#1143 Amos 6 Is That The Absinthe Talking Again

 

“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!

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 O you who put far away the day of disaster

and bring near the seat of violence?

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 who drink wine in bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

7 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.”

8 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.”

9 And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 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.”

11 For behold, the Lord 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 wormwood—

13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,

who say, “Have we not by our own strength

captured Karnaim for ourselves?”

14 “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.” Amos 6 ESV

Amos 6 

Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves, who do well for their bodies; but we are here told what their ease is, and what their woe is. Here is a description of the pride, security, and sensuality, for which God would reckon. Careless sinners are every where in danger; but those at ease in Zion, who are stupid, vainly confident, and abusing their privileges, are in the greatest danger. Yet many fancy themselves the people of God, who are living in sin, and in conformity to the world. But the examples of others' ruin forbid us to be secure. Those who are set upon their pleasures are commonly careless of the troubles of others, but this is great offence to God. Those who placed their happiness in the pleasures of sense, and set their hearts upon them, shall be deprived of those pleasures. Those who try to put the evil day far from them, find it nearest to them. - Matthew Henry

Who are at ease in Zion - Zion was often associated with Judah, in particular, the area of the city of Jerusalem. The next line is "those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria", which is in the northern kingdom of Israel. It is not wrong to rest, but it is wrong to be lazy, to gain our comforts upon the poorly paid backs of others. My generation is known for it's gross indulgence, materialism, play and entertainment, to the point that it can now not be interrupted by things like work, or seeking the wisdom of God by His prescribed methods, prayer, study, repentance, and listening to sound preaching. Everything is a matter of ease today, and people are vastly disconnected from the value of their food, their clothes, and worse, they think there is no God to answer to, or that God owes them comfort and freedom from boredom.

…6These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.… 1 Corinthians 10: 6-8

Yet the prophet Amos spoke of “a carnal ease, a fleshly security, it is not the confidence of a man who is pardoned, but the ease of a hardened wretch who has learned to despise the gibbet. It is not the assurance of one who is on the rock, but the ease of a senseless drunkard, whose house is tottering from its sandy foundations, and yet he riots at full speed; it is not the calm of soul at peace with God, but the ease of a madman, who, because he has hidden his sin from his own eyes, thinks he has concealed it from God. It is the ease and peace of one who has grown callous, hardened, brutalized, stupid, sullen, and careless, who has begun a sleep which God grant may soon be broken, or else it will surely bring him where he shall make his bed in hell” (Spurgeon).

Calneh, Hamath and Gath - Calneh was a city founded by Nimrod. He was tied to Babel as well, which is where God confused the people's language to break up this one world order and religion they had begun. Hamath was a capital in Syria, which was brought low by Assyria. Gath was a capital of the Philistines, and it was one of the places to which the Ark of the Covenant was taken after it's capture. There is a good historical point being made, which is where are those kingdoms now, or the strength of those kingdoms. Also, when the Philistines thought their mermaid god, Dagon, was more than a work of their craftsmen and imagination, and so presented him with the Ark of the true God, well Dagon fell to pieces before God's foot stool. God used a young boy, David, with a sling shot, to fell the Philistine's champion, Goliath. Nimrod thought much of human effort and achievement, and yet a word from God disbanded Babel. Israel and Judah knew of these nations and their demise, knew they could not stand before God, they knew of the destruction of Sodom, of Benjamin coming so close to extinction for the same sins, and now Zion will watch Samaria be dragged away by Assyria, yet they will not learn. We have even more of history to look back upon, the fall of Rome, the foolishness of communist tyranny, yet we haven't learned. They knew, as the church today does, that God is opposed to sin, yet they are comfortable in it, thinking that the same disasters will not come upon them. 

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.

8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither.

9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 1 Samuel 5: 7-9

Are you better than these kingdoms - Well yeah, they thought, I go to Sunday School, I said the magic words, I am not one of those heathens. Oh, but because you belong to some club, you have the temple here, heritage, you are related to Abraham, someone sprinkled water on you, so God won't care about your sin? They are a warning to us, God always hates sin, and He will deal with it even in those He calls His children, especially in those, because He has revealed Himself to them. Ask God for mercy, not to honor some club membership, or some silly notion that because your mother or father went to church, or because you give to charities, and so on, no, ask Him to save you, to set you free from your sin, to grant you repentance.

