(4) Thus said GOD
To the House of Israel:
Seek Me, and you will live. (5) Do not seek Bethel,
Nor go to Gilgal,
Nor cross overacross over Into Judah; cf. 1 Kings 19.3. to Beer-sheba;
For Gilgal shall go into exile,
And Bethel shall become a delusion. (6) Seek GOD, and you will live.
Otherwise, [God] will rush like fire uponbwill rush like fire Meaning of Heb. uncertain. the House of Joseph
And consume BethelcBethel Septuagint reads “the House of Israel.” with none to quench it. (7) [Ah,] you who turn justice into wormwood
And hurl righteousness to the ground!
[Seek GOD,] (8) Who made the Pleiades and Orion,
Who turns deep darkness into dawn
And darkens day into night,
Who summons the waters of the sea
And pours them out upon the earth—
Whose name is GOD! (9) dMeaning of verse uncertain. It is [God] who hurls destruction upon strongholds,
So that ruin comes upon fortresses! (10) They hate the arbiter in the gate,
And detest the one whose plea is just. (11) Assuredly,
Because you impose a taxeimpose a tax Meaning of Heb. uncertain. on the poor
And exact from them a levy of grain,
You have built houses of hewn stone,
But you shall not live in them;
You have planted delightful vineyards,
But shall not drink their wine. (12) For I have noted how many are your crimes,
And how countless your sins—
You enemies of the righteous,
You takers of bribes,
You who subvert in the gate
The cause of the needy! (13) Assuredly,
At such a time the prudent keep silent,fkeep silent Or “moan.”
For it is an evil time. (14) Seek good and not evil,
That you may live,
And that the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts,
May truly be with you,
As you think. (15) Hate evil and love good,
And establish justice in the gate;
Perhaps the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts,
Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
What advice does the prophet offer for living in an "evil time"?
Do you think that we are living in an evil time?
I Was Not Silenced (based on Job 23:17)
כִּֽי־לֹ֣א נִ֭צְמַתִּי מִפְּנֵי־חֹ֑שֶׁךְ וּ֝מִפָּנַ֗י כִּסָּה־אֹֽפֶל׃
Yet I am not cut off by the darkness; He has concealed the thick gloom from me.
I was not silenced by the darkness
I was not frightened by the storm
I wasn’t broken by the violence
I found freedom in the form
----
I was not swept up by the madness
I was not sunken by the stone
I was not crushed beneath the weight
I was not abandoned left alone
I was not silenced...
I was not silenced…
---
I was not thrown off by the challenge
Or deflated by the task
I was not weary from the hour
I was not the first and not the last
I was not swept beneath the wave
Or paralyzed with fear
I was not deafened by the noise
And i was not afraid to hear (not afraid to hear)
Not afraid to hear…
---
I will not bend before the tyrant
I will not bow before the king
I will not be silenced by the darkness
And i will not weep when i can sing
I will not be silenced…
Violence in the Silence
There’s violence in the silence In the closing of our eyes
There’s violence in the silence In the shock and the surprise
There’s violence in the silence Of the voices that we shun
There’s violence in the silence In the killing of our sons
There’s violence in the silence Of the privileged and the safe
There’s violence in the silence Of the ones of who say behave
There’s violence in the silence Of the pulpit that condones
There’s violence in the silence Of the mouth that’s full of stones
So let’s raise our voice / Sound the alarm Stand together/ arm in arm
Raise our voice/ raise it now/ and cry aloud…
There’s violence in the silence Of the ones who say obey
There’s violence in the silence Of the ones who say “just pray”
There’s violence in the silence Of the heavy price we pay
There’s violence in the silence That says we’ll be ok
So let’s raise our voice / Sound the alarm Stand together/ arm in arm
Raise our voice/ raise it now/ and cry aloud…
To This Darkness (Part 1)
To my left and to my right, darkness sits where once was light
All at once darkness surrounds, there is silence beneath the sound
To my left and to my right, darkness sits, as dark as night
At my feet, before my eyes, shadows fall and darkness lies
To this darkness I will sing, a song of love my offering
To this darkness I will sing, a love profound my offering
Of this darkness I describe, who among us would deny?
To reveal, to touch to feel, it is a force both true and real
Defy we must in ways our own, just as seeds of light are sown
A single candle kindles light, with hope renewed we greet the night
To this darkness I will sing, a song of love my offering
To this darkness I will sing, a love profound my offering
To this darkness I will sing, a song of love my offering
My offering