1 The wantonness of Israel, 7 shall be plagued with desolation, 12 and their incorrigibleness.
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
Amo 6:1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!
In a state of self-indulgence and fancied safety (see Isa. 32:9; Zeph. 1:12). Since the southern kingdom also displayed, to some extent, this dangerous condition of apathy and apostasy, Zion is also denounced (see Amos 2:4).
Mountain of Samaria.
See Amos 3:9; 4:1; see on 1 Kings 16:24. Located on a hill with a situation commanding the small plain surrounding it, strongly fortified with thick walls, the city of Samaria was doubtless considered almost impregnable by its inhabitants.
Its strength could easily have furnished a feeling of confidence to those who depended on material fortifications rather than on the protection of God. How strong those fortifications were is testified to by the fact that it took the mighty armies of the Assyrian Empire two years’ time (three years, inclusive reckoning; to accomplish the capture of Samaria (see on 2 Kings 18:9, 10).
Notable
Heb. nequbim, “notable men of the foremost nation,” that is, the leaders of the nation. Israel bore this proud title because it was the chosen of God, charged by Him to carry to the rest of the world a knowledge of the God of heaven (see Ex. 19:5; 2 Sam. 7:23).
This refers to the leaders of the nation, who were called upon to give the people guidance, and who, therefore, should have been models of righteousness and justice.
Amo 6:2 Go to Kalneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours?
Calneh. Probably to be identified with Nippur. Tiglath pileser III claimed to have taken the city.
Hamath. An important city of ancient times situated on the Orontes River (see on Gen. 10:18; see The Assyrian Empire in Isaiah’s Time). Tiglath-pileser III received the tribute from the city and gave them to his generals.
Sargon II boasts of having torn up the root of the city.
Gath. One of the five chief cities of the Philistines (see 1 Sam. 6:17) near the Valley of Elah (see on 2 Kings 12:17).
Evidently the three cities mentioned in this verse are cited to Israel as examples of prosperous places that later were destroyed or subjugated and thus were fitting examples of what would happen to unrepentant Samaria.
Gath and Ashdod were both destroyed by Uzziah, who broke down their walls (see 2 Chron. 26:6). However, Ashdod (Azotus) was rebuilt, and is mentioned later, even in intertestamental times (1 Macc. 5:68; 10:84). Gath drops out of history after its destruction by Uzziah.
Amos, a contemporary of Uzziah, uses it as a striking illustration of the fate that impended for Samaria.
Are they better.
The prophet asks Israel if they have any right to expect a better fate than that which befell Gath and Calneh and Hamath.
Amo 6:3 You put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of terror.
In their sinful smugness Israel “put far” off the time of divine judgment.
While Israel put off the day of calamity they enthroned violence in their midst.
Amo 6:4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.
As a simple “herdman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit” (see ch. 7:14), Amos expresses shock at the sensual living of the upper classes in Samaria.
Amo 6:5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments.
David gave much attention to music, and made detailed plans to foster choral singing and instrumental accompaniment to honor God in the sanctuary service (see 1 Chron. 15:16; 23:2–5 2 Chron. 29:25–30).
Like David, these apostates were musical, but unlike his, their singing and playing were debasing.
Amo 6:6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Bowls. Heb. mizraqim, sacrificial bowls used for libations of wine and in sprinkling blood (see Ex. 38:3; Num. 7:13; 1 Chron. 28:17; 2 Chron. 4:8, 22; Zech. 14:20).
The luxury-loving, sacrilegious princes used these in their feasts, thus attesting their lack of piety and their love of excess (see Dan. 5:2–4).
Finest lotions. Perhaps those that were supposed to be used in divine service only (see Ex. 30:23–25). If the people had had a proper sense of their sinfulness, they would have mourned and refrained from anointing themselves (see 2 Sam. 14:2).
Do not grieve.
Israel’s luxury stifled the thought of suffering; for such thinking disturbs the sense of ease. The people had become so immersed in sensuality that they were not concerned about the coming ruin of Israel.
