Amos 5
Introduction to Funeral song verse 1
Hear ye this word which I take up against you – even a lamentation
O house of Israel
Song about helpless virgin Israel verse 2
The virgin of Israel is fallen
she shall no more rise – she is forsaken upon her land
there is none to raise her up
LORD states ten percent will return from battle verse 3
FOR thus says the LORD
The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred
and that which went forth by an hundred shall
leave ten to the house of Israel
LORD asks Israel to seek HIM verse 4- 7
For thus says the LORD unto the house of Israel
Seek ye me – and ye shall live – BUT seek not Beth –el
nor enter into Gilgal – and pass not to Beer-sheba
FOR Gilgal shall surely go into captivity
and Beth-el shall come to nought
Seek the LORD – and ye shall live
LEST HE break out like fire in the house of Joseph
and devour it – and there be none
to quench it in Beth-el
Ye who turn judgment to wormwood
AND leave off righteousness in the earth
LORD created the world verse 8- 9
Seek HIM that makes the seven stars and Orion
and turns the shadow of death into the morning
and makes the day dark with night
that calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the face of the earth
The LORD IS HIS NAME
that strengthens the spoiled against the strong
SO THAT the spoiled shall come
against the fortress
Rich oppressing the poor verse 10- 13
They hate him that rebukes in the gate
and they abhor him that speaks uprightly
FORASMUCH therefore as your treading is upon the poor
and ye take from him burdens of wheat
ye have built houses of hewn stone
BUT ye shall not dwell in them
ye have planted pleasant vineyards
BUT ye shall not drink wine of them
FOR I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins
they afflict the just – they take a bribe
and they turn aside the poor
in the gate from their right
THEREFORE the prudent shall keep silence in that time
for it is an evil time
Israel is to seek good to receive mercy verse 14- 15
Seek good – and not evil – that ye may live
AND so the LORD – the God of hosts
shall be with 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 unto the
remnant of Joseph
LORD informs them a time of weeping is coming verse 16- 17
THEREFORE the LORD – the God of hosts
the Lord says thus
Wailing shall be in all streets
and they shall say in all the highways – ALAS – ALAS
and they shall call the husbandman to mourning
and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing
AND in all vineyards shall be wailing
FOR I will pass through you
say the LORD
Day of the LORD described verse 18- 20
WOE unto you that desire the day of the LORD
to what end is it for you?
the day of the LORD is darkness – and not light
as if a man did flee from a lion
and a bear met him
or went into the house
and leaned his hand on the wall
and a serpent bit him
Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness – and not light?
even very dark – and no brightness in it?
LORD hates religious people verse 21- 24
I hate – I despise your feast days
and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies
though you offer ME burnt offerings
and your meat offerings
I will not accept them
neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts
Take you away from ME the noise of your songs
FOR I will not hear the melody of thy viols
BUT let judgment run down as waters
and righteousness as a mighty stream
LORD sending Israel into captivity verse 25- 27
Have ye offered to ME sacrifices and offerings
in the wilderness forty years
O house of Israel?
BUT ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch
and Chium your images – the star of your god
which ye made to yourselves
THEREFORE will I cause you to go into captivity
beyond Damascus says the LORD
whose name is The God of hosts
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el. (1008 “Bethel” [Beyth-El] means house of God or an ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on border of Benjamin – identified with Luz (former name).
DEVOTION: The first time we read about this location is when Jacob is running from his brother heading for his uncle’s place. He sleeps with a pillow of rocks. In a dream he sees a ladder going to heaven with angels going back and forth to earth. God speaks to him in his dream and his seed were going to inherit the land. God promises to never leave Jacob.
He calls this place “house of God” or Beth-el. He makes a promise to the LORD that if HE gave him a safe journey, the LORD would be his God. He also promised to give the LORD a tenth or tithe of all he earned or raised. The LORD did go with him.
However, the children of Israel used the altar at Bethel to worship the false gods of the land. Bethel became a center for false worship. Idolatry had its center there.
One of two golden calves was located in this place. Jeroboam set them up, so that, the people from the ten tribes would not go to Jerusalem to worship. The LORD told the people he would not accept their sacrifices. They were trying to make “the house of God” into a place where all gods could be worshiped.
Can we make the house of God today a place to worship the false gods around us? We can turn our times of worship into rituals. We can get caught up in tradition rather than true worship of the LORD on Sundays. Can we turn the church into an entertainment center? Can we turn the church of God into a circus?
Are we walking into the presence of the LORD each Sunday in church? When we leave church do we appreciate being in HIS presence and in the presence of HIS servants? Too often we can come and go without really spending time in genuine worship. Remember our bodies are the temple of the LORD today. What are we worshipping on a daily basis?
