that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;
Amos lists the furniture and the food of Israel's leading men. The list is a charge, not a compliment. So why would God object to comfort? The answer is what these men were comfortable about, with their nation on the edge of ruin.
Chapter 6 opens with a woe on men who felt untouchable.
Amos 6 is a fresh appeal of Jehovah to those wrapped up in self-security, warning them of sure sorrow… Here they are shown that the resources of nature are powerless to hide them from the judgment of God. Their place of honour is just as powerless — the honour of standing above the nations, with the house of Israel looking up to them.
Some in Israel courted the day of the Lord. Others, like the men of this verse, refused to look at it.
So some pretend to court the day of Jehovah. Others dare not look "the evil day" in the face, so that they may oppress and enjoy without remorse. It comes to the same end of judgment from God, who is not mocked in either case.
The verse names both a bed and a couch. One piece of furniture did both jobs.
These were mostly divans, low raised seats around the room. They served for reclining on in the day and for sleeping on at night, which is why they are often called "beds."
Ivory is the material the verse names first.
Ivory is the well-known substance that the tusks of the elephant consist of. We read of beds of ivory, thrones of ivory, palaces of ivory, ivory houses, and vessels of every kind. The finest specimens were used for carving, and the smaller ones were cut into veneers for covering surfaces.
The luxury had a deadline. Israel's borders had just been pushed back out under Jeroboam, Israel's ruler.
Amos announced to the house of Israel that Jeroboam's conquests would not last. The Assyrian would capture them… Jeroboam had "put far away the evil day" by reconquering Israel's borders as far as Hamath the great, and to the sea of the plain. Look, says Amos, the evil day is close at hand. On the eve of ruin, the prince was relaxing, thinking only of his ease (Amos 6:4)… The house of Jeroboam was threatened with ruin under the judgment of the Lord.
The food in the verse points past appetite to the men who ate it.
Their chief men gave themselves up to luxury, as though everything were prosperity. They had no sense of the affliction of Joseph. They should be the first to go into captivity.
Pushing the day of reckoning out of sight did not leave them neutral. It set them free to live as they pleased.
What were the results in Israel when the evil day was put far off? They committed violence; violence increased in the land. They lived luxuriously on beds of ivory and ate the best of the flock. They danced and made merry; they drank wine, but no one cared about the hurt of Joseph, the spiritual condition of the people.
Is a list of couches and menus too small a thing for prophecy?
The Spirit of God can go into small details when the details are there to go into. But someone may further object, "We must furnish our houses according to our rank in life." Wherever someone raises this objection, it lays bare the real ground of the objector's soul. That ground is the world.
The test reaches past Israel to us.
Even at this distant day, we may take our share of the prophet's rebuke for the same heartlessness. That is so if we can willingly love the world that cast out the true Joseph… The beds of ivory, the sound of the viols, the wine and the finest ointments were never so plentiful as they are today. And if we can settle down to life in such a world, are we true to the cross of Christ, as we ought to be?… We are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. We are not true to the rejection of Christ. Worldliness is heartlessness to Him.
- Ease — the woe falls on men wrapped up in self-security. They thought their rank above the nations could shield them from God's judgment.
- Ease blinds — pushing "the evil day" out of sight did not make them harmless. Violence grew in the land while they feasted on the best of the flock.
- Ease deadens — ivory couches served for lounging by day and sleeping by night. The men on them had no feeling for the affliction of Joseph.
- Ease ends — on the eve of ruin the prince was relaxing. The first to lie down in luxury were the first to go into captivity.
- Ease today — the same test reaches us. If we can settle into a world that cast out Christ, worldliness has become heartlessness toward Him.
that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;
Amos speaks to people at the top of a prosperous nation. This verse catches them singing and building new instruments while the country slides toward ruin. The writers ask one question: not whether music is wrong, but what these singers used it for, and what it drowned out.
The chapter opens with a woe on people who felt untouchable. The couches, the meat, the music and the wine are the evidence for the charge.
Amos 6 is a fresh appeal from Jehovah to those wrapped up in self-security, warning them of sure sorrow... Here they learn that the resources of nature cannot hide them from the judgment of God. Their place of honour cannot hide them either. They stand above the nations, and the house of Israel looks up to them... Verse 7 tells them they will be among the first to go into captivity, and the loud feasting of those stretched out on their couches will end. It will turn into mourning and the cry of despair.
The word behind "harp" here names a stringed instrument.
A stringed instrument. The word is nebel, and is often translated "psaltery". Its exact form is not known.
The word "invent" has a history in Scripture, and this verse sits among its darker uses.
God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions (Ecclesiastes 7:29) or devices... Cain went out from the presence of God and built a city, and his descendants made harps and organs. Men made themselves as happy as they could without God, as in the days of Uzziah. Amos 6:5.
David did design instruments, and Scripture points to this very verse as proof. But note what he designed them for.
We must remember that David was a great inventor of musical instruments (Amos 6:5). Those instruments will be the fitting way to celebrate Jehovah's praise in the kingdom when it comes for the world (Psalm 150; Revelation 11:15). Meanwhile we worship in spirit and in truth, as true worshippers of the Father. We are to sing with the spirit and also with the understanding (John 4; 1 Corinthians 14).
