Amos 5:4-15

Amos chapter 5 beginning with verse 4. For thus saith the Lord under the house of Israel, seek ye me and you shall live. But seek not Bethel nor enter into Gilgau and pass not to Beersheba, for Gilgall shall surely go into captivity and Bethel shall come to naught. Seek the Lord. Ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devirate, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Ye who turn judgment to Wormwood and leave off righteousness in the earth, seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, turneth the shadow of death in 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 that strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled against the fortress. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. For as much, therefore, as your treading is upon the poor, and you take from him birds, of wheat. You have built houses of ewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. But I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins. They afflict the just. They take a bribe. They turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore, the proofs. shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil that ye may live, and so the Lord, the God of host, shall be with you as you as you have spoken. 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 under the remnant of Joseph. May God bless to us His sacred and holy word this evening. The Titanic was heralded as the world’s first unsinkable ship, and it was the largest steamship built at that particular time. It cost $7.5 million. And on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. ocean. She struck an iceberg about 400 miles off of Newfoundland and began to sink. Of the 2,206 persons on board, only 703 were rescued, and all the rest perished. One of the problems, of course, is that they didn’t think they needed life so many lifeboats because it was unsinkable. The unthinkable happened, though. The world’s first. The world’s first first unsinkable ship actually sunk on her maiden voyage, no less. Israel, in a way, thought that she was like the Titanic, that she was beyond the possibility of sinking beneath the waves of history. Other nations may be destroyed, but she had arisen from Abraham’s loins. She was the apple of God. God’s eye. She was unsinkable. She was indestructible. At least she thought. So Israel, it sounded ridiculous that Amos, as we saw in the first three verses of this chapter, would be pronouncing her obituary and mourning her death. Israel is warned in our text of scripture, to seek the Lord, so that she would enjoy God’s blessing and avoid his curse, as the law easily stated in several places. Seek you the Lord, and you shall live. Verse 4. And yet Israel refused to obey the Lord. Therefore, her days were numbered as a nation. The northern kingdom is going to sink beneath the waves of human history, never to rise. again. And that is the sad case of this northern kingdom. Now, you’ll notice in verse 13, it says, therefore, the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time. You find here the characteristics of an evil society. The silence of the righteous in the face of overwhelming evil is mentioned here in verse 13. Now, the text is not talking about the silence of someone who, in the face of divine judgment, admits that God is right in bringing the judgment, and therefore submits to it silently. Remember when Nadab and Abuayhu, the two sons, of Aaron were struck dead by God for offering strange fire before the Lord we read that Aaron held his peace. He said nothing. The word therefore, which introduces verse 13, takes us back to the moral decay and injustice of verse 12. I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty. sins and so forth. Therefore, we’re talking about an evil society. One of the marks of an evil society is that people keep quiet in the face of man’s unrighteousness. This means that no one was standing up to condemn it. No one was opposing it. You remember when Jonah was sent by God to Ninevehah, he was told to cry against it’s wickedness. Cry out. Lift up your voice, protest, denounce it. But the signs of the time here are such that Amos is saying that Prudent people do not make themselves heard. Society will treat them harshly if they speak up, so therefore they keep quiet. It seems that the wicked men and the fools are doing all the talking. Sinful people hold the most important positions. They run things and prudent people withdraw from the public arena. Amos is not saying that remaining silent, here is the prudent thing to do overall. Rather, he’s reporting the sad state of affairs that no one, even those who have some wisdom, are speaking out. When people prefer prefer to remain silent about wickedness. Because of the harsh retaliation that may come down upon their heads, it is a sign of an evil society that’s in sad shape. Now, many people might look at the days of Jerobol and the second here and think, well, they were great times financially. What do you do? What do you mean in evil time? everything’s going good. We’re making money. We’re prosperous at this point and so forth. It’s a great time to be alive if your business is thriving. God doesn’t look at things the same way that man does. Imagine if we decided that we would take off our coins the phrase in God we trust. Now the coins, certainly be still worth the same amount. It wouldn’t change the coins, but it would say something about society, wouldn’t it? And when we take the Ten Commandments down, these various statutes that were erected outside of courtrooms and so forth, where the Ten Commandments are laid out as the basis for our law, and we take them down. It says something. something about our society. Does it not? Well, we will not tolerate God’s truth and God’s word. It says something about our society. And this is the sad fact that we’re dealing with. When the righteous clam up, when they hide in the shadows, it’s a mark of an evil society. The silence of the righteous in the face of overwhelming evil we see here. We see also the terrible social injustice. Verse seven, ye who turn judgment to wormwood and leave off righteousness in the earth or in the land. Then notice verses 10 to 12. