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“Seek Me that You May Live”

Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral song, O house of Israel:

She has fallen, she will not rise again—
The virgin Israel.
She lies neglected on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.

For thus says the Lord God,
“The city which goes forth a thousand strong
Will have a hundred left,
And the one which goes forth a hundred strong
Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,

“Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.(A)

“But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf]
Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal,
Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols];
For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,
And Bethel will come to nothing.

“Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and long for Him as your most essential need] so that you may live,
Or He will rush down like a [devouring] fire, O [a]house of Joseph,
And there will be no one to quench the flame for [idolatrous] [b]Bethel,

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:6 A reference to the ten tribes of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. The leading tribe in the north was Ephraim (descendants of Joseph’s second son).
  2. Amos 5:6 The center of pagan worship in the Northern Kingdom.

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