Amos Chapter 6
1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
2 Go to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
3 Those who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
4 Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall;
5 who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6 who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end.
8 "The Lord GOD has sworn by himself," says the LORD, the God of Armies: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
9 It will happen, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
10 "When a man's relative carries him, even he who burns him, to bring bodies out of the house, and asks him who is in the innermost parts of the house, 'Is there yet any with you?' And he says, 'No;' then he will say, 'Hush! Indeed we must not mention the LORD's name.'
11 "For, behold, the LORD commands, and the great house will be smashed to pieces, and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plough there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
13 you who rejoice in a thing of nothing, who say, 'Haven't we taken for ourselves horns by our own strength?'
14 For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, house of Israel," says the LORD, the God of Armies; "and they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of the Arabah."
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Amos Chapter 6 Guide
From the formalists the prophet turned toward those who had lost all sense of the spiritual and the moral, and were indifferent, those were "at ease in Zion," and "secure upon the mountains of Samaria." He had in mind the national leaders, "the notable men of the chief of the nation." Zion and Samaria were the headquarters of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Here the rulers were living in luxury, and abandoned to animalism, having lost all consciousness of their relationship to Jehovah, with its consequent demands on life and conduct. It would seem that they had given up all reference to "the Day of the Lord," being careless concerning it, and probably disbelieving in it.
On such, the prophet declared the coming of the swift and terrible judgments of Jehovah.
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Amos Chapter 6 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- The danger of luxury and false security. -- (1-7)
- Punishments of sins. -- (8-14)
Verses 1-7
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.
Verses 8-14
How dreadful, how miserable, is the case of those whose eternal ruin the Lord himself has sworn; for he can execute his purpose, and none can alter it! Those hearts are wretchedly hardened that will not be brought to mention God's name, and to worship him, when the hand of God is gone out against them, when sickness and death are in their families. Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as rocks. When our services of God are soured with sin, his providences will justly be made bitter to us. Men should take warning not to harden their hearts, for those who walk in pride, God will destroy.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.