שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יהוה אֶחָד
‘Shema Yisra’el יהוה Eloheinu יהוה eḥad’
Hear o Yisra’ĕl, YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is One!
This is possibly the most well-known verse to any Hebrew speaking person and it is from Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:4, and has become the basis for what is commonly known as the ‘Shema’, which simply means ‘hear’ or ‘listen up’.
Our Elohim is יהוה – listen and pay attention Yisra’ĕl – there is no other – He is One and He is the Only One!
There is to be nothing that comes before Him and nothing must come between us and our complete worship of who He is, as we are clearly called to listen very carefully to Him, and never forget that He alone is to be worshipped! This means that there can be no compromise or any form of mixed worship in our lives as we love Him with our all and seek Him without distraction! While many may indeed recite these words, the sad reality is that many lips may be praising יהוה, while their hearts are far from Him, as their lives are riddled with compromise and mixed worship practices disguised as acceptable traditions! As we walk each day among the chaotic wickedness of the world, we are continually being challenged in our ability to be a HEARING-GUARDING AND DOING people of Elohim; always resisting the subtle compromises that are easily presented as acceptable! Many professing believers today are still as guilty as a corrupt Yisra’ĕl was back in the days of the prophets, where mixed worship was being lived out with the assumption that they were indeed acceptable before Elohim, yet their worship was abominable in His eyes! Tonight I want us to be reminded that we are to be a people that are always hearing guarding and doing the Torah of Elohim, and that we are indeed listening attentively as we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness with our all.
In a message tonight called, ‘LISTEN UP AND SEEK יהוה!’, I would like to go through a passage from Amos which was a sobering call to HEAR the Word of Elohim and Seek יהוה with their all, and stopping all form of mixed worship! Turn with me to Amos 5 (Read).
The first word of this chapter is שִׁמְעוּ – ‘shim’u’ – which is from the root שָׁמַע shama – Strong’s H8085 which carries the meaning not just simply to hear, but rather to ‘listen with attention, comprehend and discern, give heed to what is being spoken’. Here it is written in the active voice which is a very clear command to ‘listen up’. This was a word that was ‘against’ this corrupted and wicked House of Yisra’ĕl. And this word was called a ‘lamentation’, which is the Hebrew word קִינָה qiynah – Strong’s H7015 which means, ‘song or poem expressing sorrow and lamentation, especially for one who is dead’, and it is also understood as being a ‘dirge – which is a song or hymn of grief, usually intended to accompany memorial or funeral rites’! This lamentation given through Amos was a severe wake up call, and a critical call to repentance – and the witness of this passage against the corrupted worship practices of Yisra’ĕl was a critical shout of mourning for a people who by all accounts were as good as dead!
This was a severe ‘wakeup call’ given to a fallen and backslidden Yisra’ĕl – to LISTEN UP. As we go through this chapter we are certainly able to recognise the power of this call to hear this same lamentation against compromised and corrupt worship, today!
We will go through some of the Hebrew words in order to get a better understanding of the urgency of this text, in the need for so many to LISTEN UP and SEEK יהוה. Verse 2 begins this lamentation by declaring that the maiden of Yisra’ĕl has fallen, and so this was, in a manner of speaking, a funeral song for a fallen Yisra’ĕl!
The Hebrew root word used here for ‘fallen’ is נָפַל naphal – Strong’s H5307 meaning, ‘to fall, lie, abandon, fell down, cast down’, and is often used in Scripture to describe those who have fallen/died by the sword, unnecessarily or tragically, and not of someone who died of old age. Yisra’ĕl being referred to here as a ‘maiden’ speaks of her youthfulness and her premature falling. The נְפִלִים Nephilim – Strong’s H5303 – ‘giants’ is a word derived from נָפַל naphal, and speaks of ‘the fallen ones’ – a clear reference to falling from one’s created position due to disobedience, and suffering death and destruction as the consequence.
The Northern House of Yisra’ĕl had corrupted themselves through wicked worship rites that had been established by Yaroḇ’am, and later legalised by the wicked Omri, and escalated into the House being so corrupted that she was ‘forsaken’ with none to lift her up!
