Along with pride, Israel’s misplaced confidences also made the people selfish. In Amos 6:12 a series of rhetorical questions are asked by the prophet. He shows the people how strange it would be to find horses running on rocky ground or oxen ploughing it, because he wants to point out that Israel has done something equally strange: they have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness. The people of God, people who have been blessed with wonderful covenant privileges and power, have used those blessings to take advantage of others. They have behaved in a way that is the complete opposite of who God is and how he has treated them.
Amos 6:3–7 expands on the results of Israel’s selfishness. Because the people put away the day of disaster (the evil day, Amos 6:3)—in other words, because they do not think of God, his grace, his judgment, and how they must one day stand before him—the result is a reign of terror. The selfishness of Israel’s leaders is hurting people. Examples of selfish behaviour is then given in Amos 6:4–6 with the concluding statement, you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. The elite are not concerned about what happens to the rest of God’s people. Israel’s self-confidence had resulted in a selfish use of resources.
When we look at our society today and the world in general, self-confidence is considered one of the best attitudes we can teach our children. Should we be surprised to find that our societies are correspondingly selfish and proud? Thankfully most people still consider selfishness to be a problem. We do not like the fact that money and power are abused for selfish ends and we are quick to point the finger at those at the top of society.
Most people also agree that something must be done about this selfishness. We must humble these people and help them feel less insecure about themselves so that they do not need to buy a fancy yacht, a grand car, or a big house in order to feel valued. We want to influence them to be more concerned for love and justice because they have the resources to make a big difference. But the mistake we make is to think we can deal with selfishness without considering the root of this problem. We can carry on emphasizing success, status, and possessions but somehow we will get different results.
Amos, however, is telling us that you cannot adequately address the problem of selfishness when you have people putting their confidence in themselves rather than God. If you want to fix this problem, you must begin by teaching people who God is and that he is at the centre of everything.
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!