QT 04/11/2025 Tue. Amos 5 “Let Justice Roll Down” “让公义如水奔流”
QT 04/11/2025 Tue. Amos 5 “Let Justice Roll Down”
READ http://www.esv.org/Amos5
📖 Scripture Focus Amos 5:24 (ESV):
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
🔍 In this sobering passage, the prophet Amos delivers a harsh but necessary rebuke to Israel of Amos’ time. The people of God were busy with religious festivals, offerings, and songs, but they were turning a blind eye to the needs of the poor and perverting justice.
✦ Verse 11 (ESV):
“Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him…”
✦ Verse 12 (ESV):
“For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.”
✦ Verse 24 (ESV):
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
🔥 Devotional Reflection: Justice Over Ceremony
God is not impressed with hollow worship. He’s not interested in songs sung from unrepentant hearts or offerings given by hands that oppress. What God truly desires is a life that reflects His justice, mercy, and righteousness.
✝️ The Problem in Amos 5:
(a) The people were “afflicting the righteous” and “turning aside the needy.”
(b) Bribery and corruption ruled at the gates—the place where justice was supposed to be served.
(c) Yet, they continued with religious rituals, hoping that sacrifices would compensate for injustice.
God says “I hate, I despise your feasts” (v. 21). Not because worship is wrong, but because worship without justice is empty. True worship must lead to transformed lives — lives that defend the poor, uplift the needy, and seek righteousness.
💡 Modern Application
This message isn’t just for ancient Israel — it’s for the Church today. Are we…
(a) Attending church regularly, but ignoring the oppressed around us?
(b) Giving offerings, while withholding justice from those who need it?
(c) Singing worship songs, but turning a blind eye to systems that crush the vulnerable?
Genuine faith is not just about personal salvation, but also about living out the values of the Kingdom: justice, mercy, and humility (Micah 6:8). Jesus Himself quoted the prophets when He said:
“These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”— Matthew 23:23
🙏 A Call to Action
Amos calls us to seek the Lord — but not through ritual alone. He calls us to seek the Lord through justice, through right living, and through compassion for the needy.
Let us be people who:
(1) Listen to the cries of the poor, not ignore them.
(2) Stand against corruption, not participate in it.
(3) Let justice roll, not dam it up with indifference.
📣 Challenge for Today:
Who is the “needy” at your gate?
Is it the family in your neighborhood struggling to make ends meet?
The struggling parent at wit’s end? The depressed lonely immigrant, the elderly, the unborn, or the forgotten?
Someone at your workplace who’s treated unfairly?
Seek good, not evil (v.14) — not only in what you avoid, but in what you actively pursue.
🙏 Prayer
Lord, forgive us for when we’ve worshiped You with our lips while neglecting justice with our lives. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Teach us to care for the poor, defend the oppressed, and live righteously. Let justice roll through our hearts and into our world, like a mighty stream. In Jesus' name, amen.
🔚 Final Thought:
Genuine faith is a living faith. And living faith looks like loving God and loving people — not just in word, but in action. So let your worship rise, and let justice roll.
QT 04/11/2025 星期二. 阿摩司书 5 “让公义如水奔流”
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/amo/5/
📖 经文聚焦 阿摩司书5:24：
但愿公正好像潮水滚流，公义好像河水长流。
🔍 在这段发人深省的经文中，先知阿摩司对当时的以色列民发出严厉却必要的责备。神的子民沉溺于宗教节期、祭物和颂歌，却对穷人的需求视而不见，更歪曲了公义。
✦ 第11节：
“你们欺压穷人，强征他们的五谷；...”
✦ 第12节：
因为我知道你们的过犯众多，罪大恶极；你们迫害义人，收受贿赂，在城门口屈枉穷乏人；
✦ 第24节：
但愿公正好像潮水滚流，公义好像河水长流。
🔥 默想：公义胜于仪式
上帝不喜悦虚假的敬拜。祂不看重从顽固心肠唱出的赞美，也不悦纳被压迫者献上的祭物。上帝真正渴求的是活出祂公义、怜悯与正直的生命。
✝️ 阿摩司书5章的问题：
(a) 百姓“欺压义人”，“使困苦人偏离正路”。
(b) 贿赂与腐败在城门横行——本应施行公义之处。
(c) 他们却仍坚持宗教仪式，妄想祭物能弥补不义。
神宣告：“我憎恨、厌恶你们的节期，也不喜爱你们的节日”（第21节）。并非因为敬拜本身有错，而是因为缺乏公义的敬拜是空洞的。真正的敬拜必带来生命的改变——这样的生命会为贫穷者辩护，扶助困苦者，追求公义。
💡 当代应用
这信息不仅针对古代以色列——更是对今日教会的警示。我们是否……
(a) 定期参加聚会，却漠视身边受压迫者？
(b) 献上供物，却对需要公义的人吝于施援？
(c) 唱着敬拜诗歌，却对压迫弱势群体的制度视而不见？
真实的信仰不仅关乎个人救赎，更在于活出天国的价值：公义、怜悯与谦卑（弥迦书6:8）。耶稣亲引先知之言：
“这些更重要的是你们应当作的，但其他的也不可忽略。”——马太福音23:23
🙏 行动呼吁
阿摩司呼召我们寻求主——但绝非仅靠仪式。他呼召我们通过践行公义、正直生活、怜悯困苦者来寻求主。让我们成为这样的人：
(1) 倾听穷人的呼声，而非漠然置之。
(2) 抵制腐败，而非参与其中。
(3) 让公义滚滚向前，而非以冷漠筑起堤坝。
📣 今日挑战：
你家门口的“穷乏人”是谁？
是邻里间勉强维持生计的家庭吗？
是走投无路的苦苦挣扎的父母？抑郁孤独的移民、老人、未出生的胎儿，或是被遗忘者？
职场中是否有人遭受不公对待？
追求善而非恶（第14节）——不仅要远离恶事，更要积极行善。
🙏 祷告
主啊，求祢赦免我们口唇敬拜祢，生活却忽视公义的过犯。求祢使我们为祢所痛心之事而心碎。教导我们关怀贫穷者，为受压迫者伸张正义，活出公义的生命。愿公义如洪流般涌入我们内心，奔涌进这世界。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
🔚 终章沉思：
真实的信仰是活的信仰。活的信仰体现在爱神爱人——不仅是言语，更是行动。让敬拜升腾，让公义奔涌。
