Is Jehovah your El Elyon? Amos chapter 5

God pleads with Israel to abandon their hypocrisy and worship only Him.

"Two Crosses" by HospiceBuddy via AI

Outline

• 1–3 Lamentation over Israel
• 4–15 Call to turn to the Almighty God
• 16–20 The Day of the Lord
  
• 21–27 Upcoming judgment because of specific sins

Is Jehovah your El Elyon?

The Israelites during the time of Amos were guilty of a sin that many of us commit today: to worship God and something else. God is jealous of us (Exodus 20:5, Exodus 34:14, Deuteronomy 4:24). He endured the agony of betrayal, accepted the torture of the cross, descended into the depths of the grave, stripped Satan of the power of death, Hell, and the grave, and rose victorious—only to stand at the door of our hearts and politely ask us to let Him in! Did He go through all of that to have us only part-time? To share us with Satan?

No!

Jesus conquered death and the grave (1 Peter 3:18–22), and we do not stay faithful to Him? Today, we see marriages break up almost as quickly as they form. Spiritually, I fear we are the same. We fall in love with God, or so we say, but then we are soon drawn away by our own lusts (James 1:14), enticed by another lover. We think we can give God His tithes, attend Sunday morning worship—maybe a few songs or even teach a class—and then forget about Him every other day.

Hel-lo!

He is our Husband. You are not suddenly single Monday through Saturday—or when that inappropriate TV show is on.

The Israelites fulfilled the duties of the law but also went to worship the golden calves in Bethel and Gilgal. They gave equal place to Jehovah and false gods. They did not recognize Jehovah as El Elyon, the Most High God, superior to all others, the One True God. They tossed Jehovah down as equal to the golden calves that did not care if they committed injustice, as if Jehovah was blind to the desires of their hearts. As Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21, KJV).

I just packed in a lot of doctrine. Here’s a breakdown.

• Jesus was betrayed: Psalm 41:9, John 13:18, and Matthew 26:47-50. Jesus was tortured before going to the cross, and the process of crucifixion is torture: Psalm 22:14-17, Isaiah 53:5-7, Matthew 27:26-50, Mark 15:34, and John 20:25.
• Jesus went to Sheol (the grave, the resting place of Old Testament saints, sometimes called Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise): Psalm 16:10, Hosea 13:14, Zechariah 9:11, Luke 23:43, Ephesians 4:9–10, and 1 Peter 3:19.
• Jesus overturned the victory Satan had in the garden of Eden; when Satan convinced Eve and, through Eve, Adam to sin, he introduced death into the physical world, which altered humanity’s eternal destination to Hell: Hebrews 2:14–15 and Revelation 1:18.
• Jesus rose victorious, demonstrating a power greater than sin and its consequence, death: Matthew 28:1–7, Acts 2:24, and 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.

Pick a side. Jesus doesn’t want to be a god—He wants to be your Most High God (El Elyon).

Will you accept Him?

Verse by Verse Study

1 God laments over judgment. It is not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). However, if you refuse to listen to Him, He will, with sorrow, justly judge you, sending you to Hell. Even God’s chosen people, the Jews, could not escape His judgment for their sins. Today, how can we hope to escape?

2-3 God describes Israel as a virgin: when she turned her back on her espoused (God), she had no one to care for her. God removed His protection that the people might realize He was their defense and provider. Now, with no one to defend them from the armies of Assyria, they would be slaughtered in war. This same message is presented in Hosea 2:6-9.

4-5 God compares Himself to Israel’s false gods: the golden calves in Bethel and Gilgal and the groves in Beersheba. The false gods were man-made and have no power to deliver. However, God is the source of life. Those who seek Him will discover His abundant life in this world and eternal life in the world to come. This initiates the theme of this chapter: a person cannot worship God and false gods. Such a person will be condemned as a sinner.
6 As the source of life, God also possesses the right to take life. Again, God states that the false god in Bethel was unable to save the people.

7-9 God identifies one of Israel’s sins: they corrupted judgment. More often than not, when given the choice, human nature delights in evil rather than good. Consider modern television in the United States: foul language, sexual immorality, crime, violence, gore—these permeate hit shows. However, God promises that even those who delight in evil can live if they seek Him (vv. 14).

God claims creation of Orion, the sun, and the moon because Israel worshiped these heavenly bodies. God claims authority over rain because Israel pleaded with false gods to water their crops. As Paul stated, men tend to worship the created instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25). “Turneth the shadow of death into the morning” declares that God is the source of hope and new beginnings. God is also the hope for the mistreated, for He can empower the weakest (the spoiled) to overthrow fortresses.

10-13 God declares Israel’s specific sins. In summary, the people preferred evil over good. Note that not all were corrupt: righteous men sat in the gate, where all business was conducted, rebuking the unjust and their deeds. However, the transgressors did not listen. Therefore, when God sent judgment (the evil time), the righteous (the prudent) would not complain because they understood that the nation deserved punishment for their sins. The unjust, however, would cry and blame God for being unfair. We see this same attitude today: believers praise and glorify God for being just while unbelievers blame God for unjustly allowing atrocities, natural disasters, and trouble in their lives.
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14-15 Despite worshiping false gods, despite being corrupt and delighting in evil, the people still claimed God was with them. How often do people boast that they know God, that they will go to Heaven, and yet their hearts are full of hate, lust, or other indecencies? In the United States, the phrase, “Well, God knows my heart,” is used to excuse sin as if God will overlook the action because the person didn’t really mean it. However, God very much knows their hearts, knows that they delight in such sins, that they are not appalled at their unrighteous behavior, nor do they seek His forgiveness. Such people deceive themselves. Either you seek God and His ways, or you do as you like. There is no do as you like, and God will bless you anyway. The next passage makes this point. Note that regardless of their sins, God was willing to forgive them and bless them as they desired if they would turn to Him.

16-20 Those who said they waited on God but worshiped false gods received a rude awakening: when God appeared, He judged them for their sins. This pattern is repeated in the New Testament: Jesus warned that there will be many people who stand before God for judgment and are shocked to realize that, instead of being glad to see them, Jesus will send them to Hell (Matthew 25:31–46). God is holy. His holy light and justice will devour evil as a burning flame (vv. 6). Be sure that when you stand before God, whether in death or in the Day of the Lord, you are ready to face judgment because you have trusted Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to atone for your sins.

21-27 God repeats the theme of this chapter: people cannot worship Him and other gods. And He is very clear. God hates hypocrisy. He will not accept your worship song on Sunday if throughout the week you are singing ungodly music (vn. 23). No matter how diligently you pray or offer sacrifices, He will not forgive your sins until you reject all other gods (vv. 22, 25–26). God will not accept your tithes or peace offerings (this could be service to the church, like working on a committee, or financial, like giving to missions) if you are unjust in your daily dealings (vv. 22, 24). Such people will only receive judgment from God (vv. 27).