Amos 6

Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! Amos 6:1

Most other popular translations speak of those who “are at ease in Zion.” We notice here that Judah is included in this prophecy. Coffman says, “To be sure, Amos was sent particularly to the Northern Kingdom; but Judah is always in the back of his mind.” [1] Both Jerusalem and Samaria were situated on mountains easily defended from the enemy. It would take the Assyrians three years to conquer Samaria. Virtually all the cities of Judah except Jerusalem fell to the Assyrian assault.

Their high position and fortifications caused the people to feel secure. In Samaria particularly, it was a time of peace and prosperity. It was also a time of military success. Phillips says, “During Jeroboam’s reign Israel had no enemy west of the Euphrates and even ruled Damascus.” [2] They were feeling secure and at ease but disaster was on the way. Boice compares their situation to that of the US at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The US Army and Navy were secure but suddenly their security proved fatal. [3]

We cannot help but compare the situation in Samaria to that of the modern church. The church for the most part is at ease in Zion. The church has spread all over the world and now it is taking it easy. In many cases, it is quite wealthy and secure. In a sense, we are lying around on our flowery beds of ease. Wiersbe comments: “Too many Christians are laughing when they should be weeping (Jam. 4:8-10) and tolerating sin when they should be opposing it (1 Cor. 5:2).” [4] We might wonder what Amos would say to us all today.

Interestingly, the prophet speaks of Samaria as the “foremost nation.” Perhaps he is speaking of the spiritual calling that elevated them above other nations. The nation ended up being the first for sure, but the first to go into exile. [5]

“Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?” (6:2). The prophet reminds them of three great and leading cities that were now conquered and fallen. He asks Samaria and Judah if they are exempt from the forces that conquered these great cities.

Kalneh (Calneh or Calno) was built by Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It was an ancient and great city but was conquered by Assyria (794 BC). Hamath on the Orontes River was a major city in Syria. It was first conquered by Jeroboam II (2 Ki. 14:25) and then by Assyria (2 Ki. 18:34). Gath, one of the five great cities of the Philistines was conquered by Damascus around 830 BC. Boice remarks: “Why should I preserve you for the sake of your supposed goodness, when so many who were better than you are in hell?” [6]

Careless Luxury

You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves” Amos 6:3-4.

Wiersbe speaks of the discovery of the “Samaritan Ivories,” or fragments of beautiful and expensive ivory carvings that once adorned the lounges and couches of the wealthy Samaritans. [7] They dined on the very best animals while the poor were near starvation from all the abuses of the rich. Jamieson and company remark, “beds of ivory—that is, adorned, or inlaid, with ivory …lambs out of the flock—picked out as the choicest, for their owners’ selfish gratification.” [8] They were probably thinking thoughts like those we see in Ezekiel, “Son of man, the Israelites are saying, ‘The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future’” (Ezek. 12:27).

Dr. Vance Havner told of having dinner in a dining room that was dimly lighted. At first, he could not read the menu, but then he found he could see fairly well. He said to his friends, “Isn’t it strange how easy it is to become accustomed to the dark?” That’s one of the problems in the church today; we’ve gotten accustomed to the darkness, and our lights aren’t shining brightly enough. [9]

Phillips says: “The rugged prophet, used to a harsher life, was contemptuous of the luxury of the idle rich who put aside as unthinkable his warnings of judgment.” [10] Amos was probably quite disgusted with the pampered lifestyle he was observing. No doubt, he probably longed to be back in the wilderness again herding his little flock.

“You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments” (6:5). The Hebrew of this verse is a little difficult. Rather than “improvise” many of the modern versions translate this as “invent” musical instruments like David (ASV, ESV, NET, NKJ, RSV). Pfeiffer & Harrison comment: “At the end of the LXX [Septuagint] rendering of the Psalter, David is quoted as saying, ‘My hands fashioned an instrument, and my fingers fitted together a psaltery…’” [11] The truth is, he probably invented compositions as well as musical instruments.

“You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph” (6:6). Feinberg comments: “The regular cups were insufficient for their insatiable appetites, so they drank wine from bowls. It is the same word as for the bowls used for sacrificial purposes to catch the blood and then sprinkle it (Num. 7:13).” [12] We can assume by this that these were very costly bowls made out of precious materials. While they used the finest and most expensive lotions the poor probably had to settle for just plain old olive oil.

Pride Before Destruction

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself – the LORD God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.” Amos 6:7-8

How true the words of the Lord! Israel went into exile in 722 BC and Judah went in 586 BC. The lounging ended abruptly. The Assyrians were like the Isis and Hamas of ancient times. They were exceedingly cruel. Their captives were horribly abused with hooks placed into their noses and lips as they were led along into captivity. Phillips describes their lot: “But drastic changes lay ahead for them: war, siege, and famine the terror of a city sacked by bloodthirsty and licentious troops; the chafing of iron chains, the crack of the slave driver’s whip; the agony of marching mile after endless mile, tormented by thirst, flies, and fatigue; the gnawing heartache over lost loves ones, many of whom were brutally butchered or tortured to death.” [13] The Bible says: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).

