Amos 8:4-6

God does not tolerate injustice and He is partial to no man. To warrant God’s approval we need to take care of those who cannot care for themselves making a way for them to succeed by making sure our laws provide a safe haven in their time of need.

Fail means essentially “to have no means of survival.” 

The rich and powerful of Amos’s day were making slaves of Israel’s poor, the people they had dispossessed of their lands.

What does God require of us?

Micah 6:8 Be fair to everyone, forgive quickly and be humble knowing ALL things belong to God… we are just caretakers of the blessing  we have received.

fair ¹ |fe(ə)r|

adjective

1 in accordance with the rules or standards; legitimate

adverb

1 without cheating or trying to achieve unjust advantage

Amos 8:4-6

⁴ Hear this, you who swallow up the needy,

And make the poor of the land fail,

⁵ Saying:

“When will the New Moon be past,

That we may sell grain?

And the Sabbath,

That we may trade wheat?

Making the ephah small and the shekel large,

Falsifying the scales by deceit,

⁶ That we may buy the poor for silver,

And the needy for a pair of sandals—

Even sell the bad wheat?”

⁶So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. 

Hosea 12:6

¹⁷Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. 

Isaiah 1:17