Project 119: Amos 6
| Project 119 | Mary Splawn
While admittedly confusing at times, this passage is very clear in one way. It condemns those who sit in luxury but are not grieved by the “ruin of Joseph!” (Amos 6:6, ESV). As the ESV Study Bible states, “They cared extravagantly for their own bodies but cared nothing for the needs of others.”
This got me thinking about luxury and how we can process with the Lord about the goodness and necessity of material things. When I am in a quandary about a theological question, I often look online on the Desiring God website in the section called “Ask Pastor John.” As I had suspected, John Piper has given deep thought to the considerations of luxury. He asks himself a series of questions about how to decide what to buy if some non-essentials are okay to purchase. You can follow this link to the full article: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-luxuries-in-my-life-are-sinful
The fourth questions is most intriguing: He asks, “Is it affordable without replacing or hindering good deeds?” In other words, can I buy this item and still be as faithful in giving as I would be if I hadn’t purchased it? He is quick to recognize that “Every ice cream cone you buy you could have sent to somewhere else. But I am thinking of would you have? Has it gotten in the way of heartfelt calling to do a good thing? But I am not going to do a good thing. I am going to bless me and not them. Then you don’t want to do that.”
This is where the Israelites have found themselves. They are basking in their perceived material blessings while not taking into consideration the needs of others around them.
This text is a warning to us. Are we materialistic and concerned more for our comfort than for the needs of others? Have we strayed from the way of Christ by allowing our desire for comfort and conformity to the surrounding culture to guide our finances?
Let’s take some time to figuratively lay our finances before the Lord.
Father, help us to see places in us that are wasteful or extravagant in the worst kinds of ways. Give us a heart that desires to share and a core being that recognizes that this world is not our home. And, conform us to the image of Christ who though rich became poor on our behalf. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Amos 6 (ESV):
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
1 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to Calneh, and see,
and from there go to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 O you who put far away the day of disaster
and bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9 And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”
11 For behold, the LORD commands,
and the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there[fn] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[fn]—
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[fn]
who say, “Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim[fn] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the LORD, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of the Arabah.”