20261111 | 새벽묵상 | 선을 구하고 정의를 세우라 Seek Good and Establish Justice | 암/Amos 5:7~17

5:7 정의를 쓴 쑥으로 바꾸며 공의를 땅에 던지는 자들아

7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness

    and cast righteousness to the ground.

5:8 묘성과 삼성을 만드시며 사망의 그늘을 아침으로 바꾸시고 낮을 어두운 밤으로 바꾸시며 바닷물을 불러 지면에 쏟으시는 이를 찾으라 그의 이름은 여호와시니라

5:9 그가 강한 자에게 갑자기 패망이 이르게 하신즉 그 패망이 산성에 미치느니라

8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,

    who turns midnight into dawn

    and darkens day into night,

who calls for the waters of the sea

    and pours them out over the face of the land—

    the Lord is his name.

9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold

    and brings the fortified city to ruin.

5:10 무리가 성문에서 책망하는 자를 미워하며 정직히 말하는 자를 싫어하는도다

10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court

    and detest the one who tells the truth.

5:11 너희가 힘없는 자를 밟고 그에게서 밀의 부당한 세를 거두었은즉 너희가 비록 다듬은 돌로 집을 건축하였으나 거기 거주하지 못할 것이요 아름다운 포도원을 가꾸었으나 그 포도주를 마시지 못하리라

5:12 너희의 허물이 많고 죄악이 무거움을 내가 아노라 너희는 의인을 학대하며 뇌물을 받고 성문에서 가난한 자를 억울하게 하는 자로다

5:13 그러므로 이런 때에 지혜자가 잠잠하나니 이는 악한 때임이니라

5:14 너희는 살려면 선을 구하고 악을 구하지 말지어다 만군의 하나님 여호와께서 너희의 말과 같이 너희와 함께 하시리라

5:15 너희는 악을 미워하고 선을 사랑하며 성문에서 정의를 세울지어다 만군의 하나님 여호와께서 혹시 요셉의 남은 자를 불쌍히 여기시리라

11 You levy a straw tax on the poor

    and impose a tax on their grain.

Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,

    you will not live in them;

though you have planted lush vineyards,

    you will not drink their wine.

12 For I know how many are your offenses

    and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes

    and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,

    for the times are evil.

14 Seek good, not evil,

    that you may live.

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,

    just as you say he is.

15 Hate evil, love good;

    maintain justice in the courts.

Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy

    on the remnant of Joseph.

5:16 그러므로 주 만군의 하나님 여호와께서 이와 같이 말씀하시기를 사람이 모든 광장에서 울겠고 모든 거리에서 슬프도다 슬프도다 하겠으며 농부를 불러다가 애곡하게 하며 울음꾼을 불러다가 울게 할 것이며

5:17 모든 포도원에서도 울리니 이는 내가 너희 가운데로 지나갈 것임이라 여호와의 말씀이니라

16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing in all the streets

    and cries of anguish in every public square.

The farmers will be summoned to weep

    and the mourners to wail.

17 There will be wailing in all the vineyards,

    for I will pass through your midst,”

says the Lord.

            종교의 모습만 있고 실천이 없던 이들에게 장송곡을 부르시며 이들의 심판을 확정하셨었습니다. 그러나 어제 이들에게 “너희는 여호와를 찾으라 그리하면 살리라” 라고 말씀하시면서 이들이 살길을 알려주셨지요. 오늘 말씀도 그 말씀에 닿아 있습니다. 이들이 살길을 알려주십니다. 14절, “너희는 살려면 선을 구하고 악을 구하지 말지어다 만군의 하나님 여호와께서 너희의 말과 같이 너희와 함께하시리라” 어제 여호와를 찾으라고 말씀하셨는데 너희가 선을 구하고 정의를 세우면 여호와께서 너희와 함께하시겠다고 말씀하십니다. 오늘은 우리가 살 길, 두번째, “선을 구하고 정의를 세우라”라는 제목으로 말씀을 나누기 원합니다.

Introduction: The Way to Life

Yesterday, God sang a funeral dirge over people who had the appearance of religion but no practice of it, and He confirmed their judgment. Yet yesterday He also told them, “Seek the LORD and live,” and showed them the way to life. Today’s passage reaches back to that same word and shows them the way to life once more.

