Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.
For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
But seek not Beth–el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer–sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth–el shall come to nought.
Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth–el.
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.
Amos 5 serves as a powerful and poignant call to repentance for the nation of Israel. Through lament, warning, and stark pronouncements of judgment, Amos confronts the people with their spiritual bankruptcy and social injustice, urging them to seek God and live. This chapter is not merely a historical record but a timeless message relevant to believers today, reminding us of the importance of genuine faith expressed through righteous living.
A Song of Lament (Amos 5:1-3)
Amos begins with a lament, a sorrowful song for the fallen state of Israel (Amos 5:1). He paints a bleak picture: Israel has fallen, and there is no one to raise her up (Amos 5:2). This is a direct consequence of their turning away from the Lord, the only one who could offer them true help and restoration. Without God's presence and protection, even the strongest nation is vulnerable. Amos 5:3 illustrates this point powerfully, emphasizing that even a city that sends a thousand soldiers to battle will only have a hundred return. This serves as a stark warning: self-reliance is futile. Just as a soldier needs "the full armor of God" to stand against the enemy (Ephesians 6:11), so too does a nation need God's presence to withstand its adversaries.
Seek the Lord and Live (Amos 5:4-12)
Amos contrasts the futility of idolatry with the life-giving power of seeking the Lord. Turning to idols at Bethel and other sacrificial locations is pointless (Amos 5:5). Instead, Amos implores the people to "Seek the LORD and live" (Amos 5:6). This call echoes Jesus' teaching to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33), highlighting that seeking God is the only path to true blessing and flourishing.
Seeking God is not a passive activity reserved for one day a week. It requires a daily commitment to align our perspective with God's Word and to live out that perspective in our daily lives. However, Israel refused to do this. They hated those who convicted the guilty and despised those who spoke with integrity (Amos 5:10). Their social injustices against the poor were rampant (Amos 5:11-12). This disconnect between their religious practices and their ethical behavior revealed the emptiness of their faith.
Pursue Good, Not Evil (Amos 5:13-17)
God's promise is clear: "Pursue good and not evil, that you may live, and the LORD, the God of Armies, will be with you" (Amos 5:14). True life and the presence of God are inextricably linked to pursuing righteousness. However, Israel refused to listen. Their future would be filled with wailing, anguish, and mourning (Amos 5:16-17). Their choice to reject good and embrace evil would lead to inevitable consequences.
Woes of Judgment (Amos 5:18-20)
Amos pronounces a "woe" upon those who long for the day of the Lord (Amos 5:18). "Woe" is a declaration of sorrow and despair, a foreshadowing of impending judgment. The "day of the Lord" is a recurring theme in the prophetic books, often referring to times when God carries out acts of judgment in history. It also points to the ultimate day of God's judgment at the end of time (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5).
Some Israelites eagerly anticipated the day when God's vengeance would be unleashed on the pagan nations. However, they failed to recognize that Israel itself had become like a pagan nation! Therefore, the day they anticipated would not be a day of light and blessing but a day of darkness and judgment (Amos 5:18, 20). The imagery of escaping a lion only to be mauled by a bear (Amos 5:19) vividly illustrates the inescapability of God's judgment.
Justice and Righteousness (Amos 5:21-27)
God despises the religious practices of Israel and refuses to accept them (Amos 5:21-23). The reason is clear: justice is absent from Israelite society (Amos 5:24). Amos reminds us that we cannot compartmentalize our faith. We cannot worship God on Sunday and then oppress our neighbor on Monday. We cannot read our Bible in private and then exploit others in public. True worship is inseparable from righteous living.
Therefore, the Lord calls his people to "let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24). This verse, famously quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. in his "I Have a Dream" speech, underscores the vital connection between faith in God and the pursuit of social justice. True faith compels us to act justly and righteously in all areas of life. Amos 5 calls us to examine our own lives and ensure that our worship is authentic, our faith is active, and our pursuit of justice is unwavering.
Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.
