Verse 1. “Woe to those who are at
ease in Zion and to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, the
distinguished men of the foremost of nations, to whom the house of Israel
comes.”
A great goal for man in the history of the world, has
been the "pursuit of leisure time." Thousands, millions of gadgets have
been created with that aim in mind, and the interesting fact is that, in this
past century of amazing gadgets, most of us have far less time than before.
Washers, dryers, cars, indoor lighting, computers and plumbing, are just a few of the many
items that are supposed to give us more time to rest; but we are busier, more
frantic than ever!
Perhaps we should take a look at the increased tension
of this world. The people ancient Israel sought leisure time, just like
those of this world today. And God shouted "Woe" to them, for He had higher
goals than theirs. We should also consider that our failure to
find the elusive lives of leisure that many seek, may be a sign of God's
displeasure. He is saying "Woe" to us, to our world, right
now! It is not our gadgets, but GOD who will give us rest.
Verse 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?”
"Calneh" is one of four cities founded by Nimrod, in the
third generation after the Flood. The others were Babel, Erech (Iraq) and
Akkad (Genesis 10:10). All of them were within the alluvial plain of Shinar. Nebuchadnezzar transported the temple treasures
from Jerusalem to that place (Daniel
1:2). "Hamath" (fortification) was a Hittite city north of Damascus, in
Syria (Joshua 13:5). "Gath" was one of the five great Philistine cities
(Joshua 12:3). Goliath came from Gath (1 Samuel 17:4).
In this verse, God was speaking to Israel, pointing to people of the
East, North and West, asking, "Are you better than they are? That's a good
question, for Israel DID think they were superior to others. A number of churches have had the illusion of superiority, as have many nations. If
God gives you gifts and abilities, think HUMBLY about them, for they are GIFTS!
and He intends that you will help others with them, rather than thinking you are
somehow better.
Verse 3. “Do you put off the day
of calamity, and would you bring near the seat of violence?”
Without really describing even to themselves what they
were doing, the people of Israel had decided that if they didn't think about
"negative" things (such as the destruction of their land); those negative things
would not happen. They decided to try and ignore all the bad things those
prophets were saying, and through denial, "put off the day of calamity" by
refusing to even think about it. "Will this help you?" God is asking.
God answers the question through the prophet Amos this
way: "No," He says, You bring violence "NEAR" by not addressing the root of the
problem! It's true of us today. We NEED the Lord. We are to
recognize our vulnerability and our need, and we should be THANKFUL for all He
has done. He's given us every reason to TRUST in Him. His Son has
done all possible to save us from our sins, but do you believe? Ignoring Him accomplishes no
good for anyone, including ourselves.
Verse 4. “Those who recline on
beds of ivory and sprawl on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and
calves from the midst of the stall,”
What do YOU do in your spare time? What goes on in
YOUR home, when you close the door? Do you "sprawl" on a soft "couch" in
front of a TV set? Do you eat tasty meats and other fine delicacies?
There's nothing wrong with rest and relaxation, and certainly it is not wrong to
eat! But what's being portrayed here is a people who always put their own needs
first and had no regard for God, who had given them EVERYTHING.
The Lord, through Amos, has been presenting evidence
against Israel since Chapter 2 of this Book. He revealed that the "in"
people of that place, were ungrateful (2:9 & context), they oppressed the poor
and were drunkards (4:1), they did not return to the Lord (4:9, 11), their
judges took bribes (5:12), and so on. Yet they, who had received much from the
Lord, did not look to Him or thank Him for what He had done. Nor did they
share His bounty with others.
Verse 5. “Who improvise to the
sound of the harp, and like David have composed songs for themselves,”
Various forms of music have touched humanity since the
beginning of time. Early on, a descendent of Cain, named Jubal, invented
musical instruments, initially introducing "the harp and flute" to the world
(Genesis 4:21). Creativity, then and now, has been a hallmark of humanity,
and of course, that creative "spark" in man is God's gift to us all.
Improvisation is the key to new musical forms, as
expressed in progressive jazz, utilizing theme and variation to grow in new
directions. There is nothing wrong with composing and playing music.