“If ten people are left in one house, they too will die” (6:9). Commentators feel that this is a picture of the awful plague that many times was the result of war. Feinberg says, “In the next two verses we are given a vivid picture of the plague such as usually followed war in the East, as elsewhere even to modern times.” [14] War and plague fell equally upon the houses of the poor and the rich.

“And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, ‘Is anyone else with you?’ and he says, ‘No,’ then he will go on to say, ‘Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD’” (6:10). Feinberg says further: “In ancient Israel, in accordance with the words of Genesis 3:19, burial was the accepted method of disposal of the dead…Hence cremation was considered wrong and not countenanced (see Amos 2:1).” [15] We observe here that in case of war and plague bodies sometimes had to be burned. In 1 Samuel 31:12, the valiant men of Jabesh-Gilead took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the walls at Beth Shan and burned them. They did this lest the Philistines make a mockery of them.

It was the duty of the next of kin to take care of the body. Here we see a commanded quietness among those serving. Phillips has an idea about this: “Perhaps the relative was cursing and taking God’s name in vain because of the extent of the calamity – men often blaspheme God in such circumstances – for the survivor whispered, ‘Hush.’” [16]

“For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits” (6:11). How true is the word of the Lord. On Samaria’s hill today all that is seen are pieces and bits of their once-powerful civilization.

Preposterous Errors

Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness – “ Amos 6:12

Horses cannot run on rocks without doing physical damage to themselves. It is also not possible to plow the sea since the water would rush in to cover any furrow one would make. Such acts would be preposterous. Pfeiffer & Harrison point out: “There is a spiritual and moral order in the universe that is just as impossible to ignore as the natural order.” [17] Turning justice into poison and righteousness into bitterness is also preposterous and unworkable in the long run. Such acts were certain to bring the destruction of the nation.

Over the last half-century, we have watched our society believe and champion many preposterous ideas. In 2015, our highest court in the US established gay or same-sex marriage.

By all its appearances in the media, we would assume that at least half of Americans are homosexual. Paul Copan, in his book, When God Goes To Starbucks, tells us that the true rate is only 2 to 3 percent. [18]

Another preposterous idea in our society is that a person can change their gender. In her influential book Gender Trouble, Judith Butler argues that “gender is not a fixed attribute but a fluid, free-floating variable that shifts according to personal preference.” [19] Supposedly, there are now some 50 different genders that one can choose from. [20]

Certainly, we would not like to skip over the terrible subject of abortion. Matt Walsh in his book The Unholy Trinity says, “Like the primitive pagan cultures that preceded it, liberal culture looks upon the sacred rite of child sacrifice with deep reverence.” [21] In the US, abortions are running a monthly average of 98,000. According to the World Health Organization, the world average is about double this figure per single day. In addition to the tragic loss of young lives, abortion has a devastating effect on the living. “A woman who gets an abortion is six hundred times more likely to kill herself than a woman who gives birth.” [22] Those who abort without serious health reasons are murdering their offspring. They are also killing their chance of having loving children and grandchildren. They are killing the one who will bring them joy and care for them lovingly in their old age. They are chopping down their family tree.

Well, the above-mentioned items are just a few preposterous things in our society today. In these and many more areas we have departed from common sense, from reality, and from truth.

“You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’” (6:13). Israel’s ruler Jeroboam II did much to restore the borders of Israel and was quite successful in other military campaigns. Unfortunately, this verse points out that he took all the credit for his victories. He conquered Lo Debar which means “nothing” in Hebrew. He also conquered Karnaim, once a dwelling of giants (Gen. 14:5). Jeroboam could boast because he never came into contact with the powerful Assyrians. Had he done so, his boasting would have ended abruptly.

“For the LORD God Almighty declares, ‘I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah” (6:14). Inscriptions in the old palace of Sargon II at Khorsabad read: “I besieged and captured Samaria, carrying off 27,290 of the people who dwelt therein. Fifty chariots I gathered from among them…” [23]

Assyria would enter the area through Hamath, the city once conquered by Israel, and a subject of her boasting. That city would mark the beginning of her end. [24]

Paul T. Butler has commented: “The message of Amos is still quite relevant and contemporary. Our society is almost a sister to that one in its ingratitude, irresponsibility, arrogance, and sensuality. Amos was not able to call men back to God in his day, but he was willing to lay down his life if necessary to give God’s call to repentance. Can prophets of today succeed where Amos did not? Time alone will tell.” [25]

Footnotes

1. Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 6:1.

2. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 107.

3. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, p. 205.

4. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, pp. 1430-1431.

5. Boice, The Minor Prophets, Vol. 2, p. 209.

6. Ibid., p. 206.

7. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1430.

8. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Amos, v. 6:4.

9. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1431.

10. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 105.

11. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 835.

12. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 109.

13. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 105.

14. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 109.

15. Ibid., p. 110.

16. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 106.

17. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 835.

18. Paul Copan, When God Goes To Starbucks (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008), p. 95.

19. Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo, A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), p. 64.

20. Nancy R. Pearcey, Love Thy Body, Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2018), p. 203.

21. Matt Walsh, The Unholy Trinity, Blocking the Left’s Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender, p. 15.

22. Ibid., p. 161.

23. Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing Co.), p. 200.

24. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Amos, v. 6:14.

25. Quoted in Coffman, Commentaries on the Bible, v. 6:14.