Anyone who thinks the Scriptures are not political has never read the prophet Amos hurling invectives at the rich and powerful of his time.
Amos was not a professional prophet, but an uneducated shepherd who preached social justice and denounced exploitation of the poor by the rich. He was especially harsh on the rulers, priests and upper classes. His words sound like a political activist ranting on MSNBC.
He preached in Israel more than 750 years before the birth of Christ, amid "a period of great material prosperity for Israel, but also a period of social and religious corruption," according to Michael L. Barre in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Amos condemned the leaders of Israel for taking bribes, "Because they hand over the just for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals."
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