4. The fourth message on unacceptable worship 5:18-27This lament also has a chiastic structure. It centers on a call for individual repentance.A A description of inevitable judgment Amos 5:18-20B An accusation of religious hypocrisy Amos 5:21-22C A call for individual repentance Amos 5:23-24B’ An accusation of religious hypocrisy Amos 5:25-26A’ A description of inevitable judgment Amos 5:27 read more
An accusation of religious hypocrisy 5:21-22 read more
Burnt and grain (meal) offerings were voluntary and expressed the worshipper’s personal dedication to Yahweh and the dedication of his or her works to the Lord (Leviticus 1-2). Peace offerings were also voluntary and expressed appreciation for the fellowship that God had made possible for His redeemed people with Himself and with one another (Leviticus 3). All three of these offerings were sweet-smelling to the Lord and were primarily offerings of worship rather than offerings to secure... read more
In Amos 5:23-24 the singular pronoun "your" appears indicating that the call is for individuals to repent. God told His people to take away the songs that they sang when they worshipped Him because they were only so much noise in His ears. He would not even listen to the musical accompaniment. He would shut His ears as well as His nostrils (Amos 5:21, vivid anthropomorphisms)."Today people will pay high prices for tickets to ’Christian concerts,’ yet they won’t attend a free Bible study class... read more
A call for individual repentance 5:23-24 read more
The Third Address1-6. A lament, a warning, and an invitation. 7, 10-20. Denunciation of injustice and oppression, with threats of pestilence and judgment. 21-27. A repudiation of their attempt to please God by mere ritual.1, 2. Lamentation] a technical term for mournful poetry consisting of short lines of unequal length: here, for instance (Amos 5:2), the dirge consists of four lines, the first and third having three accents, the second and fourth two. Virgin] because, though often defeated,... read more
(21, 22) These verses closely resemble the condemnation which Isaiah pronounces (Amos 1:10-15) upon mere ritual, however punctilious, mere profession of orthodoxy, however exacting, which was not accompanied by righteousness and mercy, and was not the expression of inward penitence and purity.Will not smell in your . . .—A strong expression for “I take no delight in them.” That Baal worship, as well as the worship of the true God, was characterised by similar offerings and sacrificial terms is... read more
(23) Songs.—The very sound of their tumultuous songs was a burden to Jehovah. As Christ cleansed the Temple, so would He dispel all this hypocritical and perilous confusion of ideas. read more
The Works of God Amos 5:8 The text brings the works of God and the name of God into one focus, and makes use of both as an argument with man to raise himself from the low and unworthy pretences of religion to Him Who sits high above the magnificence of all material forms, yet deigns to listen to the whisper of a kneeling child. I. Seek Him because He is Immutable. This is declared by 'the seven stars and Orion,' and by all the constellations among which the Pleiades are set. It is a... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Amos 5:23
23. Take . . . away from me—literally, "Take away, from upon Me"; the idea being that of a burden pressing upon the bearer. So Isaiah 1:14, "They are a trouble unto Me (literally, 'a burden upon Me'): I am weary to bear them." the noise of thy songs—The hymns and instrumental music on sacred occasions are to Me nothing but a disagreeable noise. I will not hear—Isaiah substitutes "prayers" (Isaiah 1:14- :) for the "songs" and "melody" here; but, like Amos, closes with "I will not hear." read more