Amos 6
Share
CHAPTER 6
Woe to the Complacent (6:1–7)
1–7 In this section, Amos addresses both the people of Zion (Judah) and those on Mount Samaria (Israel); the people of the two kingdoms had become complacent (verses 1–2). They compared themselves with other nations and concluded that Israel was better off. The Israelites refused to listen to prophets like Amos. They didn’t want to hear about an evil day of judgment (verse 3), and yet they didn’t hesitate to inflict evil—terror—on others, especially on the poor.
During Amos’s time, wealthy Israelites lived in great luxury (verses 4–5), but they did so at the expense of the poor. They cared nothing for the poor; they did not grieve over the ruin of Joseph (Israel) that they themselves were bringing about because of their greed and injustice (verse 6). Therefore, they themselves would be among the first to be sent into exile (verse 7).
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel (6:8–14)
8–11 Because of Jacob’s (Israel’s) pride, God will deliver up the city—Samaria, Israel’s capital (verse 8). At the Lord’s command, all houses—both great and small—will be smashed to pieces (verse 11). The Lord’s judgment will be so terrifying that the few survivors will be afraid to even mention His name (verses 9–10).
12–14 Amos asks: Do horses run on rocky crags? Of course not. Neither do nations survive that “run” on oppression and injustice—or on pride and self–sufficiency (verse 13). God will not allow such a nation—namely, Israel—to go unpunished. He will stir up a nation (Assyria) that will come and oppress the Israelites from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah (verse 14)—that is, from the north end of Israel to the south. The entire land will fall to the Assyrians.