5:21-24
God then tells them precisely what He thinks of their religious worship, for they were indeed a very religious society. God hated it! They were a stench to Him. God would reject all their offerings. We need to remember who worship is for! It is for God, not for us. He sets the rules. Religion so easily becomes man-centered, not God-focused. Their songs and music meant nothing to God. This latter part shows that the words of this section are as relevant to us today, as they were in Amos’s day. If our lives and hearts are not pleasing to God, then our “worship” is not pleasing to God.
Then we have the words famously quoted by Martin Luther King, “let justice roll down like a river”. There is no pretence with God, no favouritism. He looks for our lives to be truly just, that then leads to true worship.
5:25-27
Now the sacrifices were an integral part of Israel’s worship, as specified in the Law, especially Leviticus. So what was God playing at? God then points out that he did not require sacrifices during the time Israel was in the desert. Israel was missing the point. So what was the point? The sacrifices were ineffective in themselves in absolving people of guilt, as the book of Hebrews stresses. Instead, they pointed the way forward to Christ. Israel (the northern kingdom) had created many idols and was essentially indulging in idol worship, with a veneer of godly worship. There was no true worship, so God would send them into exile “beyond Damascus”. Assyria would, before too long, be the dominant nation, and many people of Israel would be scattered to various parts of the region.
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