Amos 5 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Amos 5

Seek the Lord and Live

5:1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

2   “Fallen, no more to rise,
    is the virgin Israel;
  forsaken on her land,
    with none to raise her up.”

3 For thus says the Lord GOD:

  “The city that went out a thousand
    shall have a hundred left,
  and that which went out a hundred
    shall have ten left
    to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:

  “Seek me and live;
5     but do not seek Bethel,
  and do not enter into Gilgal
    or cross over to Beersheba;
  for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
    and Bethel shall come to nothing.”
6   Seek the LORD and live,
    lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
    and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
7   O you who turn justice to wormwood¹
    and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8   He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
    and turns deep darkness into the morning
    and darkens the day into night,
  who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
  the LORD is his name;
9   who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
    so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10   They hate him who reproves in the gate,
    and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
11   Therefore because you trample on² the poor
    and you exact taxes of grain from him,
  you have built houses of hewn stone,
    but you shall not dwell in them;
  you have planted pleasant vineyards,
    but you shall not drink their wine.
12   For I know how many are your transgressions
    and how great are your sins—
  you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
    and turn aside the needy in the gate.
13   Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,
    for it is an evil time.
14   Seek good, and not evil,
    that you may live;
  and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,
    as you have said.
15   Hate evil, and love good,
    and establish justice in the gate;
  it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord:

  “In all the squares there shall be wailing,
    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
  They shall call the farmers to mourning
    and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17   and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
    for I will pass through your midst,”
      says the LORD.

Let Justice Roll Down

18   Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!
    Why would you have the day of the LORD?
  It is darkness, and not light,
19     as if a man fled from a lion,
    and a bear met him,
  or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
    and a serpent bit him.
20   Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light,
    and gloom with no brightness in it?
21   “I hate, I despise your feasts,
    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22   Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them;
  and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
    I will not look upon them.
23   Take away from me the noise of your songs;
    to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24   But let justice roll down like waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

Footnotes

[1] 5:7 Or to bitter fruit
[2] 5:11 Or you tax

Commentary

v1-3: The lament for a dying nation; unless they return to God, they will become desolate and defeated.

v4: Life comes only by seeking God. Amos is perfectly clear here.

v5: The people go to Bethel and Gilgal, pursuing idolatry; even going over to Beersheba, in Judah, far from home, cannot bring life.

v6: The command repeated, "seek the Lord and live." Depending on things, even God-given ritual, does not save. Life can only be found in Him.

v7: Justice and righteousness rejected.

v8-9: See 4.13; the greatness of God. We need to be reminded of His greatness; for such things cannot be true of an idol. Not only do we need to seek the true God, but we also need true vision of the true God. This is what He is really like.

v10-13: Falsehood and sins exposed.

v10: Prophets rejected; 2.12; 7.12-13; Hos 9.7; people who cherish their sins hate the truth. We need to be willing to hear God's word, even though it brings rebuke.

v11-12: The consequences of injustice; see Deut 28.39. The people will not enjoy the fruits of their dishonesty and injustice. Since the Lord knows, their sins cannot be hidden.

v13: The prudent keep silent, perhaps fearful of speaking out.

v14-15: The people claim that God is with them; Amos challenges this apparently empty claim. To seek God means to repent of sins, and to seek and to do good.

v16-17: The presence of God amongst the people would bring wailing and anguish; the people, complacent in their attitude, think that God would bring good to them whatever their attitude to Him.

v18-20: The Day of the Lord; the people mistakenly think that the Day would bring blessing, that the promises of the coming Messiah will be fulfilled, although they persist in their sins. The reality is different, "darkness, not light," consistent with Joel and Zephaniah.

We see that rebellion brings people into spiritual ignorance.

v21-23: Empty ritual not accepted by God.

v24: See v14-15; the need for justice and righteousness; God looks for obedience, not sacrifice.

v25-26: The evidence of the past, that the people, soon after leaving Egypt, pursued idolatry.

v27: The great God of v8-9, and of 4.13, will send His people into exile.