And trust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the chief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes! v.1
Read chapter 6
Now we see Amos go to the upper class to declare judgment. We see them live in luxury during this time of great calamity around them and even of their own people yet live as if nothing is wrong. They put far off when their day of doom will be (v.3), they lie and sit on their fine furniture, eating find foods, doing things without any purpose (vv.4-5). Sound familiar? I first thought of the holocaust and wondered how much the rest of the world knew what was going on but didn't do anything about it and continued to live their lives in their own comfort. These people Amos is speaking to in Zion and Samaria didn't even care for their brethren in affliction due to the gap between the two kingdoms. McLaren's Exposition says of these people:
They are living in a fool’s paradise, shutting their eyes to the thunder-clouds that begin to rise slowly above the horizon, and keeping each other in countenance in laughing at Amos and his gloomy forecasts. They ‘trusted in the mountain of Samaria,’ which, they thought, made the city impregnable to assault. No doubt they thought that the Prophet’s talk about doing right and trusting in Jehovah was very fanatical and unpractical, just as many in England and America think that their nations are exalted, not by righteousness, but by armies, navies, and dollars or sovereigns.
Can you relate to this position of these people today? How so? How can you choose to live not just in your comfort or ignorance?
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