An Unexpected Wake-Up Call
April 27 | Rick Thiemke
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Amos 5:1-17
Seek the Lord and Live
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 wormwood[a]
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 on[b] 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.
In chapter 4, Amos warned God’s people that they were going to experience God’s judgment. In our text, Amos presented a lament. Some believe that he may have sung this lament like a dirge at one of Israel’s feasts that celebrated the blessed lives they were enjoying. In effect, Amos is pronouncing them dead when they are still quite alive. Amos probably caused quite a scene.
The message of Amos’s lament is clear. The life they thought they had was a lie.
You Can Be Alive On The Outside, But Spiritually Dead Inside
Jesus’ description of the church of Sardis would be a fitting description of Israel during Amos’s time: “I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:1). God’s people outwardly appeared to be vibrant and alive. There were large landowners and prosperous corporations.There was more religious activity during this time compared to any other time of Israel’s history.
Religion Isn’t The Same As Devotion
God’s people had substituted religion for authentic devotion to God. They worshipped at sacred and meaningful places like Bethel, Gilgal and Beersheba. Their trust was in the benefits that these places represented, rather than in the Lord who made these promises. As they received the Lord’s blessings, they did not live their lives to be pleasing to the Lord (Matthew 6:33). They were more interested in, “What’s in it for me?” It was all about their own blessing.
Don’t Trade Reality For Repetition
The people of God repeated rhetoric - the repetition of mantras - for reality. They seemed to believe that if they continued saying that God was with them, then He was. Saying positive words over and over will not change reality.
God’s Call Still Stands: Seek Me, And Live
Amos pronounced their death. They have heard his lament. But God who “gives life to the dead” (Romans 4:17) calls the dead people of Israel to seek Him and live. We cannot rely on religious activity without true change in our heart and actions for right standing with God (2 Corinthians 5:17). Matthew 7:15-23 should be a wake-up call for all who are active in the church. If we substitute religious activity for true devotion to God, we are in store for great disappointment. Substitutes lead to captivity and death.
What Seeking God Really Looks Like
The Lord spoke through Amos, “Seek good, and not evil…Hate evil, and love good” (verses 14-15). Seeking good and hating evil are characteristic of one who loves the Lord (3 John 11). To seek good and love good is to uphold God’s standard or moral and ethical behavior in relationship to others (Micah 6:8). We are to love kindness. God cares how we treat others. We have received God’s kindness and mercy and are mandated to exhibit the same kindness and mercy to others.
The Gospel Gives Us Hope
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). We are His people. He is in control of all things. We are not in control of our lives, our possessions, nor our eternities. We are not independent, but we are altogether dependent upon the Lord. We need to respond to the Lord’s invitation to seek Him and live (2 Chronicles 15:2).
Discussion Questions
In what ways do people today - maybe even us - project spiritual life on the outside, while struggling or being dead internally?
Are there any "spiritual routines" or Christian phrases you find yourself leaning on that might actually be covering up a lack of real devotion?
How can we be sure our faith is real and not just surface-level religion?