christians, though, our focus should be different. “What do we do now?” First, we remember that God is in control. In November of 2009, a lot of the folks at the church I served were distraught at the election of Barack Obama as our president. (They weren’t racists; they were simply conservatives, convinced that Obama would take the country the wrong way.) I got up on the Sunday after that election and said, “Do you think God woke up Wednesday morning, did a head slap, and said, ‘How did that happen?’” Of course not; and He didn’t do that this past week, either.

What Does It Look Like to Put God First in Our Politics?

Christians of all political stripes should use this as an occasion to refocus our political support and energy toward those candidates and organizations that support the biblical values of justice, kindness, and humility, as Micah 6:8 calls us to do. It is hard for us to call people to follow Jesus while we’re supporting people who don’t act anything like Jesus. Instead of continuing to accept whatever candidates the political parties offer, we should support and insist on candidates who actually reflect biblical values.

Finally, we need to remember that Scripture is always our ultimate guide. If we believe that all Scripture is inspired by God, then we’d better be very careful about ignoring what it says or trying to explain it away. That’s true whether we’re talking about protecting the unborn and promoting Biblical standards of behavior or whether we’re talking about immigration and human dignity. So instead of asking “What do we do now?” with a sense of dread, let’s ask that question to refocus us on the commission that Jesus gave us – making disciples, not winning elections.

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