Amos 5:6-13

REVELATION CALLS FOR REPENTANCEGOD'S OMNIPOTENCE AND OMNISCIENCE

TEXT: Amos 5:6-13

6

Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

7

Ye who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth,

8

seek him that maketh the Pleiades 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; (Jehovah is his name;)

9

that bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong, so that destruction cometh upon the fortress.

10

They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly,

11

Forasmuch therefore as ye trample upon the poor, and take exactions from him 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 the wine thereof.

12

For I know how manifold are your transgressions, and how mighty are your sins; ye that afflict the just, that take a bribe, and that turn aside the needy in the gate from their right.

13

Therefore he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time; for it is an evil time.

QUERIES

a.

What is turning justice to wormwood?

b.

What is turning the shadow of death into the morning?

c.

Why shall the prudent keep silence?

PARAPHRASE

Again I say to you, Israel, Seek the Lord and live or else He will leap like devouring fire through your nation and consume her, and none of the false gods of Bethel will be able to stop Him. You evil men who turn justice into a bitter pill for the poor and oppressed, righteousness is trampled into the dust by you; you had better seek the Great Creator, the Omnipotent One, who created the Seven Stars and the constellation Orion; He is omnipotent also in His government of the universe for He turns the deepest misery into prosperity and light or turns the bright day of prosperity into the dark night of adversity; He calls to the waters of the sea to pour themselves over the earth in terrible floods to judge the wicked and no strong man and no fortress can defy Him for He is the Omnipotent God, Jehovah! Any man who dares to stand for righteousness and justice is hated. You may have built great houses but you will not live in them; you may have planted pleasant vineyards but you will never enjoy even the first wine that is produced by them; all because you have oppressed the poor and unjustly extorted measurements of wheat from them as bribes for the evil judges. I am the Omniscient One and I know the multitude of your transgressions and the magnitude of your sins; you make war on those who want to be just, you pervert justice by taking bribes and you refuse to help those who are needy and seek redress of wrong. On account of this time of wide-spread moral corruption, the man who plays it smart will be silent since all speaking and warning brings persecution.

SUMMARY

God, through the prophet Amos, reveals the corruption of the Israelites thus displaying His omniscience and contrasts that with His omnipotence in creation and government. This adds force to the warning and the predictions of judgment.

COMMENT

Amos 5:6 SEEK JEHOVAH, AND YE SHALL LIVE; LEST HE BREAK OUT LIKE FIRE. The prophet repeats his call to the people that Jehovah (which includes His Word for this is where He has revealed His person and His will) is their source of life. To turn to Him is the only alternative to inevitable destruction. If they do not seek Him (where He is supposed to be sought) He will break out like a fire, He will become a roaring inferno which will consume the whole nation of Israel (house of Joseph) and none of their false gods and false religious practices at Bethel will be able to stop the judgment; they are powerless, they are dumb (cf. Isaiah 41:21-29; Isaiah 44:6-20). He is omnipotent; He has the authority and power to grant life or He has the authority and power to take it away. Israel must choose the alternative course from the one she is now following if she would have life.

Amos 5:7-9 YE. TURN JUSTICE TO WORMWOOD. SEEK HIM THAT MAKETH THE PLEIADES. AND. SHADOW OF DEATH INTO. MORNING. AND MAKETH THE DAY DARK WITH NIGHT. THAT CALLETH FOR THE WATERS OF THE SEA. THAT BRINGETH SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. Wormwood is a species of plant related to our western sagebrush. It was the oriental source of a much used oil obtained from the dried leaves and tops of the plant. Absinthe, a liqueur, the continuous use of which leads to mental deterioration and even death, derives its flavor from this oil (cf. Lamentations 3:15; Lamentations 3:19). The plant is a symbol of bitterness. The rich and powerful of Israel had perverted justice (that which is supposed to be sweet, pure, refreshing and vital) into bitterness and rottenness. They were wiping their feet on every semblance of rightthey had trampled it down to the ground. It is difficult to imagine a society so corrupt. Yet history records other eras just as corrupt (e.g. last days of Roman empire; Dark Ages). In certain areas of our big cities justice is just as severely perverted. But again, the Lord appeals to the people on the basis of His omnipotence. Contrasted with their present condition of being in the darkness of sin, He who made the starry heavens is able to turn their deepest misery into the glorious light of morning. He is also able to take what may appear to their sin-seared consciences as prosperity and turn it into a dark night of adversity, This calls to our mind the sublime statement of God's sovereignty in Isaiah 45:5-7; I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I gird you, though you do not know me, that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe, I am the Lord, who do all these things. This passage is in a context where God, through Isaiah, is foretelling (by approximately 200 years before his birth) of the service Cyrus, future king of Persia, is going to render to God and His people! Blessing and curse both come from the Lord to serve His sovereign purposesit is up to man to choose which he will have! Yes, He even commands the seas and the rivers and brings about the catastrophic floods with sudden destruction upon wickedness. Man will never build a fortress, a bomb shelter, or an underground command complex strong enough to withstand the hand of the Omnipotent God!

