Amos 5:1-15

      Amos opens his message as a funeral dirge, a proleptic song concerning Israel’s future destruction (Amo 5:1). He describes Israel as a lonely virgin who has fallen with no one raise her up again (Amo 5:2). The prophet is speaking of Israel’s destruction, which will eventually come by the hand of the Assyrians who will defeat them militarily; and the casualty rate of their soldiers will be a devastating 90%, from which they will not be able to recover (Amo 5:3). Though Israel, as a nation, would face certain destruction, God calls individuals to turn to Him that they might live (Amo 5:4). They should not seek for God at false places of worship, such as Gilgal, Bethel, or Beersheba (Amo 5:5); rather, they were to seek the Lord directly (Amo 5:6a), or He would consume them like a fire (Amo 5:6b). Who were those who should seek the Lord? It is those who make justice bitter rather than sweet, and who cast righteousness down rather than elevate it up (Amo 5:7). God then describes Himself as the powerful Lord who created the stellar constellations, namely Pleiades and Orion, which were used to mark seasonal changes, which God controlled (Amo 5:8). This sovereign God is the One who will create disaster and bring His rebellious people in judgment, as Amos writes, “It is He who flashes forth with destruction upon the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress” (Amo 5:9). The unrighteous who abuse the poor came to despise judges who would not adjudicate in their favor, and they also hated the honest person who spoke in defense of the victim (Amo 5:10). The specific abuses included excessive rent on the poor, as well as additional payments of grain (Amo 5:11a). The idea here could be that the rich gained control of the poor person’s land—perhaps through unjust judges—and then demanded heavy rent and grain taxes from them to remain a tenant. God informs these abusers that their wealth will not bring lasting pleasure, for He will destroy their homes and vineyards (Amo 5:11b). God would frustrate those who acquire wealth through unjust means and who seek to perpetuate pleasure by abusing the helpless. Not only were their sins the abuse of the poor, but the corruption of justice in the courts by means of bribery. The Lord states, “For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, you who distress the righteous and accept bribes and turn aside the poor in the gate” (Amo 5:12). Because the evil is so advanced and systemic, the prudent person sees what’s happening and keeps silent (Amo 5:13). God calls individuals within the nation to “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, just as you have said!” (Amo 5:14). Hating evil and loving good means His people will “establish justice in the gate!” (Amo 5:15a). If they would do this, then “Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (Amo 5:15b). That is, He would preserve the faithful few from going to total destruction. God expects His people to operate according to the moral lines He’s set forth in His word, and the obedient-to-the-word believer will care for the poor and helpless.