Amos 6, The Wealthy at Ease Will Be Struck Down

There is very little more frustrating and abhorrent than people made rich and comfortable on the backs of those they oppress. And not much better is those of us who stay comfortable in our financial well-being while those who need help are suffering for lack of aid.

6:1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, you notable people of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! 2 Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory? 3 You want to believe that the day of disaster is far off, but you are bringing near the seat of violence?

The wealthy Israelites are congratulating themselves on their security as a powerful nation, and they are the powerful people within the nation. They compare themselves to Calneh and Hamath in a very positive way. It’s like those of us in the United States feeling comfortable that we are more powerful than our enemies and competitors. They want to believe that no disaster will come to them, but their very behaviors are drawing God’s eyes of judgment their way.

4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, 5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music. 6 Woe to you who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! 7 Therefore you will now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of you partiers will come to an end.”

Amos paints a picture of the “good life” these power brokers are living. Being at the first of the wealth and power line means they will be first in line to be taken into exile. No more partying.

8 The Sovereign Yahweh has sworn by himself, declares Yahweh, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”

9 And if ten men remain in one house, they will die. 10 And when one’s relative who anoints the dead for burial comes to bring the bones out of the house, he will say to the one still living in the house, “Are there any more dead among you,” and as he begins to swear by Yahweh, “No,” he will say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of Yahweh.”

Yahweh hates the very strongholds that the Israelites have put their trust in to protect them. So, He will bring death to their houses on a large scale (Plague? War?). The mention of the name of Yahweh, by which many would swear to their truthfulness, will bring fear on those who bring it to their lips because Yahweh’s wrath is being poured out on them.

11 For behold, Yahweh commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits. 12 Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—13 you who rejoice in the capture of Lo-debar, and say, “Didn’t we capture Karnaim by our own strength?” 14 “Look, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh, the God of hosts, “and they will oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Of course, horses don’t run on rocks and oxen don’t plow rocky ground, but just as foolish is compromising justice and making righteous living a bitter pill to swallow. It destroys a nation. And though these leaders take pride in their capture of foreign cities, they will not have superiority over the nation Yahweh is bringing against them (Assyria). The oppressors will become the oppressed.