The Lord taught that those who are rich have an added difficulty in entering the kingdom:
“… Verily I say unto you That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible” (Mat. 19:23-26).
It is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom, because it is very easy for him to trust in his riches, and not in God, as the record in Mark 10:24 states. Paul also spoke of this:
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).
With God all things are possible, and so those who, like Abraham, are rich in this world’s goods, can be saved by their trust in God, and not the uncertainty of their riches.
A PROPHECY AGAINST THE RICH
This is relevant to keep in mind when considering the prophecy of Amos. His words were directly aimed at those who were rich and prosperous in terms of worldly wealth. To give just a few examples:
“But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad” (Amos 1:4).
“… And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Yahweh” (Amos 2:3).
“I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Yahweh” (Amos 3:15).
The prophecy begins by describing the judgments which were to come upon 5 nations, from chapter 1 verse 3, to chapter 2 and verse 3. Then the rest of the prophecy deals with Israel – and it is this aspect that we are primarily concerned with in this paper.
From the beginning of Amos’s pronouncement against Israel, he defines the reason why they are to be so judged:
“Thus saith Yahweh; for three transgressions of Judah and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the word of Yahweh, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked” (Amos 2:4).
This is the primary failure of Israel: “they despised the word of Yahweh”. This is ironic, because it was to Israel specifically that the Word of God was sent: “unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2). Therefore, they had a unique opportunity to learn the Will of their God from God himself. But, as Hosea has it, they were “destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee …” (Hos. 4:6). In an age where studying the Bible is disparaged and is seen to be for the academically minded only, we must take heed to this example. Unless we know the Word of God, we will not be able to “discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14), and our lack of such knowledge will inevitably have a detrimental effect upon our walk in life.
This can be seen in the way in which the prosperous in Israel treated the poor. It is written that: “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction …” (Jas. 1:27). But the rich oppressed the poor:
“… your treading is on the poor …” (Amos 5:11)
“… they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right” (Amos 5:12)
“hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor …” (Amos. 4:1).
“I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes” (Amos 2:6).
This last reference is interesting – they were involved with slavery, and “sold the righteous for silver”. This brings to mind the Lord Jesus Christ, who was betrayed for the love of money and specifically 30 pieces of silver, the price of a Hebrew slave (Exo. 21:32). “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken of Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom the children of Israel did value” (Mat. 27:9).
WALKING IN FELLOWSHIP
Amos chapter 3 describes the whole family of Israel, and their relationship with their God:
“You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:2-3).
The principle is that because of the exalted position of Israel as compared with the other nations, therefore they were to be punished. They were not agreed with their God, and therefore could not “walk together” with Him.
Ancient men of old did walk with God – compare Noah (Gen. 6:9) and Enoch (Gen. 5:22) for instance. And the encouragement is given through Michah:
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Yahweh require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Mic. 6:8).
In order to so walk with God, we need to walk in the Truth, because He is Truth. Hence the Apostle gained great pleasure in beholding men and women walking in the Truth:
“I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father” (2 Jno. 4 also 3 Jno. 4).
And as we saw above, we cannot walk in the Truth unless we understand that Truth, and walk in a state of enlightenment and knowledge of the Will of God.
SEEKING
The word “seek” is used 5 times in Amos chapter 5, which means that it is an important theme. The primary application is to seek God in order to live:
“thus saith Yahweh to the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live” (Amos 5:4, also vs 6 and 14)
The Lord Jesus Christ taught: “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Mat. 6:33). There are therefore two aspects to seek for: 1. The blessings of the Kingdom of God, and 2. His Righteousness. Our desire must not be for the blessings only, but we must also seek after the Righteousness of God. As Zephaniah said: “seek ye Yahweh, all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be that ye shall be hid in the day of Yahweh’s anger” (Zeph. 2:3).
However, in Israel, it would seem that they sought the blessings of the coming day of Yahweh, but not the righteousness. Hence the words were pronounced:
“Woe unto you that desire the day of Yahweh! To what end is it for you? The day of Yahweh is darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18).
Malachi spoke in a similar vein:
“the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith Yahweh of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers soap” (Mal. 3:1-3).
Notice that here, the people professed to be seeking and delighting in the promise of the Lord coming – but when he was to come, it will be a day of judgment not blessing to them. So it was that as Amos declared, that day would be one of darkness, and not of light.
The language used here, is reminiscent of Israel’s departure out of Egypt. Consider these passages:
“And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith Yahweh” (Amos 5:17).
“I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake” (Am. 9:1)
“… it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt” (Amos 9:5)
It is also interesting to note in this context:
“seek ye him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning …” (Amos 5:8)
When Israel left Egypt, they did so in the darkness of the night, after the Angel of death passed over their houses – the doorposts of which were smitten with the blood of the Passover Lamb. They were taken out of Egypt, to become the kingdom of God in the earth. Even so, for the believers it can be said that the Lord “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13).
Again, there is a contrast to the smiting of the Egyptian firstborn, which secured the release of Israel from slavery: Messiah is Yahweh’s firstborn, through whose resurrection He has secured our release: “he is the head of the body, the ecclesia, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead …” (Col. 1:18).
The central focus in Amos, as stated above, is against the rich and prosperous. They despised the poor in the land, and they also despised the Word of their God. We must learn from their example: we must study the Word, to be workmen that need not be ashamed (2 Tim. 2:15). We must help, rather than downtread the poor in our midst. And in seeking first the kingdom – and righteousness – of God, we can then look forward to the future in hope, walking with God, and trusting in His Power to save.
Christopher Maddocks