Put far away the day of disaster - It won't happen to me, or at least it's afar off, and I will repent when I am old, so you think. I will have some bit or form of religion as security, a crutch in case of calamity, but right now I have plenty of food, plenty of music and mirth, my walls are secure, my bank account is built up to last for a long time. 

Like David - David was a man after God's own heart, but the road to repentance was a difficult one, and the chastening of God was brutal upon that man. When things were going well, and David was relaxed and bored, his mind stayed to long upon a sight, and he who had wives wanted another man's only wife. Idleness is not good for those who are called to be about God's work, and the idleness of the mind is the most dangerous, the mind that trust itself is always the most prone to open doors that should remain closed.

5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,… 2 Thessalonians 3: 5-7

…12and thus will incur judgment because they are setting aside their first faith. 13 At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention. 14So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.… 1 Timothy 5: 12-14

Who drink wine in bowls - Probably best understood within the context of this chapter as a large container, excessively.

…17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,… Ephesians 5: 17-19

But are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph - Ephraim and Manasseh were the tribes under Joseph, and Ephraim is often used as the representative for the 10 northern tribes. The sin in the camp is what causes the decay, the end of which will be captivity to Assyria. The wages bother them, but the cause does not. They have major concerns over their physical well being, ie anointing themselves with the finest oil and eating the finest foods. Israel has great walls and fortresses, the rich have great stores of money and grain, yet they are spiritually bankrupt, unprepared. The problem is a spiritual one, but they refuse to acknowledge that, and prosperity becomes the measure by which they believe themselves to be in the right.

People long to get away, to look away, to run away, to find the place where sorrow doesn’t exist, where pain is not present, the place of perfect calm and peace and comfort, a place that is hidden and elusive. That leads us to the paradox of this statement made by our Lord Jesus. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” What He is saying here is that the sad become the happy. It is the mourners who enjoy comfort. Happy are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.

Now, that is contrary to the whole structure of human expectation - in fact, the whole effort of human life. The pleasure madness, the drive for amusement, entertainment, thrills, the mania that seeks the next high, the money, the energy, and enthusiasm expanded in living it up. All of those things are an expression of the world’s aim to avoid mourning. And yet Jesus said, “Happy are those that mourn.” In fact, in Luke 6:25, Jesus said, “Woe unto you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. - J Mac on Matthew 5 Beatitudes 

The Lord God has sworn by Himself - There is nothing higher than Him, His word becomes the measure.

I abhor the pride of Jacob - With God, pride bares the signatures of gravity, when we exalt ourselves the law says we must be brought down. 

…17The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life. 18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.… Proverbs 16: 17-19

Do horses run on rocks - This is a comparison of their judicial system to the ridiculous, a horse would likely turn an ankle and need to be put down. It is like the world of the politically correct, in order to be so, then you must sell out truth, throw it away, like calling riots "peaceful protest", or abortion an act of "compassion". Justice should be blind to the amount of melanin in one's skin, and to the amount of bills in one's purse, otherwise it's something else, but not justice, that was not achieved.

Lo-debar...own strength...Karnaim - So God got them out of Egypt, cleared the land before them, fed them, but now they want autonomy, "yeah, You made us, You rescued us, You made the earth and all that, but now we got our own stride, and their are things that we like that You don't, which leaves us to believe we would be better off parting ways", unless of course He, God, would agree to do as they ask and overlook their sin. So they bring up these two Syrian cities as a testament to their ability and self sufficiency.

Lo-debar...Karnaim were, apparently, two Syrian sites captured by Jeroboam II. "Lo-debar" means "nothing" and sarcastically points out that Israel's "great" gain will amount to nothing. "Karnaim" means "horns" which symbolizes the strength of an animal. Israel foolishly believed they had conquered in their own strength. - J Mac Study Bible

They shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah - From the far northern border to the Southern border, an expression like from sea to shining sea, one end of Israel to the other. What they feel like they had taken will all be taken back from them. 

…24And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. 25This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher. 26For the LORD saw that the affliction of the Israelites, both slave and free, was very bitter. There was no one to help Israel,… 2 Kings 14: 24-26

…17You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.” 18But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day. 19If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish.… Deuteronomy 8: 17-19