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate. And they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. For as much therefore as your treading is upon the poor and you take from him burdens of wheat. You have built houses of eunestone, but you shall not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins. They afflict the just. They take a bribe. They turn aside the poor and the gate from their right. Now, these words really don’t need much explanation. Some of them we have commented on in the past, but the common complaint is there is a perversion of justice in the land. They don’t want to hear what’s right. They don’t want to hear about the injustice of their behavior. The word judgment in verse 7 here in the King James version means justice. Justice was thoroughly perverted and turned into galling injustice. Amos goes into some detail about it. Anyone who pleads the cause of the oppressed at the gate, which at that time was the courtroom, if you would, or the courthouse for those who wished to have justice done, these people would be abhorred. They would be hated. They would be hated. They would be denounced. The wealthy knew all about exploitation. The poor farmer was pressured into giving up his grain. And it stated here, the rich took from the poor burdens of weight. Huge amounts of their crops were taken from them. A small favor for the nice man who was good enough to lend his money to you. So they exploited the poor. The judges were also experts at exploitation. Verse 12 indicates justice was paid for rather than meet it out. If you had enough money, you could get acquitted. Criminals and the guilty people would be acquitted. If they were willing to pay, money could buy anything. But the poor with no money in their pockets simply were pushed aside, and their cases were turned away, and they were exploited. So here it is. situation was such. It allowed the rich to indulge in luxuries, such as building houses out of ewn stone, just like in Solomon’s house, and to plant, you know, nice vineyards and so forth. Everything, as he mentions in verse 11 is because they’re enjoying the benefits of their exploitation of the poor. Terrible social. justice. A selfish and godless religion. Versus four and five. For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, seek ye me, and you shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgau. Pass not to Beersheba. For Gilgall shall surely go into captivity and Bethel shall come to naught. In spite of all the wickedness that was going on, We see that the people still were very religious and were dedicated to going to the various centers where religious activities would take place. Sacrifices at Bethel and Gilgale. And we assume also Beersheba. It did create, I guess, an outward impression of the looks like they’re spiritually healthy because everybody’s going to church. or, so, you know, at least the religious center. The Israelites had adopted an easy form of religion. Didn’t interfere with their lifestyle. Didn’t condemn them. And therefore, it was just what they wanted. Does that sound familiar? Yet Amos cries out here not to seek Bethel, but seek the Lord instead. Now, when he says seek the Lord and live, you’ll notice later on he talks about Bethel and Gilgall going into captivity. This word live here sometimes is used in the sense if you don’t want to die off. If you don’t want to be, you know, die as a nation, you want to live and not go into captivity and so forth, then you better do what God tells you to do. But certainly we could, I guess, use it in the sense of living spiritually as well. But in this context, that seems to be. one of the focuses. Now, why would it be wrong to go to Gilgale? Why would it be wrong to go to Bethel? We talked about this before, because God’s not going to have anything to do with these religious centers. He has already said in chapter 4, verse 4, if you go there, you’re sinning. You’re transgressing. That’s not the place where God has established his worship, it’s at Jerusalem. Seeking the Lord and going to Bethel, then were two very different things. their sacrifices did not represent a search for Jehovah’s favor and blessing. Their entire religion at these religious centers rested on the heathen principle that somehow or other we can win the favor of God by our sacrifices. He’ll owe us one. He’ll pay us back for what we’ve done. It’s sort of a situation where we gain an advantage that God owes me a blessing. The idea behind all this was that they wanted to make the Lord indebted to them. A very selfish, very godless religion that they had. So these are the characteristics of an evil society, silence of the righteous, a terrible or social injustice, and a selfish and godless religion. secondly, you see how God deals with an evil society. There is a call for people, of course, to seek the Lord. In verse 6, he says, seek the Lord, and you shall live. And then look at verses 14 and 15. Seek good and not evil that ye may live, saith the Lord, the God of hosts. And the Lord, the God of hosts shall be with you as you have spoken. Hate, eat. and love the good and establish judgment or justice, if you would, in the gate. It may be that the Lord of hosts, the Lord God of hosts, will be gracious under the remnant of Joseph. If only they would seek what is good and not what is evil. God promises a hope to cause them to rise from the grave, so to speak. to live again. In verse 3, we read about a remnant remaining. When he struck down these cities, the large and the small cities, only 10% would survive. A remnant. In verse 15, he again speaks about the idea of a remnant, the remnant of the remnant of Joseph. And in verse 9, he says, that strength of the spoiled, against the strong, that God is able to strengthen those who have been previously spoiled, overrun by a false, I should say a heathen group of people with false religion. And therefore, the spoiled can come against the fortress of the strong and