Seek the Lord and Live

God's Prophets Demand Justice
Amos Rails against Injustice

God Is Not Fooled

Amos 5:1-6  The Message

5 Listen to this, family of Israel,
    this Message I’m sending in bold print, this tragic warning:

² “Virgin Israel has fallen flat on her face.
    She’ll never stand up again.
She’s been left where she’s fallen.
    No one offers to help her up.”

³ This is the Message, God’s Word:

“The city that marches out with a thousand
    will end up with a hundred.
The city that marches out with a hundred
    will end up with ten. Oh, family of Israel!”

^4-5 God’s Message to the family of Israel:

“Seek me and live.
    Don’t fool around at those shrines of Bethel,
Don’t waste time taking trips to Gilgal,
    and don’t bother going down to Beer-sheba.
Gilgal is here today and gone tomorrow
    and Bethel is all show, no substance.”

⁶ So seek God and live! You don’t want to end up
    with nothing to show for your life
But a pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground.
    For God will send just such a fire,
    and the firefighters will show up too late.

 

 

For Reflection 

The most dangerous time of our lives is when all is going well.  It is the time when we forget God is the root cause of our comfort.  If we have known God and have assumed that we are comfortable because of our own effort and our own plan then watch out!  Our conceit will do us in.  When we take for granted the gifts of God, We are apt to lose them.  It will seem our successes will burn to the ground and no fireman will ever be able to quench the burning that our estrangment from God has produced.

All we have left is regret -- and God's promise for restoration.  All is never lost. Seek God and you shall find life arising from the ashes of your failure

Pray

to abide in the care of God.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving for the fruits of God's labor.  Pray, rejoicing in the bounty of a life lived in the hollow of God's hands.