Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
When I watch golf or tennis on television, I often see commercials for financial advisors featuring middle aged people in smiling contentment as if all is right in the world because they invested wisely. Amos may have been the earliest writer of prophecy in the Bible, predating Isaiah by half a century or so. Therefore, he would be the first to warn the soft and rich of Israel that all their retirement accounts would soon belong to a foreign army, the Assyrians. The reason given here, among others, was their contentment and faith in their own abilities and security. The mountain of Samaria was a built-in fortress for them, protecting them from enemies but they acted as if they built it. God provided that mountain and woe is coming to those who forget it.
Woe to the church that is so comfortable that they are a veritable fortress against the perils of the world, poverty, homelessness, addiction, and sin. They are cozy in their large buildings, oblivious to the chaos and their commandment to love their neighbor as themselves. This is not because I say so. Jesus said similar things like Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” As we go about our day today, let us open our eyes and ears to the hurting people around us and, as Jesus commands, love them as we love ourselves. I cannot say exactly what loving our neighbor looks like but Amos tells us the opposite results in…
Woe to those who are at ease.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church