“Woe to Those Who are at Ease”
Amos was not your typical prophet. He was a herdsman from the small village of Tekoa. This blunt and direct outdoorsman was sent to the northern kingdom of Israel to preach to a complacent, corrupt, and wealthy upper-class citizenry. His book can be dated to between 760-750 BC when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II was king of Israel. His name means “to bear” or “burden-bearer,” and he did indeed bear a burden of a hard message to his northern neighbors.
Amos brings a message of judgment to many different groups, including those outside of Israel – Edom, Ammon, Moab, Tyre, Gaza, and Damascus. His book includes judgment oracles and visions and wraps up with a salvation oracle. However, one theme that seems to repeat in the book is that of “social justice.” This word has often been used in western culture of late to mean something very different than what Amos was referring to. To set the background, in many parts of the world today, people live within a level of wealth and comfort unheard of to even kings and leaders throughout much of history. Many times, the wealth accumulated by the upper-class throughout history was at the expense of others and via corruption. This is not just a neglect of the needy but, rather, a trampling under of those most vulnerable in society. Amos is going to speak directly to these people who are gaining their luxury at someone else’s expense.
He starts off His judgment with Israel saying that they “sell a righteous person for silver and a needy person for a pair of sandals” (2:6). They are essentially selling those who owe them money into slavery. Then in 2:8, there is a direct violation of what God tells them to do in Exodus 22:26-27 about not holding a cloak for collateral. Not only are these people violating this command, but they are stretching out by the altar in a cloak taken as collateral – flaunting their violations.
In chapter 4, Amos points out a particular group – the wealthy women of Israel and calls them “cows of Bashan”. Bashan was a lush area in northern Israel where one could take their herd to fatten them up for slaughter. These women have not used their prosperity to help others but, instead, to oppress the poor and crush the needy. He makes clear their level of prosperity in 3:15 when talking about their summer and winter homes that are inlaid with ivory. These women lay in luxury demanding that their husbands bring them something to drink. Their judgment is harsh; Amos states that they will be led away with fishhooks (possibly a reference to the Assyrian practice of leading out captives by a hook through their lower lips).
These people appear to “act” religiously, but God is disgusted by it. In 5:21-26, He states He despised their feasts and doesn’t want their sacrifices and songs. They have taken up foreign gods and blended them into their worship. So, God states He will not listen to their songs and will have no regard for their sacrifices. He wants justice and righteousness to be the markers of His people.
In chapter 6, Amos states, “woe to those who are at ease…those who feel secure” (1). They lie in beds inlaid with ivory and dine on lambs and calves. They drink wine by the bowlful. What they do NOT do is grieve over the ruin of Joseph. They were instead proud and had “turned justice into poison” (12). They longed for the Sabbath to be over so that they could sell their wheat and continue their dishonest practices (8:5). These passages should give you a good picture of the elite in Israel. Notice that they felt at ease and secure, but Amos tells them that this security will not last. In fact, their destruction is only decades away.
Amos’s message was not popular. In fact, Amaziah, a priest of Bethel tried to run him out of town and spoke to King Jeroboam saying Amos was a conspirator. Amos doesn’t back down and delivers words of judgment to Amaziah and continues with his prophecy. He makes it clear that he was called by the Lord to deliver this message.
The book ends on a hopeful note in chapter 9 verses 11-15 stating that God will restore the ruins and the fortunes of His people. You see, it wasn’t the wealth itself that was the problem – it was the way the people went about getting their wealth and how they handled it as well. Their hearts were corrupt. Of all people, they should have understood how to treat others and act in accordance with God’s commands – but they were no better than the nations around them.
So, what is the lesson for us? Although written to those particular people, there are some underlying truths that we can apply today as well.
Do we consider how we treat others? Are we looking out solely for ourselves, no matter the cost to others? Do we consider that there may be moral implications to our careers?
How do we treat the blessings of God if we receive them? Are we generous and giving or stingy and greedy for more?
Are we complacent and at ease? Do we grieve over the state of the world around us?
Do we actively seek God in order to have true life or do we treat our religion as rote rituals to be suffered through until we can “get on with life”?
Are we any different than those around us? Do we “know better” but not act better?
I pray that we would take Amos’s blunt words to heart and learn the lessons he was preaching. Let us be known as people of justice and righteousness, not complacency and greed.
