Royal Priests

In the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2:5-15, when Adam comes to the garden "to work it and care for it" we naturally assume the task of farming, tending the trees and plants, caring for the ecology of the garden.

The Hebrew word ‘abad’ in v.5 and 15 is a common word for agriculture and working a field, but in fact, it is more frequently used for the work of a priest.

Let Justice Roll Down

In Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington in 1963, he quoted the Hebrew prophet Amos when he said “we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Amos and MLK both lived in prosperous nations who were proud of their religious heritage. Both were appalled at how religion so often masked hearts of greed and hostility.

Amos roars out God’s disgust over religious piety:
I hate, I despise your religious feasts
Away with the noise of your songs.
Amos 5:22 NIV
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
Amos 5:24 The Message

Amos believed that justice was the life-blood of society as water is life for the land.