Amos 5

Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: Amos 5:1

Many commentators see this chapter as a lament or funeral dirge regarding Israel. They deal with her fall as something that has already happened. The NET version of the Bible has this verse reading: “Listen to this funeral song I am ready to sing about you, family of Israel:” (Amos 5:1).

Wiersbe says: “Israel’s enthusiastic concerts would become funerals (5:23; 8:3, 10).” [1] Erling Hammershaimb, in his Book of Amos comments: “We can picture him appearing during the feast at Bethel and suddenly tearing the participants away from their revelry by starting the mournful tones of the lament, so that when they listen to him they are seized with terror and perhaps also with indignation when they hear that it is the death of Israel that he is lamenting.” [2]

“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up” (5:2). Trapp says of her, “Though the spouse of God, she had become the devil’s adulteress.” [3] She was no longer the pure virgin reserved for God since she had adulterated herself with many other gods and lovers. She has rejected the only one who could lift her up.

The statement that she will never rise again is speaking of the northern kingdom of the ten separated tribes. That nation is finished forever. However, the prophets tell us that the ten tribes will be rescued in the end days. Several passages speak of their continued existence (Matt. 19:28; Lk. 22:30; Acts 26:7). The prophets speak of the reunion and glory of the tribes (Jer. 3:18; 23:5-6; Ezek. 37:19-28). [4]

Over the last half-century, many people who claim to be from the scattered 10 tribes have returned to Israel. Approximately 160,000 Ethiopian Jews now live in Israel. [5] While working with immigrants in 1991, I witnessed one weekend when around 15,000 Ethiopian Jews were brought home in a secret massive Israeli airlift. Also, Israel has about 80,000 Jews from India, with tribal names like Bene Efraim and the Bene Menashe. At our distribution center for new immigrants, we met some who came from the Caspian Sea area and felt they were from the deported 10 tribes.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Israel: ‘Your city that marches out a thousand strong will have only a hundred left; your town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left’” (5:3). “The verse describes a terrible slaughter in war, a 90 percent decimation of the army.” [6] This certainly reminds us of the promises God made in Deuteronomy for those who disobeyed his commands: “The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth” (Deut. 28:25).

God’s Instruction

This is what the LORD says to Israel: ‘Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” Amos 5:4-5

We have already spoken of Bethel and Gilgal and the mixture of pagan and Jewish worship at these sites. Hosea the prophet says: “The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile” (Hos. 10:5)

There is a play on words in this section of Hosea. Jamieson and company say, “… ‘Gilgal (the place of rolling) shall rolling be rolled away.’ Beth-el shall come to naught—Beth-el (that is, the ‘house of God’), called because of its vain idols Beth-aven (that is, ‘the house of vanity,’ or ‘naught,’ Hosea 4:15; Hosea 10:5; Hosea 10:8), shall indeed ‘come to naught.’” [7]

Bethel was reduced to nothing. In modern times the site was occupied by a small Muslim village. After 1977 a few Jewish people returned to live at the site. Both Bethel and Gilgal are mostly archaeological and historical sites speaking of the past glory of Israel. In the case of these sites, we are reminded of Psalm 33:12: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…” Of course, the reverse is true, and the city or nation that turns away from the Lord is cursed.

It is interesting that Beersheva also became a cultic site for the ten tribes. Of course, Beersheva had a long biblical history dating back to Father Abraham. This seems to be a very long trip for northerners to journey to the far south in their worship. The devil was interested in polluting all of Israel’s most holy historical sites.

“Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it. There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground” (5:6-7). The Bible assures us that our God is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24; Isa. 10:17; and Heb. 12:29). He would sweep through Israel like a brush fire in a driving wind. In recent times we saw such a fire in action. In Los Angeles, winds up to 100 miles an hour drove a fiery blast that destroyed 18,000 structures and killed 85 people.

God was fed up with people who turned justice into bitterness. The Hebrew reads la-a-nah and that is the word for wormwood. Motyer says, “Justice had become a sour joke” [8] Wormwood was a small plant that was typically bitter and sour (cf. Je. 9:15; Lam. 3:15; Rev. 8:11).

The Greatness Of God

He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land – the LORD is his name. Amos 5:8

The people of Israel were messing around with a Mighty God. Their God made the heavens and the earth. Two of his constellations are mentioned here. Pleiades is located in the Taurus constellation which contains over 1,000 stars. Motyer mentions: “The Pleiades in its rising and setting marked the beginning and ending of the season of navigation, and was also used by nomads for calendar purposes.” [9] Orion (called the hunter) is a very prominent collection of stars that can be seen in the winter skies.

Ancient peoples had unhindered access to their view of the heavens. They were quite familiar with many stars and constellations since they witnessed them every night. Many of these stars and constellations had special mythological meaning to them. Today, because of the bright lights of our cities and towns most people scarcely see the stars. What a loss this is to us since the heavens tell us of the glory of God (Psa. 19:1).