The Hebrew word for ‘forsaken’ is נָטַשׁ natash – Strong’s H5203 which means, ‘to leave, forsake, fall, abandon, cast away’. Yisra’ĕl stood forsaken as she herself had abandoned her commitment to Elohim, and had left the ways of יהוה in order to follow the corrupt practices of man, as learned from the wickedness of the nations around them. The term used to say that she had none to ‘lift her up’ is a tragic picture of her no more having a husband!
The word used here for ‘lift’ is קוּם qum – Strong’s H6965 and is written in the hiphil active tense which is the causative action of the root and therefore means, ‘to cause to arise, to raise, to set up, build, to establish’ and we can therefore see the greater meaning behind the following verse in:
Tehillim/Psalm 40:2 “And He drew me Out of the pit of destruction, out of the muddy clay, and He set my feet upon a rock, He is establishing my steps.”
Yisra’ĕl had been ‘set’ in a pleasant place, only to defile Her walk and abandon Her commitment to Her Husband, and as a result she would have no expectation of Her husband coming to lift her up and take her to Himself! This sounds very tragic, and it is certainly intended to do so, as it is a severe lamentation for a ‘dead’ bride! She had become so depraved that she was as good as dead! This is extremely heart-breaking when we recognise how so many who assume to be the Bride of Messiah are sadly just ‘as dead’ as this lamentation proclaims!
In Verse 3 we find a very valuable nugget of the pure loving-commitment of יהוה, as we see that He says that out of a 1000, only 100 are left; and out of 100, only 10 are left! What is He saying here? יהוה was making it clear that He guards His Covenant and protects what is His own! By that I mean that what would be left of this fallen House is what belonged to יהוה – His tithe!!!
Ya’aqoḇ made a promise to Elohim, as we see in:
Berěshith/Genesis 28:20-22 “And Ya’aqoḇ made a vow, saying, “Seeing Elohim is with me, and has kept me in this way that I am going, and has given me bread to eat and a garment to put on – 21 when I have returned to my father’s house in peace, and יהוה has been my Elohim, 22 then this stone which I have set as a standing column shall be Elohim’s house, and of all that You give me, I shall certainly give a tenth to You.”
His promise of giving a 10th certainly included his descendants; and we also know from Scripture that יהוה promised that He would always leave a remnant:
Diḇre haYamim Bět/2 Chronicles 30:6 “And the runners went to all Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah with the letters from the sovereign and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the sovereign, “Children of Yisra’ĕl, turn back to יהוה Elohim of Aḇraham, Yitsḥaq, and Yisra’ĕl, so that He returns to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the sovereigns of Ashshur.”
Yisra’ĕl lay ‘fallen’ and ‘forsaken’ so low that all that יהוה would spare was that which already had been ‘given’ to Him – the 10%. We certainly are able to see today how small the remnant of Yisra’ĕl indeed is, and we need to therefore be urgent in our hearing of this lamentation, in order for us to guard ourselves against forsaking loving-commitment; and at the same time be urgent in our vocal call to a fallen and forsaken people who assume that they are standing firm, while their lives are riddled with compromise and falsehood!
The first 3 verses make a sobering reality very clear – and that is that the Bride has fallen and is dying; and here in verse 4 we see the clear call by יהוה to His Bride – and that is to Seek Him and live! What is certainly very alarming to take note of here, is the fact that this call may in fact only be going out to the remnant 10% that are left! In the parable of the wedding feast that the sovereign made for his son, יהושע tells us how many did not respond to the invite, and many from all over were brought in, yet when the sovereign came in and saw those who were not dressed in wedding garments, he threw them out; and Messiah tells us that many are called but few are chosen! (Mattithyahu/Matthew 22:1-14). What we see is that only a remnant will in fact hear the True call to repentance and get washed and ready – however the question is still even closer to home than we think – “Is the remnant listening?” In other words – “are the remnant really seeking יהוה?”
The Hebrew word here for ‘seek’ is דָּרַשׁ darash – Strong’s H1875 means, ‘to resort to, seek out, ask, avenge, consult, investigate, search carefully, make inquiry, question, read repeatedly, study, investigate, practice’. I think many do not understand the seriousness of this command – to seek יהוה is not a game – it is a matter of life and death. This word carries more than simply just take a quick peek, as it rather emphasises the need to be digging deep in seeking out carefully and with great diligence, through consultation, and asking. How are you at seeking יהוה? Are you studying His Word, reading it repeatedly, or is it boring for you? Are you investigating His Word, searching it out, practicing it – or do you think that is only for some? We all are to seek יהוה and live! We need to ‘seek’ Him and this implies an inquiry after knowledge, advice, and insight into any situation or circumstance we find ourselves in.
