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Amos 5:6 - Seek God And Live!

Amos 5:6 (KJV) 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.

Amos 5:6 (ESV) Seek the LORD and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,

INTRODUCTION

There is one sure remedy for a world that is sick and dying in sin: "Come back to the LORD and live!" Sin seeks to destroy, but hope is found in seeking God. In times of difficulty, look to God. Keep your eyes on him. Keep your eyes on his Word. And when others are struggling, encourage them to do the same. Then hope will flourish in the reality of the one true God who gives life. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARLS

There are many whose hearts are aching under a load of care because they seek to reach the world's standard. They have chosen its service, accepted its perplexities, adopted its customs. Thus their character is marred, and their life made a weariness. In order to gratify ambition and worldly desires, they wound the conscience, and bring upon themselves an additional burden of remorse. The continual worry is wearing out the life forces. Our Lord desires them to lay aside this yoke of bondage.  He invites them to accept His yoke; He says, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." He bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is, that all things needful to them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning.  In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing.  Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet. DA330

A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness--sin in all its forms--must be overcome if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is that they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.  After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory. 5T231

COMMENTARY

   Throughout Amos chapter 5, in the midst of harsh judgment and the announcement of more disasters to come, the Lord mercifully calls his people to leave their idolatry, stop their wickedness, corruption, and injustice, and return to him. "Come back to the Lord and live," he tells them, before I "roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely." He calls them to remember what he has done, to look at creation, the constellations and stars at night. He reminds them of who he is: the blessed controller of everything in nature. He turns blackness into morning and day into night. He draws water from the oceans and pours it down as rain. His power destroys the strong and crushes all their defenses, causes the proud to stumble, and strengthens the weak. The Lord Almighty is his name! Just as the Israelites strayed when they forgot God and his deeds, so do we. One of the great values of the Scriptures is that they call us back to the truth of who God is. They give us word pictures of God's power and greatness so that we will return to him in surrender and devotion---that we might live.
   Oh, LORD Almighty, who created the stars and turns darkness into dawn and day into night, I bow before you. I praise you for ruling over heaven and earth and with blinding speed and power" crushing the wicked. Nothing can withstand your power! Thank you for your Word, which reminds me of who you are and calls me back to devotion and truth. Keep me from evil, and guide me along the path of life. [Praying Through The Bible By Fuller]

   There are certain parts of your background and makeup over which you had no control. God never consulted you before he selected your parents, color of hair, height, nationality, or shoe size. These were determined by him before you were ever conceived (Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5). Hearing that, you may be tempted to conclude life is a fatalistic journey over which you have no control.
   Not so! The Bible makes it clear there are important choices that you and you alone must make: the decision to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life (John 3:16-18), the decision to live a life distinct from the world (2 Corinthians 6:17), the decision to "Be good, flee evil" (Amos 5:14). Your destiny is determined by choice, not chance.
   And as with any decision, it is impossible not to decide, for to postpone the decision indefinitely is to decide already. Take the three decisions mentioned in the previous paragraph and decide on your response to each: will you ... or won't you? Choose carefully, for your very life and happiness are at stake! [Daily Walk Bible]

We are to seek God, and live. Note that the text emphasizes seek "Me." It's not religion that produces a just society, but personal relationship with the living God. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]

The true believer chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything. [5T231]

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY

Amos 5:6 - Seek God And Live!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20050829-0823.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/