Verse 14: “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.”

Yesterday He told them to seek the LORD. Today He says that if they seek good and establish justice, the LORD will be with them. So today I’d like to share the second way we live: “Seek Good and Establish Justice.”

            먼저는 오늘 말씀에서 말하는 하나님이 어떤 분인지 함께 보기 원합니다. 7-9절은 어제의 6절 말씀과 이어지는 말씀입니다. 이들에게 “여호와를 찾으라 그리하면 살리라” 말씀하시면서 그렇지 않으면 여호와께서 불같이 임하여 멸하실 것이라고 말씀하셨었지요. 심판의 하나님, 불의 하나님은 누구도 끌자가 없다고 하였습니다. 오늘 말씀도 마찬가지입니다. 7절, 이들은 정의와 공의를 비틀어 버려버린 자들입니다. 정의를 쓴 쑥으로 바꾸었다고 하는데 이는 우리가 나물로 먹는 쑥과는 다른 식물로써 아예 삼킬 수 없는 식물, 또는 견딜 수 없는 쓰라림을 표현하는 방법입니다. 하나님의 말씀으로 이루어진 정의라면 꿀송이와 같이 달아야 하는데 입에 넣을 수 없을 만큼 쓰게 바꾸었다는 것입니다. 그러나 하나님은 어떻습니까? 8절에 사망의 그늘, 세상에서 가장 쓴 맛인 죽음을 가장 신선하고 달콤한 생명으로 바꾸시는 분이십니다. 또한 낮을 밤으로도 바꾸시는 분이십니다. 7절과 8절은 같은 동사를 사용하고 있습니다. 하나님이 어떤 분이신지를 대비를 사용하여 더욱 돋보이게 하는 것이지요. 그분은 하늘의 별들을 만드신 창조주 이십니다. 바다와 땅을 다스리시는 만물의 주관자 이십니다. 바로 “이를 찾으라, 그의 이름은 여호와시니라” 라고 말씀하시는 것입니다. 너를 살리실 수 있는 여호와의 권능을 믿지 못한다면, 아직도 인간의 힘과 능력을 믿는다면 다시 생각해야 할 것입니다. 9절, 하나님 앞에 강한 자도 갑자기 패망하며, 산성도 그 패망을 피할 수 없습니다. 인간의 강대함이란 하나님 앞에 지극히 연약한 것입니다. 하나님은 만군의 여호와이시기 때문입니다. 이 개념을 기억해두십시오.

1. Who Is the God of Today’s Passage? (vv. 7-9)

First, let’s look at who God is in this passage. Verses 7-9 pick up where verse 6 left off yesterday. After telling them, “Seek the LORD and live,” He warned that if they refused, the LORD would break out like fire and consume them. The God of judgment, the God of fire, is One whom no one can put out. Today’s passage is no different.

Verse 7 describes people who have twisted justice and righteousness. It says they turned justice into bitter wormwood. This is not the mugwort we eat as an herb. It is a plant too bitter to swallow, a picture of bitterness beyond endurance. Justice built on God’s Word should be sweet as honey from the comb, yet they made it so bitter that no one could take it in.

Now look at God. In verse 8, He turns the shadow of death, the bitterest taste in the world, into life, fresh and sweet. He even turns day into night. Verses 7 and 8 use the same verb, and the contrast makes it stand out all the more who God truly is. He is the Creator who made the stars of heaven. He is the Lord of all things, who rules the sea and the land. This is exactly what He means when He says, “Seek him,” for “the LORD is his name.”

If you cannot believe in the power of the LORD to save you, if you still trust in human strength and ability, you need to think again. Verse 9 tells us that even the strong fall suddenly before God, and no fortress can escape destruction. Human might is utterly fragile before Him, because He is the LORD of hosts. Keep that title in mind.

