Why am I so Complacently Self-Indulgent? - Amos 6 Exegesis
The Revised Standard Version translation of the holy writings titles this chapter Complacent Self-Indulgence Will Be Punished. We must remember that titles, chapters and verses are additions to the holy writings that the original authors did not invent. Nevertheless, this title is delightful and informative. Complacent self-indulgence is a sin I am more acquainted with then I would like to admit, and yet here I am admitting it. Complacent self-indulgence is the wasting of precious time, granted to us freely by God, on humor, wit and creativity that deceptively treats dirt and dust (us) as if they were the heavens. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! Cross over to Calneh, and see; from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is your territory greater than their territory,
Context and nuance are of the utmost importance always and everywhere. There is a historical context to which these verses are speaking. Better commentators than I have already exegeted the historical context of this passage. See pages 64-66 of Father Paul Nadim Tarazi's The Old Testament: An Introduction, Volume 2, Prophetic Traditions. I shall use this space to see what these words of the blessed prophet Amos (okay maybe temp prophet or part-time prophet according to him). If you don't know where the book/prophecies of Amos is(are) look at the 12 prophetic books that precede the gospel according to Saint Matthew in your Bible.
O! You go to church? Every Sunday? Wow. The Orthodox Church? How grand. The Roman Catholic Church? How bold. Your non-denominational? You're so hip. I'm sure you have a pure and undefiled worship of God the Father. Just as Israel was not exempt from transgressions against God and transgressions against their neighbors (everyone), you are not exempt from transgressions against God and transgressions against your neighbors. The new Israel is the heavenly Jerusalem which is the true one, holy, universal and apostolic Church. If you are a part of this Church, The Church, preached by Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you must acknowledge your transgressions against God and against your neighbors.
O you that put far away the evil day, and bring near a reign of violence?
The evil day is the day of judgment. The day of the Second Coming of Jesus of Nazareth. This is another sign of the condescension of God. His mercy is so bountiful that He puts his perfect words into our imperfect languages. Of course His judgment is not evil. His judgment is more precious than Federal Reserve Notes, yay than even the printing press of the Federal Reserve Bank, and sweeter than Cinnabon classic rolls. Why then does Amos, the mouth of God in this moment, call the day of our judgment "the evil day"? The day of our judgment of God should not be welcome to us if we have not repented of our transgressions toward God and toward our neighbors.
Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;
This is a classing indictment of excess which is the same as throwing the poor into a furnace or deliberately punching them in the face. The Apostle Saint Paul exhorts us to be content if we have food and clothing. That never seems to be enough stuff for us to buy and decorate our lives with. [Insert your excess here]. When we stand with the afflicted, we are buying stuff for and decorating our lives to come, our lives in the kingdom of the heavens. Sloth is one of those sins we forget about, but it is indubitably a transgression against God and neighbor. St. Paul tells us to do everything we do as if it were for the Lord. Laying on the couch, not working hard in school, not working hard at work, not working hard at church are all transgressions. We need to work diligently and often for the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth if we take His kingdom seriously.
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
O! To be a young Christian black man. Young Christian black men don't have to be this way, but I certainly am, and my experiences tell me that I am not alone. Rarely does a verse indict me so thoroughly as these words of Amos do.
I love freestyle rap/hip-hop. I love jammin', and Bob Marley hopes you like jammin' too. Quoting 1 Timothy 5:23, I love to drink wine with my friends and alone. If you're headed to the function, you have to faintly throw Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Gio on your neck and upper chest so that the ladies know you smell pleasantly, but that you are not trying too hard. Joseph is Israel and Israel is the Church. So... Joseph is the poor, the Otherized/Othered, the marginalized, the made fun of, the bullied, the bombed, the stereotyped, the hated, the cursed, the afflicted and the oppressed. Every moment I spend freestylin', jammin', drinking wine with friends and spraying cologne on my neck and upper chest is a moment of complacent self-indulgence. It is a moment of my transgression against God and against my neighbor. It is a moment that I should have spent in fasting, praying and giving alms to the poor.
I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds; and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.
Like all other transgressions, our pride is the root of our neglecting the poor. We want to spend time on our selves instead of on God and our neighbor because we think we own our time and we delight in mocking the dominion of God over 'our' time.
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood— you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, “Have we not by our own strength taken Karnaim for ourselves?”
These are two rhetorical questions. You know damn well that horses should not be running on rocks and the absurdity and madness of plowing the sea with oxen. You know these things because they are earthly and fleshly. You neglect the heavenly. The heavenly ideas are the justice and the righteousness of God. These are what we should boast of. These are the weightier matters of The Law. Poison and wormwood are things depised by us and instead we should despise the neglecting of God's justice and righteousness. Lo-debar is nothingness and Karnaim means horns (symbols of power). The Bible repetitively mocks the power of mankind by reminding her that she is nothing but dust and she shall return to dust unless she repents. God does not care about your titles, accolades, achievements and awards. God cares about the extent to which you want to do His justice and righteousness on Earth.
Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on us sinners, see to it that we act in accordance with your justice and righteousness at all times of everyday and thank you for permitting us to do so.
Furthermore, we must love each other.