The selfishness of sin generates two evils, disregard for God and disregard for man. This is illustrated in the experience of Adam. Adam disregarded God by his disobedience of God’s command not to eat of the forbidden fruit. He disregarded man when he cast the blame of disobedience upon his beloved Eve (see Gen. 3:1–6, 9–12).
Ruin of Joseph.
Literally, “the breaking of Joseph.” The troubles within the northern kingdom, here called “Joseph,” were of little concern to those who gave themselves up to riotous pleasure.
Amo 6:7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
Verses 7–11 foretell the punishment of the nation for the crimes mentioned in vs. 1–6. Rejected by God, the Israelites are to go into captivity and utter ruin. Israel’s unfortunate distinction is that it will be the “first” of the two Israelitish kingdoms thus to go.
Feasting. Heb. mirzach, “a cult festival,” that is, one of the debauching feasts that were held in honor of an idol.
Amo 6:8 The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
Here the Lord adapts Himself to human language and experience (see Jer. 51:14; Amos 4:2).
Here the reference is clearly to those palaces and other edifices that were the object of Israel’s pride (see Dan. 4:30; see on Hosea 5:5). It is bad enough to waste honestly earned money on pretentious buildings, but the Israelites had secured their luxury and splendor by dishonesty, particularly through injustice to the poor (see Amos 2:6, 7; 3:10; 4:1).
The divine hatred of Jacob’s “excellency” and “palaces” reveals that God does not hate men but does hate their sinful deeds and works (see Eze. 18:29–32; Hosea 11:1–4, 8; John 3:16).
Amo 6:9 If ten people are left in one house, they too will die.
Perhaps a reference to the “ten” of ch. 5:3, the remnant of the wars fought in the last stages of Israel’s history. It should be kept in mind that Israel did not lose her prosperity in one single disaster, but rather that the disintegration of the nation came in gradual stages (see 2 Kings 15:19, 20, 29; 17:5–18).
They too shall die.
Should these “ten” be saved from death in war, they would die of famine and pestilence in the siege of Samaria (see 2 Kings 17:5).
Amo 6:10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”
Relative that is.
A man’s nearest surviving relative. He enters the house to perform the funeral rites over his dead body. Generally, the Jews buried their dead, but in certain instances cremation was employed (see Lev. 20:14; 1 Sam. 31:12).
Cremation might have been necessary at that time because of the large number of deaths, or because of the nature of the pestilence, or because the burying place outside the city could not be reached because of the siege.
Hush! We must not mention the name of the LORD.”
Perhaps a sense of despair on the part of the surviving Israelites would be the best explanation for the prohibition, the feeling that it would be of no avail now to call on the Lord.
Amo 6:11 For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.
Amo 6:11 For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits.
A reiteration and confirmation of the chastisement threatened previously by the prophet (v. 8).
Amo 6:12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
The closing portion of this chapter reveals the folly of those who think that in their own strength they can defy God’s judgment and resist the enemy sent to chastise them. “Will one plow the sea with oxen?” In any case the lesson is that the attempts of Israel to escape impending judgment would be useless. A wrong course of action would lead inevitably to national disaster.
Justice was turned into the deadliest injustice, and all would suffer the fearful results which were sure to follow.
Amo 6:13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, “Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?”
Amo 6:14 For the LORD God Almighty declares, “I will stir up a nation against you, Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”
A reference to the Assyrians, who, as the instruments of God’s wrath (see Isa. 10:5, 6), would invade Israel from the north, specifically “from the entering in of Hemath [Hamath],” a city in upper Syria (see on Num. 34:8; Amos 6:2).
Compare similar expressions given at other times as a warning that continued refusal to repent would bring national disaster (see Isa. 5:26; Jer. 5:15).
Wilderness. Heb. ‘arabah. The Arabah is the depression extending from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqabah (see on Deut. 1:1). The river of the Arabah probably designates some stream flowing into the northern end of the Dead Sea. Significantly enough, these northern and southern limits mark the territory recovered by Jeroboam II in the time of Israel’s greatest prosperity (see 2 Kings 14:25).