LET JUSTICE ROLL ON
Amos 5:14-27
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! (24)
chapter 5
14. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
15. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
16. Therefore this is what the LORD, the LORD God Almighty, says: "There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.
17. There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst," says the LORD.
18. Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.
19. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
20. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light - pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21. "I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me.
22. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them.
23. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25. "Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26. You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god - which you made for yourselves.
27. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is God Almighty.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1. The Lord definitely judges all sin. But there is a way to receive his mercy. When we seek good and not evil; when we hate evil and love what is good; when we maintain justice—God’s mercy comes to us. But for those who continue to live unrepentant lives and who keep seeking evil and perverting justice, God’s judgment will come. At that time there will be wailing in the streets and anguish in every public square as the Lord passes through their midst.
2. The people of Israel professed to longing for the day of the Lord. Yet because of their unrepented sin, the day of the Lord would be for them a day of darkness and judgment, not of light and rejoicing. People might think they are escaping a roaring dangerous lion, only to meet an equally dangerous bear. Because of their sin, the Lord despised all of their religious rituals. Their festivals and assemblies, their burnt offerings and grain offerings were useless because the Lord would not accept them. The Lord wanted them to pursue justice and righteousness. Many times, we become concerned only about our own lives of faith and we don’t think about justice and righteousness. The Lord wants to cover the whole land with justice and righteousness. Let them roll on like a river.
Prayer: Father, justice and righteousness can only be found in you. Have mercy on your people and may you bring justice and righteousness to the world through your people.
One Word: Let justice roll on like a river