Study Seven – Amos Chapter 6 – Arrogant Militarism Destroyed

Amos condemns arrogant militarism, false security and the loss of even basic common sense.

1. Amos 6:1-3 Samaria was a fortress city, it took a three-year siege before it was captured by the Assyrians. The inhabitants felt secure, but it was a false security. How do people and nations trust in their own schemes for security to “put away the day of disaster”?
2. Amos 6:4-6 “Joseph” was another name for the Northern Kingdom. How does a life of luxury make people tone deaf to their surrounding social and spiritual conditions?
3. Amos 6:7 What would be the fate of the arrogant rulers of Samaria?
4. Amos 6:8 What is God’s attitude to their pompous national pride and militarism?
5. Amos 6:9-11 “House” here means the family, servants and all the dynastic succession similar to “the great houses of England”. What was God going to do to these social elites with their sense of utter entitlement?
6. Amos 6:12 A puzzling metaphor. The questions imply the answer “No, that would be very stupid and harmful”. So, God regards the unjust social system in Israel as equally stupid and harmful. When societies reject God they also reject common sense. How are we seeing that in society today?
7. Amos 6:13 Lo-Debar, literally “ a thing of nothing” which may have been a small town that was captured. A bit like the USA capturing Grenada. Tiny, almost imaginary victories were puffing their militarism up with pride. How do we turn tiny victories in our lives into a source of egotism?
8. Amos 6:14 “For I shall raise up against you a nation” How does God use nations to carry out His purposes, even pagan nations, to fulfill His prophecies?
9. What attitudes make a society toxic, unsafe, and detestable to God?