EGW WritingsAmos 5

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 117a, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 117a, 1901, par. 43

The Lord always rewards painstaking effort. He chooses His servants from all ranks of life. Amos, a herdsman of Tekoa, was chosen as a prophet of Israel.

From Splendor to Shadow

Hosea’s Gracious Appeals

SS 153.1

“Seek ye Me,” the Lord invited, “and ye shall live.” “And so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” Amos 5:4, 14, 15.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 23—The Assyrian Captivity

PK 282.1

Against the marked oppression, the flagrant injustice, the unwonted luxury and extravagance, the shameless feasting and drunkenness, the gross licentiousness and debauchery, of their age, the prophets lifted their voices; but in vain were their protests, in vain their denunciation of sin. “Him that rebuketh in the gate,” declared Amos, “they hate, ... and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.” “They afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.” Amos 5:10, 12.

PK 284.3

“Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” Amos 5:4, 5, 14, 15.

The Review and Herald

February 5, 1914

RH February 5, 1914, par. 10

Through Amos the message of the Lord to Israel was: “Seek ye me, and ye shall live: but seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to naught. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live.... Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.” Amos 5:4-8.

RH February 5, 1914, par. 11

“Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” Verses 14, 15.

RH February 5, 1914, par. 19

“Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.” Amos 5:27.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 52, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 52, 1897, par. 14

In the actions of the priests and rulers against the good and righteous teacher, it had become depraved and distorted and criminal. “Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, seek him that made the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out on the face of the earth: the Lord is his name. That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. They hate him the most that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.” [Amos 5:7-10.]

The Review and Herald

January 29, 1914

RH January 29, 1914, par. 13

Thus it was with Israel. Those who might have stood as spiritual leaders among the nations, having set aside the statutes of God, fell a helpless prey to the evil passions of the human heart. Their times were marked by oppression, gross injustice, luxury and extravagance, riotous feasting and drunkenness, licentiousness and debauchery. “They hate him that rebuketh in the gate,” Amos declared, “and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.” “They afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.” Amos 5:10, 12. These transgressors “sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes.”

RH January 29, 1914, par. 14

“Ye ... turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,” the prophet declared. Amos 5:7. “Ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: ye which rejoice in a thing of naught.” Amos 6:12, 13. Filled with indignation, the prophet addressed them as those who “cause the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, ... that drink wine in bowls, and ... are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Amos 6:3-6.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8

Nature is not God

8T 263.4

“Seek Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion,
And turneth the shadow of death into the morning,
And maketh the day dark with night;
That calleth for the waters of the sea,
And poureth them out upon the face of the earth
(Jehovah is His name).” Amos 5:8, A.R.V.

The Ministry of Healing

Nature Is Not God

MH 414.1

“Seek Him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion,
And turneth the shadow of death into the morning,
And maketh the day dark with night;”
“He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind,
And declareth unto man what is His thought;”
“He that buildeth His spheres in the heaven,
And hath founded His arch [Noyes’s translation]
in the earth;”
“He that calleth for the waters of the sea,
And poureth them out upon the face of the earth;
Jehovah is His name.” Amos 5:8, A.R.V.; Amos 4:13, A.R.V.; Amos 9:6, margin; Amos 9:6, A.R.V.

Homeward Bound

A View of Other Worlds, December 22

HB 387.1

He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning.—Amos 5:8.

From Splendor to Shadow

Chapter 23—The Decline and Fall of Israel

SS 152.2

The prophets lifted their voices against the marked oppression, flagrant injustice, luxury and extravagance, the shameless feasting and drunkenness, and the gross licentiousness. But in vain were their protests. “Him that rebuketh in the gate,” declared Amos, “they hate ... and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.” Amos 5:10. Finally nearly all the inhabitants of the land had given themselves over to the alluring practices of nature worship. Forgetting their Maker, Israel “deeply corrupted themselves.” Hosea 9:9.

Education

Honest Business Dealings

Ed 143.4

“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, ... ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.” “The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another, ... and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.” Amos 5:11; Deuteronomy 28:20, 32.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 110, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 110, 1893, par. 13

The end of all things is at hand and iniquity abounds, because men have transgressed the law and broken the everlasting covenant given on condition of obedience, and because of continual transgression. Isaiah 59; Ezekiel 20:12, 18; Amos 5:11-20; Micah 6:6-15; Haggai 1:5, 6; Hosea 6:1-11; 8:12, 13; Joel 1:2-7, 11-20. There we have the prophecies of the state of our world just prior to the second coming of the Lord thy God. The world will become more and [more] under the sway of seducing spirits as they turn away from God and His righteous government. Men professing godliness will indulge their own traits of character. Unless they are conscientiously under the control of God, they will become self-indulgent and self-centered.

This Day With God

Christian Prudence, August 29

TDG 250.1

Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. Amos 5:13.

My Life Today

I Will Seek the Good, That I May Live, March 24

ML 87.1

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you. Amos 5:14.

The Great Controversy

Chapter 17—Heralds of the Morning

GC 310.1

It was needful that men should be awakened to their danger; that they should be roused to prepare for the solemn events connected with the close of probation. The prophet of God declares: “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” Who shall stand when He appeareth who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” and cannot “look on iniquity”? Joel 2:11; Habakkuk 1:13. To them that cry, “My God, we know Thee,” yet have transgressed His covenant, and hastened after another god, hiding iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths of unrighteousness—to these the day of the Lord is “darkness, and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it.” Hosea 8:2, 1; Psalm 16:4; Amos 5:20. “It shall come to pass at that time,” saith the Lord, “that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil.” Zephaniah 1:12. “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Isaiah 13:11. “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them;” “their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation.” Zephaniah 1:18, 13.

The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)

Chapter 17—Heralds of the Morning

GC88 309.3

It was needful that men should be awakened to their danger; that they should be roused to prepare for the solemn events connected with the close of probation. The prophet of God declares: “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” [Joel 2:11.] Who shall stand when He appeareth who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity?” [Habakkuk 1:13.] To them that cry, “My God, we know thee,” yet have transgressed his covenant, and hastened after another god, [Hosea 8:2, 1; Psalm 16:4.] hiding iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths of unrighteousness, to these, the day of the Lord is “darkness, and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it.” [Amos 5:20.] “It shall come to pass at that time,” saith the Lord, “that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees; that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.” [Zephaniah 1:12.] “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” [Isaiah 13:11.] “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them;” “their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation.” [Zephaniah 1:18, 13.]