Affluence and Arrogance

Pray

Lord God, as this day unfolds, may it not be focused on my desires, but on my willingness to be Your voice, hands and feet.

Read

Amos 6:1-14

^[1] Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! ^[2] Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? ^[3] Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; ^[4] That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; ^[5] That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; ^[6] That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. ^[7] Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. ^[8] The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. ^[9] And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. ^[10] And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD. ^[11] For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. ^[12] Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: ^[13] Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength? ^[14] But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness. 

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version, Public Domain

Meditate

Consider: "There is a blind spot in American Christianity. We often fail to realize we are an affluent people living in an impoverished world. We must spend our lives and our money on that which is most important to the heart of God" (David Platt).

Think Further:

Amos targets the leaders of the nation. As in chapter 2, he includes Judah in his condemnation. The NIV changes around the pronouns (yours/theirs) at the end of verse 2. It is better to keep to the Hebrew text and read verses 1 and 2 as Amos ironically quoting the leaders' view of themselves and their boasting that Israel and Judah are bigger and wealthier than these kingdoms. Their material prosperity has made them self-indulgent and indifferent to the injustices that are leading the nation into ruin. Amos warns that disaster--military defeat--awaits them.

Prosperity has also made them arrogant, trusting in the security of their wealth and the strongholds they have built for themselves. The meaning of verses 9 and 10 is unclear. In the light of what follows they probably expand on the warning of military disaster. This will come as judgment because they have "turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness" (literally "wormwood," the bitterest substance known) (12). There is ironic wordplay in verse 13 as Amos quotes the leaders' pride in recent conquests. They rejoice in conquering a place named "Nothing" and boast of their strength in taking a city called "Two Horns" (the horn being a symbol of strength). In their arrogance there is no thought of need to depend on God. Things will be different when the Almighty God stirs up a nation against them!

Two of Jesus' parables illustrate the relevance of Amos's message for today: the rich fool, and the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 12:13-21; 16:19-31). Both warn that a measure of prosperity can bring a false sense of security based on our achievements and wealth rather than on trust in God. It can also lead to indifference towards the plight of those less well off than ourselves instead of compassionate concern for them.

Apply

From where does your deepest sense of security in life come? What changes do you need to make?

Pray

Lord, help me not to be arrogant or to trust in material wealth, but to trust you and your provision for me (1 Tim. 6:17).