CHALLENGE: Find a church where the LORD is worshiped. Remember that your body is a Temple of the Holy Ghost. Worship the LORD in the house of the LORD genuinely.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 They hate him that rebukes in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly. (8549 “uprightly” [tamiym] means without blemish, perfect, without spot, whole, sincerely, healthful, wholesome, innocent, or free of blemish.)
DEVOTION: No one seems to like someone who will speak up when a group is making fun of someone. They want everyone to agree to pick on someone who can’t defend themselves against the group.
There is usually someone in a group who knows that it is wrong to pick on people. However, most of the time that individual will keep quiet because they don’t want to be picked on or they want to be accepted in the group. This is not what a Christian should do. They should speak out if there are people picking on someone or gossiping about someone. A Christian will go to the individual and say what is right to their face. If there is a problem they will take it to the individual privately and confront them.
Doing things right is what being a Christian is all about. Gossip is always a sin. Making fun of others is always a sin.
Most people hate someone even if they are right in what they are doing. The one we answer to is the LORD not our fellow humans. If it is a choice between what is right to say and what is wrong to say – the genuine believer will try to always say what is right no matter what others think of them.
CHALLENGE: Are we upright in all of our speech concerning others?
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: 14 Seek good, and not evil, that you may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as you have spoken. (1875 “seek” [darash] means to inquire, resort to, search, to consult, to investigate, examine or study.)
DEVOTION: Have you ever searched your house for something that you knew was in it but you couldn’t find it? You looked in very place that was the size of the object you were seeking but still didn’t find it. Then along comes another family member and finds it in a spot you had already looked. We sometimes look so hard and fast that we don’t really look right.
Here we find the children of Israel who were the chosen people of the Old Testament told to investigate good. In this chapter the word is used four times in the King James Version. Earlier it is used to inform the people to search for God while HE can be found and save their life. This is stated twice.
Next we find it used in relation to God as the Creator of the stars and all of the rest of creation. They are to realize that HE is all powerful as was demonstrated in the seven days of creation. HE spoke the word and the earth was created. It was not in millions of years but in seven twenty-four hour days that HE created the world.
Finally, the LORD wanted them to understand the difference between good and evil. They were doing evil but HE wanted them to investigate good. Why? It was because it was the only way they were going to avoid judgment and live. Death was at the door and they were going to open it.
CHALLENGE: We are given the same command today. We are to seek good with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we do this the LORD will be with us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 Take you away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your viols. (2172 “melody” [zimrah] means psalm, music, song, playing, or instrumental music.)
DEVOTION: The LORD hates religious people. What is the difference between religious people and genuine Christians? Religious people go to church on Sunday and sing hymns of praise to the LORD and leave the church using HIS name in vain or swearing. Religious people put their money in the offering plate and then go out of church and steal from or mistreat the poor. Religious people think they are going to heaven but they are not. Religious people sound good but usually never read the Bible or listen to the preacher about how they should live their life. Religious people use Jesus name but their life looks just like all those who don’t go to church.
Genuine believers sing praises to the LORD with their whole heart because they want to really go into the presence of the LORD while they are singing praise to HIM. Genuine believers sing praise songs all week long. They are not just doing it in church it is on their heart each day to sing praise to the LORD because they are thankful for what HE has done for them. God wants there to be a song in our heart that says “thank you” for all HE has done for the genuine believer.
Anyone can say they are a believer but their actions in church and out of church show if it is true.
CHALLENGE: Is our singing real or just a making of noise?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Burnt offerings verse 22
Meat offerings verse 22
Peace offerings verse 22
Songs verse 23
Sacrifices verse 25
Offerings verse 25
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Says the Lord GOD verse 3, 4, 17
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner) verse 3, 16
GOD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 3
Lord GOD verse 3
LORD – Jehovah verse 4, 6, 8, 14- 18, 20, 27
Creator of stars: Orion verse 8
LORD God of hosts verse 15
Day of the LORD verse 18, 20
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 14- 16, 27
God of hosts verse 14- 16, 27
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Husbandmen to mourning verse 16
Skilful of lamentation verse 16
Damascus verse 27
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Worship of false gods verse 5, 26
Judgment to wormwood verse 7
Leave off righteousness verse 7
Hate verse 10
Abhor him that speaks uprightly verse 10
Treading upon the poor verse 11, 12
Drink wine verse 11
Manifold transgressions verse 12
Mighty sins verse 12
Afflict the just verse 12
Take a bribe verse 12
Turn aside the poor verse 12
Evil verse 13- 15
Feast days abused verse 21
Unacceptable offerings verse 22
Unacceptable songs verse 23
Tabernacle of Moloci and Chiun verse 26
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Hear verse 1
Seek the LORD verse 4, 6, 8
Life verse 4
Righteousness verse 7, 24
Speaks uprightly verse 10
Just verse 12
Prudent verse 13
Seek good verse 14, 15
Hate the evil verse 15
Love good verse 15
Establish judgment verse 15
Grace verse 15
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
House of Israel verse 1- 4, 25
Bethel verse 5, 6
Gilgal verse 5
Beersheba verse 5
House of Joseph verse 6
Remnant of Joseph verse 15
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Day of the LORD verse 18
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QUOTES regarding passage
5:10 Those seeking justice ran up against a system corrupted by the wealthy. “Hate” and “despise” describe their passionate rejection of justice. “In court” is literally “at the gate,” which is where cases were argued (Deut 21:10; Ruth 4:1–12). “One who reproves” translates a participle that can refer to a judge who decides the case, but the context here suggests that it is either a plaintiff who has been wronged or an advocate of right (cf. Isa 11:3; 29:21; Job 13:3; 32:12).
