Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Last week Sunday in the sermon we focussed on Amos’ prophecy against the ladies of Samaria who lived their wealthy life at the cost of the poor and the needy. Modern theologians consider this prophecy, on which we focussed last week, to be in line with the main theme of the book of Amos. According to them in his prophecies Amos, who himself was a farmer, turns against the established order taking the side of the oppressed. The main theme of this book would then be: away with the rich and the noble who do nothing else than exploit the poor. They also consider this to be in line with whole of Scripture, which in more than one place says that God is a Defender of the poor? In this context they also point to the Lord Jesus, who during His public ministry stood up for the oppressed as well, whilst He turned the tables of the money makers upside down and had hardly any good word for the leaders of the people, the Pharisees and scribes: Woe to you!

See, beloved, that’s how nowadays many modern Christians, under the influence of the theology of Liberation, read their Bible, whereby the true gospel that the Lord Jesus came to save sinners from the wrath of God to new life > in today’s modern theology this gospel has been corrupted to a social gospel which proclaims freedom from the evil structures in society in order to bring harmony for a ‘new mankind’. Wrong and oppressive structures (rich against poor, etc.) are seen as the cause of all misery. That’s how according to these modern Christians the gospel has to be proclaimed to the world. That’s how they also interpret the prophecies of Amos.

To give you an example of this: In Ch. 4,4 we read, "….." The LORD says here, "If that is your desire, to go to Bethel and to multiply your sacrifices at Gilgal, go ahead with it, but don’t count on Me any longer. Go your own way, but this will mean that I leave you to your fate. I will withdraw My hand from you." Now in our text it seems that we read the opposite, "Do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba." How are we to explain this? Well, those modern theologians say, Ch. 4,4 is addressed to the rich. The LORD withdraws His hand from them. For them there is no longer any mercy. But as regards the poor, the LORD is still moved with pity and therefore they are still invited to seek Him in order that they may live, Ch. 5.

Yet in this explanation one aspect is totally overlooked, viz., that the words of our text are directed not only to part of God’s people, but to all of them, vs. 4a, "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel." Our text thus contains an appeal to all who live in sin, both rich and poor. It’s a strong appeal, in which the LORD says, "It’s not too late yet. True, My judgment is imminent. It will come irrevocably. Yet for those who turn to the Me there is life as long as it is today’s grace.

I minister the Word of God to you under the following heading,

We will see

1. what it means to seek the LORD
2. where true life can be found only

I The words chosen as text for this morning’s sermon, Br. & Sr., are closely linked with the preceding verses, Ch. 5, 1-3, in which the prophet Amos, as though in mourning for the dead, pours out a lament for Israel. Indeed a lament for the dead. So to speak we see Amos sitting at the bier, or standing at the grave side of ‘the Virgin of Israel’, the kingdom of The Ten Tribes under the reign of King Jeroboam II. This end of life for this virgin had not come naturally, but this death had been brutal. This virgin had been struck down. The text says she has fallen. A fall from which she will never rise again. Israel will never recover from its destruction. No, this does not rule out that a small number of exiles even from the Ten Tribes later on returned to the promised land. I think of the prophetess Anna, for example, who came from the tribe of Asher, Luke 2,36. Yet as nation this virgin never recovered from exile. That’s what Amos emphasises in the beginning of Ch. 5. Cities went out to war, but its citizens were decimated. 90 % died in the battle, vs. 3.

How come? What did cause this disaster? Well, in the past the LORD had said to Israel, "When you seek Me, you will live,’ whereby the LORD had also pointed out the way to life. The LORD had done so already at the very beginning when He established His covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai. Yet at that time the LORD had also said, "If you do not seek Me, if you do not walk in My ways, if you do not seek me with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, it will mean death for you. Well, that’s what had happened now.

No, then as far as the eye met it did not as yet look like this. Under the reign of King Jeroboam II Israel enjoyed a time of great prosperity and peace. Yet death was already spreading, making a grimace. The enemy would come and Israel would be defeated. Why? Because you did not seek Me, says the LORD.

