Amos was a shepherd who was called of God to prophesy against the people of Israel in approximately 755 B.C. We see this in Amos 7:15, “And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.” The Lord gave Amos courage to tell the people of Israel what they were doing that was displeasing the Lord. Some of their sins are described in Amos 3:10, 4:1 and 5:12. Amos 3:10 says, “For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.” Amos 4:1 says, “Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.”  Amos 5:12 says, “For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.” 

As a result of Israel’s unconfessed sins, the Lord says in Amos 5:21-23, “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.” The people of Israel were continuing to pretend to honor the Lord by offering sacrifices and singing songs to Him, but He would not accept their offerings due to their sinful lifestyles.

This brings us to Amos 5:24, which is the verse in question. Let us read Amos 5:24-27 to get the context. “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.” As we saw in verse 27, the Lord Himself is speaking in these verses. Therefore, in verse 24 the Lord is saying that it is time for God’s righteous judgment to fall on the people of Israel. The Lord uses the symbolism of running water and a mighty stream to explain that His righteous judgment will most certainly overtake them and will keep coming until His purposes are fulfilled. The Lord tells the people of Israel in verse 27 exactly what their judgment will be: He would send them into captivity. This came true 33 years later in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians conquered Israel and carried them into captivity. We read of this in 2 Kings 17:6. “In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria.”

Dear fellow believer, do you have any unconfessed sins in your life? Do I? Oh, how the Lord longs to hear our confession and forgive us so that our fellowship with Him can be restored again. 1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (162.10) (DJ)