seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Amos 5:1 Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.”
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.”
3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:
“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.”
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek me and live;
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a]”
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour them,
and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a]”
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour them,
and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground.
and cast righteousness to the ground.
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns midnight into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.
who turns midnight into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court
and detest the one who tells the truth.
and detest the one who tells the truth.
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing in all the streets
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god[b]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god[b]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.
a. Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
b. Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols
I'm using enduringword.com this morning.
The virgin of Israel has fallen: Amos saw Israel as a tragic young woman who was fallen and forsaken, with no one coming to her aid. In her rebellion against God, Israel was as helpless as a young woman among violent men.
The city that goes out by a thousand shall have a hundred left: Amos predicted that things would become so bad for Israel that when the enemy came, a city that would have before sent out a thousand soldiers would only send out a hundred.
Seek Me and live: When Israel was ripe for judgment, the key to survival was to simply seek the LORD. However, they could not seek the LORD unless they first would not seek places of disobedience and self-will (exemplified by Bethel and Gilgal and other rival centers of worship).
Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were once places associated with great privilege and spiritual heritage. Now they were places of vain, empty worship.
Bethel was the place where God met Jacob (Genesis 28:11-19, Genesis 35:1-7).
Gilgal was the place where Israel’s spiritual reproach was rolled away in the days of Joshua (Joshua 5:1-12).
You who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest: Amos again confronted the corrupt legal system of Israel. Justice had been thoroughly spoiled, and righteousness was as good as dead.
He made the Pleiades and Orion: Amos explained why God was worthy to be sought, and why He could deliver Israel from their coming doom. He could do it because He is the God mighty enough and wise enough to make and uphold the starry constellations in the sky, and to manage the creation.
They shall call the farmer to mourning, and skillful lamenters to wailing: This refered to the Jewish practice of hiring professional mourners to wail at a funeral. Amos described judgment so widespread that there would be a shortage of skillful lamenters, so they would have to hire the farmer to mourning.
Because the Prophet Amos as a farmer, he often related the judgments of God to how they affect the farmers of Israel.
For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light: In their religious ritualism, the people of Israel still claimed they longed for the day of the LORD. Amos rightly warned them that they don’t know what they asked for because the day of the LORD would bring them judgment, not mercy. They would end up worse off than before; it will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him!
Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream: It is easy to separate our religious ceremonies from the way we treat others, and to think that God should be happy if we give Him “His due” without regard to justice and righteousness towards others. God won’t have it. He says, “Keep your annoying religious ceremonies, and let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
This is from Bibletracker.org.
Notice the rebuke of Amos to many in Israel in verse 18, "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." "Bring on that day of the Lord," many in Israel cried. They were looking for a day when all of Israel's enemies would be defeated. In their minds, an enemy of Israel was an enemy of God. Here's what they did not realize: they had set themselves up as enemies of God also. The "day of the Lord" they were looking for was coming, but it would engulf them along with the surrounding nations. That "day" was the day the Assyrians would show up and take them into captivity and ravage their land and houses. The "captivity beyond Damascus" is the northern route they took past Damascus, then east to Assyria. So, while the misguided people of Israel were looking forward to the "day of the Lord," little did they realize that this would mark their own destruction.
I don't know how many times I have heard "I feel the Lord" in church. It's as if people expect to live a human life..... and then when they walk into the church, Jesus miraculously knows they are there and He wisps in on wings to hover so they can feel His presence. IMHO... that's just bunk!I have a friend who use to use the Bible like an 8 Ball. She would get silent.... lift her head up and ask a question.... then she would hold her Bible on it's spine so it would "fall open to the passage" [her words] and then plop her finger on a verse.... and that would be the answer to her prayer. She would then twist the verse to fit the question. IMHO... that's just bunk!
Unlike the Temple in Jerusalem, Judah.... the "temples" in Israel had golden calves to worship. Unlike the Temple in Jerusalem, Judah... the "temples" in Israel were a place where any god anyone wanted to worship would be good to go...... such an inclusive atmosphere must be just what the church treasurer would have enjoyed. Unlike the Temple in Jerusalem, Judah.... there were mass quantities of ritualistic behavior offering up all kinds of sacrifices from grain to human babies.... with a little sexual orgy on the side to assure there would always be enough human sacrifices to be found.
The place Amos is describing is a horrible place for a good woman to be living. I certainly am happy that our courts and our leaders and our churches and our merchants are above all that..... they would never take a bribe or put their own wants above the needs of the people or mislead a child of God or rip off a poor man leaving him homeless and hungry while they sip wine and throw their leftovers to the dogs. I'm glad the world is not like that now.... oh come on... of course that's just bunk.... I know that all this is happening globally.
It's not the building.... it's not the golden calves.... it's not the inclusiveness..... it's not the mass quantities rather than quality.... it's about the truth. The truth is.... as I see it.... I should be a Christian every day of the week. I should try to be like Christ every day of the week. I should not bow to another god.... I should be happy with what I have and be happy to give what I have to others who may have a need. It's about knowing that God is with His children every single minute.... even when we are misbehaving..... and that has nothing to do with the building....
Can't explain it this morning.... but I know that history repeats itself..... and Amos was telling the people of Israel all of this stuff over 700 years before Jesus came to earth. Sounds a lot like the 5 o'clock news to me.......
