Hear this word which I take up over you in lamentation, oh House of Israel:
Fallen, no more to rise
is the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land
with none to raise her up.
For thus says the Lord God:
The city that went forth a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which sent forth a hundred
shall have ten left
to the House of Irael.
For thus says the Lord to the House of Israel:
Seek me and live!
But do not seek Bethel
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over into Beersheba;
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nought.
Seek the Lord, and live,
lest He break out like fire in the House of Joseph
and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel.
Oh! You who turn justice to wormwood
and cast down righteousness to the dirt!
He who made the Pleiades and Orion
and turns deep darkness into the morning,
and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the Earth,
'The Lord' is His name,
who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes against the fortress!
They hate him who reproves in the gate
and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
Therefore because you trample upon the poor
and take from him exactions of wheat
you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them.
You have planted pleasant vineyards
but you shall not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins:
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe
and turn aside the needy at the gate.
Therefore he who is prudent
will keep silent in such a time;
for it is an evil time.
Seek good, and not evil,
that you might live;
and so, the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be with you!
As you have said, hate evil and love good
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of Hosts
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph!
3 comments:
From an indictment that could readily be applied to the Powers of the present evil time... to an call to "seek God and live! despite all that.
May He continue to turn deep darkness into morning!
Therefore he who is prudent
will keep silent in such a time;
for it is an evil time.
Prudence as silence isn’t. For Amos. Seeking God includes this white hot element of having it put in our face.
I am thankful for that.
I can't find The Testimony of Prudence in my yearly meeting's Faith&Practice.
But it seems to be practiced far more than faith!
Not for Amos. I believe he was thankful for that, too, although no doubt it sometimes threatened to become inconvenient!
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