"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11

(1) Hear this word that I am bearing to you, A lamentation, O house of Israel: (2) `Fallen, not again to rise, hath the virgin of Israel, Left on her land -- she hath no raiser up.' (3) For thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city that is going out a thousand, Doth leave an hundred, And that which is going out an hundred, Doth leave ten to the house of Israel. (4) For thus said Jehovah to the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live, (5) And seek not Beth-El, and Gilgal enter not, And Beer-Sheba pass not through, For Gilgal doth utterly remove, And Beth-El doth become vanity. (6) Seek ye Jehovah, and live, Lest He prosper as fire `against' the house of Joseph, And it hath consumed, And there is no quencher for Beth-El.

(8) The maker of Kimah and Kesil, And the turner to morning of death-shade, And day `as' night He hath made dark, Who is calling to the waters of the sea, And poureth them on the face of the earth, Jehovah `is' His name; (9) Who is brightening up the spoiled against the strong, And the spoiled against a fortress cometh.

(14) Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live, And it is so; Jehovah, God of Hosts, `is' with you, as ye said. (15) Hate evil, and love good, And set up judgment in the gate, It may be Jehovah, God of Hosts, doth pity the remnant of Joseph.


Note something of considerable importance to church members: Both Isaiah and Amos addressed their counsel to people who had already made a covenant with God. Why? Because these Israelites were in serious spiritual trouble within the relationship that the covenant created. These are stern exhortations for them to get on the ball.

A second but not readily apparent reason why these warnings are important to us is that seeking after God truly does not begin until after He reveals Himself to us and we make the covenant with Him. Many do not realize that seeking God is the main occupation for a Christian during the sanctification process. Amos is clear regarding this.

God warns how devastating the coming perilous times will be, then He counsels us to seek the help of One far greater - our Creator and Ruler. Finally, He urges us to turn our everyday conduct to seeking to do good, showing care for God and His people.

Amos is not charging the Israelites to seek God in order to find Him because, at the very least, they were acquainted with Him, having already made the covenant with Him. However, that He charges them with seeking Him reveals that despite making the covenant, what they knew about Him had not been translated into everyday living or being like Him. This indicates that they were just drifting along with the times.

Four times in Amos 5, he urges them to seek God, and two of those times, he adds, "that you may live." This thought ties directly into John 17:3, which indicates that, more than being just endless existence, eternal life is a quality of life. As we proceed, we will see that they were being exhorted to seek God because, despite having made the covenant, they had stopped seeking Him, and the effect of stopping was their poor spiritual condition and subsequently, their imminent destruction at the hand of the Assyrians.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Seeking God (Part One): Our Biggest Problem



 

Topics:

Covenant

Covenant Relationship

Eternal Life

Eternal Life as Quality of Life

Eternal Life, Desire for

Knowing God

Knowledge of God

Quality of Life

Sanctification

Sanctification as Process

Seeking God

Seeking Good




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