Amos 6:1-14
1 Woe to those who are carefree in Zion,
And to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
The dignitaries of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.
2 Go over to Calneh and look,
And go from there to Hamath the great,
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are they better than these kingdoms,
Or is their territory greater than yours?
3 Are you postponing the day of disaster,
And would you bring near the seat of violence?
4 Those who lie on beds of ivory,
And lounge around on their couches,
And eat lambs from the flock,
And calves from the midst of the fattened cattle,
5 Who improvise to the sound of the harp,
And like David have composed songs for themselves,
6 Who drink wine from sacred bowls
While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils—
Yet they have not grieved over the collapse of Joseph.
7 Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles,
And the revelry of those who lounge around will come to an end.
8 The Lord God has sworn by Himself, the Lord God of armies has declared:
“I loathe the arrogance of Jacob,
And detest his citadels;
Therefore I will give up the city and all it contains.”
9 And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die.
10 Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, will lift him up to carry out his bones from the house, and he will say to the one who is in the innermost part of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will answer, “Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned.”
11 For behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Or does one plow them with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into poison,
And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
13 You who rejoice in Lodebar,
And say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you,
House of Israel,” declares the Lord God of armies,
“And they will torment you from the entrance of Hamath
To the brook of the Arabah.”
The Prophecy of Judgement that Begins with “Woe” (2)
The sins of Israel
In this passage, two sins of Israel are mentioned. (1) Arrogance and false security (v 1-2). Like Zion, Samaria was built on a hill. The people of Israel were arrogant, thinking that a city on a hill would never be destroyed, and they held a false sense of security. But the Lord points out that the three cities of Calneh, Hamath, and Gath have already been destroyed, and declares that since these cities, greater than Samaria, have been destroyed, Samaria will never escape destruction. (2) Israel’s second sin is a luxurious way of life. The upper class were indulging in a life of ease, using wealth gathered through sin and exploitation. They also drank wine from bowls used for religious rituals and anointed themselves with the finest oils that should have been offered to God. Yet they were not concerned at all about the “ruin of Joseph” (the ruin of Israel) prophesied by God.
The Assyrian exile
Because of the sins above, the people of Israel will perish. (1) Those who live in luxury will be the first to go into captivity (v 7). (2) The city of Samaria will be destroyed (v 8). “The arrogance of Jacob” refers to trust in wealth and military power. This city, which trusted in such power that the Lord hates, will naturally be destroyed. (3) The population will drastically decrease (v 10-11). It had already been prophesied in Amos 5:3 that only “one-tenth of the people” would remain. Verse 10 portrays the conversation of the survivors in a pictorial way. “Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned” depicts a survivor forbidding the speaking of “the name of the Lord” so that destruction will not come upon him. (4) It is the natural order that judgment comes upon sin (v 12-13). It is unnatural for horses to run on rocks. It is also unnatural to plow the sea with oxen. By the very nature of things, such things do not happen. In the same way, the sins of the people of Israel will not be left unjudged and abandoned. Israel expended futile effort in order to gain Lodebar (a worthless thing) and Karnaim (two horns, a symbol of power). (5) Thus, the entire land of the northern kingdom of Israel will be plundered. What are you placing your trust in? If you are putting anything other than God first, that is idolatry. Let us learn a lesson from the failure of the people of Israel. “For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame’” (1 Peter 2:6).
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, You alone are my God. I will walk trusting in You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.