Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come! Go to Calneh and look at it; go from there to great Hamath, and then go down to Gath in Philistia. Are they better off than your two kingdoms? Is their land larger than yours? You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. (Amos 6:1-6 NIV)
"You deserve a break today..." goes the familiar jingle. It does have a certain allure. With the pressures of our work, our hectic and busy schedules, sometimes we very much feel like we need a break.
Rest, comfort, ease; these are things to be desired, even in the Christian life. Christ said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Christ invites us to lay down our heavy burdens at His feet and enjoy the rest that He gives. Psalm 25:13 says, "His soul shall dwell at ease, and his seed shall inherit the earth." Jeremiah 46:27 reads, "Jacob shall return and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid." Again, in Hebrews 4:9 we read, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." As believers, we are promised a Sabbath rest, a time when we can enter into the rest of the Lord. We are also promised, as Christians, the peace of Christ in our lives. These are good things, things to be desired, things which encourage us in the midst of our struggle. Indeed, the peace of Christ and the rest of God are marks of the Christian life. These are distinctives which set us apart from the wicked.
The Bible says, "The wicked are like a troubled sea which cannot rest; whose waters cast up mire and dirt." Again, the Scripture says, in Deuteronomy 28:65, "And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind." We see from these Scriptures that Christians are promised rest and peace, while those who would be hardened in the rebelliousness of sin are promised trouble and sorrow. They shall seek for rest and not find it. But for the Christian, rest and peace are things worth praying for. Isaiah 32:17 says, "And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
But there is a terrible sense in which the word "rest" may be used. There is a sense in which our rest may be carnal rest, or fleshly rest. Here I am talking, not about confidence in Christ, but about a hardening of the heart, a callousness to the things of God. I am not talking here about the security of one who is on the Rock, but about the abandon of one whose house is on the sand. I am not talking about the peace of Christ which comes with knowing you are being used for His purposes, but about growing lazy and apathetic.
The book of Amos speaks to the people of God concerning the danger of growing apathetic in our commitment to God. The Lord was always sending His prophets to His people. He did not primarily send them to the heathen. The best thing God can do for the heathen is to get his people right. Throughout the pages of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, the man of God is sent to the people of God, in order to stir their hearts to a renewed, holy devotion to God. When revival breaks out in the Church, among the people of God, then lives will be changed in the world.
So, let’s turn our attention to this Old Testament prophet. His message is timeless. If we listen closely, I believe we will hear a word for today to us. I believe we will hear a challenge from the very throne of God.
In the days in which Amos prophesied, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was separated from the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Amos was from Judah, but God gave him a message for Israel. It was a message which burned within his heart. Amos had heard the Lord. He said, in chapter 1 verse 2, "The Lord roars from Zion, and from Jerusalem He utters His voice." And because Amos had heard God, he had to speak. One of my favorite passages is Amos 3:8. It typifies the burden of the messenger of God to deliver His message. Amos says there, "A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?"
And prophesy he did. Amos was a master preacher. He knew how to deliver a sermon. The first two chapters of this book reveal his brilliance at psychologically building the message in the mind of the people in order to drive it home with an explosive impact. In these two chapters, he is pronouncing the judgment of God on the sins of the nations. But he does not start with the sins of Israel. He starts with the sins of nations far off, the sins of the heathen nations.
In Amos 1:3 we read, "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.’" Then He goes on to pronounce the judgment which God would send upon them. No doubt, when the people of Israel heard that God would judge Damascus, they said, "Amen, Amos. Preach it! They certainly deserve judgment."
Amos goes on. In 1:6 he says, "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom.’" "Amen, Amos. Preach on!"
In 1:9, Amos continues, "Thus says the Lord, ‘"For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they delivered up an entire population to Edom and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.’" "Amen, Amos. They deserve it. Preach on!"
In 1:11, "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword, while he stifled his compassion.’" "You’re right, Amos. Edom deserves it. Preach on!"
In 1:13, "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women at Gilead in order to enlarge their borders.’" "What a horrible sin! Amos, preach on!"
In 2:1, "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.’" A chorus of Amens go up from the crowd.
Then Amos brings it closer to home in 2:4. "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept His statutes.’" Now, Judah was their sister nation, but Israel had gone their own way. "Amen, Amos. Preach on!"
Then Amos, in a stroke of preaching brilliance, drives his point home in 2:6. "Thus says the Lord, ‘For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment, because they sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals.’" "Israel? That’s us! Wait a minute, Amos! You’ve quit preaching and gone to meddling!" But God had a word for Israel from this prophet. He also has a word for us.
"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria." (Amos 6:1a)
The first problem the people of God faced was the problem of trusting in a false security. This problem was not unique to the people of God then, nor is it today.
Amos thunders forth the word of the Lord, "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria." There were many in that day, as there are in ours, who were content to trust in outward symbols. Amos said they were "complacent in Zion." He said they "feel secure on Mount Samaria." These are phrases which signify the community of God’s people. In other words, Amos was preaching to God’s people concerning the security they felt in the trappings of religion. They were now trusting it these things. They had become complacent.
But it was false security. They were trusting in their own sufficiency. After all, they were the people of God, were they not? Surely if they attended church now and then, they would be all right. "Not so," says Amos. Trusting in the outward trappings of religion were not enough.