Again, as far as the eye met it did not seem to be like this. On the contrary, the Israelites were very active as far as their religion was concerned. They visited on a regular basis the temple in Bethel. At times they even went to Gilgal at the other side of the Jordan, where also a sanctuary had been erected. And as if all this was not yet enough, some of them even undertook the long journey down south to visit Beersheba, a town in the Judean Negeb district, where also a shrine had been erected in honour of father Abraham. In other words, it seemed that the service of the LORD was dear to their heart. The Israelites did not complaint at all about the cost and time involved for the service of the LORD. At the temple in Bethel there was always a lot activity. Daily many sacrifices were brought there. Yet -so Amos now says in our text- going to the temple in Bethel is not the same as seeking the LORD. This brings us to the main question, which we have to answer in this sermon, viz., what does it mean ‘to seek the LORD’?

To answer this question for a moment I would like to go back to the time that the LORD established His covenant with Israel, whereby I now in particular think of what it says in Deut. 4 about seeking the LORD and finding Him. From the context of this chapter it is clear that ‘seeking the LORD’ actually means asking the LORD what He wants us to do. By the mouth of His servant Moses the LORD had warned Israel not serve Him in their own manner, but to obey His Word. In particular Deut. 4 stresses that Israel’s worship service was not to be a worshiping of visible idols, but consisted of listening to God who spoke. Let me just quote a few verses of this chapter. First of the verses 11 & 12, "….." And then it continues in the verses 15-17, "….." And then in conclusion vss. 23 & 24, "….."

Summarising, when it is our sincere desire to seek the LORD then we let ourselves not be guided by what we can see, but then we carefully listen to what the LORD says to us in His Word. God’s Word then becomes the norm for our life.

However, what happened in Amos’ day? The people visited Bethel, Gilgal and even Beersheba to worship visible idols. Bethel, Gilgal, Beersheba - names from history which should have taught them differently.

Bethel - this was the place where Jacob met the LORD and asked Him for guidance.

Gilgal - this was the place where the Israelites standing at the borders of the promised land had purified themselves from the idols and had renewed the covenant with the LORD.

Beersheba - this was the place where Abraham had sought the LORD and where the LORD had spoken also to Isaac and Jacob.

Have you forgotten, O Israel, your own history? You may think that by all your religious activity you are pleasing the LORD. You, who even travel as far as Beersheba. But you do not really seek Me. You only serve yourself. When you travel down south to Beersheba, you pass by the temple in Jerusalem. After all, that’s where you should go. For that is the place which I have chosen to worship Me. Moreover in Bethel you have once again made for yourself a calf to worship Me. Have you forgotten what happened in the wilderness? It’s all a self-willed serving of Me. Therefore, O Israel, I can no longer leave your sins unpunished.

No, beloved, it should nor surprise us that God’s judgment upon Israel is imminent; that it will come irrevocably. What should surprise us is this: that the LORD who had been rejected by His people still invites them to seek Him in order that they may live. In this context I draw your attention to the fact that we meet the expression ‘seek the LORD and live’ twice in our text. The first time, in vs. 4, the LORD is saying, "This is the end. I can not tolerate it any longer. I who in the past have said ‘seek Me and live’, but you did not seek Me.

Yet in vs. 6 the same words function as a last appeal at the address of the Israelites, "….." The LORD says here, "Please, listen My children, it’s still not too late. True, my judgment is imminent. It will come irrevocably. But for those who repent, My grace is still there." Seek the LORD while He may be found. Walk in His ways again.

See there God’s loving kindness, beloved, with which He seeks life even for those who are already heading for death. Therefore the LORD is never to blame when children of His perish. It’s not the LORD’s fault when things go wrong with us. As a read somewhere, a self-willed service of the LORD is nothing else than spiritual suicide. God, however, does not want the death of His people, not even of a single member of His people. He want us to live, to live with Him in blessedness. Therefore this last appeal, "Seek the LORD and live."

And, Br. & Sr., this was not only a word for the poor among God’s people, as today’s modern theologians want to make us believe. No, this was a word for everyone in Israel who wanted to repent from his sins; a word both for the poor as well as for the rich among God’s people. It was addressed to the wealthy ladies of Samaria and their husbands as much as to the poor peasants who were exploited by them. Both had to turn to the LORD. Both: the rich who lived life to the full at the expense of the needy, as well as the poor who rebelled and because of their poor condition sometimes resorted to stealing. In both instances there was transgression of God’s commandments, a self-willed serving of the LORD. And therefore both had to break with their sins and to seek the LORD again, in order that they might live.

Seek the LORD and live. Beloved, where this happens, oppressors will no longer oppress, but will show the image of God again. Whilst the poor will no longer steal to help themselves out, but they will seek their refuge with the LORD. Then riches of the true gospel will determine life again.

