Repent, Love Good, and Hate Evil

Amos 5:1-15 

1 Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord GOD:
"The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel."

4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
"Seek Me and live;

5 But do not seek Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And Bethel shall come to nothing.

6 Seek the LORD and live,

Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
7 You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!"

8 He made the Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
The LORD is His name.

9 He rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.

11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor
And take grain taxes from him,
Though you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.

12 For I know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.

13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil,
That you may live;
So the LORD God of hosts will be with you,
As you have spoken.

15 Hate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
It may be that the LORD God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

This lament for Israel by Amos painted a dismal picture of fallen Israel, no longer a virgin because she committed adultery with other gods which are lifeless and of no help whatsoever to those who abandoned the only real and living God who is the LORD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who chose and called them to Himself.  The call was clear, seek the LORD and live (Jeremiah 29:12-13), with the alternative to continue in rejection and disobedience with the resulting judgment on their unrepentant sin.  Seeking meant turning from sin to Him and following His word to be well-pleasing aromas (Ephesians 5:2) of sacrificial living.  Sacrificial in that they were to have willingly placed their lives on the altar for His acceptance (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5) and not for the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  Twice He told them to seek Him in these ways to find life instead of judgment and punishment as God pointed out their sins against their brothers and Himself before summing it all up with the command to seek good and not pursue evil things anymore as they had been with no remorse or turning away from.  Instead of injustice, unrighteousness, idolatry, afflicting the poor for gain, and other ungodly ways, they were reminded of who the LORD is who place the stars in the sky in patterns and brought a cycle of rain to water the earth and provide food to eat just like His word given to them for life and godliness (Isaiah 55:10-11, 2 Peter 1:3).  Because of who He is, they were to be holy as well by repenting of all that was opposed to His character as summed up in the laws given to them on the mountain through Moses.  If they sought to do good and not evil they were promised that the LORD God would be for them and not against.  They were to go further than just mere actions however, they were to hate the evil and love what was good by establishing justice with each other in mercy and forgiveness as God shine grace on all who are His.  That was the promise to the remnant who were led out of bondage to sin symbolized in the exodus from Egypt and is further promised to all in Christ who are set free indeed (John 8:36) to pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14) and see Him face to face in the end instead of facing judgement for unrepentant sin.  Repent, love good, and hate evil.