David did it and the Lord loved him. The problem with music at the time of
this verse, was that it became an end in itself and they did not praise the God
who made music possible.
Father, those who think they have little, are
offered new life in Christ Jesus. Lord, we RECEIVE that new life and
trust in the Son of God. In Jesus Name, we receive You now. Amen.
Audio Bible Study –
Amos 6:6-10
Verse 6. “Who drink wine from
sacrificial bowls while they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, yet they
have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.”
These "sacrificial bowls" may well have been associated
with idolatrous temple worship, but the analogy from previous verses continues
here: The Holy Spirit of God through Amos the prophet observes they were
living lives of ease, but they were giving God no credit, no love in return for what He
had done in and for their lives. And there was more: the skins of their bodies were soft and supple
from contact with expensive oils, while the poor suffered in their land (Amos
5:11, 12).
And this is very important for us today: They had "not
grieved over the ruin of Joseph." The nation called "Israel,"
was often
referred to as "Ephraim," who was one of the sons of "Joseph," son of Jacob
(Israel). Their ancestry included good, godly men and women, and yet they
turned their backs on God. Joseph would have been ashamed of them.
We need to grieve over our ruined condition today, and pray - lest the "ruin of
Joseph" also destroys you and me.
Verse 7. “Therefore, they will now
go into exile at the head of the exiles, and the sprawlers' banqueting will pass
away.”
Because Israel sought and lived lives of leisure at the
expense of others (verse 4), because they were more interested in the arts (like
musical forms) than they were in God (verse 5); because they had essentially
become a nation of alcoholics and gave themselves to sensuality (verse 6) -
therefore they would be ripped from the land God had given to them, from their
families, and become exiles in a foreign land. They would no more spend
their lives sprawled at tables during drunken banquets.
Humanity is a race of sinners. Bad attitudes lead
many to wrong actions, the doing of bad things. God endures the sin of
nations and other groups, sometimes for a long time, even centuries, but then He
sighs, "No more," and He does away with them. The time to repent is now, for
"no one knows" the "day and hour of His coming" (Matthew 24:36).
Verse 8. “The Lord God has sworn
by Himself, the Lord God of hosts has declared: ‘I loathe the arrogance of
Jacob, and detest his citadels; therefore I will deliver up the city and all it
contains.’"
When you think about it, the "arrogance" of
ANYONE in
humanity is incredible. God inspired Solomon to say, "Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). As God
says through this verse in Amos about the pride of Israel, "I LOATHE the
arrogance of Jacob." He hates pride because it is false, and He will "deliver
up" the objects of your pride and will rescue you from the "arrogance" that
affects - everyone!
"Arrogance" is indeed a false perception of reality.
The leaders of Israel were proud of their building projects, their "citadels,"
but Israel should have instead been GRATEFUL, not proud, for it is God who gives
us everything we have. If you can walk, talk, breathe, eat and do ANYTHING,
you should be thankful - for it is from God.
Verse 9. “And it will be, if ten
men are left in one house, they will die.”
You can catch a glimpse of what would happen to Israel
because of their pride, in 2 Kings 17:5 - "The king of Assyria went throughout
all the land, and went up to Samaria (Israel) and besieged it for three years."
Can you IMAGINE what it would be like to have an invading army come to YOUR
country, your town? No you can't, unless you have personally experienced
such a horrible occurrence.
The time of these verses was a time of large families
and it was not unusual for ten sons to be born from one marriage.
Teenagers were considered adults, and especially in time of war, they would be
expected to fight for their country. Many were going to be killed in the
wars that would follow, and every family was to experience great loss.
Verse 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.’"
One of the obvious sins of Israel was pride (verse 8), a
false view of ourselves in relation to humanity and especially in relation to
God. The underlying cause of pride is unbelief. When you really
BELIEVE in God, you will recognize that He has given you - everything! and you
will become thankful for what He has done. Deep inside, underlying unbelief, is
- ANGER. We all know God is real, and those who deny Him do it out of envy
- they want the credit for themselves.
This verse, this prophesy, looked ahead to a time of
war, when many in Israel were to be killed, to the extent that few in a
family, maybe an "uncle," would remain alive to bury the latest victim.
