Amos 5:21-27
Summary for Amos 5:21-27: 5:21-27 a Amos again confronts the religious hypocrisy and spiritual unfaithfulness of the Israelites (see 4:4-5 b; Isa 1:10-20 c).5:22 d God would not accept the offerings (see Lev 1–6 e) of the Israelites because they were attempts to manipulate him magically rather than signs of true repentance and faith.
5:24 f This is the second of the great thematic verses in Amos (see 4:12 g).
• endless river: The streams or gullies (wadis) in Israel’s dry areas contained water only temporarily during rainy seasons. However, God wanted continual, not just seasonal, justice.
Summary for Amos 5:25-26: 5:25-26 h Although the people of Israel claimed that God had to bless them because of the Sinai covenant, Amos demonstrated that they had been fundamentally pagan from the very earliest days of the covenant. 5:25 i Israel’s relationship with God was based on true devotion that yielded obedience (1 Sam 15:22-23 j). Sacrifices representing repentance and faith could repair a breach made by sin, but they were not a substitute for a life lived in accordance with God’s word.
• Forty years in the wilderness was the duration of Israel’s wandering after the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea (see Num 14:32-35 k).
Summary for Amos 5:26-27: 5:26-27 l The names that appear in 5:26 m have given rise to several conjectures, but many interpreters consider them to be names of unidentified pagan gods. The king god may well be Molech, god of the Ammonites (see 1:15 n). The word translated you served may mean you will lift up, in which case the prophet is making a contrast between Israel or Judah, who carried their idols, and God, who carries his people (see Isa 46:1-7 o).
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