Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Amos+006

 

Amos 6 (ESV)

¹² Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
¹³ you who rejoice in Lo-debar,
who say, “Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim for ourselves?”
¹⁴ “For behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of the Arabah.”
REFLECTION:

• Chapter 6 is the last section of the prophet’s warning to the Israelites, and it is also a summary statement. In it, we only saw the announcement of punishment, and no words of advice or promise. This is the portrayal of what Israel will encounter in the future.
• The two parables in verse 12 represent things that cannot happen, but the Israelites acted this way (12b), completely despising God’s disposition and teachings, and trying to seek power and authority (the meaning of Karnaim) with their own power, but put themselves under the judgment of God.
• “A nation” (14) refers to Assyria, Lebo-hamath is the northernmost part of the northern kingdom (see 2 Kings 14:25), about 150 miles north of Damascus, and the Brook of the Arabah is the exit of the Dead Sea, meaning the extreme south. The whole country is under the oppression of Assyria.

 

PRAYER:

Lord, if I am stuck in my sins, please punish me, but please enable me to turn back and return to under Your protection.

 

HYMN:

In Christ Alone – youtu.be/16KYvfIc2bE