A word that is derived from דָּרַשׁ darash is מִדְרָשׁ midrash – Strong’s H4097 means, ‘a study, record, writings or story, commentary’. A ‘midrash’ speaks of the ability to search out something and often refers to that which is written to teach, and later became known as a Hebrew word relating to the in-depth study of the word, often done together. The point is that we are to be a people who are earnestly growing in wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures so we can remember what we look like when we look intently into the mirror of His Word!
Ěḵah/Lamentations 3:25 “יהוה is good to those waiting for Him, to the being who seeks Him.”
We are to be seeking His face always:
Tehillim/Psalm 27:8 “To my heart You have said, “Seek My face.” Your face, יהוה, I seek.”
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, And those who earnestly seek me do find me.”
Verse 5 clearly warns us how we are NOT to seek Him!
Do not seek יהוה in Bĕyth Ĕl or in Gilgal, nor pass over to Be’ĕrsheḇa! Bĕyth Ĕl and Gilgal were pictures of a corrupted northern kingdom’s system of worship. Yaroḇ’am had set up two calves – one in Dan – which was the northern border of the House of Yisra’ĕl and one in Bĕyth Ĕl, which was the southern border and the border between Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah. The Gilgal that is being spoken of here is not the Gilgal where Yehoshua camped and renewed covenant, but was a town for false prophets that was close to Bĕyth Ĕl, within the border of the northern kingdom. These two sites are a picture of false worship that assumes an identity with Elohim, yet has set up its own idolatrous and illicit worship rites. This is a clear picture of Christianity today – as they assume to be the House of Elohim, as well as assuming the rite to being a covenanted people, yet their hearts remain uncircumcised by the clear casting aside of the Torah and instructions of Elohim! גִּלְגָּל Gilgal – Strong’s H1537 means, ‘a wheel, rolling’ and we know that when Yehoshua came into the Promised Land he had all Yisra’ĕl circumcised at Gilgal, and so ‘rolled away the reproach’. There were other sites later that were also named Gilgal, and these became sites of illicit worship, and is a picture of Christianity that has rolled away the need to walk in the Torah of Elohim, instead of ‘cutting away’ the corrupted practices of man-made traditions!
Be’ĕrsheḇa was located within the borders of Yehuḏah – בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע Be’ĕrsheḇa – Strong’s H884 which means, ‘well of oath, or well of 7’, was where Aḇraham called upon the Name of יהוה, the Everlasting Ěl – אֵל עוֹלָם – Ěl Olam; and where Yitsḥaq built an alter and called upon the Name of יהוה, after יהוה appeared to him; and also where Ya’aqoḇ brought offerings to יהוה and יהוה spoke to him and confirmed the Covenant. While Be’ĕrsheḇa certainly carries great significance for us in understanding covenant, what יהוה was telling the House of Yisra’ĕl here was that they were not to pass over to a corrupted Yehuḏah in order to seek Him. Today this is a clear message for us to not ‘pass over’ and try to ‘seek’ יהוה through Rabbinic Judaism!!! What this verse 5 is practically telling us today, when seeking יהוה, is simply this:
1 – Do not go to Christianity
2 – Do not try to ‘enter’ into some twisted ‘Messianic’ mix of Christianity and Judaism
2 – Do not go to Rabbinic Judaism
All of the above will become a non-entity
Verse 6 again makes it clear – seek יהוה and live!!! Because if you do not – He will consume you with His fire of wrath!
When יהוה says that His fire will not be quenched He means it, as we see in:
Melaḵim Bět/2 Kings 22:16-17 “Thus said יהוה, ‘See, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the sovereign of Yehuḏah has read, 17 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other mighty ones to provoke Me with all the works of their hands. And so My wrath shall be kindled against this place and not be quenched.’ ”
We are being called to seek יהוה now, and live, lest we neglect to seek Him while He is to be found, and face the burning fire of the wrath of יהוה when He comes again! In verse 4-6 the urgent appeal to repent is clear, and the call for true repentance is even more clear, as the call to seek Him in Spirit and Truth in not done through man-made traditions and falsified systems of corrupt worship!
