◄ Amos 5:25 ►
Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
Study Bible
Did you bring Me
This phrase challenges the Israelites to reflect on their past actions and intentions. The Hebrew root for "bring" is "נָשָׂא" (nasa), which can mean to lift, carry, or present. In this context, it implies an offering or presentation to God. The rhetorical question suggests that the Israelites' sacrifices were not genuinely for God, highlighting a disconnect between their religious rituals and true worship. Historically, this calls to mind the wilderness period, a time of testing and reliance on God, where the focus was on obedience and faith rather than ritualistic offerings.

sacrifices and offerings
The terms "sacrifices" (זֶבַח, zevach) and "offerings" (מִנְחָה, minchah) refer to different types of religious rituals. "Zevach" often denotes animal sacrifices, while "minchah" can refer to grain offerings or gifts. These practices were central to Israelite worship, symbolizing atonement and devotion. However, Amos emphasizes that God desires justice and righteousness over mere ritual (Amos 5:24). This critique aligns with the prophetic tradition that prioritizes ethical living over ceremonial compliance.

forty years in the wilderness
The "forty years" is a significant period in Israel's history, representing a time of wandering and divine provision after the Exodus from Egypt. The number forty often symbolizes testing and preparation in the Bible. During this time, the Israelites were sustained by God's miraculous provision, such as manna, rather than through their own agricultural or sacrificial systems. This historical context underscores the message that God values faithfulness and reliance on Him over formalistic religious practices.

O house of Israel
The phrase "house of Israel" refers to the collective identity of the Israelite people. "House" (בַּיִת, bayit) can mean a physical dwelling or a familial lineage, emphasizing unity and shared heritage. By addressing them as a "house," Amos calls the entire nation to account, not just individuals. This collective address serves as a reminder of their covenant relationship with God, which requires communal adherence to His commandments and values. The prophetic call is for national repentance and a return to genuine worship and justice.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Amos
A prophet from the southern kingdom of Judah, called by God to deliver messages to the northern kingdom of Israel. His prophecies often focused on social justice and true worship.

2. House of Israel
Refers to the northern kingdom of Israel, which was often criticized by prophets for idolatry and social injustice.

3. Wilderness
The period of 40 years when the Israelites wandered in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, a time of testing and reliance on God.

4. Sacrifices and Offerings
Rituals commanded by God in the Law of Moses, meant to express worship, atonement, and thanksgiving to God.

5. Exodus
The event of the Israelites' departure from Egypt, leading to their journey through the wilderness.
Teaching Points
True Worship Over Rituals
God desires genuine worship and obedience rather than mere ritualistic practices. Our focus should be on a heart aligned with God's will.

Historical Context of Faith
Reflect on the Israelites' journey in the wilderness as a time of learning to trust God without relying on formal sacrifices. This teaches us about faith in God's provision.

Obedience as Worship
The essence of worship is obedience to God's commands. Our daily lives should reflect our commitment to God's principles.

Heart Condition Matters
God looks at the heart rather than external actions. We should examine our motives and ensure our worship is sincere.

Lessons from the Past
The history of Israel serves as a lesson for us to avoid the pitfalls of empty religious practices and to seek a deeper relationship with God.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the context of the Israelites' wilderness journey help us understand God's message in Amos 5:25?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our worship is genuine and not just a ritualistic practice?

3. How do the teachings in Jeremiah 7:22-23 and Psalm 51:16-17 reinforce the message in Amos 5:25?

4. What are some modern-day "sacrifices" or rituals that might distract us from true obedience to God?

5. How can we apply the lessons from the Israelites' wilderness experience to our own spiritual journey today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 16-17
These chapters describe the Israelites' experiences in the wilderness, including God's provision and their complaints, highlighting the context of reliance on God rather than ritual sacrifices.

Jeremiah 7:22-23
This passage echoes the sentiment that God desires obedience and relationship over mere ritualistic offerings.

Psalm 51:16-17
David's psalm emphasizes that God delights in a contrite heart more than sacrifices, aligning with Amos's message.

Hebrews 10:5-10
The New Testament perspective on sacrifices, showing that Christ's sacrifice fulfills the need for ritual offerings, emphasizing obedience and faith.
Sermons
A Divided Homage RejectedJ.R. Thomson Amos 5:25, 26
People
Amos, Joseph
Places
Beersheba, Bethel, Damascus, Gilgal, Gomorrah
Topics
Beasts, Bring, Desert, Forty, Grain, Meal, Nigh, O, Oblations, Offered, Offering, Offerings, Present, Sacrifices, Waste, Wilderness
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Amos 5:25