defeat them. So there’s a sense in which God says, I can turn the tables for you. I can give you an opportunity to. defeat the enemy that has, first of all, defeated you. Yet even the hope that Amos holds out to them at this point is kind of slim. Notice how he phrases this. It may be, there’s no guarantee of this. He said, it may be that God will spare a remnant here. If there’s any hope at all, it is for those in Israel to seek the Lord God is gracious, God is long-suffering, perhaps he will show you mercy after you’ve suffered, after you’ve gone into captivity. He may recover you, and he will recover some of the remnant. Of course, they will be connected more with the Southern Kingdom when it comes back. But he’s done so in the past. In the book of judges, in the book of kings. There is hope that the Lord will spare. And so Amos here is holding out some hope for these individuals. There’s a call for Israel to seek the Lord God. It’s the only hope they have. Israel is reminded of just who Jehovah is. In verse 8, seek Him that maketh the stars in Orion, and turneth the shadow of death in the morning, and makeeth 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. This is a wonderful verse, isn’t it? Describing who the true God is. And the first thing he mentions here is the fact that he is the creator of heaven and earth. He’s the Lord of it and Creator of it. And he’s the Lord of it. He’s the one that made the seven stars. Well, we call those the Pleiades. And Orion is called the Hunter. These are beautiful constellations in our heavens. God says, I made them. I set them up there. He arranged those bright stars the way they are. And we find that God is not only the creator, but he’s the one who maintains his creation. as well. His daily care is reflected in the alteration here of day and night, year after year, just as he promised Noah after the flood. He is also the one that controls the forces of nature. He pours down rain upon one area of the earth. May withhold it from another as we saw earlier in chapter four. But we find here that he draws the water, the moisture, I guess, from the sea, brings it up into the clouds, and then it gets poured down upon the land. He grants military victory, according to verse 9, so that those previously defeated are able to recover and destroy their enemies. We touched on that previously. Yes, Jehovah is his name. This is the God you are to seek, O Israel. So, they’re reminded of who just who Jehovah is. And then we see coming judgment upon an evil society is threatened in verse 6. Seek the Lord and you shall live lest. He break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devirate it and there be none to quench it in Bethel. If they don’t seek the Lord, God says he is going to send his fire of judgment upon the nation. He is going to bring a fire that can’t be quenched. It can’t be stopped. When he starts bringing this judgment, there’s no way that they’re going to somehow put out the fire and save themselves. No, it’s going to burn it to the ground, so that speak, it’s going to destroy the nation entirely. Divor everything in its path. Remember in chapter 1, repeatedly God says he’s going to send fire upon this nation, upon that nation. In chapter 2, he even talked. talks about Israel and Judah and the fire of God going out. So here he is repeating that theme. So I don’t need to dwell upon it. Nothing will be left of Bethelwood Gilgill. Those beautiful centers for religious activity will be gone. Joseph’s house is going to go up in flames. Now the house of Joseph, it speaks of the northern kingdom, the whole nation. which here is represented by its most important tribe. Sometimes we call it by the House of Ephraim, the largest and most important tribe of the Northern Kingdom, who was the son of Joseph. So you get the sense here that Amos realizes the inevitability of what’s going to take place. But he tells them you better seek the Lord. There may be hope that a remnant may be restored. The fire of God is coming. Maybe he’ll save a few brands from the burning, as verse 15 indicates. This is how God deals with an evil society. Now let me make these practical applications tonight as we ponder this passage. And the first is this. You need to truly seek the Lord. Truly seeking the Lord is not just a matter of going to a religious center. and going to a place that’s so-called a church. These people are going to do places of worship for the purpose of extracting something from God as a quid quo pro. I give God worship and he’ll give me what I want in return. The health and wealth gospel that is so prevalent and many churches today carries the same idea as Israel’s pagan religion. You use God to get what you want. you give God to God and you’ll get rich. You give to God and he’ll keep you healthy. The more you give, the bigger the blessing will be. This is not seeking the Lord. This is treating God as some magic genie who will fulfill whatever wish you may have. Seeking the Lord requires drawing near the Lord in fellowship. in devotion, in love. It means daily seeking his guidance and strength as you live in this life. In other words, all that you do then comes under the guiding hand of God your life is structured by the revealed will of God. You don’t draw up the blueprint for your life and go to God and ask him to fulfill a rubber stamp what you have stated. You go to God’s word and see what the blueprint is for you and your Christian life. Someone who seeks the Lord seeks to do his will. And that means hating evil. Avoiding it. As verse 15 talks about. Hate the evil, love the good. Verse 14. Seek good and not evil. This means cutting out of our life. Those sins that beset us. It means a mortification of sin. Those who do not seek the Lord are going to meet with the unquenchable fire of hell. That is to come. The words of Jesus Christ about the fire that cannot be quenched certainly fits here. The fire that will burn those who belong to the kingdom of this world and they will face everlasting. and they will face everlasting. destruction. So you need to seek the Lord. The second