Roar of the Lion
The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live.” Amos 1:2 / 5:4
Amos was sent to prophesy to Israel and Judah during a time of great wealth and prosperity. King Uzziah and King Jeroboam II both ruled the nations respectively, but they were more interested in pleasing their own desires than following the will of the LORD. So, although the temples were still in place, with priests who still received the offerings and performed the sacrifices – it was all done without conviction. They were so self-involved that they didn’t even recognise their own sin.
Amos was proclaiming the Lord’s judgement from Bethal in Israel, and he began by highlighting the transgressions of six heathen territories. This would have brought joy to Israelite ears, as well as pride in their own standing with Yahweh. They stood like the Pharisees in the New Testament, full of self-praise for not being ‘like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers’ (Luke 18:11). Pride takes root so easily because it creeps in unnoticed, and that is something we all need to be careful about.
Israel, however, had not been seeking the Lord for a very long time and God’s patience was running out. They had abandoned His commands and were no longer listening to His voice, which is something else we need to be wary of, for we can’t claim to love God and then do things our own way. And we cannot do things our own way without expecting God’s judgement.
The Lord had commanded His people long before, saying, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land” (Deut 15:11). Instead of doing this, they had ‘trampled the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turned aside the way of the afflicted’ (Amos 2:7). Cruelty to the poor and needy is mentioned six times in the judgement against Israel, which gives us an indication of how important the vulnerable are to the Lord and equally, how important it is that we look after them. He implores his people today, as he did then:
“Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate… let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:14-15, 24
The Lord desires a righteous people – a compassionate people – a people that reflect His standards and who live according to His ways. May we live according to His will in all that we do.
Narrow Path Ministries 