            이제 하나님께서는 이들의 죄악들을 들춰내십니다. 10절, “성문에서 책망하는 자를 미워하며” 라고 말씀하시는데 이는 오늘날로 얘기하면 법원에서 정직히 판결을 내리는 판사를 미워한다는 말입니다. 이 시대의 성문은 단순한 출입구가 아니라 공적인 판단과 재판이 이루어지던 장소였습니다. 즉, 이들은 개인적으로 정의를 행하는 것 뿐만 아니라 사회적으로 정의를 지키는 법적이고 정치적인 시스템 자체를 7절의 말씀처럼 견딜 수 없는 것으로 바꾸어버린 것입니다. 여기서 미워하고 싫어한다고 표현하고 있는데 원문은 마치 우상을 역겨워하듯 정직하게 말하고 판결하는 사람을 혐오하고 역겨워했다는 것입니다. 그들은 약자를 짓밟았습니다. 그리고는 그들을 부정하게 착취하였습니다. 하나님께서는 그런 압제와 착취로 빼앗은 것을 그들이 누릴 수 없게 할 것이라고 11절에서 말씀하십니다. 비싼 돌로 집을 지어도, 또 아름다운 포도원을 가꾸더라도 누리지 못하게 할 것이라고 말씀하고 계십니다. 이들을 향한 하나님의 평가는 분명합니다. 12절 함께 읽어보겠습니다. “너희의 허물이 많고 죄악이 무거움을 내가 아노라 너희는 의인을 학대하며 뇌물을 받고 성문에서 가난 자를 억울하게 하는 자로다” 이 말씀은 2장에서 이스라엘에게 첫 심판의 말씀을 하시면서 지적하신 부분이기도 합니다. “뇌물을 받고” 라고 적고 있는데 이는 속전, 즉, 목숨 값을 이야기합니다. 무슨 뜻인가? 민수기 35:31을 제가 읽어보겠습니다. “고의로 살인죄를 범한 살인자는 생명의 속전을 받지 말고 반드시 죽일 것이며” 돈 많은 이가 힘없고 가난한 사람을 고의로 죽였어도 법정이 돈을 받고 가해자의 손을 들어주었다는 말이지요. 유전무죄 무전유죄. 하나님의 율법을 대신 집행하여야 할 이들이 정의와 공의를 땅에 집어 던져버렸습니다. 때가 악합니다.

2. Their Sins Exposed (vv. 10-12)

Now God exposes their sins. Verse 10: “They hate him who reproves in the gate.” In today’s terms, that is like hating the judge in a courtroom who rules honestly.

In those days, the city gate was not merely an entrance. It was the place where public judgment and trials took place. So these people did more than fail to practice justice in their personal lives. They turned the very legal and political system that upholds justice into something as unbearable as the wormwood of verse 7. The word translated “hate” here, in the original language, carries the sense of loathing someone the way one loathes an idol, with disgust. They despised anyone who spoke and ruled honestly.

They trampled on the weak and then exploited them unjustly. In verse 11, God says they will not enjoy what they seized through that oppression and exploitation. Though they build houses of costly stone and cultivate beautiful vineyards, they will never enjoy them.

God’s verdict on them is clear. Let’s read verse 12 together: “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.”

This is the same charge God made in chapter 2, when He first pronounced judgment on Israel. The phrase “take a bribe” refers literally to a ransom, the price of a life. What does that mean? Let me read Numbers 35:31: “Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death.”

Even when a rich man deliberately killed a poor, powerless person, the court took his money and ruled in the killer’s favor. If you have money, you walk free; if you don’t, you pay. Those who were supposed to carry out God’s law threw justice and righteousness to the ground. The times are evil.