Amos 5:10-12 THEY HATE HIM THAT REPROVETH IN THE GATE. YE HAVE BUILT HOUSES OF HEWN STONE, BUT YE SHALL NOT DWELL IN THEM. FOR I KNOW HOW MANIFOLD ARE YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS. Now the omniscience of the Lord is revealed. He is not blind and deaf! He knows both the multitude and the magnitude of their sins. They despise anyone who takes a stand for righteousness and justice. The only persons they like are those who trample and oppress the poor and demand bribes for judgments. This reminds us of the words of Jesus, If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world. therefore the world hates you (John 15:19). Birds of a feather, flock together! From their blood money they have built magnificent plantationsgreat houses and rich vineyards. How many tears and moans of the starving went into the ill-gotten gain of the rich and influential one can only guess! They have built them, but they shall not dwell in themthey shall not enjoy the harvest of their vineyards. The Lord will fulfill His threat (Deuteronomy 28:30; Micah 6:15; Zephaniah 1:13), for He knows the arrogance and evil of the rich and He hears the groans and supplications of the oppressed.

There are two false concepts the people had of Jehovah God. First, they believed He could be worshiped apart from His own revelation of Himself. Second, they believed that their conduct toward their fellow man had no bearing on their relationship to God. These are exactly the two main concepts John the apostle deals with in his First epistle, (cf. 1 John 2:3-4; 1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:11-24; 1 John 4:1-12; 1 John 4:20-21, etc.). We must seek God, that is we must learn about Him, obey Him and worship Him, only as we are guided by His revelation of Himself in His delivered Word. At the same time we must love men as He loves them. To turn aside the needy manifests a hatred of God regardless of how many worship rituals we may observe!

Amos 5:13 THEREFORE HE THAT IS PRUDENT SHALL KEEP SILENCE IN SUCH A TIME. It is difficult for us to understand this as a divine injunction. In the light of Amos-' actions in not remaining silent and the many exhortations in both Old and New Testaments toward speaking the Word of God against social injustices, we prefer to understand this as another of Amos-' rebukes couched in irony and sarcasm. Some men may never know the reality of the suffering of the oppressed and poor because of their failure to take time to consider it as a real problem. Others do not know of it because they have forced themselves to ignore it, not wanting to be troubled with the other fellow's problem. Humanity can be sure of this: God knows it, and in the long stretch of history will act to bring it to an end. A society built on injustice and fed on the sufferings of the oppressed can never stand.

The social and political situation had so deteriorated in the day of Amos that the smart man would either join the establishment or keep quiet. The same situation prevails in every generation. It even drifts into the religious society. The advice comes constantly, Don-'t get excited, don-'t get carried away, don-'t become a fanatic or preacher of doom. Keep your nose out of it. Play it coolbe wisekeep your mouth shut. It's just best not to get mixed up in any way with things going on in these evil times! But there is one who will not keep silent. God will not keep silent, for He has spoken once for all in the New Testament on such injustice and He has warned His people to speak out against it also. He will continue to speak if voices will rise up in this generation who are wise enough that they will not keep silent like Amos (cf. also Ezekiel 33:1-16). Human personality cannot be abused for personal gain without Divine retribution. Let us pray that our generation learns this lesson from God's Book before it has to experience God's judgment!

QUIZ

1.

What two alternatives are offered to the people of Israel by Amos?

2.

What was the omnipotent God able to do with their wretched condition, if they repented? If they did not repent, what then?

3.

How does God use weal and woe? Quote scripture proof!

4.

Why does the world hate those who stand for righteousness?

5.

What two false concepts did Israel have concerning Jehovah God?

6.

What did Amos mean by ... the prudent will keep silent?