The word for “truth” (tāmîm) refers to something complete, blameless, and honest (Ps 18:30; Ezek 15:5). Witnesses with integrity were available who could provide necessary information to see that justice was done, but their testimony was squelched. The system was anything but impartial. It was manipulated by wealthy landowners through bribes and intimidation (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (1995). Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (Vol. 19B, p. 102). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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10 The accusation continues with Amos’s description of his contemporaries’ hating the one who reproves in the “court” (šaʿar, lit., “gate”). The city gate was the place where the legal proceedings were carried on (5:15; cf. Deut 21:19; Josh 20:4; Ruth 4:1). The “one who approves” (môḵîaḥ) was any individual who protested the injustices of the courts. The “reprovers” were hated, as were those who spoke the truth during the proceedings. The very fabric of justice had been destroyed. (McComiskey, T. E. (1986). Amos. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, p. 312). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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5:10–13. Verses 10–13 continue the denunciation begun in verse 7. Within the larger chiasmus of verses 1–17, verses 10–13 form their own internal chiasmus:
a. Intimidation of the righteous (v. 10)
b. Abuse of the poor (v. 11a)
c. Judgment of covenant sin (vv. 11b–12a)
b1. Abuse of the poor (v. 12b)
a1. Intimidation of the righteous (v. 12b)
Because of their zeal to profit illegally through the courts, they hated any righteous judge who reproved their injustice, and despised any righteous witness who told the truth in defense of the innocent (v. 10; see comments on v. 7). Their venom and intimidation were so severe that many felt the prudent thing to do was to keep quiet in such times (v. 13).
The abusers, thus freed of any rebuke or opposition, found corrupt judges to take bribes and deprive the poor of justice (v. 12b; in contrast with the covenant Law of Ex. 23:8; Deut. 16:18–20; cf. 1 Sam. 12:3). Rich landowners successfully manipulated legal proceedings to trample on the poor, gain ownership of his fields, and force him to give a large fee of grain to remain a tenant on the land (Amos 5:11a; in violation of the covenant Law of Ex. 23:2, 6; cf. Amos 2:6–7; 4:1; Isa. 10:1–2).
But God knew how many were their offenses (peša‘, “covenant violations”; see comments on Amos 1:3). He knew how great were their sins (lit., their acts of “missing the mark” of His standard). Therefore, though they had built stone mansions fit for kings and had planted lush vineyards in the fields that once belonged to small farmers, they would neither live in the houses nor drink the wine (Amos 5:11b–12a). Their suzerain Lord would invoke the treaty punishments against covenant disobedience (Deut. 28:30, 38–40; cf. Micah 6:14; Zeph. 1:13; see comments on Amos 1:2; 4:6). Their greed would be met with poetic justice: as they had stripped the poor, so God would strip them. (Sunukjian, D. R. (1985). Amos. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1439–1440). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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5:10–13 The fabric of justice had been destroyed, causing pervasive corruption “in the gate,” the place where justice was administered (cf. v. 15; Dt 21:19; Jos 20:4). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Am 5:10–13). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Rejecting rebuke (Amos 5:10, 13). The city gate was the place where the elders met and transacted city business (Ruth 4). When the dishonest leaders attempted to foist their lies on the people and manipulate the court, if somebody rebuked them, they turned on that person and tried to silence him or her. It got to the place where the righteous wouldn’t say anything because their interference did no good (Amos 5:13). Leaders with integrity will gladly listen to counsel and even to rebuke, but leaders bent on evil will seek to destroy those who stand in their way. “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Prov. 9:8 nkjv and see 1 Kings 22:5ff for an illustration of this principle).