Verse 7 makes clear the falsehood of Yisra’ĕl, for they had turned right-ruling into wormwood and had cast down righteousness to the earth! The Hebrew word for right-rulings is מִּשְׁפָּטִים mishpatim, which is the plural of מִּשְׁפָּטִ mishpat Strong’s H4941 which means ‘right-ruling or judgement’, and are the ‘legal procedures’ or firm rulings that are non-negotiable. The firm rulings of Elohim, Yisra’ĕl had turned into wormwood, and the root word used here for ‘wormwood’ is לַעֲנָה laanah – Strong’s H3939 which is described as, ‘a bitter substance, a very unpleasant substance to consume, which may make one sick’.
We know that the tree of life in Ḥazon/Revelation is described as having leaves which are for ‘the healing of the nations’; and so wormwood can be seen as the ‘counterfeit leaves’ of the enemy which kills, yet so many are eating away at this very bitter root!
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 5:3-4 “For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”
This proverb is a warning against the false teachings of the whore who seeks to lure people away from the Truth, and what we must recognise here is that it says that her lips (that is here words) are sharp ‘as’ a two-edged sword! This means here words can certainly cut and do damage, and many fall for her sharp words as they ‘sound’ as if they could be true, yet they are wormwood that has twisted the Truth in order to deceive; and the reason why so many are unable to discern her wormwood from the Truth is because they have turned away from the Torah and are unable to rightly divide the truth. The word of Elohim is ‘sharper’ than a two-edged sword and therefore in order to know which is sharper, you have to know the Truth or else the sharp wormwood will eat you alive!
When many are ‘eating’ a twisted counterfeit, they will so easily ‘cast down’ righteousness! The Hebrew word for ‘cast down’ is נוּחַ nuaḥ – Strong’s H5117 which means, ‘to rest, come to rest, cast down, set down, permit’, from which we get the name of נֹחַ Noaḥ – Strong’s H5146 who was the man who found favour in the eyes of יהוה, a righteous and perfect man in his generations and who walked with Elohim, doing all according to that which Elohim had commanded him. This is a powerful ‘play on words’, as we see here the negative use of this word, for it can also mean, ‘abandon, depart from’. So many have abandoned righteousness, thinking that they have ‘entered into the rest of Elohim’, yet they have no regard for His commands!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”
נֹחַ Noaḥ was a righteous man, who did not cast down righteousness, but preached it for 120 years to a people who had! We either walk in righteousness as נֹחַ Noaḥ did, or we cast it down because of the wormwood of false lies and traditions of man that has turned and twisted the right-rulings of Elohim into poisonous and strange honey of a whore!
Verse 8-9 is a short praise of יהוה the True and Only Creator ! Yisra’ĕl were worshipping that which was created instead of the Creator Himself and had fallen to the worship of the stars, as the nations had done, and here the rhetorical question is put forth as to who made all – the clear and obvious truth, which many neglect to acknowledge in their corrupted state, is יהוה – and that is His Name. His Name is not some name given to a constellation of stars – He is יהוה!
כִּימָה Kimah – Strong’s H3598 is from an unused word that means, ‘a constellation of stars’ and is also understood in Greek as, ‘Pleiades’, which according to Greek mythology refers to the seven daughters of Atlas that were turned into a group of stars, and כְּסִיל Kesil – Strong’s H3685 also means, ‘constellation’ or in Greek mythology is known as, ‘Orion’ which was supposedly a giant hunter that was slain by Artemis. The Hebrew word כְּסִיל Kesil (for constellation) is the same as the word כְּסִיל kesil – Strong’s H3684 which means, ‘stupid fellow, dullard, fool’ and is from the root כָּסַל kasal – Strong’s H3688 which means, ‘to be or become stupid, foolish’.
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 18:2 “A fool does not delight in understanding, but in uncovering his own heart.”
This ‘mythological worship’ of man traces its way back to Nimrod, as we see how the worship of the stars were established by Semiramis/Ishtar/Easter, his wicked wife and mother of Tammuz.
Romiyim/Romans 1 speaks of the uncleanness of lustful hearts that that change the truth of Elohim into falsehood, and worship and serve what was created rather that the Creator; and here the rhetorical question of who made all that these corrupt people were worshipping was a clear witness against them in this heavy lamentation that was being given!
