September 1, Amos 6
"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountains of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!"
- Amos 6:1
The first of the "Woes" God sent to Israel through Amos was about their injustice and unrighteousness in their everyday conduct that caused the Lord to despise their acts of worship. The second woe in Chapter 6 is addressed to indulgent, apathetic leaders and the wealthy upper-crust pleasure seekers of the nation. They lived idle lives of extravagance and excess. God cited their foolish practice of eating the tender meat from calves and lambs before they were old enough to breed. They sabotaged the future of their own flocks and herds by their greedy mismanagement.
The woe was proclaimed against "those who are at ease in Zion." This kind of ease is not the same thing as the rest Jesus promised to those who would come to him. These Israelites ignored the danger with careless complacency. They had a false sense of security, thinking all was well when nothing was well at all. The nation was about to fall. They imagined that the day of disaster was far from them, but it was very near. Israel was spiraling downward toward ruin and captivity. God described the seat of power, the king's throne, as a seat of violence. It was an apt description After the reign of Jeroboam II, only one other son succeeded his father on his throne. The rest of Israel's remaining kings died by assassination and coup.
The end of the nation was less than thirty years away, but these wealthy people continued to push judgment out of their minds, even as it drew nearer to them because of their callous sin. They even mocked God like the pagan king Belzhazzar would later do in the days of Daniel by drinking their wine from the sacred bowls that had been used in temple worship. They despised warnings and overestimated their strength. And these "first ones" of social standing in the kingdom would be the first ones to go away into captivity.
God abhorred their pride and false security because they had stopped trusting him and put trust in their own wealth, resources and selves. That is a sure recipe for disaster for any people in any nation at any time that turns away from God.
If you and I can see that God hated the oppression, pride, idolatry, lust and injustice that was common among the Israelites, we fool ourselves to think he will tolerate it in us. If they rejected Amos's words of warning and threat, they are not really different from people who do not believe the Bible and live as if they do not believe it. We also displease and insult God when we are overconfident in ourselves and put our trust in our own resources or righteousness.
These people were unconcerned about their future accountability to God and did as they pleased, feeling no restraint. But judgment came for them, and it will come for us all. We do not want to be like them in any way, because we do not want to come to the ruin that they experienced. We are blessed to know that our sins can be forgiven by the sacrifice of Christ for us. But that grace shown to us can never be an excuse for selfish indulgence or careless indifference about surrendering our lives and wills to the One who is both our Savior and Lord.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—September 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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