Amos 6:1-9: a reflection

1Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come! 2Go to Calneh, and see. From there go to Hamath the great. Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Is their border greater than your border? 3Alas for you who put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near, 4who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall, 5who strum on the strings of a harp, who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; 6who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive. The feasting and lounging will end. 8“The Lord GOD has sworn by himself,” says the LORD, the God of Armies: “I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it. 9It will happen that if ten men remain in one house, they will die.

Amos pronounces a woe over those who are at ease in Zion, the comfortable and secure, the notable ones of the nation. He describes a life of luxury and self-indulgence: lying on beds of ivory, feasting on the choicest meat, drinking wine by the bowlful, anointing themselves with the finest oils, entertaining themselves with music. It is a portrait of people utterly at ease, wrapped in their own comfort and pleasure, insulated from the troubles of the world.

But Amos names the fatal flaw in their comfortable lives with a single, piercing phrase: they are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Their people were in trouble, suffering and heading toward disaster, and these comfortable ones did not care. Their luxury had made them indifferent, so absorbed in their own ease that the affliction of others did not touch them. That indifference, that failure to be grieved by what should grieve them, is what draws God's woe. Comfort had numbed their hearts.

This is a searching word for anyone whose life is comfortable. The danger Amos names is not luxury itself but the indifference it can breed, being so wrapped in our own ease that we are not grieved by the suffering of others or the things that grieve God. Ask whether your comfort has made you numb to the needs and pain around you. Let it not be said of you that you were at ease while others suffered and you did not care. Ask God to keep your heart tender, grieved by what grieves him, so that your comfort does not become indifference.

Lord, Amos pronounced woe on those who were at ease in their luxury but not grieved over the ruin of their people. Guard my heart from that indifference. Do not let my comforts numb me to the suffering of others or to the things that grieve you. Keep my heart tender and awake, grieved by what grieves you, and moved to care. Let me never be at ease while others suffer and I do not care. Amen.