            바로 그 때에 말씀하십니다. 14절 말씀, 함께 읽겠습니다. “너희는 살려면 선을 구하고 악을 구하지 말지어다 만군의 하나님 여호와께서 너희의 말과 같이 너희와 함께하시리라” 이들은 악을 구하고 선을 저버렸었습니다. 그러나 하나님께서는 ‘살아라’ 라고 말씀하십니다. 어떻게요? “선을 구하고 악을 구하지 말아라” 돌이키라는 것입니다. 그러면 약속하십니다. “너희와 함께하시리라” 누가 함께 하십니까? “만군의 하나님 여호와께서” 함께 하실 것입니다. 앞에서 보았던 창조자이시며 죽음을 생명으로 바꾸시는 하나님, 인간의 그 무엇도 비길 수 없는 압도적인 강함을 지니신 분. 만군의 여호와. 너희들이 나를 부르는 이름과 같은 바로 그 만군의 여호와께서 너희들이 말하듯이 진정으로 너희와 함께 하시겠다는 말씀입니다. 그리고는 15절에서 다시 말씀하십니다. “너희는 악을 미워하고 선을 사랑하며 성문에서 정의를 세울지어다” 이제는 악을 구하는 정도가 아닙니다. 이제는 악을 미워해야 합니다. 선을 구하는 정도가 아닙니다. 선을 사랑해야 합니다. 그것이 무엇으로 표현됩니까? 사회의 정의와 공의가 회복되는 것으로 표현됩니다. 땅에 집어 던져졌던 공의를 다시 일으켜 세우는 것. 우리 각 개인이 악을 미워하고 선을 사랑하는 것 뿐만 아니라 그 마음과 노력이 사회 시스템적으로 공적인 부분까지 이어져야 한다는 것입니다. 이것이 만군의 여호와께서 말씀하시는 우리가 살 길입니다. “혹시 요셉의 남은자를 불쌍히 여기시리라.” 나머지 16-17절은 그들에게 임할 죽음을 다시 한 번 말씀하십니다. 다른 생각하지 말라고 경고하시는 것이지요. 이들은 어제 말씀에서 시작된 장송곡을 부르며 애도합니다. 앞에서 보았던 아름다운 포도원이 무슨 소용입니까? 하나님께서 장자의 재앙으로 애굽을 지나가실 때처럼 임하신다면 그들은 만군의 하나님의 심판을 견디지 못할 것입니다.

3. The Way to Live: Seek Good, Hate Evil, Establish Justice (vv. 14-15)

It is right then, in that very moment, that God speaks. Let’s read verse 14 together: “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.”

They had sought evil and abandoned good. Yet God says, “Live.” How? “Seek good, and not evil.” Turn around. Then comes the promise: “The LORD will be with you.” Who will be with them? The LORD, the God of hosts. The Creator we saw earlier, the God who turns death into life, the One whose overwhelming strength nothing human can match. The very LORD of hosts whom you call upon by that name will truly be with you, just as you have said.

Then God speaks again in verse 15: “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate.”

Now it is not enough merely to seek good. We must love it. And it is not enough merely to avoid evil. We must hate it. How is that expressed? By the restoration of justice and righteousness in society, raising up again the righteousness that was thrown to the ground. It is not enough for each of us individually to hate evil and love good. That heart and that effort must reach into our social systems and the public sphere as well. This is the way to live, according to the LORD of hosts.

“It may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

4. The Judgment Still Looms (vv. 16-17)

The remaining verses, 16-17, speak once more of the death that will come upon them. God is warning them not to entertain any other thought. They will mourn, singing the funeral dirge that began in yesterday’s passage.

What good will those beautiful vineyards we saw earlier be then? If God passes through as He did through Egypt at the plague on the firstborn, they will not be able to endure the judgment of the God of hosts.

            말씀을 맺습니다. 하나님은 죽음을 말씀하시면서 ‘살아라’ 라고 명령하십니다. “여호와를 찾으라 그리하면 살리라”는 말씀이 이제는 살려면 “악을 미워하고 선을 사랑하며 정의를 세우라”고 말씀으로 확장되었습니다. 그리하면 만군의 여호와께서 우리와 함께 하시겠다고 약속까지 하셨습니다. 네가 말하지 않았느냐? 그 만군의 여호와께서 네가 말한대로 너와 함께 하겠다 약속하십니다. 이것이 오늘의 말씀입니다. 이 말씀을 붙들고 우리가 살길을 알려달라고 보여달라고 함께 간구하시며 나아가시겠습니다.

Conclusion

Even as God speaks of death, He commands, “Live.” The word “Seek the LORD and live” has now expanded into this: if you want to live, hate evil, love good, and establish justice. And if you do, He has even promised that the LORD of hosts will be with us.

Didn’t you say it yourselves? That very LORD of hosts promises to be with you, just as you have said. This is the Word for today. Holding fast to this Word, let us come before Him together, asking Him to show us the way to live.