5:15
Now they are told some specific aspects of what God requires of them. They are to hate evil and love good. Hating evil is an oft repeated virtue in the Bible. This means hating all sorts of evil, So we are to hate sexual immorality of all kinds, we are to hate all forms of injustice, and are to hate all oppression of the poor. Our legal systems need to maintain justice.
“Perhaps the Lord ...” This is not saying that there is only a possibility that the Lord will have mercy, rather Amos is pleading with the people to change their ways.
5:16,17
Although God has issued this call to the people (v14,15), it seems that it was hopeless, the people would not mend their ways. So the judgement would come, and it would be terrible. The Lord would pass through their midst. Some might have thought this would be a good thing, but because the Lord would come in judgement it would be anything but good.
5:18-20
“The day of the Lord”. The people of Israel looked forward to the day of the Lord, they thought it would be a good thing for them, but they would be in for a rude awakening. The “day of the Lord” is not necessarily a single day, nor is it just referring to The day of the Lord. It refers to a time when God intervenes directly to set things right, a time when things are done according to His ways. Now Israel was living in abject disobedience, so when God intervened to set things right it would not be good news for them. Amos then uses a couple of graphic illustrations, essentially saying it would be like getting out of the frying pan only to find oneself in the fire. If we are not walking in step with the Lord, then the day of the Lord is bad news, not good.
No comments:
Post a Comment