They would not want to even speak of the Lord, for they were outraged; they were
angry at Him. It was too late to call upon Him; it was a time of
vengeance. Note that even in all their misery, they would not repent and call upon
the "name of the Lord."
Father, forgive the sin of our
arrogance, our pride. We confess that we have looked
to ourselves for solutions, instead of looking to You.
Heal us, heal our land. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Amos 6:11-14
Verse 11. “For behold, the Lord is
going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house
to fragments.”
We can all recognize the tendency in society to rate
ourselves based on the number and quality of our possessions. The person
with two cars tends to look down on someone who only has one. The one who
can afford a larger house is generally considered to be somehow "superior" to
the person(s) in smaller homes. More money is thought to be good and less
money is considered not so good. But in the day of calamity, none of that
will matter.
When the tsunami arrives, the earthquake hits, or the
hurricane comes, THAT is the time you'll discover that "All men are created equal."
We are often not equal in life, but from the perspective of those who are about to die, all are
the same. As this verse says, the one who has a lot will lose it all, and
the one who has less will lose what they have. We need to turn to the Lord -
now! Without Him we have nothing that lasts.
Verse 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,”
"Do horses run on rocks?" God asks. And of course,
the answer is "no," because to run on rocky ground for any time would ruin their
hooves. The horse would be in terrible pain and would become unusable to
its owner. And you don't plow "rocks" with a team of oxen! First you get
RID of the rocks, and THEN you plow! To do otherwise would be
unreasonable.
In much the same way, to be UNJUST is unreasonable to
the extent that it would be laughable, except it is so sad. As we read in
this verse, to speak of
"justice" to the one who has been wronged, is like "poison" to them.
There is a hunger for "righteousness" in the world and to deny it to those in
need, is like recalling the bitter tasting plant, "wormwood." Israel had
denied justice to the poor, a foolish action for which they would pay a terrible
price.
Verse 13. “You who rejoice in
Lodebar, and say, ‘Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for
ourselves?’"
"Lo-Debar" was a town in Gilead east of the Jordan
River, where Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, lived in the house of Machir, until
summoned by King David to eat at his table (2 Samuel 9:1-13). "Karnaim"
meant "two peaks," literally referring to a "high place" that would be
difficult for an enemy to attack. The word also carried the meaning,
"horns," which denoted "strength."
Both places had been taken by Israel in battles long before.
The whole point of this verse is that we accomplish
NOTHING by ourselves. The victories in our lives have not been won in our
strength, but in His, in God's. We obtain food, prepare it and eat,
thinking WE have done it, but it was not us, it was GOD. That's why we
thank Him for our food. He gives us everything! and we should reasonably
thank Him at all times. If we are safe, it is because He has made it so.
Verse 14. “For behold, I am going
to raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel," declares the Lord God of
hosts, ‘And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of
the Arabah.’"
We are all like little children in our ways, especially
as you compare us to the God who made us. Little children are beautiful,
but if you watch a group of them at play together, they also can be demanding
and selfish; unwilling to share with playmates. Looking at others from
that perspective, you begin to notice childish tendencies in your neighbors who
are supposedly adults. And even though we hate to admit it - those tendencies
are in ourselves; in you and me, as well. The "nation"
that God was
to "raise up," would
hold His rod of correction - it was time for those of Israel to grow up and be
proud no more.
To NOT correct selfishness in children is a form of
abuse, for we all must learn to share, to love, to grow into the caring
maturity that the Lord intends for us all. God uses nations to judge
nations, and in this case, He would use the terrible Assyrians to bring His rod
upon Israel. "Hamath" was the chief city of Syria, to the north and east,
and "Arabah" was a river on the east side of the Jordan River, which flowed
to the Dead Sea. Assyria would attack relentlessly from the East, until
at least some in "Israel," it was hoped,
might call out to the Lord.
Father, as nations, churches and
individuals, heal us, that we may trust in You and not in
ourselves. Protect us, not only from external threats,
but also from our own selfishness. And Father, I trust
in the Son of God right now. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Ron Beckham,
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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