God’s greatness is not only seen in the heavens but it is seen everywhere in the earth. Amos reminds Israel of the vastness of God’s seas and oceans. The people of Israel had close contact with the Mediterranean Sea and could witness God’s greatness often. C. F. Keil comments: “The words suggest the thought of terrible inundations of the earth by the swelling sea, and the allusion to the judgment of the flood can hardly be overlooked.” [10]

“With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin” (5:9). The people of Israel had a need to remember the destruction of wicked Sodom and Gomorrah long before. God rained down fire and brimstone on them for their evil (Gen. 19:24).

Another Look At Israel’s Evil

There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. Amos 5:10

Feinberg comments: “Of the many guilty ones in the kingdom, the unrighteous judges are singled out, for they have turned justice into wormwood (6:12), that which is bitterly wrong.” [11] In some ways our society today may not be so far removed from that of Samaria. Wiersbe says, “For many years, American legal experts have called for an overhaul of the legal system…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.” [12]

“You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.” (5:11) The idea of a straw tax is repulsive. Many people were so poor that straw was their bed. In later times the famous Jewish Rabbi Akiva and his wife shared a single outer garment between them. When one went out the other had to stay home. At night they had to bury themselves in straw to keep warm. [13] In our affluent age we really do not realize how poor some people were back then. For such crimes, these criminals would not be able to live in their mansions or drink from their vineyards.

“For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts” (5:12). Coffman says, “The courts of law are always the last vestiges of justice in a decadent society; and when that is gone, there is nothing else left to go.…” [14] The Bible itself mentions that a bribe works: “A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath” (Prov. 21:14). However, the Bible also declares in many places that a bribe is wrong and is a sin (Exo. 23:8; Job 36:18).

“Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil” (5:13). Clarke comments: “A wise man will consider that it is useless to complain. He can have no justice without bribes, and he has no money to give: consequently, in such an evil time, it is best to keep silence.” [15] Pett adds: “They knew that things had come to such a state that their words could only bring trouble on themselves and would do no good.” [16]

“Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is” (5:14). We cannot seek evil and love the Lord at the same time. This verse has a note of ridicule. The people were sure God was with them but they were not with God.

“Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph” (5:15). Here the prophet speaks of the remnant of Joseph. This is a very important doctrine in scripture and is mentioned around 50 times. The truth is that God always works with a holy remnant of his people. The prophet Isaiah says: “A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return…” (Isa. 10:21-22). We even see this doctrine in the New Testament. Paul says, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5). If only a remnant of Israel is to be saved we can expect that only a remnant of the church will be saved as well. Jesus once said: “For many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14).

“Therefore this is what the Lord, the LORD God Almighty, says: ‘There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail. There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,’ says the LORD” (5:16-17). Here the prophet gives us a grim picture of the judgment that was determined for Israel. In Hebrew, several words are used for mourning and wailing. People in that culture wept and cried out loud so it was not quiet grieving. Even the farmers will be called in to assist in the mourning. “Since the people’s grief will be so great that there won’t be sufficient professional mourners available to express it, they’ll call the farmers and workers in the vineyards to help them.” [17]

The Day Of The Lord

Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. Amos 5:18

The Day of the Lord is surely one of the most alarming and even frightening subjects in all of scripture. The topic brings abject terror and horror to the wicked and lost, while it brings a great deal of hope and comfort to the saved, or those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus. It speaks of his return to earth at last and of our salvation becoming complete in him. Almost all of the prophets spoke of this day and it is very prominent in the New Testament as well.

The Day of the Lord will bring a tragic end to this present evil age in which we now live. It will quickly remove the wicked from this earth. It will end the rule of the Antichrist and the work of the false prophet by casting them both into hell. It will lock Satan up and end all his work throughout the coming Millennial Age of one thousand years. It will initiate the longed-for and prayed-for Kingdom of God on this earth.

In verse 18 above we are told that many in Israel were hoping for the Day of the Lord. They probably thought that the Day would get them out of all their troubles. These folks did not realize that the Day of the Lord would bring disaster to them because of their evil and hypocritical lives.

Prophetic fulfillment is often a strange and puzzling thing. The word of God can be partially fulfilled on more than one occasion leading up to the final fulfillment. Sometimes we see prophecy related to the partial and final fulfillments woven tightly together as in Matthew 24. In this chapter, it is almost impossible to separate events relating to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, with events concerning the end of the age. Both are in fact “Days of the Lord.” [18] Thus, we can see that the Day of the Lord was coming in Amos’s day and also in Jesus’ day. It was partially fulfilled at least three major times, in the defeat and captivity of the northern tribes of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BC, of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and by the Romans in AD 70. The Day of the Lord is still coming.

