Amos 5:16

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

15 ^aHate evil, love good;
Establish justice in the gate.
^bIt may be that the Lord God of hosts
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

The Day of the Lord

16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this:
“There shall be wailing in all streets,
And they shall say in all the highways,
‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmer to mourning,
^aAnd skillful lamenters to wailing.

17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing,
For ^aI will pass through you,”
Says the Lord.

18 ^aWoe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is ^bthe day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.

19 It will be ^aas though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!

20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?

21 “I^a hate, I despise your feast days,
And ^bI do not savor your sacred assemblies.

22 ^aThough you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.

23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.

24 ^aBut let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.

25 “Did^a you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 You also carried¹ Sikkuth ^ayour king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

<< Amos 5:15

Amos 5:17 >>

What Does Amos 5:16 Mean?

Amos 5:16-17

The farmer, accustomed to facing all the vagaries and insecurities of nature, like flooding and drought, is less likely to cry and mourn. The professional mourners, who cry at the drop of a hat, typify the other extreme. In their grief and despair, people will wander from one place to another looking for water, food, stability, hope, an organized city, or a functioning society. All they will find is anarchy. Will God be walking beside them? No, He inspired Amos to say, He would walk right through them!

Amos is not argumentative with them; he is not trying to prove anything to them anymore. He merely shows them what the Day of the Lord will be like. He paints a vivid, stark picture of the horrors in their future to make them evaluate the present state of their relationship with God.

John W. Ritenbaugh and Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Seven): The Prophesied Blow Falls

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Amos 5:16:

Haggai 2:11-14

<< Amos 5:15

Amos 5:17 >>

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The Day of the Lord

What Does Amos 5:16 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

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