In Amos 5:24, we read, “Let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream!” This is a verse that probably resonates with us all. We all desire justice! I read some Christian articles that predicted the year 2020 to be “the year of justice,” but I doubt anyone who made these predictions knew what was in store. This is definitely the year of people crying out for justice; but it seems that the notion of justice has taken on a new meaning. We hear about social justice warriors fighting for equality, and we see the means whereby they do battle, such rioting, looting, burning, and killing; and for the politician, lying, suppressing our freedoms, threats of imprisonment, and completely ignoring the law – all in the name of justice. This doesn’t sound like justice to me!
Justice is something we value as Americans. We even have a “justice system.” But the devil has a way of stealing ideas, and even hijacking religious and political movements. He then perverts what is good and distorts it into something that resembles the good, but in reality, is a far cry from it! The prophet Isaiah lived in a time where justice was being perverted, and he declared, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). Since Amos prophesied during the same time period as Isaiah, and since he cried out for justice to rain down, we’re going to take a look at what was happening during Amos’ day and time; and we’re going to see what the Lord has to say about how to truly allow justice to run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream!
A Call to Seek the Lord (vv. 6-7)
6 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 – 7 You who turn justice to wormwood, and lay righteousness to rest in the earth!"
I think it best to begin with verse 7, as we catch a glimpse of the problem the Lord was addressing through Amos. The nation of Israel had forsaken God to the point that justice and righteousness no longer prevailed in the land; but rather, it had become wormwood. Wormwood in Hebrew is la’anah, and it is the plant known today as artemisia absinthium. This bitter tasting herb has long been considered a hallucinogen and poison. A reference to its poison is found in Revelation 8:11, which says, “A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.” Consuming wormwood in excess is actually toxic and has been linked to seizures and death. So, Israel was dealing with a justice system that was toxic, and the people had put righteousness to death.
The Lord declared that if the people failed to seek Him, that He would break out like fire in the house of Joseph. The Lord was speaking here of judgement. This reminds us of God’s repeated warnings back in Amos chapters 1 and 2, when he said numerous times, “I will send a fire” (1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5). So, why the house of Joseph? Well, Joseph was a son of Jacob; and Jacob is regarded as the Patriarch of the Israelites, as his name was later changed to Israel. It was through his son Joseph that the people of Israel were saved from a famine, as they were brought into Egypt. So, the blessing continued because of Joseph rescuing God’s people; and because if this, Israel – a people headed for annihilation – were able to start again; or to be “founded again,” if you will.
God was saying that He would remove His blessing all the way back to the founding of His people, and devour Israel as with fire. He would shake the nation to its foundation. This should be a warning to any nation and any church; that should we forsake the principles upon which we were founded, then we too are headed for judgment. Our nation was founded on godly principles, whether you believe it or not; and since that time, the church has grown lax in its proclamation of truth and justice; and thus, our nation and its lawmakers have followed. Until we, the people of God, get serious about justice and righteousness, we can never expect to see a godly justice system.
Notice that God’s fire could not even be quenched in Bethel. The Hebrew name Bethel, means “house of God.” “In Amos’s day [Bethel] was the site of ‘the king’s chapel’ where Amaziah, the priest, served.”(1) It was the place where the people would make their pilgrimage to hear the law and worship the Lord; though, based on what Amos tells us, their worship was all show and not from the heart.
Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, “Bethel, the ‘house of God,’ would become Beth Aven, the ‘house of nothing’.” He continues to ask, “If Gentiles, who never had the written law of God, suffered fiery punishment for their sins, how much more would the Jews be punished who possessed God’s holy law?”(2) And applied to Christians, Peter said, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). Judgement will begin at Bethel with those who call themselves God’s people.
If you back up to verse 3, we read how the cities, which number many, shall only have a few remaining within them of the house of Israel, talking about a remnant of those who truly worship the Lord. Wiersbe says that the phrase “seek the Lord” “applied to Israel in ancient days, and it applies to God’s children today. Even if the whole nation doesn’t respond to the message and return to the Lord, a remnant can return and receive the Lord’s help and blessing,” and he notes that “God was willing to save the evil city of Sodom if He found ten righteous people in it.”(3) Perhaps the church has neglected its duties, and thus the nation has become ungodly; and perhaps both the nation and the church will come under fire by God; but a remnant of faithful believers can stay the Lord’s hand.
Justice is Mocked and Despised (vv. 10-13)
10 They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks uprightly. 11 Therefore, because you tread down the poor and take grain taxes from him, though you have built houses of hewn stone, yet you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate. 13 Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time.
Verse 10 speaks about how “they hate the one who rebukes in the gate.” Gates “weren’t just a doorway into the city. They were where prophets cried out and kings judged, and people met.”(4) The city gate “was typically a massive and often complex structure, consisting of an outer gate and an inner one providing a second line of defense, with a space in between. It was the space between those two gates (sometimes just a corridor with recessed guardrooms, sometimes a more spacious courtyard) . . . through which people constantly flowed, [and] that agreements were verbally sealed in the presence of witnesses.”(5) Amos speaks about the one who judges in the gate, and who speaks truth – how he was abhorred. Anyone wanting to live a life of sin and corruption will despise truth and law and authority.
