Amos is one of Israel’s prophets who warns the complacent rich about their obligation on God’s behalf to the poor. His warning mocks the lifestyle of the rich and famous of his day. They lie on ivory beds, eating and drinking well, listening to music, and paying no attention to the people of the ten northern tribes whose kingdom the Assyrians conquered in 721 B.C. Joseph in the reading refers to the northern kingdom.
Their neighbors have had their homes destroyed, and their orchards and olive groves hacked down. This destruction does not touch the people Amos addresses.
Amos speaks woes.
Woe to the complacent in Zion!
Lying on beds of ivory, stretched
comfortably on their couches,
They eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the stall!
Improvising to the music
of the harp, like David,
they devise their own accompaniment.
They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves
with the best oils;
yet they are not made ill
by the collapse of Joseph!
Therefore, now they shall be
the first to go into exile,
and their wanton revelry
shall be done away with.
Amos 6.1,4-7
- About what are you too complacent?
- Who is collapsing in our world to whom we should be attending?