Amos was saying much the same thing as Jeremiah said. In Jeremiah 7:1-4 we read, The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’" Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’" There have always been those who trust in outward symbols of their religion, such as church membership or baptism or confirmation, or some other rite or ceremony. Some people wear crosses, as if they have some magical power, and they feel secure. But this is false security. Coming to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. If you are trusting in these outward things, beware. This is false security. You are only in the eye of the storm.
God calls us to follow Him. We must not be secure in our own sufficiency. It is so easy to become apathetic; to take the Lord for granted, to put other things before Him. But beware. Do not mistake the patience of the Lord for His approval. Some think that because God has not judged them, that God approves of what they are doing. But what you may be experiencing is not the approval of God, but His mercy. God is patient with us because He wants us to repent. We must not take the goodness of the Lord for granted. While His mercy is great, His justice is sure. We must beware lest we become complacent — trusting in a false security.
Amos speaks next to the danger of letting ourselves fall into a lazy stupor. It is the problem of becoming comfortable. Simply put, the warning is: Don’t be lulled to sleep! Look at how he describes this danger in the lifestyle of these people.
He says, "You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves." Here we have a scene or prosperity. It is the middle-class syndrome. He says that they "lie on beds inlaid with ivory." Here are people who take seriously the admonition of our contemporary jingle, "You deserve a break today." What is in view here is recreation. Their lives center around themselves. After all, why should God mind? They give him a little money once in a while, and a little time once in a while. What else could He expect? I mean, surely He doesn’t want them to center their lives around Him. These are the people who want to be saved and blessed and happy on their own terms.
But Amos goes on. In verse 5, he describes them. "You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments." They enjoy great worship, and they delight in artistic originality. But again, self is at the center. They enjoy it for themselves. They love to be pleased. In verse 6 we read "You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions."
Then he brings the charge against them: "but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph." The charge was apathy. Israel was unconcerned. They were insensitive. They were apathetic. They were content to go through the motions while only caring for themselves.
This is what it means to be "complacent in Zion." Being complacent means our heart isn’t in it. Being complacent means we don’t really care. We "do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph." Christianity has become an intellectual thing to us. We "consider" the claims of Christ and the commandments of God, but we don’t take them seriously. And so we are lulled to sleep. Keith Green summed it up well when he said, "The world is lost in the darkness while the church is asleep in the light." Sometimes the church is shaky about what it believes and so does little. A far greater problem, however, it that too many Christians are simply not shaken by what they believe.
The real issue is brought clearly into focus by this phrase "you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph." In Amos day this charge meant that Israel was unconcerned about the fate of their brethren in the South. God was concerned. His heart was broken. But their heart was unmoved. They were out of "sync" with the heart of God.
If we would apply this to ourselves, we must ask a very pointed question. Are our hearts in "sync" with the heart of God? Are we moved by the things that move Him? Are we people who care about the things God cares about? Is our passion His passion?
His passion is people. He reached out to us when we were without hope and poured out His grace upon us. This is why Jesus came and lived and died. We must realize that true fulfillment does not come when we receive Jesus. True fulfillment only comes when we live like Jesus. And Jesus lived for others. He poured out His life for people. That was His focus and that should be ours as well.
It’s so easy to become content in just going through the motions — so easy to take things for granted. Sometimes we need a wake-up call like the one Amos gave to Israel. We seek so many things that do not satisfy us. God asks in Isaiah 55:2, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?" We will only be satisfied when we spend our lives caring about the spiritual welfare of others. That’s how God made us.
This is a satisfaction money cannot buy. Once Mother Teresa was followed around Calcutta by a gentleman interested in her work. At one point he exclaimed, "Mother Teresa, I wouldn’t do this kind of work for a million dollars!" She replied, "Oh, neither would I!" Here is someone who cares. Here was someone who did "grieve over the ruin of Joseph."
An artist, seeking to depict on canvas the meaning of evangelism, painted a storm at sea. Black clouds filled the sky. Illuminated by a flash of lightning, a little boat could be seen disintegrating under the pounding of the ocean. Men were struggling in the swirling waters, their anguished faces crying out for help. The only glimmer of hope appeared in the foreground of the painting, where a large rock protruded out of the water. There, clutching desperately with both hands, was one lone seaman.
It was a moving scene. Looking at the painting, one could see in the tempest a symbol of mankind’s hopeless condition. And, true to the Gospel, the only hope of salvation was "the Rock of Ages", a shelter in the time of storm.
But as the artist reflected upon his work, he realized that the painting did not accurately portray his subject. So he discarded the canvas, and painted another. It was very similar to the first: the black clouds, the flashing lightning, the angry waters, the little boat crushed by the pounding waves, and the crew vainly struggling in the water. In the foreground the seaman was clutching the large rock for salvation. But the artist made one change: the survivor was holding on with only one hand, and with the other hand he was reaching down to pull up a drowning friend.
This is the call to us as believers. It is a call to awaken from our sleep and become people who care enough to do something to touch the lives of those who need to know the Lord.
Keith Green was right. The world is lost in the darkness. But we in the church must not be asleep in the light!
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