A social gospel, which only proclaims freedom from evil structures in society doesn’t come with any more than just some bandaid measures. Yet he who gives his heart and life to the LORD receives complete salvation in Jesus Christ, who gave His life for the cause of all hunger and misery, which is sin. That the rich gospel of God’s grace also for today. Our God, beloved, does not discriminate the rich against the poor, or whatsoever. God does not look at the kind of state of a person. But He says it indiscriminately to each and everyone, also today to us, "Seek Me and live!" God thus shows His longsuffering towards sinners who deserve nothing else but eternal death. Our text is a clear example of this; a clear example of how great God’s grace is.

For note well, beloved, first God had said, Ch. 4,4, "….." In other words, "Go your own way, if you don’t want to listen. But it will mean that I withdraw My hand from you. I will leave you to your own fate." So God’s patience had come to an end. And yet in wrath God remembers mercy. Like a father who shows his son the door. If he doesn’t want to listen he can go, leave the house, then there is no longer a place for him. But then just before the son leaves the father makes a last plea, "If you would only listen my son." Well, beloved, that’s how the LORD pleads here with Israel, "Although I have said go your own way if you don’t want to listen, nevertheless I plead with you, O Israelites, do not seek Bethel, nor enter Gilgal, nor pass over to Beersheba, but 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." In wrath God remembers mercy. For God is love. But because God is love, He also is a consuming fire. For God does not tolerate that His love is offended by His children.

In wrath God remembers mercy. For the LORD does not want the death of the sinner, but that he turns to Him and live. That’s the rich gospel for rich and poor; yes, for everyone who wants to listen to this voice. Let us then also cling to this gospel, beloved. Cling to it, when at the end of the day you have to come to the conclusion that it again you made such a big mess of it. Despite all good intentions many things went wrong again, and it grieved the LORD. Yet in Jesus Christ, beloved, we may always start anew. Even though your sins were like scarlet, God will make them white as snow; even though they were red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Therefore seek the LORD and live! This call goes out, beloved, even to the most hardened sinner in the church. For as long as we live in today’s grace there is opportunity for repentance. On the other hand no one should postpone this repentance, for there might also come a time that it is too late. After all, no one can offend the holiness of God with impunity. God is love, but He also is a consuming fire. Beloved, let us never make light of this.

II Hopefully you have now understood what it means ‘to seek the LORD’. More or less we have also already touched on the second point with which we would deal in this sermon, viz., that true life is to be found with the LORD only. Back to the time that Amos prophesied this meant: the LORD was not to be sought in Bethel, Gilgal or Beersheba, but the temple in Jerusalem was the place were the true blood of reconciliation was shed, the blood that pointed to the coming Christ. No, then in Judah God’s people did not always live in accordance with God’s commandments either. I spoke about that in an earlier sermon. In his prophecies Amos also speaks about God’s judgment upon Judah, Ch. 2, 4 & 5. Nevertheless, Jerusalem was the place God had chosen to serve Him. This was the place where God’s people living in the OT era had to seek the LORD. Today this place is found in the church that holds to the true gospel. That’s how we may draw the line from our text through to today.

Seek the LORD and live. Sometimes people use these words saying, "As long as you seek the LORD and love Him, it doesn’t matter so much to what church you go. The most important thing is that you indeed do love the LORD. Yet, beloved, in this way these words are taken totally out of context. For our text warns quite clearly against all illegitimate worshiping of God. Amos had to impress upon God’s people that the LORD is serious about where we seek Him. And this has not changed, beloved. Also today the LORD is serious about where we seek Him. The apostate church will perish under the judgment of God. Look at the song of lament recorded in Ch. 5, 1-3.

Therefore let us seek the LORD where He can be found only. Where is that? Our confession says, Art. 29 BC, that’s the church were everything is governed according to the pure Word of God, and all things contrary to it are rejected, and Jesus Christ is regarded as the only Head. In other words, the church that practices the pure preaching of the gospel, maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them, and also exercises church discipline for correcting and punishing sins.

No, this does not mean that in the true church everything is perfect. Sins are found also there. Art. 29 BC dealing with the marks of the Christians also refers to this. But then it says, "….." Well, beloved, that’s what seeking the LORD is all about. It means that we cling to Christ. For only with Him we will find life; true life as it nowhere else can be found.

Beloved, may God grant that the fruit of this morning’s sermon is that in this way you always do seek the LORD according to His Word, so that in Jesus Christ you have life and have it abundantly.

Last modified: December 01, 2002