The same skill can serve two different aims. Scripture follows both to the end.
God was pleased to have the music of David in the temple worship, and He will have music from Israel on earth again. But the music of man's world charms his heart away from God, and God has marked it out for judgment.
Some think couches, songs and ointments are too small for God to comment on. This passage answers that on its own.
The Spirit of God can go down to the smallest details when the details are there. Someone may object further, "We must furnish our houses according to our rank in life." Wherever people raise that objection, it shows the real ground their soul rests on. That ground is the world, beyond doubt.
The songs are not the whole charge. The charge lands on what the singers felt nothing about — the affliction of Joseph.
The beds of ivory, the sound of the harps, the wine and the finest ointments were never so plentiful as in these days. And if we can be content with life in such a world, are we true, as we ought to be, to the cross of Christ?... We are not "grieved for the affliction of Joseph," we are not true to the rejection of Christ. Worldliness is heartlessness to Him.
- Gift. David invented instruments to celebrate Jehovah's praise, and Scripture cites this very verse as proof.
- Copy. These singers have David's skill without David's aim. They follow Cain's line, who made harps and organs after going out from God's presence and made themselves as happy as they could without Him.
- Comfort. Couches, songs, wine and ointments are the resources of nature. None of them can hide anyone from the judgment of God.
- Numbness. Judge the music by what it silences: no grief over the affliction of Joseph. Worldliness is heartlessness to Christ.
- Test. God's Spirit goes down to the smallest details — so "our rank in life" is no defence for a home furnished to please the world.
that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.
Amos 6 pictures Israel's leaders on ivory beds, feasting and drinking while the nation slid toward ruin. Their crime was not the luxury but what was missing from it — any grief over "the ruin of Joseph."
The chapter opens with a woe against people who felt safe. One writer shows how useless their defences were, and how they avoided thinking about God's day:
Amos 6 is a fresh appeal of the Lord to those wrapped up in self-security, warning them of sure sorrow… Here they are shown that the resources of nature cannot hide them from the judgment of God. Their place of honour is just as useless: they were raised above the nations, with the house of Israel looking up to them… Some make a show of longing for the day of the Lord. Others dare not face the evil day, so that they can oppress and enjoy life without remorse. Either way it comes to the same end: judgment from God, who is not mocked.
The wine and the oil were not necessities. A Bible dictionary traces the word behind "finest oils":
The Hebrew word is shemen, which is regularly translated "oil." It is used for "fatness, oil, spiced oil," and so "ointment." On joyful occasions people anointed the head with it (Psalm 133:2). Elsewhere it is called the "oil of gladness" (Psalm 45:7; compare Proverbs 27:9; Ecclesiastes 9:8; Amos 6:6).
One writer's summary of the chapter shows where this confidence rested, and where it ended:
Amos 6 dwells on the false confidence that deceived the leaders of Israel… Their chief men gave themselves up to luxury, as if everything were going well. They had no sense of the affliction of Joseph. They should be the first to go into captivity. The Lord would give up Israel to desolation. For they trusted in what was empty — in their golden calf.
The men most comfortable would be the men taken first.
The name Joseph carries its own history. One writer sets this verse beside what Joseph's brothers once did:
Joseph's brothers had no idea of all that was to flow to them from their treatment of him. "They took him and cast him into a pit… and they sat down to eat bread." "Woe to them… who drink wine in bowls… but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph." (Amos 6:6)
The verse also tests the reader. One writer ties our ease in this world to the rejection of Christ:
The heartlessness of all this is what is especially shocking. That is what the prophet Amos, under the Holy Spirit, notices so solemnly when he speaks of the affliction of Joseph… The beds of ivory, the sound of stringed instruments, the wine, and the finest oils were never so plentiful as in these days. And if we can settle down to life in such a world, are we true to the cross of Christ, as we ought to be?… We are not "grieved over the ruin of Joseph." We are not true to the rejection of Christ. Worldliness is heartlessness to Him.
Another writer asks the same question of Christians who are content and happy:
We are happy: quite right, but do we still carry the sense of ruin? Is it not a grief and a burden — the scattering of the members of Christ, the deep desolation of everything that bears His name?
The chapter does not leave the woe hanging. God swears an oath against Israel's pride:
The prophet then declares the hatred God feels against the ways of Israel. Those ways dishonour Him and corrupt man. "The Lord has sworn by Himself… I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds; so I will deliver up the city and all that is in it."… It is a picture of utter desolation and despair.
- Ease — The woe falls on men wrapped up in self-security. Their honour and their resources could not hide them from God's judgment.
- Numbing — Wine in bowls and the finest oils belonged to celebrations. Here the festival mood hides the evil day these men dared not face.
- Missing grief — Their chief men gave themselves to luxury as if all were going well. They had no sense of the affliction of Joseph.
- Old pattern — Joseph's brothers threw him into a pit and then sat down to eat. Feasting while a brother suffers is the sin Amos names.
- Today's test — Comfort in the world that rejected Christ is the same heartlessness. It ends where Amos ends: God abhors the pride of Jacob and gives up the city to desolation.