AmosChapter 6

Amos Chapter 6: Meaning

Amos warns those who are comfortable and self-satisfied in Israel that judgment and exile are coming for them.

Summary

Amos pronounces a 'woe', a serious warning, on people in Jerusalem and Samaria who feel safe and comfortable. These wealthy leaders were lying on fancy beds made of ivory, eating the best meat, singing songs, drinking wine by the bowlful, and putting on expensive lotion. They were living it up while the nation was falling apart around them. They did not care at all about the suffering happening nearby.

Because of their pride and luxury, God says He despises them. God swears that He hates their arrogance so much that He will give their city and everything in it over to enemies. If just ten people are left alive in a house, they will all die. The situation will be so bad that people will not even mention God's name, afraid that saying it will make things worse.

Amos ends the chapter with a sharp question: Does a horse run on rocks? Does a farmer plow the ocean with oxen? Of course not, those things make no sense. In the same way, it makes no sense to turn justice into poison and goodness into bitterness, which is exactly what Israel had done. An enemy nation will come and crush them from one end of the land to the other.

Historical Context

The wealthy people in Israel's capital city of Samaria were very rich during the reign of King Jeroboam II around 760 BC. Archaeologists have actually found ivory carvings in Samaria that match what Amos described, the 'ivory beds' were real. The rich were living lavishly while the poor suffered.

The city of Calneh, Hamath, and Gath that Amos mentions were cities that had already been conquered by enemies. He was pointing out that powerful cities fall, and Israel was headed in the same direction if they did not change.