For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
But seek not Beth–el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer–sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth–el shall come to nought.
Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth–el.
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:
That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.
Amos 5 serves as a powerful and poignant call to repentance for the nation of Israel. Through lament, warning, and stark pronouncements of judgment, Amos confronts the people with their spiritual bankruptcy and social injustice, urging them to seek God and live. This chapter is not merely a historical record but a timeless message relevant to believers today, reminding us of the importance of genuine faith expressed through righteous living.
A Song of Lament (Amos 5:1-3)
Amos begins with a lament, a sorrowful song for the fallen state of Israel (Amos 5:1). He paints a bleak picture: Israel has fallen, and there is no one to raise her up (Amos 5:2). This is a direct consequence of their turning away from the Lord, the only one who could offer them true help and restoration. Without God's presence and protection, even the strongest nation is vulnerable. Amos 5:3 illustrates this point powerfully, emphasizing that even a city that sends a thousand soldiers to battle will only have a hundred return. This serves as a stark warning: self-reliance is futile. Just as a soldier needs "the full armor of God" to stand against the enemy (Ephesians 6:11), so too does a nation need God's presence to withstand its adversaries.
Seek the Lord and Live (Amos 5:4-12)
Amos contrasts the futility of idolatry with the life-giving power of seeking the Lord. Turning to idols at Bethel and other sacrificial locations is pointless (Amos 5:5). Instead, Amos implores the people to "Seek the LORD and live" (Amos 5:6). This call echoes Jesus' teaching to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33), highlighting that seeking God is the only path to true blessing and flourishing.
Seeking God is not a passive activity reserved for one day a week. It requires a daily commitment to align our perspective with God's Word and to live out that perspective in our daily lives. However, Israel refused to do this. They hated those who convicted the guilty and despised those who spoke with integrity (Amos 5:10). Their social injustices against the poor were rampant (Amos 5:11-12). This disconnect between their religious practices and their ethical behavior revealed the emptiness of their faith.
Pursue Good, Not Evil (Amos 5:13-17)
God's promise is clear: "Pursue good and not evil, that you may live, and the LORD, the God of Armies, will be with you" (Amos 5:14). True life and the presence of God are inextricably linked to pursuing righteousness. However, Israel refused to listen. Their future would be filled with wailing, anguish, and mourning (Amos 5:16-17). Their choice to reject good and embrace evil would lead to inevitable consequences.
Woes of Judgment (Amos 5:18-20)
Amos pronounces a "woe" upon those who long for the day of the Lord (Amos 5:18). "Woe" is a declaration of sorrow and despair, a foreshadowing of impending judgment. The "day of the Lord" is a recurring theme in the prophetic books, often referring to times when God carries out acts of judgment in history. It also points to the ultimate day of God's judgment at the end of time (1 Thessalonians 5:1-5).
Some Israelites eagerly anticipated the day when God's vengeance would be unleashed on the pagan nations. However, they failed to recognize that Israel itself had become like a pagan nation! Therefore, the day they anticipated would not be a day of light and blessing but a day of darkness and judgment (Amos 5:18, 20). The imagery of escaping a lion only to be mauled by a bear (Amos 5:19) vividly illustrates the inescapability of God's judgment.
Justice and Righteousness (Amos 5:21-27)
God despises the religious practices of Israel and refuses to accept them (Amos 5:21-23). The reason is clear: justice is absent from Israelite society (Amos 5:24). Amos reminds us that we cannot compartmentalize our faith. We cannot worship God on Sunday and then oppress our neighbor on Monday. We cannot read our Bible in private and then exploit others in public. True worship is inseparable from righteous living.
Therefore, the Lord calls his people to "let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:24). This verse, famously quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. in his "I Have a Dream" speech, underscores the vital connection between faith in God and the pursuit of social justice. True faith compels us to act justly and righteously in all areas of life. Amos 5 calls us to examine our own lives and ensure that our worship is authentic, our faith is active, and our pursuit of justice is unwavering.