“God’s Care and Judgement XII“
Last week we saw how God uses the formula “thus says the Lord” in Amos 5:3 to convey both a judgment and a promise to his people. This week we look at Amos 5:4, where God uses the same formula to tell his people what he truly wants for them: life. Amos 5:4 says, “For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: ‘Seek Me and live’” (NKJV).
In many ways, Amos 5:4 is the keystone to this chapter; everything else simply clarifies what God means by “seek Me and live.” Three times God uses the word “seek” to encourage Israel to respond to him: “Seek Me and live,” rather than go to the shrines and temples in the Northern Kingdom (verses 4-5); “Seek the LORD and live,” rather than pervert God’s justice, twist God’s righteousness, and continue creating a corrupt society built on injustice and taking advantage of the poor and the oppressed (verses 6-13); and “Seek good and not evil,” rather than learning to love evil more than good (verses 14-15).
God is especially clear in Amos 5:6-13 that the only thing that can bring Israel life is to be in relationship with God. And the only way to be in relationship with God is to imitate him: be just and kind toward the marginalized, as well as those who are trying to do right by God and others. If Israel refuses to seek God, which amounts to Israel seeking death, God will use his speech to pronounce the deathly fate of Israel: people will wail and mourn instead of rejoice when God passes by them and views their misguided priorities (verses 16-17); people who wait eagerly for “the day of the LORD” will find that they do not receive a reward, but rather meet their self-inflicted doom (verses 18-20); and God will not accept the worship, homage, and sacrifices of his people, because his people worshiped other idols and deities – dark gods of blood and death – while he was leading them through the wilderness (verses 21-27).
Friends, just as God ultimately wanted life for Israel, so God ultimately wants life for you. But just as God gave Israel the freedom to choose death, so he gives you the freedom to choose death, too. So seek God and thereby find life, because “thus says the Lord.”
God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
