Amos 5

Amos 5

Seek God

I.                    We must continually seek God if we wish to find life, because seeking anything else ultimately leads to God’s certain and set judgment (Vv. 1-3, 16-27)

a.       As chapter 5 begins, Israel is thinking of themselves as a virgin, pure and in the prime of her beauty and vigor, but Amos begins his message with a funeral lament for them because in reality they lie in neglect, ruin, and under the penalty of God’s imminent judgment. Sadly, the people had drifted so far from God that they were actually looking eagerly towards the  day of the Lord because they think that all their enemies will be judged, and that they’ll be delivered, blessed, and exalted. But instead, they’ll be the ones plagued by God’s judgment like the Egyptians in the Exodus, they’ll find themselves in darkness, separated from God, and helpless to escape His certain judgment. However, they reject this notion, after all, they faithfully keep all the festivals, sacrifices, offerings, and religious praise required of them. They believe they’ve earned God’s blessing, but He rejects their false worship and idolatry, and reminds them that it has always been purely His grace which delivers and sustains His people because they don’t have the strength to cleanse or deliver themselves. The people thought their religion was good enough, they were so preoccupied in their comfort and prosperity that they lost sight of the inevitable conclusion of their desires and actions, and even became convinced that God was pleased with them. But God requires justice and righteousness to be received from Him and lived out into the world for His glory! As society drifts farther and farther from God today, many have become captivated with self that they have no concern or consideration for their eternal future, and completely eliminated God from their lives. The church has largely responded by either homogenizing with culture, or losing touch by walling itself off from the culture completely, neither of which move people to seek God. In the absence of seeking God, people will seek something or someone. But God is clear, the only way to obtain life is by seeking Him, and He has set a specific, certain, and set time in which He will judge His creation. (Vv. 1-3, 16-27; Ps. 51:16-17; Isa. 13:6-9; Ezek. 30:2-3; Joel 1:15; 2:1-2, 11, 31; Zeph. 1:14-15; Mal. 4:5; Matt. 24:29-31, 40-42; 25:31-46; John 3:19-21; 5:21-23, 26-27; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Pet. 3:10)    

II.                 We must continually seek God if we wish to find life, because God is faithful to lavish His grace on those seek Him (Vv. 4-15)

a.   God’s judgment is certain, but so is His grace. God calls the people to seek Him that they may live! But that means they must not seek life in the idolatrous worship set up by the Israelite leadership, because it’ll only lead to wickedness and captivity. God will be faithful to judge those who reject Him, forsake justice, and righteousness. He is powerful over all creation, mightier than any human fortress, completely unstoppable, and totally impartial. However, God is also faithful to grant life to those who seek Him through repentant faith and obedience. He was giving the people of Israel a way out of His judgment by bringing discipline and reproof through Amos, and God continually gives humanity a way out of His certain, set, and just judgment, but they must seek Him as salvation is found nowhere else! What God requires of us is impossible for us to achieve. But what He requires of us, He alone empowers us to do exclusively in Jesus Christ. Those who reject Jesus have no hope for true life, and only the expectation of future judgment. Those who trust in Christ have certain eternal life, but they will be called into account for what they’ve done and how they’ve cooperated with God with what He has given them. To fail to seek God and cooperate with His will in Christ, is to come under the loving discipline of God to move us to seek Him. Continually seeking God through obedience produces righteousness, good, and justice in accordance with His Word in and through our lives. God is faithful, are we? When we find ourselves struggling in difficult circumstances, do we seek God first, or do we seek the things and distractions of the world first, and God as a last resort? When we seek God, do we truly desire His will or do we ask Him to bless our plans and cooperate with us. When things are going well and we feel particularly blessed, do revel in our own abilities, do we never truly enjoy it for fear of losing it, or do we thankfully seek God first, finding joyful satisfaction in Him, and testifying to His great grace? God is faithful to lavish His grace on those seek Him, but we must seek Him continually to not only enjoy eternal life in Him, but also enjoy full life in Him today. (Vv. 4-15; Ps. 9:10; 10:4; 14:2; 22:26; 27:4-8; 34:14; 40:16; 85:1-13; 119:2, 155; Isa. 55:6-7; Matt. 6:33; Luke 9:23-25; John 3:16-17, 36; 5:24-25; Acts 17:24-29; Rom. 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; Eph. 1:7-14, 18-23; 2:1-10; Col. 3:1-4; Heb. 11:6; 12:1-11; 1 Pet. 4:12-19)