Iyoḇ also made it clear who was the Creator when he too asked the rhetorical question in:
Iyoḇ/Job 9:9 “who made Ash, Kesil, and Kimah, and the rooms of the south”
In Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 4 & 17 Yisra’ĕl was clearly commanded to not bow down and worship the sun, moon or any of the host of the heavens – and this is exactly what Yisra’ĕl did, in their abominable worship!
Who is it who made the host of the heavens? And who is it who turns the shadow of death into morning, and the darkened day into night? It is יהוה – and not some mythological figure!!!
Today we find this same abominable worship going on, as many seek their fortune through the stars and horoscopes etc. while they are clearly not seeking יהוה! I can bet you that most Christians today will know of many Greek mythological figures, yet they do not know the Name of יהוה!!!
Verses 10-13 is a clear condemnation for being silent in a wicked and depraved time! Those who are not seeking יהוה simply ‘hate’ the proclaimers of the truth and despise the truth! The word used here for ‘truth’ is תָּמִים tamim – Strong’s H8549, meaning ‘perfect, without blemish, complete, sound, and blameless, without defect’, and comes from the primitive root word תָּמַם tamam – Strong’s H8552 meaning, ‘to be complete, to be finished, be at an end’. The world hates the blameless and perfect way, which the Word equips us to become, and therefore so many refuse to hear the truth and its much needed reproof, as they would prefer to have their ears tickled with what they like!
Timotiyos Bet/2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For there shall be a time when they shall not bear sound teaching, but according to their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers tickling the ear, 4 and they shall indeed turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to myths.”
The transgression and sin of those who turn away from the Truth are exceedingly many. The word used here for ‘transgressions’ is from the root word פֶּשַׁע pesha – Strong’s H6588 which means, ‘rebellion, breach of trust’, and so speaks of one’s outright breach of trust and rebellion to walking in the Truth! In Amos 2:6 we are told that for 3 transgressions of Yisra’ĕl and for four, יהוה would not turn back His fire; and here in Amos 5:12 we are given 3 clear rebellious transgressions:
- 1)The afflicting of the righteous
- 2)The acceptance of bribes
- 3)Turning aside the poor at the gate – no fair right ruling for the poor!
Righteousness and Right-ruling – the very foundation of the throne of Elohim was being cast aside for self-gain, and for this the wrath of Elohim would come swiftly!
Verse 14 once again shouts the call to turn back and seek good and not evil – so that they may live! I have spoken before about the words ‘good’ and ‘evil’, and in nutshell we are to seek the functional Word of Elohim that will cause us to be a functional people, as opposed to being dysfunctional – in fact we are told here to hate the dysfunctional and love the functional, in a manner of speaking! The Hebrew word for ‘good’ is טוֹב toḇ – Strong’s H2896 and carries the meaning, ‘pleasant, good, agreeable, beautiful, to be pleasing, done well’. In the true understanding of this word טוֹב toḇ we can see that it may best be translated in most cases as ‘functional’, for when יהוה said in Berěshith/Genesis 1:31 that when He saw all that He had made, that He said it was very good. What He saw was His creation functioning properly and working the way it should and this is why it was ‘good’.
When something is working properly we might say today something like, ‘working like a well-oiled machine’, when speaking of that which is functioning the way it should and the way it was designed to. So טוֹב toḇ in the true sense of the word, expresses the idea that something is ‘good’ when it is fulfilling the action for which a person or thing is specifically fitted or used, or for which something exists. In other words it refers to something that functions within its intended purpose!
The opposite to טוֹב toḇ (good) is evil which is Hebrew is רַע ra – Strong’s H7451 meaning, ‘bad, evil, wicked, harmful’. The tree of knowledge in the garden was of טוֹב toḇ (good) and רַע ra (evil)!
Just as we understand that טוֹב toḇ represents that which is ‘functional’, we can then see that רַע ra represents that which is ‘dysfunctional’, which simply put speaks of that which reveals and abnormal and unhealthy lifestyle that is not functioning as it should.
We are not to call good evil and evil good – which is exactly what theologies and dogmas of man has done as it has turned aside from the good and loved the evil! Just think about it for a moment – Christianity has, at large, promoted a dysfunctional (evil) calendar of pagan rooted feasts that they call functional (good) for a believer, while they declare openly that the True functional (good) Feasts of יהוה are not applicable and therefore have, to them, become dysfunctional (evil).
Yeshayahu/Isaiah 5:20 “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!”
