Amos 5 -- A Gut Check

Again Amos calls the people to give attention to God’s Word.  My commentary said, “The way we treat God’s Word is the way we treat God, and the way we treat God’s messengers is the way we treat the Lord Himself … There can be no victory when God has abandoned you to your fate, because you have abandoned Him.”

Amos cries out for them to seek the Lord.  My commentary pulls from Isaiah to tell us how to do that:

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”  Some people might not think of themselves as wicked because they are doing acts of sin, but they couldn’t say they were righteous because they were thinking the thoughts.  Both had to stop.

“Disobedient children of God are thinking wrongly about God, sin, and life.  They think God will always be there for them to turn to, but they forget that sinners reap what they sow … True repentance begins with naming sins and dealing with them one by one.”

God also disliked the fact that no one wanted justice anymore.  “It got to the place where the righteous wouldn’t say anything because their interference did no good.”  Although the nation appeared to be prospering, there was only “a thin veneer of religion”.

“The only proof that God is with us is that we love Him and do His will.  Religion without righteousness and justice in the land is hypocrisy.  No matter how many people attend religious meetings, if the result is not obedience to God and concern for our neighbor, the meetings are a failure.”

Father, help me to agree with You about my spiritual condition.  Help me to name my sins, being honest and truthful with You, since You know them already.  Help me then to turn away from them, both in action and in thoughts.  Remind me often that without obedience to You and care for my neighbors, it’s just religion and not a relationship with You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford