CHAPTER 5

1 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

Amos calls this a "lamentation" (vs 1), crying for Israel. She was a "virgin" because she never had been conquered (vs 2). But now she would be 90% destroyed! Verse 3 says where there WERE 1,000, there will be only 100!

4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. 6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. 7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name: 9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

As bad as it shall be for Israel, it is not totally and utterly desperate, for they can "seek" God and "live" (vs 4). No matter what your case is at the present, you are not too far gone for God to save if you are still breathing. Let your next breath bring confession, repentence and surrender to the Lord of Glory and He will save you.

But if they "seek" the idols (at Bethel, Gilgal and Beer-sheba)(vs 5) they will die or be taken captive. Idols cannot save, they are only imaginations of men. Be sure of WHOM you worship and WHY!

When God begins to destroy (vs 6) Israel, NO ONE can stop it! God is omnipotent, the God of ALL power!

There were those in Israel who turned "judgment into wormwood" (vs 7), or made deliverance bitter. They did not follow "righteousness" but determined to do what they wanted rather than listen to God. But God is the Creator of ALL things, stars, morning, day, night, sea, and even death (vs 8). In that day He was known as JEHOVAH. And the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament (Isaiah 43:11, Revelation 1:18, 2:23).

They who do not believe (vs 9) bring destruction upon themselves; for God is the One that makes the weak strong and the strong weak.

10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

The people despised honest judges that "rebuketh" (vs 10), and "abhor" (or hate) those who speak truth. They took advantage of the "poor" (vs 11) and built many extra houses for themselves, while the poor were disadvantaged.

God sees and knows ALL the "transgressions" (vs 12) of men. He knows even the hidden sins!

In the day of judgment, it is a an "evil time" (vs 13) and those who are wise will keep silence at God's determinations. MY!! What an AWESOME day it will be when God calls all the dead to arise and be placed before Him for eternal determination.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

God's desire is that mankind should follow His manner of righteousness in the earth (vs 14), to "seek good, and not evil." When a person surrenders to Christ, that person takes the Word of God (Bible) into his/her heart, and tries to follow it as best he/she can. When a person does that, then God is "with" him/her.

Despise evil, love good, and make righteous judgment a matter of public priority!! THEN God will be "gracious"!

16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. 17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. 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. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

It will be an AWESOME day indeed when God judges mankind! Notice (vs 17) God will "pass through thee." When God had visited the Egyptians to "deliver" Israel, He had "passed OVER" them. But now His visitation will bring death and destruction because of their sinfulness.

There are those today who mock the coming of the Lord as they did in those days, saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" But when that day DOES come (vs 18), it will not be a matter for mocking, but a matter of grave seriousness. That day will bring spiritual DARKNESS to hearts already black with sin!

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.

God despises empty religiosity! Church membership and attendance without genuine relationship with Him is void of meaning. These people were bringing sacrifices and offerings (vs 22), and praising God in songs (vs 23). But they were corrupting His worship with idol worship (vs 26).

What God wants is RELATIONSHIP which brings righteous action in our lives (vs 24).

Since they continued to practice idolatry, God would bring destruction and captivity (vs 27).

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.