Amos
Chapter Five
Leon L. Combs, M.A., M.Div., Ph.D.
Amos 5:1-3
Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel: (2)She has fallen,
she will not rise again-- The virgin Israel. She lies neglected on her land; There is none
to raise her up. (3) For thus says the Lord GOD, "The city which goes forth a thousand
strong Will have a hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have
ten left to the house of Israel."
Amos now takes up a lament or dirge for Israel. This dirge was a form of mourning the death of
a relative or friend but he takes it up for Israel. The primary verbs are in perfect tense that
expresses an action that has been completed so Amos views the fall of Israel as an accomplished
fact. He views Israel like a virgin who neglected her requirements, was cut off in the prime of her
life, and that there was nobody who could bring her back. We remember the promises of God to
Abraham concerning the number of his descendants:
 Gen 13:16 "I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can
number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered.
 Gen 32:12 "For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the
sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'"
 Gen 26:4 "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your
descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed;
The blessings of God are eternal but conditioned upon the obedience of the recipients. Verse
three states how futile the armies would be as they would be cut down by 90 percent, effectively
reducing them to a small remnant. Some interpreters think this destruction only means that the
northern kingdom will not be reestablished but there would be a remnant through whom the
promises would continue. Other people think that the promises of God to Abraham are being
fulfilled by the church being the new Israel.
Amos 5:4-7
Seek me that you may live. (5) "But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal,
Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will
come to trouble. (6) "Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire,
O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel, (7) For those
who turn justice into wormwood And cast righteousness down to the earth."
Amos held out some hope for Israel but he knew they would not repent properly and so their
calamity was certain. He then warns them not to try to repent by going to forbidden regions. The
cities of Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba had become objects of God’s judgment. Bethel stood only
for an external religion that God hates since He requires a heart response to God. In the time of
Amos, idolatry was practiced there and we will read later how God hates their religion. In my
notes on chapter four, I discussed briefly some of the reasons God hated the religion practiced at
Bethel and at Gilgal. Beersheba was in Judah whereas Bethel and Gilgal were in Israel. It seems
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that some people from Israel would travel to Beersheba to practice in the empty religion there.
Beersheba was associated with the roots of the nation as it was important in the lives of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the religion practiced there had degraded into a depraved
worship. If they do not repent then God will visit upon them His fiery judgment. The “house of
Joseph” represents the northern kingdom reflecting the descent from the largest tribe of Ephraim
from Joseph. Since worship at Bethel is not approved by God, no amount of praying there will be
of benefit. The justice system was oppressive for the poor as demanded by the law: They are fat,
they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of
the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor. (Jer 5:28)
Justice had become as bitter as the bitterest plant, wormwood. Righteousness had then been
redefined from God’s requirements to that of the politicians of the earth. Does this sound familiar
to what is happening in America today?
Amos 5:8-11
He who made the Pleiades and Orion And changes deep darkness into morning, Who
also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on
the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name. (9) It is He who flashes forth with
destruction upon the strong, So that destruction comes upon the fortress. (10) They hate
him who reproves in the gate, And they abhor him who speaks with integrity. (11)
Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from
them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You
have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
Amos then reminds the inhabitants of Israel of the identity of the One who brings destruction to
the seemingly strong and destroys the strongest fortresses. This person is the same who creates
the constellations, causes darkness to turn into morning and day into night, and who causes the
waters to cover so much of the earth. He states that Yahweh is the name of this One so who can
come against Him? All major business dealings were conducted at the gates of the cities and the
politicians hated those who opposed their dealings and they also hate anyone who speaks with
the integrity of the Law. By starting verse 11 with “therefore”, Amos now brings forth God’s
charge against Israel: these politicians exploit the poor and make the rich more prosperous.
God’s justice system had been perverted. They had built magnificent homes but God will see that
they do not inhabit them. They had also planted vineyards to bring forth their wine but God will
see that they do not drink the wine. God will then bring forth His judgment upon their symbols
of wealth and greed. The precise nature of this judgment will not be revealed until chapter nine.