On the flip side, in verse 12, we read how the just are afflicted as some of the judiciaries receive bribes, and how the poor are diverted from justice (v. 12). Wiersbe says, “When the dishonest leaders attempted to [force] their lies on the people and manipulate the court, if somebody rebuked them, they turned on that person and tried to silence him or her,”(6) much like the cancel-culture of today. There was sometimes corruption within the courtyard of the gate. Listen as I share an example, concerning David’s son, Absalom, about how he lied and turned people away from receiving justice. We read in 2 Samuel 15:2-6:
“Now Absalom would rise early and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision . . . then Absalom would say to him, ‘Look, your case is good and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.’ Moreover, Absalom would say, ‘Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; then I would give him justice.’ And so it was, whenever anyone came near to bow down to him, that he would put out his hand and take him and kiss him. In this manner Absalom acted toward all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”
Wiersbe says, “God established human government because of the sinfulness of the human heart. Without the authority of government in society, everything would fall apart and the strong would enslave the weak and the rich would exploit the poor . . . Righteousness and justice should be the pillars that hold up society, but these selfish rulers had thrown the pillars to the ground.”(7) He continues to say, “One of the evidences that the pillars of national justice are shaking and ready to fall is the increase in lawsuits.”(8)
He cites Hosea 10:3-4, in the New International Version, which declares these words: “They will say, ‘We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?’ They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore, lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field” – another example of justice being turned into wormwood; an example that reminds us of the corruption in our own nation.
Amos went on to picture “the rich trampling the poor into the mud by claiming their crops for payment of the high rents they were charging. The rich were literally taking the food right out of the mouths of their tenants and their children. And if these hungry tenants appealed to the local judges for justice, the wealthy landowners bought off the judges. So, what did the rich do with this ill-gotten wealth? They used it to build mansions for themselves and to plant luxurious vineyards. They anticipated lounging in their big houses and drinking wine, but the Lord had other plans. He announced that they would neither live in their mansions nor drink their wine, because the Assyrians would destroy all their houses and vineyards.”(9)
So, what did most people do about these injustices? Verse 13 says, “The prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time.” The word “prudent” can mean “wise,” but it can also mean “cautious,” “careful,” or “wary.” The people of Amos’ time did what most of us are doing today. When we see evil called good, and good called evil, and when we witness terrible injustices, we too remain cautiously silent, for it is an evil time in which speaking truth can lead to being targeted for violence.
Hate Evil and Establish Justice (vv. 14-15)
14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the LORD God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. 15 Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Allow me to back up and share a little more context concerning Israel’s status. Amos was prophesying during a period of national optimism. Business was booming and boundaries were bulging. But below the surface, greed and injustice were festering. “The people were boasting, ‘The Lord God is with us!’ After all, wasn’t the nation enjoying great prosperity? Certainly, that was a sign of God’s blessing. And weren’t the people active in religious activities, bringing their sacrifices and offerings to the shrines? And didn’t the king have a special priest and a royal sanctuary in Bethel (7:10–17) where he consulted with Amaziah about the affairs of the kingdom?”(10)
“Yes, these things were true, but they could not be used as evidence of the blessing of God. They were but a thin veneer of religious self-righteousness over the rotting corpse of the nation. The only proof that God is with us is that we love Him and do His will. Religion without righteousness and justice in the land is hypocrisy. No matter how many people attend religious meetings, if the result is not obedience to God and concern for our neighbor, the meetings are a failure,”(11) and no matter how many politicians claim that their faith is important to them, if what they say and do does not line up with the teachings of the Bible, then their faith is either a sham or pathetically weak.
“How can we claim to love the good if we don’t hate the evil? We claim to love the Lord, but God commands, in Psalm 97:10, ‘You who love the Lord, hate evil!’ We enjoy studying the Bible, but the psalmist said, in Psalm 119:104, ‘Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way.’ Seeking the good means rejecting the evil and not being ashamed to take our stand against what’s wrong.”(12) We must strive for justice in the gate; meaning, we must speak the truth at all times, even when it’s unpopular; and we must elect politicians who aren’t afraid to speak the truth; and not just that, but we need to elect judiciaries who have faith in Jesus Christ, if we ever hope to have a chance at averting corruption and experiencing true justice.
So “is there any hope for such a wicked society [as we see in the book of Amos]? Yes, as long as the grace of God is at work. ‘It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph’ (v. 15) . . . Who knows what God would do if only a godly remnant turned to Him and sought His mercy?”(13)
Time of Reflection
In Ezekiel 22:30, we read, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” “God is still seeking for wall-builders, for intercessors who will plead with God to send revival and renewal to His church. For, it’s only when God’s Spirit is allowed to work among His people that the flood of evil can be stopped and righteousness and justice flourish in the land. The saints want God to judge the wicked, but “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). If only a remnant will repent and turn to God, there is hope that He will send the revival that we desperately need.”(14) Lord, “let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream!” (Amos 5:24).
In Romans chapter 3, the apostle Paul laid out the utter depravity of mankind. He said, “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-18, 23). Simply put, when we do our own thing apart from truth and justice, and apart from God, then we have sinned; and sin separates us from God and eternal life.
In 1 Peter 4:2-3, we are told that we shouldn’t live “in the flesh for the lusts of men” walking in “lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries,” and in verse 5, we read of those who live this way that “they will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5). We will all stand before God only wise, the one true and just judge. In Romans 6:23, Paul told us, “For the wages of sin is death.” The penalty for doing only what we want and living in lawlessness is death, but praise the Lord that Paul went on to declare in Romans 6:23, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we will repent of our sins, and confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then we can be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life.
NOTES
(1) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete Old Testament,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 1423.
(2) Ibid., p. 1427.
(3) Ibid., p. 1426.
(4) Ibid., p. 1427.
(5) “When King David Sat ‘In the Gate,’ What Did That Mean?” HAARETZ: Accessed October 12, 2020 at https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-gates-in-the-bible-not-what-you-thought-1.5310638.
(6) Wiersbe, p. 1427-1428.
(7) Ibid., p. 1427.
(8) Ibid., p. 1427.
(9) Ibid., p. 1428.
(10) Ibid., p. 1428.
(11) Ibid., p. 1428.
(12) Ibid., p. 1428.
(13) Ibid., p. 1428.
(14) Ibid., p. 1428.
