Amos 6
I. Outline of Amos
A. \\#1:1\\ The Time of Amos
B. \\#1:2-2:5\\ Judgment Against Israel’s Neighbors
C. \\#2:6-9:10\\ Judgment Against Israel
1. \\#2:6-6:14\\ Three Sermons
a. \\#2:6-3:15\\ Israel’s Past Sins
(1) \\#2:6-8\\ Israel’s Sins
(2) \\#2:9-13\\ God’s Power and Love
(3) \\#2:14-16\\ God Will Remove His Blessings
(4) \\#3:1-10\\ Israel’s Privilege and Accountability
(5) \\#3:11-15\\ A Coming Enemy
b. \\#4:1-13\\ Israel’s Present Sins
(1) \\#4:1-3\\ God’s Pledge
(2) \\#4:4-5\\ God’s Indignation
(3) \\#4:6-13\\ God’s Judgments
c. \\#5:1-6:14\\ Israel’s Future Sins
(1) \\#5:1-3\\ A Fallen Virgin
(2) \\#5:4-10\\ A Call to Repentance
(3) \\#5:11-27\\ A Just Recompense
(4) \\#6:1-6\\ Woe to Wealthy
(5) \\#6:7-14\\ They Will Suffer First
2. \\#7:1-8:14\\ Five Visions
D. \\#9:11-15\\ God’s Promise of A Future Restoration
I. \\#Amos 5:1-6:14\\ Israel’s Future Sins
A. \\#5:1-3\\ A Fallen Virgin
B. \\#5:4-10\\ A Call to Repentance
C. \\#5:11-27\\ A Just Recompense
D. \\#6:1-6\\ Woe to Wealthy
1. \\#1\\ "Woe to them… which are named chief of the nations"
God continues to speak to rich and powerful.
a. See \\#Amos 2:6-7, 3:15, 4:1, 5:11\\.
b. This curse is pronounced against both Judah, "them
that are at ease in Zion," and Israel, "trust in the
mountain of Samaria."
2. \\#2\\ "Pass ye unto Calneh… Hamath… Gath" - Other cities
as great or greater than Samaria and Zion either had
fallen or would be soon.
a. Calneh was a city near Babylon.
b. Hamath was near Tyre.
c. Gath was a Philistine city.
3. \\#3\\ "Ye that put away the evil day"
a. These leaders denied the fact that God’s judgment was
at hand and in doing so "caused the seat of violence
to come near," caused evil to abound more.
b. More than ever, we live in a similar day. As people
protect and promote evil, they only hasten its rise
and the judgment that will accompany it.
4. \\#4-6\\ The lush lifestyles of this wicked people is
described. These do not seem to be living the life of
the common Jew.
a. \\#4\\ They "lie on beds of ivory" - Typical Jews did
not have such beds.
b. "stretch themselves upon their couches" - It is
doubtful that they had couches either.
c. "eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of
the midst of the stall" - While some may have had
large herds and could eat from them, probably many
did not.
d. \\#5\\ "chant to the sound of the viol" - A viol is a
musical instrument and while common people may have
had some instruments, they probably had little time
for such entertainment. Some think that this might
be a reference to the priests who might have played
and sang before the Lord in the temple.
e. "invent to themselves instruments of music"
f. \\#6\\ "drink wine in bowls"
g. "anoint themselves with the chief ointments"
5. "but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph"
a. The northern kingdom is some times referred to by
Joseph’s son, Ephraim. Here, God refers to it by
Joseph’s name.
b. While the rich and leisure enjoy their lives, they are
not grieved—and probably do not even recognize—the
problems the nation is having.
c. Times of affluence blinds the eye to the true
condition of one’s surroundings.
E. \\#6:7-14\\ The Elite Will Suffer First
1. \\#6:7-11\\ The Judgment
a. \\#7\\ "Therefore now shall they go captive with the
first" - Those who had abused the poor and lived the
most delicate lives would be the first to go into
captivity; thus ending their "banquet."
b. \\#8\\
(1) "The Lord God hath sworn by himself" - When God
swears by His own self, He means that He will
definitely do what He says. That places the
greatest emphasize on what God says
\\#Hebrews. 6:13\\.
(2) "I abhor the excellency… and "hate his
palaces." The things that meant the most to the
wealthy is despised the most by God. Because of
their wicked leadership, God will "deliver up
the city and all that is therein."
c. \\#9-11\\ "if… ten… they shall die"
(1) 100% of the elite rich males will die.
(a) \\#Amos 5:3\\ Amos gave the average for the
common man (1 out of ten) as the survival
rate.
(b) Here, Amos is speaking to the elite, those
who have abused the poor and lived well.
Their survival rate is zero.
(2) \\#10\\ "And a man’s uncle" - These people will
have no father, son, or brother to depose of
their remains. More distant relatives, such as
an uncle will have to do so.
(3) "he that burneth him" - Because of the great
numbers of dead, there will be no time for
burials. Bodies will have to be burned.
(4) "Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of
the name of the Lord" - In such conditions,
people are apt to use religious phrases, perhaps
some in earnest, perhaps some as a cliché. In
that day, great care will be taken that the
Lord’s name is no mentioned for it will be
obvious that God these consequences are the
wrath of God.
(5) \\#11\\ "he will smite the great house… and the
little house" - Although this chapter is
directed against the wealthy, all will suffer
when the Assyrians come.
d. \\#12\\
(1) "Shall horses run upon the rock?"
"will one plow there (on the rock) with oxen?"
More of those rhetorical "NO" questions
\\#Amos 3:3-6\\. God wanted to prime the people
thinking NO and then ask them the question of
\\#6:13\\.
(2) "ye have turned judgment into gall" - Another
sin which God mentions often in this book is
the miscarriage of justice
\\#Amos 2:3-4; 3:9-10; 5:3, 12\\.
e. \\#13\\ God "NO" answer question.
(1) Can we say that we have "taken to us the horns by
our own strength?"
(2) Horns are the symbols of strength and power. To
take hold of them is to subdue the powerful.
(3) Could this nation say that they had, by their own
power, given themselves riches and ease?
(4) It was also one of the rhetorical questions for
the answer was an obvious "NO."
f. \\#14\\ "I will raise up against you a nation"
(1) That nation was Assyria.
(2) "Hemath" or Hamath was both a region and a city
about 75 miles north of Israel in Syria. God
will bring this destroying nation from the
north and even Jews as far north as Syria would
feel their wrath.
(3) "unto the river of the wilderness" - Probably a
reference to the Nile River, which was far to
the south of Israel.
(4) Why did God mention to Israel locations so far
from the heart of Israel, especially since
Assyria’s dominion went far beyond these
locations? Perhaps it was to show to Israel
that no matter how far they might flee, there
would be no escape.
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