SCRIPTURE BY DEBORAH HILLMAN
Scripture Lesson Text: Amos 5:14-15, 18-27
Related Scriptures: Deuteronomy 30: 15-20; Amos 6: 1-7; Joel 2: 1-17; Matthew 23: 23-28; Romans 12: 9-21
In this week’s lesson we learn that the Israelites were once again worshipping false gods and living unholy lives. The people were displaying empty worship with rituals of praise and sacrifice and their daily lives were not characterized by righteousness and justice. The Prophet Amos announces specific terminology to describe God’s disgust, “I hate, I despise, I will not smell and I will not accept nor will I regard”.
Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, reminds Israel of the life God wants in obedience to His commandments and statutes. They were to choose between life or death, prosperity or destruction. Amos 6: 1-7 warns the leaders of Judah and Israel against their false confidence of security, and reminds them of what happened to the three nearby cities. Joel 2: 1-7 tells us of God’s imminent judgement, because of the disobedience of Judah and once again warns them of a large invading army. The prophet describes the impending devastation.
Matthew 23: 23-28 speaks of the hypocrisy of the religious leaders not adhering to God’s ways, and lack of holiness and being genuine. They presented themselves to be pure, holy, and righteous on the outside, but on the inside there was lawlessness, hypocrisy, and uncleanness. Romans 12: 9-21 shows us that we are to genuinely love, and serve the Lord, each other, and our enemies. We are to never be lazy, always working hard and serve the Lord with gladness, and to overcome evil, by doing good to those who harm us. Paul commands us to hold fast to what is good.
SYNOPSIS BY OLIVIA SAUNDERS
Hear the word of the Lord! This is a phrase in history and today that should grab our attention. In Amos 5, the people of Israel were challenged to heed the word of the Lord at once. Amos was charged with warning the people of Israel that God was not pleased with the behavior and wanted to get their attention. Proverbs 16:18 says,” pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall”.
In Amos 5:21, not only was there a warning about the behavior and acts of disobedience, but God made it clear that the feast that the people made a custom of was not pleasing in His sight. Usually God delighted in what the people celebrated and gave them instructions on how to carry them out, but God made it clear that even the smell of the celebrations were detestable to His nose. As it is today, it’s important that we take note what was being said through Amos to the people. God also makes it clear in Amos 5:23 he didn’t even want to hear the noise that came from them, as if they were worshipping Him. The anger of God was kindled against them due to the worship of idols that the people made themselves.
When God gave this message through Amos, He wanted his people to know that the day of the Lord that they imagined, would not be the reality that they envisioned. It was clear earlier in the Old Testament what sin, disobedience, idol worship of false gods etc. would produce. Amos made it clear that this time wouldn’t be so easy to get out of like the past, and that even if there was repentance consequences would occur. Even though things would not go well for them, God who is so loving told them in Amos 5: 27 what the consequences would be and didn’t leave them in the dark.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION BY CHARLENE BROWN
In Amos chapter 5, we have the Prophet addressing the people of Israel and condemning moral corruption, social injustices and religious hypocrisy. Judgment was awaiting the people but Amos urged the people to seek God, repent, turn from sin and live. We definitely see some of these same issues trying to infiltrate and plague the community of faith. Just as in the times of Amos, today some face similar challenges of insincere worship, social injustice, and the neglect of the marginalized.
In these conditions, I believe God is calling for genuine worship and social justice in our lives and in our communities. We must seek good and not evil, and promote righteousness in our daily lives. We do this by intentionally engaging in acts of kindness, generosity, outreach opportunities and being hospitable. We must reject evil at all costs and cultivate a spirit of love and goodness.
God desires our sincere worship, heartfelt prayers and humility over any ritual and ceremonies. He desires a personal and intimate relationship with us. We must intentionally and consciously make every effort to align our actions, our thoughts and values with God’s thoughts and values. Choosing to seek God and reject evil is a continuous daily process of transformation, growth and maturity. Let us daily pray, meditate, and self examine ourselves, so we can promote goodness and righteousness as we live lives pleasing and acceptable unto The Lord.