The call is clear for true righteousness and right-ruling to be established in the body of Messiah, and we are to guard against the ways of the nations. To love good is an active expression of our obedience and commitment to יהוה.
In this sobering lamentation there is a strong warning to those who were longing for the Day of יהוה – why? Simply because of their false perspective – so many assume that the Day of יהוה is a great party and celebration, while their lives are currently riddled with compromise! While we do realise that the Day of יהוה will be met with joy and gladness by those who follow in His ways, the masses are under some false delusion that they can do as they please and all will be well when יהוה comes; and here the warning is clear – the state of depravity that Yisra’ĕl was in would in no way make the day of יהוה something to be longed for! יהוה further expresses how He has hated man-made festivals, while pure obedience to His commands is being utterly neglected!
In verse 24 the call for right-ruling to roll on like water is a clear picture of the need for the remnant Bride to be washed by his True Word, that she may be clothed in the righteousness of Messiah. In the last couple of verses here in this lamentation, we see that any form of false and mixed worship is utterly rejected by יהוה.
Here we are once again given some obscure names that were worshipped and bowed down to. סִכּוּת Sikkuth – Strong’s H5522 was a false Baḇelonian mighty one that was worshipped, and was also known as Moleḵ, only later to be renamed by the Greeks as Zeus, and by the Romans as Jupiter. סִכּוּת Sikkuth means, ‘tent’, and clearly we see here a counterfeit of the True ‘tent’ of Elohim – סֻכּוֹת Sukkoth – Strong’s H5523.
כִּיּוּן Kiyyun – Strong’s H3594 means, ‘image, pillar’, and this too was an Ashshurian/Baḇelonian false mighty one of ‘Saturn’ and symbolised the apostasy of Yisra’ĕl through its setting up of images of sun-worship and the host of the heavens! What we also recognise from this is how the enemy, with his counterfeit tent, will always cause man to make an ‘image’ in worship to the false, as a means of trying to establish his position!
Stephanos mentions these in his rebuke of the Pharisees for their false religion as he reminds them of the history of the depravity of Yisra’ĕl and Yehuḏah, before he died:
Ma’asei/Acts 7:43 “And you took up the tent of Moleḵ, and the star of your mighty one Kiyyun, images which you made to bow before them. Therefore I shall remove you beyond Baḇel.”
Kiyyun is a representation of the imagery that is set up in false worship, and that which has riddled the world today through freemasonry, kabbalah, Saturn worship, the occult and many other forms of sun worship.
This lamentation that was taken up and the call for a remnant bride of Yisra’ĕl to listen up and seek יהוה, is being resounded today, as loud, if not louder, than it was back then! The one thing we need to be making sure of is simply this – am I truly seeking יהוה that I might live? This is a life and death call – if you do not hear and take heed and act – you may not live!!! Today the call to come out of false worship and be rid of all compromise is clear – Are you listening?
The way you seek יהוה will reflect whether you are listening or not!
As we consider this lamentation and are gripped by the sobering reality that many are walking as dead, we need to be ready and bold as Amos was, in taking up this lamentation against those who are mixing their worship and are resorting to man-made systems of worship instead of worshipping and serving the Father in Spirit and Truth.
Perhaps as you consider the words in this chapter, you recognise some areas in your life that need to be cleaned up and repented of – then LISTEN UP AND SEEK יהוה, lest His wrath break out on you and you are consumed!!!
In a time where the noise of the enemy is getting louder and louder in an attempt to deafen ears to the Truth, let us be vigilant in our need to cast aside all compromise and falsehood and LISTEN UP AND SEEK יהוה, and HEAR-GUARD AND DO His commands with confidence and great joy; while boldly proclaiming the Kingdom message and the Rule of the Creator that is coming! Yisra’ĕl assumed that their twisted worship was ok, and certainly would not have recognised that their worship was twisted – the same error is being made by so many who have been drinking of the wormwood of the whore, and this lamentation needs to be proclaimed loud and clear, in order that they may hear and repent and Seek יהוה.
Just as Amos was a simple herdsman from Teqowa, who did not assume to be more than what he was, yet obeyed the call to proclaim the truth – so too do each of us need to proclaim the truth without hindrance or excuse as we make the call for many to LISTEN UP AND SEEK יהוה, as we hear that יהוה our Elohim, יהוה He is One – and He alone is to be worshipped!
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!