     7322   burnt offering

Amos 5:21-27

     7316   blood, OT sacrifices

Amos 5:25-27

     4281   stars

Library
April 15 Morning
Their Redeemer is strong.--JER. 50:34. I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins.--I have laid help upon one that is mighty.--The Lord. . . thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.--Mighty to save.--Able to keep you from falling.--Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.--He is able . . . to save them …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Sins of Society
'For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye Me, and ye shall live: 5. 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 nought. 6. Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el. 7. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8. Seek Him that maketh the seven stars …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Evidences Internal and Experimental.
1. The external evidences of revealed religion are, in their proper place and sphere, of the highest importance. Christianity rests not upon theory, but upon historical facts sustained by an overwhelming mass of testimony. It is desirable that every Christian, so far as he has opportunity, should make himself acquainted with this testimony for the strengthening of his own faith and the refutation of gainsayers. Nevertheless, many thousands of Christians are fully established in the faith of the gospel …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Whether, by Penance, Man is Restored to his Former Dignity?
Objection 1: It would seem that man is not restored by Penance to his former dignity: because a gloss on Amos 5:2, "The virgin of Israel is cast down," observes: "It is not said that she cannot rise up, but that the virgin of Israel shall not rise; because the sheep that has once strayed, although the shepherd bring it back on his shoulder, has not the same glory as if it had never strayed." Therefore man does not, through Penance, recover his former dignity. Objection 2: Further, Jerome says: "Whoever …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Kingdom of Judah.
II K. 18-25; II Chron. 28-36. Note: This period covers the time from the fail of Israel to the fall of Judah. It begins in the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah, whose name is given as the first king of the period since most of his reign was in this instead of the former period. The Kings of this Period. 13. Hezekiah, 2 K. 18:1-20-21; 2 Chron. 29:1-32:33. Reigned 29 years and died. 14. Manasseh, 2 K. 21:1-18; 2 Chron. 33:1-20. Reigned 55 year and died. 15. Amon, 2 K. 21:19-26; 2 Chron. 33:20-25. …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

The Greater Prophets.
1. We have already seen (Chap. 15, Nos. 11 and 12) that from Moses to Samuel the appearances of prophets were infrequent; that with Samuel and the prophetical school established by him there began a new era, in which the prophets were recognized as a distinct order of men in the Theocracy; and that the age of written prophecy did not begin till about the reign of Uzziah, some three centuries after Samuel. The Jewish division of the latter prophets--prophets in the more restricted sense of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Whether the Old Law Should have Been Given to the Jews Alone?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law should not have been given to the Jews alone. For the Old Law disposed men for the salvation which was to come through Christ, as stated above ([2065]AA[2],3). But that salvation was to come not to the Jews alone but to all nations, according to Is. 49:6: "It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Degrees of Sin
Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. He that delivered me unto thee, has the greater sin.' John 19: 11. The Stoic philosophers held that all sins were equal; but this Scripture clearly holds forth that there is a gradual difference in sin; some are greater than others; some are mighty sins,' and crying sins.' Amos 5: 12; Gen 18: 21. Every sin has a voice to speak, but some …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Books of the Old Testament as a Whole. 1 the Province of Particular Introduction is to Consider the Books of the Bible Separately...
CHAPTER XVIII. THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AS A WHOLE. 1. The province of Particular Introduction is to consider the books of the Bible separately, in respect to their authorship, date, contents, and the place which each of them holds in the system of divine truth. Here it is above all things important that we begin with the idea of the unity of divine revelation--that all the parts of the Bible constitute a gloriously perfect whole, of which God and not man is the author. No amount of study devoted …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Arguments Usually Alleged in Support of Free Will Refuted.
1. Absurd fictions of opponents first refuted, and then certain passages of Scripture explained. Answer by a negative. Confirmation of the answer. 2. Another absurdity of Aristotle and Pelagius. Answer by a distinction. Answer fortified by passages from Augustine, and supported by the authority of an Apostle. 3. Third absurdity borrowed from the words of Chrysostom. Answer by a negative. 4. Fourth absurdity urged of old by the Pelagians. Answer from the works of Augustine. Illustrated by the testimony …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Journey to Jerusalem. Ten Lepers. Concerning the Kingdom.
(Borders of Samaria and Galilee.) ^C Luke XVII. 11-37. ^c 11 And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. [If our chronology is correct, Jesus passed northward from Ephraim about forty miles, crossing Samaria (here mentioned first), and coming to the border of Galilee. He then turned eastward along that border down the wady Bethshean which separates the two provinces, and crossed the Jordan into Peræa, where we soon …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Lord Coming to his Temple
The LORD , whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple; even the messenger of the covenant in whom ye delight: Behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like a fuller's soap, -- and he shall purify the sons of Levi -- that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. W hereunto shall we liken the people of this generation? and to what are they like? (Luke 7:31) …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men.
Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With Wicked And Ungodly Men. When the Lord is punishing such a people against whom he hath a controversy, and a notable controversy, every one that is found shall be thrust through: and every one joined with them shall fall, Isa. xiii. 15. They partake in their judgment, not only because in a common calamity all shares, (as in Ezek. xxi. 3.) but chiefly because joined with and partakers with these whom God is pursuing; even as the strangers that join …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

An Exhortation to Love God
1. An exhortation. Let me earnestly persuade all who bear the name of Christians to become lovers of God. "O love the Lord, all ye his saints" (Psalm xxxi. 23). There are but few that love God: many give Him hypocritical kisses, but few love Him. It is not so easy to love God as most imagine. The affection of love is natural, but the grace is not. Men are by nature haters of God (Rom. i. 30). The wicked would flee from God; they would neither be under His rules, nor within His reach. They fear God, …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

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