“It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him” (5:19). In this alarming picture. “There will be no escape, no place to hide, no refuge from the foe.” [19] As Paul Butler comments, “The truth of the matter was, the Day of the Lord would be a day of deliverance, but only for the true Israel, those who were Jews inwardly and not Jews only outwardly; for the Day of the Lord of which Amos speaks is typical and prophetic of the climactic Day of the Lord, the coming of the Messiah.” [20]

“Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light – pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?” (5:20). The Day of the Lord is often described as a day of darkness, when the light of the sun, moon, and stars will no longer be seen. Boice describes it as inescapable…darkness…isolation…utter hopelessness. [21]

God’s View Of Their Religion

I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Amos 5:21

It really does not matter how much we offer to God or how much we pray and sing. If our hearts and lives are not right with the Lord it is all in vain. Our worship can even be a stench in the nostrils of God. I often wonder how God feels about some of our worship services and our worship songs today. Are they sometimes a stench in God’s nostrils?

Matt Walsh says, “Self-worship has become the predominant religion in our culture.” [22] George Barna & David Kinnaman in their book Churchless write: “Two decades ago a ‘regular church-goer’ was a person who attended at least three weekends per month and often several times per week. But today a regular churchgoer shows up for worship once every four to six weeks.” [23]

“David Wells analyzed hundreds of modern hymns and praise songs in relation to classic hymns. He concluded that recent worship lyrics express a ‘postmodernist spirituality’ that emphasizes the individual over the church, felt needs over God’s requirements and power over truth.” [24]

“Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. (5:22). Coffman comments: “Conspicuous by their absence were the sin-offerings, the Israelites being conscious of no sin whatever and feeling no need of forgiveness.” [25] Of course, the sin offering was the costliest of all the sacrifices. [26]

“Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (5:23-24). Are our worship songs sometimes just noise? Some of them do sound a little noisy. God is looking and listening for heartfelt worship and religion.

Verse 24 is probably one of the high points in God’s requirements. God wants to see justice and righteousness roll down like a mighty river. It is of note how interested God is in justice and in having fair courts of justice.

“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?” (5:25). This verse has provoked a lot of commentary over whether or not the Israelites brought sacrifices while in the wilderness those 40 years. Feinberg calls verses 25 and 26 some of the most difficult verses in the Book of Amos. [27]

Phillips says, “God did not say that they did not offer sacrifices; he said that they did not offer them to him. The words ‘unto me’ in Amos 5:25 are emphatic.” [28] For certain, there were a number of times when the people offered sacrifices (Exo. 24:5; Lev. 8:1; Num. 7:10-89). In Numbers 7 all the leaders of the tribes offered sacrifices when the altar was anointed. No doubt, sacrifices were somewhat restricted due to the harsh desert conditions.

It seems quite clear that the people in the wilderness were offering to pagan gods at times. Meyer comments: “The martyr Stephen quoted Amos 5:25-27, which accuse the people of carrying about little shrines and pocket-idols, to serve as amulets averting disaster, Acts 7:43.” [29] Of course, we cannot forget the golden calf that Israel worshipped. Israel cannot forget it either and today they will not dare to make a shofar out of a cow’s horn.

“You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god – which you made for yourselves” (5:26). Pfeiffer & Harrison say, “It is impossible at the present time to identify Sukkuth. Kaiwan was a Babylonian god sometimes identified with Saturn.” [30] We can see from all this that Israel worshipped God in a half-hearted way while they lived in the wilderness.

“‘Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,’ says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.” (5:27). The worship of the golden calf in the wilderness was continued by the northern tribes. It was guaranteed when their first king Jeroboam I discouraged their worship at the Jerusalem temple by setting up two golden calves, one at Bethel and the other at Dan.

Footnotes

1. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1426.

2. Quoted in Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 5:1.

3. John Trapp, Trapp’s Commentary, v. 5:2. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/jtc.html

4. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1426.

5. Reddweb, https://www.reddit.com/r/Ethiopia/comments/1bm1nax/160000_ethiopian_jews_live_in_israel_they_were/

6. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 834.

7. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Amos, v. 5:5

8. Guthrie, Motyer, et. al., The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 734.

9. Ibid.

10. Quoted in Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 5:8.

11. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 104.

12. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1428.

13. Peter H. Davids, James (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1983, 1989), p. 74.

14. Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 5:12.

15. Clarke, “Commentary on Amos 7.” “The Adam Clarke Commentary,” 1832. v. 5:13. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/amos-7.html.

16. Pett, Commentary on Amos 6, Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 5:13.

17. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1425.

18. Renald Showers, Israel My Glory, https://israelmyglory.org/article/the-biblical-concept-of-the-day-of-the-lord/

19. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 103.

20. Quoted in Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, vs. 5:19-20.

21. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, pp. 200-202.

22. Matt Walsh, The Unholy Trinity, Blocking the Left’s Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2017), p. 5.

23. George Barna & David Kinnaman, eds., Churchless (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2014), p. 110.

24. Quoted in Douglas Groothuis, Truth Decay (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), p. 272.

25. Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 5:22.

26. Dummelow, Dummelow On The Bible, Amos, v. 5:22.

27. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 106.

28. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 104.

29. Meyer, Meyer’s Commentary, Amos, vs. 5:16-27.

30. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 834.