thing I suggest to you from this text tonight is this. Your silence may be sinful. In Amos’s day, good people looked around at all the wickedness in the evilness of the times and they decided I’m not going to say a word. I’m going to keep quiet. And for them, they looked at this as the prudent thing to do. It’s no use, they said to themselves. no one’s listening. They’re not going to listen. And so there’s no protest against the sin. There’s not any interference. Not any one putting a check upon the society in which they’re living. Those who do stand up for justice and truth are going to be hated. And they decide, I don’t want to get in that category. I don’t want to be on the bad side of these people. Why ask for trouble? And try to change things if you’re bound to fail anyway. Friends, silence is not always golden, as the saying says. There are times we have to speak up in the face of the great evil that is around us in the society in which we live. And sometimes it’s sinful to remain quiet, even though it’s the common thing to do. We live in an evil time. We live in a perverse society. The rights of God and man are often trampled underfoot in the streets, in the courthouses, in the chambers of government, the homes, and the offices, and businesses of our land. All kinds of apostate theories are being preached from the pulpit. Decadence is certainly promoted by the book. and the magazines and the television and radio programs that are available. And the voice of the prudent, if it is heard at all, is weakly heard, it doesn’t find much support. Silence often abounds. Now, you need to be in Amos, in a sense, who speaks up for God at this particular time. Don’t give up in a sense. spare and think what’s the use? It may be that God will use you to deal with your friends and your neighbors. It may be that even in our society, God may send a reformation. It may be that God may spare a remnant out of our society. But don’t hide your light under a bushel and hope no one notices you. Jesus said we’re to put it on top of the lamp stand. that it would shine for and be light to a wicked community. So your silence may be sinful. And lastly, faithfulness in a dark hour is important. Amos’ ministry was mostly, it seems, one of pronouncing judgment rather than holding out mercy. It is discouraging. When you are proclaiming God’s truth when no one listens, and when all you receive is ridicule for what you’re saying, you can imagine the strong resistance that Amos had. Later on, he’s going to be told, go back down to Judah in the south. Don’t be up here testifying against us. Get out of here. If numbers are equated with success, you may be very discouraged as someone who is trying to proclaim God’s truth. Because there doesn’t seem to be any positive response to what you’re saying. The point is, though, that Amos knew he had a difficult ministry. He was not expecting the nation to be spared, but he was hoping that a remnant at least would come to know the Lord, and perhaps return. Brands plucked from the fire, so to speak. You must realize there’s always a mixed reception when God’s message goes forth. And it’s not always God’s purpose to call everyone to salvation. People are not eager to hear the gospel. They’re not anxiously awaiting the message of salvation. They’re not packing the true churches as they once did. You know, you find it interesting, and, you know, in Spurgeon’s Day in London, you know, when you have 5,000 people and there’s not enough room for everybody. Sometimes you would have to tell the members, would you stay home so some other people can come in and hear the word of God tonight? The world is priests disposed because of its fallen nature to resist the gospel. The gospel shines light. in their dark corner exposes their guilt and that they are vile sinners in need of a savior. Therefore, you need to realize that there are times that God’s purpose in sending his message out is the ripen people for judgment rather than the call them to salvation. God’s word accomplishes what God purposes it to do. salvation is not always in the blueprints. There will be some that he will always call in each generation. But we have to be prepared and realize that this is the case. Look with me at 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 14 to 16. 2 Corinthians 2 verses 14 to 16. Paul writes here, Now thanks be unto God, which always causes of the triumph in Christ and makeeth manifest the saver of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor, sweet aroma of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. To the one we are a saver of death under death and under the other a saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? Our success is based upon being faithful to what God has commanded us to do. Paul says he’s always triumphing in Christ. He preaches knowing that not everybody’s going to believe, that some are going to be opposed to what he is preaching. Our duty is to faithfully preach or give out the word. It’s God. job to actually bring about the results. And so we look to the Lord in this regard. You know, we’re living in a day in an age when the church is shrinking in society. In Europe, there’s been a great falling away from the Christian faith. And the influx of a lot of a lot of people. people from the Middle East and so forth has changed the dynamics of many of the nations over there in Europe. In our own country, we see there is a great change from 20 years ago or even 30 years ago. I remember when I was growing up, almost everybody went to church. And now I would say it’s pretty much the opposite of that. A lot of people don’t. go to church at all. There’s no interest in church. And so we see this problem in our society as we look around us and we see these things happen. Be faithful, regardless of how society appears, even if it’s an evil time, God will save his remnant. He will still save the elect people. He will still call in his people. And we as the people of God, just need to be the light and the salt that Christ says we should be in this society in which we live. Let us close.