At Ease In Zion Series

Introduction

The title of this sermon is “At Ease in Zion.” It comes from Amos 6:1a, which states, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “ease” as “the state of being comfortable.” So why would Amos pronounce a “woe” on those who are at ease? The New International Version of the Bible gets to the problem as it translates this line as, “Woe to you who are complacent in Zion.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “complacent” as “self-satisfied” and “unconcerned.”

There is an “ease,” however, that the Bible commends. For example, Jesus said in Matthew 11:28–29, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” The book of Hebrews speaks of a Sabbath rest in Hebrews 4:9–11, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” The Apostle John writes in Revelation 14:13, “ ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’ ” And since we are told in Isaiah 57:20 (NIV84) that “the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest,” there is clearly a right kind of rest for the people of God.

On the other hand, there is a wrong kind of rest or ease. This is what Amos is talking about in Amos 6. It is the ease of complacency. The people who professed to belong to God were self-satisfied and unconcerned about where they stood with God. After all, their country was prosperous and they were at peace with the surrounding nations. Surely, that was a sign of God’s blessing on them as a people?

Amos was sent by God to present an indictment to the people who professed faith in God. He showed them the many ways in which they had perverted righteousness. And he indicated how God was going to punish them.

Scripture

Let us read Amos 6:1-14:

1 “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!

2 Pass over to Calneh, and see,

and from there go to Hamath the great;

then go down to Gath of the Philistines.

Are you better than these kingdoms?

Or is their territory greater than your territory,

3 O you who put far away the day of disaster

and bring near the seat of violence?

4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory

and stretch themselves out on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock

and calves from the midst of the stall,

5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp

and like David invent for themselves

instruments of music,

6 who drink wine in bowls

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those

who go into exile,

and the revelry of those who stretch

themselves out shall pass away.”

8 The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

“I abhor the pride of Jacob

and hate his strongholds,

and I will deliver up the city and all that

is in it.”

9 And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, “Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For behold, the Lord commands,

and the great house shall be struck down into

fragments,

and the little house into bits.

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.” (Amos 6:1-14)