Amos 5:12-15
For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great, You who distress the
righteous and accept bribes And turn aside the poor in the gate. (13) Therefore at such a
time the prudent person keeps silent, for it is an evil time. (14) Seek good and not evil,
that you may live; And thus may the LORD God of hosts be with you, Just as you have
said! (15) Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God
of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Amos states that God is justified in bringing forth this judgment because He knows their many
transgressions and sins. He then specifies that the rulers greatly distress the righteous, accept
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bribes, and do not listen to the poor when they bring charges against them at the gate. Amos then
advises the righteous people to keep silent rather than protest because they cannot obtain justice
when such an evil system rules. Any protests they could bring would only make their situation
worse for the reprovers were hated (v. 10). Amos then urges those in charge to seek good and not
evil so that they may not be destroyed by God. Amos then makes the sarcastic comment that they
thought that God was with them as they worshiped at inappropriate places like Bethel. If they
would bring about ethical righteousness in the gates, perhaps God would be gracious to any
remnant that truly worshipped Him. Hating evil and loving good requires that the concepts are
defined by God and not by man.
Amos 5:16-20
Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, "There is wailing in all the plazas,
And in all the streets they say, 'Alas! Alas!' They also call the farmer to mourning And
professional mourners to lamentation. (17) "And in all the vineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the LORD. (18) Alas, you who are
longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?
It will be darkness and not light; (19) As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets
him, Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall And a snake bites him. (20) Will not
the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even gloom with no brightness in it?
The “therefore” relates to all the accusations in vv. 7-12 and introduces the judgment that Amos
says will be met with wailing even with professional mourners lamenting their situation before
God. God’s visit to them will be felt in all areas of the country even in the vineyards. The people
of the time of Amos viewed the coming day of the Lord to be when the promised Messiah would
come and return them to great power. But they are grimly mistaken as to its purpose for that day
will bring great judgment for all sin, even their sin. They will be looking for light but instead
they will find darkness. Amos compares their situation as to a man fleeing a lion and finding a
bear and a man getting home and leaning against a wall on which is a snake that bites him. They
think they have one enemy with their earthly oppressors but they do not understand that their real
enemy is the Lord whom they think they are worshiping. Without true repentance their day of the
Lord will be all darkness and gloom.
Amos 5:21-24
"I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. (22) "Even
though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept
them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. (23) "Take away
from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. (24)
"But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos now outlines how God hates their worship. A routine observance of religious activities
such as their festivals and solemn assemblies was totally rejected by God. Even though they
continue to bring burnt offerings and grain offerings, God will not accept them. The peace
offerings were also called the fellowship offerings as some was given to the Lord and the rest
was to be shared with family and friends but God would not even acknowledge such. Their
singing and playing of the musical instruments would not be heard by Him and He told them to
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take away such noise, implying discord rather than harmony. God would listen again if they let
justice and righteousness run continually without a missed step such as an ever-flowing stream.
Justice and righteousness refer to a required social order showing their love for their fellow
people of all stations in life.
Amos 5:25-27
"Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years,
O house of Israel? (26) "You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your
images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. (27) "Therefore, I will make
you go into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.
The question begs for a negative answer in that the Israelites did not offer such. During this time
obedience to the Levitical requirements had declined with such beginning with their defection at
Kadesh:
 Joshua 5:5-6 For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who
were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been
circumcised. (6) For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the
nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not
listen to the voice of the LORD, to whom the LORD had sworn that He would not let them
see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with
milk and honey.
 Numbers 14:33-34 'Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and
they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. (34)
'According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day
you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition.
Sikkuth and Kiyyun were names of the god Saturn so Amos is saying that they brought along
their idols they had made in their false worship. Amos is then tracing their idolatrous behavior
back a considerable time. Such false worship was not a new item of sin for them. God says that,
because of their long disobedience they will be put into exile beyond Damascus, a center of
major activity in Syria. Indeed God did have such a time of captivity in Amos’s future.
The Day of the Lord will come for all of us one day:
2Peter 3:10-12 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will
pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth
and its works will be burned up. (11) Since all these things are to be destroyed in this
way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for
and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
God has provided safety only in the Lord Jesus Christ so be prepared now.
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