Amos 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Amos 5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Amos 5:6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
As He always does, the LORD declares that forgiveness is available; Israel just needed to seek Him in faith and repentance. He makes the point that their sincerity will be noted by coming to Him on His terms—not at Bethel, Gilgal or Beersheba. The implication—Jerusalem was the place where God had chosen to place His name and receive the sacrifices of His people. These other cities had been established as worship centers in defiance of God’s instructions and had become centers of idol worship. The coming judgment of these cities is certain.
The warning in verse 6—If you don’t turn back to me in faith and repentance, the house of Joseph (another reference to the Northern Kingdom of Israel) will be completely devoured and no one will be able to prevent it. I think this is again in reference to their impotent idols. The call is for the people as individuals to repent of their sin and turn back to God in faith and obedience.
It always intrigues me how we humans think we have the right to expect our Creator, The God of the universe, to accept us on our terms instead of His. So many today are convinced that if their good deeds outweigh their bad, they’ll get to go to heaven. With that statement they are conceding there is a heaven and, in turn, a God in heaven who determines who is qualified to enter. He has clearly explained in scripture that the only qualification He will accept is faith in His Son Jesus as the sacrifice for our sin and Lord of our life. Still, many refuse to believe that He really means what He says. What an arrogant stance to take before Almighty God; and, sadly, how many are going to suffer an eternity outside His presence because they refuse to believe Him!
