There are several false confidences that can be identified in Amos 6:1–2:
Firstly, there is a confidence in strongholds, Amos 6:1. Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria. Zion and Samaria were hilltop fortresses that could be well defended against enemies. Living in these cities, you knew you were safe from any Philistine raids or bandits. This gave the people of Israel a confidence that they had nothing to fear from the nations around them and thus had no real need for God to care for and protect them.
Secondly, there is a confidence in status and power. Again in Amos 6:1 we find Amos speaking to notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes. Here are the leaders, the political elite. They think to themselves:
If trouble comes, it will not be us who suffer. We are important. Our lives are significant. We have value.
These people had a confidence in their status. Even if something bad might happen to the rest of Israel, they would be safe because they are important.Thirdly, there is confidence in success. Amos 6:2 mentions various towns and cities that have very recently been conquered by Israel. King Jeroboam’s armies are strong and so the people cry out in verse Amos 6:13,
Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?
Life is going well for Israel. The country as a whole is enjoying prosperity. There is political stability and no real threat from their neighbours. The result of this is a confidence that the future will be bright and that God must be pleased with them.
As we consider the confidences that the people of Israel had, we should notice that many of them are the same confidences that are encouraged by our societies today. We call it self-esteem and consider it important to instill these values in our children. The world is your oyster because you are good at lots of things—you have your strongholds. Here is a badge on your blazer to show everyone just how special you are—you have status. Your exam results were excellent, you have achieved so much during your time at this school—you have success.
We might think that these values are fair and important things to learn. Why wouldn’t we want our children to have the confidence and skills they need to live in this world? Prizes, badges, and certificates are needed to help them. Fair enough, but we should realize that these kind of values are exactly the same as the ones that the people of Israel had. And so we should ask ourselves: what did it do for them? What did this kind of self-esteem and self-confidence result in?
We find the answer in Amos 6:8: it resulted in pride. The people of Israel were not humble but proud. The humility which is essential for justice and righteousness was absent from them. And pride itself is also the opposite of what God is like. Pride is a self-centred focus on me and my abilities that results in us treating God as if he is my servant. It ignores the fact that God is at the centre of everything and lets me take that place instead.
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!