God the Lion
Amos 3:1 — 4:13
“Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from its den if it has caught nothing? . . . Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing [God’s] secret to [God’s] servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
– Amos 3:3b – 4, 7 – 8, NRSVUE
Imagine God as a lion. What thoughts or feelings arise for you?
The prophet calls the people of Israel to envision their God as a lion. Although the power of this fierce, predatory cat shows up in Amos 3:4, the emphasis of the analogy falls on a different trait of the lion: its unmistakable “roar.” This image of God the lion is not casting God as a ferocious animal ready to attack. It conveys that God has a reason to roar and is not holding back or hiding it from God’s people. God has “caught” the presence of injustice and oppression in the community and is roaring for prophetic witnesses. The prophet’s call to listen to God the lion also implies a call to roar with God by “prophesy[ing].” The people are to become like lions too.
Where do you notice God’s roar reverberating today in an “afflicted” earth and creation (Amos 2:7)? How might you become like God the lion or join in God’s “roar”?
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Credits
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version updated edition of the Bible
Image of female lion is by Jean Wimmerlin on the Unsplash website
Image of male lion is by Sam Power on the Unsplash website
