The Lord sent the sheepbreeder Amos to warn the northern kingdom of Israel of their impending captivity. Israel had long been in rebellion against their Lord, and the consequences were nigh. Still, in a “lamentation” against them, Jehovah pleads with them to return. It’s not too late, if they will come back.
Three times in chapter 5, the Lord pleads through Amos with these parallel calls, “Seek Me and live…Seek the Lord and live…Seek good and not evil, that you may live” (5:4, 6, 14). Note that they were the ones directing their way toward destruction. All they had to do was choose to turn their eyes to the Lord and seek His will. That’s not hard! But it is for folks who refuse to seek!
To “seek the Lord” entails to “seek good and not evil” (5:14). The next verse goes on to say, “Hate evil, love good” (5:15). Take the intensity with which you are rebelling against God’s will and throw it into following God’s will. Why? So that you may “live.” Wherever you are right now, make up your mind to always “seek the Lord and live!”