Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, house of Israel:
She has fallen;
Virgin Israel will never rise again.
She lies abandoned on her land
with no one to raise her up.For the LORD God says:
The city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left,
and the one that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left in the house of Israel.For the LORD says to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live!
Do not seek Bethel
or go to Gilgal
or journey to Beer-sheba,
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
Seek the LORD and live,
or he will spread like fire
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.
Those who turn justice into wormwood
also throw righteousness to the ground.
The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns darkness into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who summons the water of the sea
and pours it out over the surface of the earth—
the LORD is his name.
He brings destruction on the strong,
and it falls on the fortress.
They hate the one who convicts the guilty
at the city gate,
and they despise the one who speaks with integrity.
Therefore, because you trample on the poor
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.
For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous, take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.
Therefore, those who have insight will keep silent
at such a time,
for the days are evil.
Pursue good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the LORD, the God of Armies,
will be with you
as you have claimed.
Hate evil and love good;
establish justice at the city gate.
Perhaps the LORD, the God of Armies, will be gracious
to the remnant of Joseph.Therefore the LORD, the God of Armies, the Lord, says:
There will be wailing in all the public squares;
they will cry out in anguish in all the streets.
The farmer will be called on to mourn,
and professional mourners to wail.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass among you.
The LORD has spoken.
Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD!
What will the day of the LORD be for you?
It will be darkness and not light.
It will be like a man who flees from a lion
only to have a bear confront him.
He goes home and rests his hand against the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
Won’t the day of the LORD
be darkness rather than light,
even gloom without any brightness in it?
I hate, I despise, your feasts!
I can’t stand the stench
of your solemn assemblies.
Even if you offer me
your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
I will have no regard
for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle.
Take away from me the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice flow like water,
and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.
Click here to listen to the Scripture in ESV.
God’s light exposed the Israelites’ religious festivals as empty because their daily lives lacked justice. As you examine yourself, is there a hypocritical disconnect between your public worship and your private obedience that requires confession?
What specific area of your community, workplace, or family is God illuminating right now where you need to actively repent and “seek good and not evil” (v. 14)?
For further insight, read this devotional written by Kraig McNutt, M.Div.
Seek Me and Live
based on Amos
“Pursue good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD, the God of Armies, will be with you...” —Amos 5:14
It’s the middle of the 8th century B.C.E. in Israel, during the reign of Jeroboam II. It is a golden age of prosperity, and many well-off Israelites would’ve said, “We have houses of cut stone, and surely that is evidence that the Lord is with us!” One can almost hear the Lord say, "Hold on. Not so fast!"
While some were ready to throw a party, the prophet Amos takes them to a funeral (Amos 5:1)— their own! Watch what happens next. Standing over the body, the Lord offers life: “Seek me and live!” (5:4).
But it’s easy to miss it. The Hebrew word for to “seek” God (5:4), darash, is the same word used for “to seek good” in verse 14. "Pursue good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord, the God of Armies, will be with you as you have claimed." (5:14).
What is the Lord saying through the prophet Amos? He seems to be saying that you cannot claim to be seeking the Lord and at the same time, showing disdain for the destitute and downtrodden. One can almost hear the words of the apostle James writing about “pure and undefiled religion” to early Christians in his epistle.
The Lord’s presence is the key here, not supposed evidence of his blessing by having a house of “cut stone.” The Lord wants Israel to be a blessing to all people—the essence of the Abrahamic covenant—and they do that by seeking him and showing compassion for those outside of the covenant: the poor, destitute, and aliens.
We’re not much different from 8th century B.C.E. Israel. Full bank account? Check. Answered prayer? Check. Nice house in the burbs? Check. A layoff notice—hey, where did God go?!
Notice how those are the wrong questions. That is not how one seeks the Lord. It is not the circumstances. The real evidence for God being with us is what flows from us. Are the people around us—powerless and poor—better off for being around us?
Turns out we can seek God and live—flourish—and also serve the needs of the destitute. It was never either/or. “Seek me and live.”
Pray that God illuminates the dark corners of your heart, exposing what needs repentance and bringing you healing.
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.