Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

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Reading

Amos 6 ESV

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! 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, O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence? “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, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, 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.” And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.” For behold, the Lord commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits. Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaim for ourselves?” “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts; “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Sermon

The funeral song

Woe - Let Justice roll Down

The Day of the Lord is a day of darkness

The problem was a lack of justice

enacted as a legal process as a society

never personal revenge (hot rage)

righteous anger is always acceptable, but it must not be permitted to proceed into sinful anger

Triggered by sin, injustice, or dishonour of God

Not about personal ego or offence

Justice was not upheld as part of daily life

The next of the “Woe” which proceeds to describe what is wrong

A Preeminent Nation (Amos 6:1-7)

Preeminent in Leadership (v1-3)

Amos 6:1–3 ESV

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes! 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, O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?

This oracle of woe is against the leaders of Judah & Israel

They considered themselves the top men of the top nation

They are complacent and feel secure

They were at ease and untroubled

Perhaps an attitude that grew from their inflateted opinion of their spiritual preeminence

They were not confident in the Lord

They were rather confident in their own ability to control their destiny

Their security was in the “mountain of Samaria”

Amos sends them in their minds eye to three cities

The rhetorical questions expected the answer “no”

Amos is pointing out that they are wrong if they perceive the answer to be “yes”

They literally put off the idea of a day of disaster

In doing so they bring forward a reig of terror

Preeminent in Luxury (v4-6)

Amos 6:4–6 ESV

“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, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

The wealthy

slept on beds of ivory

eat lamb and veal

sit around eating and playing instruments

drink wine from bowls

use perfume, oils for lamps or cooking

lives like King David

The poor

mutton and beef

Yet they were not upset about the destruction of Israel

Preeminent in Leaving (v7)

Amos 6:7 ESV

Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”

God does not tolerate self-indulgent lufestyles

When the worship of God’s people fails to produce justice and righteousness in society, God’s judgement cannot be far behind

A Doomed Nation (Amos 5:8-14)

The Lord’s Oath (v8)

Amos 6:8 ESV

The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, 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.”

God has sworn on his own character and authority

He abhors “the pride of jacob”

arrogant nationsistic and military self-confidence

they were no different than the canaanites

They had made an idol of their strongholds and cities

God will hand them over to to the enemy

Death for Surviviors (v9-10)

Amos 6:9–10 ESV

And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

Challenges to interpret

10 men

the wider family gathering for safety

a unit of soldiers

a relative comes to burry the dead

finds someone in the innermost part of th house

asks “is there still anyone with you?”

reply “no”

response “hush, we must not mention he name of the LORD”

To call out risks additional judgement

A funeral prayer inappropriate as they came under judgement of God

Too later to pray for deliverance

It is a fearful thing to come under the judgement of God

Total Destruction (v11)

Amos 6:11 ESV

For behold, the Lord commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits.

Great house - probably royal house

Little house - probably the wealthy

Great or small those who disobey God will be judged

An Absurd Happening (v12)

Amos 6:12 ESV

Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

Do you run horses on rocks?

Do you plow rocky ground?

What Israel had done in turning justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness was equally absurd

Such perversion of right relationships and of justice in the courts was self-destructive.

Oppression for a proud people (v13-14)

Amos 6:13–14 ESV

you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaim for ourselves?” “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts; “and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.”

Pride precedes a fall

pride in their national accomplishments would precede the nations fall

Israel had recovered previous losses east of Jordon as a result of the compaigning of Jeroboam II

Amos mentions them using puns on their names, using biting sarcasm

Lo Debar (pun on Gadite city of Debir) - meaning not a thing

Kadnaim - meaning a pair of horns

Their rejoicing over “not a thing” and they had nu yjeor own trength taken a “pair of horns”

Maybe they thought Karnaim due to its name had implied “double strength” but in reality it was an insignificant city.

ISrael’s God was arousing a nation to be his instrument of judgment.

Although not named in the oracle, Assyria eventually executed God’s judgment word again Israel

Lebo-hamath was in the most northen point

Arabah was in the most southern point

The emphasis was that Israel would face total defeat

The proud would be humbled, the oppressor oppressed

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