In Amos 5:6, Amos said, “Seek the Lord, and ye shall live”. In verse 4 the Lord said, “Seek ye me, and ye shall live”. Life is truly in the Lord Jesus Christ. Like John wrote in 1 Jn 5:12, He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Sonf of God hath not life. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, Jn 14:6. So, if you’re going to have life, you must seek the Lord.
But Amos warned that Israel should not seek Behtel, nor enter into Gilgal, nor pass to Beersheba. Those places are representative of some places people go to look for life instead of going to the Lord. We’re going to see why some people might be inclined to go to these places and what’s wrong with them.
Seek the Lord
Not to Bethel
Bethel is where the Lord appeared to Jacob when he saw what we call Jacob’s ladder. Jacob called the place Bethel, meaning the house of the Lord. But Bethel became the place of horrible idolatry in the reign of Jeroboam, 1 Ki 12:28-31. So, don’t go to a place where idols are aids to worship, hoping to find the Lord. Seek the Lord, instead.
Not to Gilgal
Gilgal is where the Lord appeared to Joshua when Israel first arrived in the land of Canaan, Jos 5:9-15. It was the place where the reproach of Egypt rolled off of Israel. However, Gilgal became the place of Saul’s disobedient sacrifices to the Lord, 1 Sam 13:8-12, 15:21-23. And in Hosea’s day it was the place of all their wickedness, Hos 9:15. You aren’t going to live by sacrificing to the Lord. You are going to live by accepting God’s sacrifice for you in the person of Jesus Christ. Seek to him.
Not to Beersheba
Beersheba is where Abraham called on the name of the Lord, Gen 21:33. God appeared to Isaac there and Isaac found water there, Gen 26:23-25, 32-33. And the Lord spoke to Jacob there, Gen 46:1-4. So, it was, like Bethel and Gilgal, a very special place in the history of the patriarchs. However, by Amos’s day, it had fallen to the sins of Samaria and Dan. When you’re looking for the Lord don’t go the place of past memories. Go where God is now. He is here ready to save you if you will seek him.
Seek the Lord and Ye Shall Live
If you want life, you will find it as a gift from the Lord himself when you seek him. Jn 3:16 says that Jesus is the gift. Rom 6:23 says that eternal life is a gift. Eph 2:8-9 says that salvation is a gift. And you don’t get this gift by just going to church on Christmas and Easter. You don’t get this by sacrificing to the Lord. And you don’t find life by looking to a church and its idols. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live.