Amos 5:1-17--Seek the LORD and Live

Amos 5:1-17
English Standard Version

Seek the LORD and Live
5 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
    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 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.

---

The northern ten tribes called Israel are going off to exile and they will never again rise to their place of prominence among the nations.  They will not be completely destroyed as they are promised that they will go out a city of 1,000 and come back as one-hundred.

Why?  What has changed for the LORD's people?  They have ceased to seek the LORD.  He calls to them one final time to "Seek the LORD and live."  Otherwise fiery judgment is coming on the house of Joseph (the leaders of the northern ten tribes).  They are to seek the LORD, but not at any of the high places they have gone to commune with Him in the past.  These tribes thought like the pagans that the gods were attached to specific places and if they were removed from the Land they would be removed from God or that if another country defeated them it was because that country's god was stronger.  The LORD tells them that they will have to seek Him while in a foreign land, because they will taken into exile.

He is the LORD who made the stars of the heavens and designed them to make beautiful constellations visible from Earth to keep track of days, and times, and seasons.  He is the one that controls the seemingly uncontrollable seas with their constant tossing and churning (a symbol of the instability of the Gentile nations).  The LORD sets boundaries for the sea just like He sets boundaries for the Gentile nations.  He restrains the destructive power of the sea just like He will allow the Gentile nations to punish, but not destroy His people.  The LORD is in complete control of even the things that look chaotic.  None of these things in nature can be explained apart from His divine will and providence.  He is the Creator and the Sustainer of all things.

He causes the night to turn to day and then to return to night again.  He controls the wind and the rain and tell the lightning bots where they should go.  Not even the strongest warrior or fortress can withstand His wrath if He turns to judge them.  There is no place to hide from Him and no one stronger than Him to run to for protection or salvation.  He is the only one able to save, so they would be wise to fall on their faces before Him, repent and plead for mercy.

They have become the very things that God says that He hates.  They hate wisdom and correction and abhor the truth.  They use and abuse the poor and try to excise taxes from the poor while the rich and powerful live comfortably, paying little to nothing in taxes (this is not an argument for Communism, but there was a "fair tax" system where everyone paid the same percentage, and there were accommodations for those who were unable to pay anything).  Because of this, the people will not dwell in their palaces and mansion. They will not drink the wine of their walled-in vineyards.  Someone else will enjoy the fruits of their labors, because they will be sent into exile.

The LORD knows their many sins and transgressions.  He knows the condition of their hearts--that they are far from Him.  They have persecuted the prophets and the other righteous ones that the LORD has sent to them to warn them.  They are pervert justice for a bribe--every man has his price.  Those who cannot pay a bribe are denied justice and are turned away at the city gate.  This is not the way that the LORD commanded them to conduct business, personal, or civil affairs in the Law.  These are abominations to the LORD which He hates and have made the people detestable to the LORD and the other nations.

The LORD says that the wise men remain silent in such a time as they know their wisdom is not welcome.  They are likely to be persecuted or even killed for speaking the truth.  The wicked do not want to hear reproof of their folly, nor do they want to hear the truth of God's Word.  They want their ears tickled to tell them that the LORD is permissive and winks at their sin and they have no need to repent.  Our world today is not that different.

The people as individuals and as a nation are told the need their moral compass realigned.  They need to seek good, not evil.  Then, and only then might they live.  If they return to the LORD He will once again be their God and they will be His people.  They are to hate evil and love good just as He does.  They are to love what He loves and hate what He hates.  They are to do justly and to love mercy.  If they do this, there is a chance that the LORD will make their punishment less severe.

However, God knows the end result.  The people will not repent.  They will be stubborn and rebellious and will face a heavy hand of punishment and correction.  The whole land will be in a state of mourning and lamentation.  The LORD will pass through there midst, but this will not be like Passover where the LORD passed over the houses of the Israelites.  They are now like the Egyptians who experienced the tenth plague when the LORD went through midst.  Recall how much grieving and mourning there was among the Egyptians when they woke up and every household was touched by the judgment of the LORD.  This punishment seems much more severe in that it seems the LORD said it will be as if 90% will face destruction and only 10% will one day return from the Exile.