Amos

Amos 6:1-2

All of Israel seemed to be in pursuit of this life of ease to the point of laziness.  Their rest became indifference, laziness, and indulgence.  They seemed to be characterized by ignorance and apathy.  (When asked which is worse, ignorance or apathy?  They might have said, "I don't know and I don't care!")  They lived lives of self indulgence.   As their love for themselves grew, their love of others grew cold, their mercy was nonexistence. 

Israel could look at all their pagan neighbors and see they were no better.  Judgment had already come to many of them and now it was coming to Israel.

Amos 6:3-7

These leaders were busy pampering themselves and looking out for their own interests and comfort.  They ignored the fact that doom and destruction was on the horizon.  They listened to the words of the false prophet who prophesied peace.  They found comfort in their prosperity.  By their actions and in some cases their inactions, the seat of violence came near.  This 'seat of violence' is a time that is coming; a time when violence would reign over the land.  It was coming, it was going to be bad; meanwhile these leaders were living the good life.  They were eating drinking and enjoying the merry life with no grieving for what was happening to their nation.  Their failure to care and shepherd the people, their failure of leadership would put them at the front of the parade leading the people to captivity.

Read this passage in the NLT.  It might add some clarification to the overall view of these leaders.

Amos 6:8-10

An oath was normally taken by the name of one greater than your self.  The Lord's oath is sworn by Himself, there is none greater, none higher, none more powerful, more holy or righteouse.  He hates their pride and palaces and because of that he will deliver these things to destruction.  God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6, Proverbs 3:34).

Amos gives us the scenario where everyone is the house will be dead.  Not one person will escape.  And if there are ten and only nine have died, the tenth will essentially be in hiding.  Their attitude is to not mention the name of the Lord so they didn't bring the Lord's attention on them, as if they could hide from God's judgment.

Amos 6:11-14

The idea of a horse running on rocks was preposterous.  It was ridiculous to think of running a plow through the rocks with your oxen.  It was equally preposterous and ridiculous to think they could define justice in their own way that in God's eyes was poison.  How could they believe in their ability to redefine righteousness; when all they accomplished was making unrighteousness that resembled the bitterness of wormwood.

Israel was celebrating military success when Jehoash had retaken several cities lost to the Syrians.  They were feeling confident in their abilities and strength.  But the Lord would bring this nation He will raise up as a tool for judgment; Assyria will come and be the sledgehammer of the Lord, smashing the northern kingdom.  The entrance to Hamath to the Valley of the Arabah was from north too south; the destruction would come on the entire nation.

What does all this have to do with us, here and now?  It seems as if our culture in our time has fallen into the same trap.  We are spoiled in our prosperity; our affluence has made us arrogant.  We accept a redefined justice where laws are applied differently to different groups of people; none of which resembles true justice.  We've created a social justice where there are no absolutes.  Likewise, righteousness has been redefined in our culture.  In our arrogance we might here, "Who are you to say what is right or wrong?"  Our culture espouses that we can all have a different truth, as long as we are sincere about it.  Strangley enough, the true righteousness of God is crowded out by new truth as if it is no longer valid.  Yet we know righteousness is defined by an unchanging God; that makes it unchanging.  So what man calls righteous apart from God, is in fact unrighteousness and will be judged as such.

What does all this have to do with us, here and now?  We live in a time that very much resembles the Northern kingdom that Amos spoke to.  From the leaders speaking of peace and safety when there is none while they enjoy their pampered lives.  Our justic and righteousness is a mockery of the Lord. So Amos's message to the people applies to us:

Have you lost your ability to see the righteousness of God?  Do you understand what justice really is?  Or, have we been conformed to the views of a fallen world.  Don't let justice die and righteousness laid to rest:

Amen.

©2016 Doug Ford