Amos 5:1-17
Seek Me and Live
Read the passage
1Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lamentation I take up against you:
2“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.”
3This is what the Lord GOD says: “The city that marches out a thousand strong will have but a hundred left, and the one that marches out a hundred strong will have but ten left in the house of Israel.”
4For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: “Seek Me and live!
5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
6Seek the LORD and live, or He will sweep like fire through the house of Joseph; it will devour everything, with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.
7There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.
8He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD is His name—
9He flashes destruction on the strong, so that fury comes upon the stronghold.
10There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
11Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.
12For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.
13Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.
14Seek good, not evil, so that you may live. And the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be with you, as you have claimed.
15Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
16Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.
17There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Amos takes up a lament for fallen Israel, abandoned on her land with no one to raise her. A city sending out a thousand will have a hundred left; one sending a hundred will have ten. Yet the LORD calls the people to seek Him and live.
They must not seek protection at Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba. The LORD Himself is the One to seek, or fire will consume Joseph’s house. He made the Pleiades and Orion, turns darkness to dawn, and pours the sea’s waters over the earth. Strongholds cannot resist Him.
The accusations concern public life. People turn justice bitter, hate those who correct them at the gate, trample the poor, take grain taxes and bribes, and deny the needy justice. They will not enjoy the stone houses they built or the vineyards they planted. The times are so evil that the prudent keep silent.
The LORD calls them to seek good, hate evil, and establish justice at the gate. Perhaps He will be gracious to Joseph’s remnant. Claiming His presence must become conduct consistent with His ways.
The reading closes with wailing in squares, streets, and vineyards because the LORD will pass through their midst. Farmers join the mourners. The invitation to live is urgent precisely because the warning is so grave.
Questions
1 What has happened to Virgin Israel?
AnswerVirgin Israel has fallen and lies abandoned on her land, with no one able to raise her up from the judgment she has brought upon herself.
2 What does the LORD tell Israel to seek?
AnswerHe tells Israel to seek Him and live instead of trusting the shrines at Bethel, Gilgal, or Beersheba to protect them.
3 What have some people done to justice?
AnswerThey have turned justice into bitterness, cast righteousness down, taken bribes, and pushed the poor away from the place where judgment should protect them.
4 What must the people establish?
AnswerThey must hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate, making public decisions reflect the character of the God they claim to worship.
What This Means for Us
Amos joins seeking God with establishing justice where disputes are heard. The needy must receive a fair hearing, even when someone influential would prefer otherwise.
When a disagreement reaches you, listen to the person with less power as carefully as the person whose approval you want. In a family dispute, let the quieter child finish speaking. In a decision at work, do not let friendship or a favor decide what is fair.
Prayer
LORD, help us seek You and live. Turn us from convenient religion, make us love good, protect the poor, and give us courage to establish justice where we have influence. Amen.