Amos 6 (5)
Pray Psalm 50.16-21.
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.”
Sing Psalm 50.16-21.
(Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
“All of you My Word despising, who are you to claim My grace?
Praise may from your lips be rising, but you scorn Me to My face.
You approve of all transgressions, scheme against your mother’s son!
I will crush your vain aggressions and destroy what you have done.”
Read and meditate on Amos 6.1-13; meditate on verses 12, 13.
Preparation
1. What had the people of Israel and Judah done?
2. About what were they boasting?
Meditation
We remember that the focus of chapter 6 is both Israel and Judah. The Lord had given command to His people, that they should hear and obey Him. They chose to follow their own best ideas. The result was like running unshod horses on rocks. They won’t last very long if you continue to do that. Or like trying to plow ground that is more rock than dirt. You’ll knock yourself out and won’t realize much produce (v. 12).
More to the point, by deciding to do things their way rather than God’s, the people of God had perverted both justice and righteousness (v. 12). Justice is what God says it is. Righteousness is defined by God’s character and Law. But the people of Israel and Judah had other ideas, and now these crucial virtues had become gall and wormwood—bitter and unreliable. Justice was what favored the rich and righteousness was whatever allowed the people to do what they wanted.
And yet they boasted about their achievements, their strength and power (v. 13). They had horns like the wild ox and stood ready to gore any adversaries. But God said they were boasting about nothing (“Lo Debar”). They rejoiced in their own strength, and they would soon discover their own strength was no strength at all. Everything done apart from God is nothing, for it cannot last.
Boast in God and obey Him, or all your boasts will be of nothing.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Trigger warning: The use of the word stupid will appear several times in this piece.
“Can horses run on rocks? Can oxen plow the sea?
Stupid even to ask—but no more stupid than what you do when you
make a mockery of justice and corrupt and sour all that should be good and right.
And just as stupid is your rejoicing in how great you are when you are less than nothing—
and priding yourselves on your own tiny power!” (Amos 6.12, 13 TLB)
How about this for prideful thinking?
For what is man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes, it was my way.
Sounds pretty stupid to me.
Hard to believe Frank Sinatra boldly and proudly sang that song.
Harder still to believe that we probably all hummed along.
Just like the people of Amos’ day would have, had they heard the recording of Ol’ Blue Eyes.
We cannot miss the point of what happens to those who truly believe this, and act upon it.
God will break the prideful into bits and pieces (Amos 6.11); make no mistake.
“You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, for their deceit is falsehood” (Ps. 119.118).
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—
is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 Jn. 2.15-17).
Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (Jn. 4.34).
We say, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40.8).
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7.21).
Paul said, “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone,
but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5.15-18).
Amos said, Put pride aside. Boast only in the Lord.
And never do it your way! Stupid—and dangerous—even to try.
Reflection
1. Why are we so often and easily tempted to do things our way rather than God’s?
2. What’s the best way to resist that temptation when it arises?
3. Whom will you encourage today to seek the Lord and walk in His way?
A thing of nought he calls those fallacies, by which they were wont to deceive, not only others, but also their own selves. For hypocrites not only falsely pretend the name of God, but also deceive themselves by self flatteries, when they arrogate to themselves the name of Church, and the empty title of adoption and other things. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Amos 6.13
Pray Psalm 50.5-15, 22, 23.
Pray that your worship of God will not be empty and a thing of “nought”. Call on the Lord to fill your worship, and the worship of your church, with thanksgiving, praise, and renewed devotion, week by week.
Sing Psalm 50.5-15, 22, 23.
(Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
“Gather now My children holy, those bound close to Me by blood.”
Let the heav’ns declare His glory, for the LORD Himself is Judge:
“Hear, My people, I will charge you; I alone am God, your God!
I will bring a solemn charge to gain you to Me for your good.
“Not for rituals I accuse you—let your worship to Me rise.
Naught to Me is any use, Who dwells in glory in the skies.
All is mine throughout creation; I your help do not require.
Offer Me no vain oblation, hear what I from you desire:
“Sacrifice of thanks now render; pay to God your solemn vows;
let the troubled, each offender, seek Him in the midst of woes.
In the day of strife draw near Him; He will hear, and He will save.
Honor God, rejoice, and fear Him, give to Him your grateful praise.
“Reckon this, My sinful people, lest My wrath consume you whole:
None shall thwart Me when I seek to crush and break your sin-stiff soul.
He who thanks to Me addressing, follows after what is good,
He shall know the way of blessing coming from the hand of God.”
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
