Amos 5 - 3.10.26

Scripture: Amos 5:4 - 5

This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek me and live;

    do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
    do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”

Observation

As a prophet prophesying during the time of great prosperity for the people of God, Amos was delivering a message of warning to God’s people of how far they had strayed from relationship with Him. Though prosperous in worldly things, they were forsaking the covenant with God, and He was speaking of their impending doom if they didn’t return. In this passage, we see the Lord telling His people how to return to Him. 

Verse 5 says “do not seek Bethel” - Bethel is a place of strong significance to the Israelites. It literally means ‘house of God’ and was a place of divine encounter. The verse ‘Do not go to Gilgal"‘ is another place of significance to them. It is the site where God rolled away the reproach of the Egyptians. The verse‘ Do not journey to Beersheba’ was a patriarchal site for them, a sacred place of covenant. Gilgal was going to go into exile though it was once a place they found refuge. Bethel was going to be reduced to nothing though it was the very house of God they had chosen to worship their idols. When the places of worship and covenant become places of vanity, idol worship and empty worship to our King, we must learn to look inward and fix our relationship with Him.

Application

Seek God who is Spirit - not places where you once met Him. True worship is a heart postured to God not just the songs we sing at church on a Sunday morning during a worship set. When we only worship God in church or through religiosity passed through generations, worship becomes empty and more about our traditions than God. We should be careful not to make worshipping God formulaic or dull our hearts to truly seeking Him and giving Him our all. I myself have met God in many places in my life, in unexpected ways, and during moments I never thought He would meet me. I have walked out of church services during panic attacks and felt the presence of God rest next to me as I lost control of myself on the hard concrete of a church parking lot while in the midst of shame, debilitating loneliness and fear. He came to me and I was able to worship and praise Him in that moment. God has brought me to worship locked behind the heavy metal doors of mental hospitals, on a run outside, under a tree in the park, in a grocery store, a dentist office and in my car. True worship doesn’t require a place, it requires a heart that is seeking God no matter where you are. We can seek the places we once found Him, or where our parents found Him, and remain comfortable or we can lace up our spiritual shoes, and move with Him wherever He goes, and worship Him on the way to our destination.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your open invitation to worship you in spirit and in truth. As temples of God, we seek to fill our bodies with your praise. Our bodies are instruments of worship. Help us to use them for what you created them for. Jesus came in the flesh, not only to redeem humanity but to redeem the very bodies we live in. These earthen vessels need to be filled with your glory Father. Help us to seek you with our whole heart and not give lip service. As the song says “shake up the ground of all my religion and break down the walls of all my tradition” because your way is indeed better than anything! Amen

- Shanese Hamilton