For many years, American legal experts have called for an overhaul of the legal system. (Other nations probably have the same or worse problems.) So many cases are pending, and too many trials proceed at a snail’s pace, with seemingly interminable appeals and delays, that very little justice results. Isaiah saw a similar situation in his day: “So justice is driven back, and the righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.… The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice” (Isa. 59:14–15 niv). A traffic jam! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (p. 50). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)
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“Ye who turn judgment to wormwood,” he cries, “and cast down righteousness to the ground, consider the Maker of Kimah and Kesil (the Pleiades and Orion), even turning the shadow of death into morning, and who maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: Jehovah His name; that strengthened the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress” (7–9). Kimah and Kesil cannot be identified with certainty. That they refer to some of the more important constellations is clear. Both in the two places in Job where the words occur, and in this passage, they are generally translated as “the seven stars,” i. e., the Pleiades, and “Orion.” The Hebrews generally understood them to refer to these brilliant star-groups, which display the majesty and glory of their Creator. The prophet calls the workers of iniquity to contemplate Him who guides the heavenly bodies, and who brought them into being; who causes the sun to rise in his glory, dispelling the darkness; and whose hand likewise controls the planetary movements that bring the night again; and who gives rain to the thirsty ground. With Him men have to do, whether they desire it or not. His eyes beheld all the unholy ways of the people who were called by His name.
Wilfully rejecting light, they hated him who rebuked in the gate, and abhorred him who spake uprightly (ver. 10). Many are their successors. It is a most common thing to find those walking carelessly, or sinfully, filled with indignation against any who faithfully rebuke their unholy ways. Easy-going, man-pleasing preachers and teachers are delighted in; but faithful, God-fearing men are abhorred and despised. But he who would stand for God must expect the opposition and evil-speaking of the unspiritual and worldly-minded. (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (pp. 163–164). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 10. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, &c.] Openly and publicly in the courts of judicature: wicked judges hated the prophets of the Lord, such as Amos, who faithfully reproved them for the perversion of justice, even when they were upon the bench: or the people were so corrupt and degenerate, that they hated those faithful judges who reproved them for their vices in the open courts of justice, when they came before them. The former sense seems best, and more agreeable to the context: and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly; not only hate him, but abhor him, can’t bear the sight of him, or to hear his name mentioned that speaks out his mind freely and honestly, and tells them of their sins, and advises them to repent of them, and leave them. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 499). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
Prepare to Meet Thy God
“Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” (Amos 4:12)
There is only one thing that everyone can know for sure. Not even death and taxes are certain, for some will never die. But “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
Even those who don’t believe in God, those who ridicule His Word, those who disobey His laws, those who worship false gods—everyone must some day meet God. There is no better advice than: “Prepare to meet thy God!”
If anyone should ask what God, the answer is the true God, the Creator. Not the false gods of pagan pantheism, not the natural systems and processes of evolutionism, but the one and only God of creation. He is the one who knows the thoughts of man and “maketh the morning darkness” (Amos 4:13) for all who reject or ignore Him. The word here for “darkness” is used only one other time in Scripture and is synonymous with hell—“a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness” (Job 10:22).
In the coming judgment, “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). The message of Amos needs to be heard in every generation: “Prepare to meet thy God!” For “the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment” (Psalm 1:5), and the judgment is sure: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” and for those who die unprepared, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 9:27; 10:31).
The only way to come into His presence prepared, of course, is through Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Lord of all the hosts of heaven. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Esther 8
Mordecai is honored and promoted.
INSIGHT
The law of the Medes and Persians cannot be revoked. Once written, no one, not even the king, can rescind it. The law to annihilate the Jews is carved in stone. Since the original plan cannot be revoked, a clever counter-plan is conceived to neutralize it. Permission is given to the Jews to arm themselves and to assemble and defend themselves. In addition, Mordecai is raised to power, replacing the position previously occupied by Haman. God’s sovereign protection of His people in exile is in its final stages. The integrity of Esther and Mordecai is rewarded. Righteousness triumphs. (Quiet Walk)
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BORN AGAIN
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God….Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:3,5
When our Lord says, “Ye must be born again,” He throws down the gauntlet. He says in effect, “It is all right; I know what you are going to say, but you need not say it–it is all wrong–you must be born again.” “Verily, verily”–“truly, truly.” Whenever He uses that formula He is always saying something of unusual seriousness and of deep import. He says, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This is the crucial phrase, the key phrase of Christianity: “born again”! Some people say it should be translated “born from above.” Others say it should be translated “born anew.” I think that they are probably nearest to the truth who say that undoubtedly our Lord was speaking to Nicodemus in Aramaic, that the Greek is a translation from the Aramaic, and that then our English is a translation from the Greek. But the original was probably Aramaic, and there it means “except a man has another birth, he will never see the kingdom of God.” It is the same thing. “Born again,” “another birth,” “born from above,” “born of the Spirit”–take any of the terms you like.
This is the great New Testament doctrine, and what it means, negatively, is that Christianity is not just an addition to something you already have. Christianity, in other words, is not something that you and I, as we are, can take up; all that is contradicted here….we need an entirely new start.
A Thought to Ponder: This is the crucial phrase, the key phrase of Christianity: “born again”! (From The Kingdom of God, pp. 193-194, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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