Do you remember when you were in elementary school—when the teacher made the whole class walk in a single file line? Whether it was a bathroom break, a trip to the cafeteria for lunch, or a walk to the playground for recess, elementary teachers make their students walk in single file lines to maintain order and safety through the narrow hallways. The teacher also had a rule that if someone tried to push or cut to the front of the line, they would get sent to the end of the line.
I’m ashamed to admit that I broke this rule on multiple occasions. Even after all these years, I can still hear my teacher’s voices echoing in my ears, “Mr. McConnell, no cutting! Get to the back of the line! You can get your lunch last today!” And I still remember their pulpit pounding voices preaching, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” At the time, I had no idea that they were quoting Jesus!
Even though Jesus’ point was those who have every privilege here on earth are often the last to realize their need for a Savior, while those with little or nothing in the way of material possessions are often among the first, many school teachers (and parents) have used Jesus’ words to literally help them “keep their children in line.” Have you ever used the famous phrase for your personal advantage?
But many years before Jesus coined this phrase, the prophet Amos introduced the principle in an inverted way. In chapter 6 of his book, Amos employs the principle that “the first shall be first.” By this, he means that those who push their way to the front of the line in this life will be the first in the judgment line. For those who arrogantly cut in front of others to gain or maintain wealth and power, God will send them to the front of the line to face judgment. For the leaders of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel who became spiritually complacent and conceited, they would indeed be the first to be taken into exile.
As we have seen in earlier chapters,Amos continues to rebuke the pursuit of wealth, abuse of power, rampant materialism, and misplaced priorities that are so common in his day. Amos’ prophecy, which was delivered some 2700 years ago, still has much to say to modern America and the contemporary Christian church. In this passage, Amos addresses the issues of conceit and complacency.
The First in Conceit(1-3, 8)
Like other prophets of his time, Amos was inspired by God to speak words of warning against the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The “woe” in verse 1 is directed to Zion (Jerusalem) and Samaria, the capital cities of each respective kingdom. As these cites grew in importance, they became cities of conspicuous wealth and substantial political power. This caused the “notable men” (i.e. political leaders) to become conceited. Instead of putting their faith in God, they placed their trust in themselves, especially in their wealth and power. These distinguished people had a false confidence about being the elite of “the first of the nations.” They took pride in their high position on top of the world, but God was about to bring them down. They pushed and cut their way to the front on the line, but Amos reminds them that the first would be first to face God’s judgment. (Stuart 358)
The notable people in Zion and Samaria may have thought of themselves as important, but Amos’ prophecy reminds them that they were no better or no worse than the nearby nations that they had subjugated. Calneh and Hameth were Aramean cities and Gath was one of the five great Philistine cities. Israel ruled over all of them at the time, but they were not better off. Amos is making the point that Israel had no right to think that they were “the first among nations.”
If you skip down to verse 8, Amos calls out Judah’s conceit explicitly. He quotes God as saying, “I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.” The kingdom of Judah had become arrogant. They thought they were the greatest nation in the world; they believed that they were invincible. They placed their trust in their national defenses rather than their true Protector, but all of this was about to change. Their conceit would be the catalyst of their destruction; their pride would lead to their demise. Those who pushed to be first would be the first to face God’s judgment.
Similar to ancient Israel, over the past 200 years, America has grown in economic wealth, political influence, and military might. Since the Cold War, America has been ranked as world’s number one super-power. But as America has gained strength in all of these areas, I wonder if our nation has fallen into the same trap as Judah and Israel? I wonder if we have become conceited? I wonder if our national success has led to pride and arrogance? I wonder if we think our country is invincible? I wonder if our faith has shifted away from God as our Creator, Sustainer, and Protector and has been replaced by faith in ourselves. After all, America’s motto is no longer “In God We Trust.” It has been replaced by “Believe in Yourself!”, “Follow Your Heart!”, and “You Can Do Anything You Want!”
One of the best television series I’ve watched in the last few years is Aaron Sorkin’s Amazon Prime series titled “The Newsroom.” In the inaugural episode, cable news anchor Will McAvoy (played by Jeff Daniels) is participating in a political panel discussion at an American university. A college girl asks the three panelists the question:“Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?
After the token liberal and conservative panelists give their pat answers, McAvoy stuns the capacity crowd when he responds: “It’s not the greatest country in the world. That’s my answer.” Then he launches into a solemn soliloquy:
You’re gonna tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we’re the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom! So, 207 sovereign states in the world, like 180 of them have freedom. And yeah, you… sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there’s some things you should know. One of them is: there’s absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force and number 4 in exports. We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student, but you, nonetheless, are, without a doubt, a member of the worst period generation period ever period, so when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world, I don’t know what… you’re talking about! Yosemite?!
[Silence]
It sure used to be… We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reason. We passed laws, struck down laws, for moral reason. We waged wars on poverty, not on poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were and we never beat our chest. We built great, big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases and we cultivated the world’s greatest artists AND the world’s greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed… by great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.”
When I read Amos’ words to Judah and Israel here, I can’t help but wonder about the future of America. When I hear people today proudly proclaim that “America is the greatest country in the world,” I can’t help but hear Amos’ question in verse 2: “Are you better than these kingdoms?” The first in conceit shall be the first to face God’s judgment!
The First in Complacency(4-7)
Amos issues his second “Woe” in verse 4 when he takes aim at Judah and Israel’s complacency. He lambasts those who lay around on their comfortable couches and elaborate wooden beds inlayed with ivory. He lampoons those who gorge themselves on luxurious foods like roasted rack of lamb and veal parmesan. This may not seem so extravagant to us today, but many Israelites probably only ate meat a few times a year. By contrast, the wealthy could demand choice meats whenever they wanted.
In verse 5 Amos lobs a bomb of divine judgment on those “who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music.” This is his way of accusing the rich of living like royalty—those who had enough time on their hands to make music. The average Israelite would never have time to indulge in such leisurely pursuits.
In verse 6 Amos condemns the affluent Israelites “who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils.” These are images of decadence and debauchery. Instead of drinking wine from a cup, they were drinking straight from the storage basins. All the while they paid no attention to the prophetic warnings of ensuing disaster.
Notice the ironic pronouncement of judgment in verse 7! Since these “notable men” were “first among the nations”, they would also “be the first to go into exile.” Those who were living the high life would be brought down. Those who pushed themselves to the front of the line so they could indulge themselves in feasting, drinking, and leisure at the expense of the poor, were about to be pushed to the front of God’s judgment line.
This passage presents a helpful checkup for each for our sinful souls. Amos forces us to ask ourselves some tough questions about the habits of our hearts—questions like:
- How do I use the money God has entrusted to my stewardship? Do I ever exploit or neglect the poor for my own selfish purposes?
- How do I use the precious time God has given me? How much time do I spend in prayer and worship compared to leisurely pursuits?
- Am I truly content with what God has given me or do I secretly hungering for more?
- How have my physical comforts led to spiritual complacency?
- Am I really living my life to please the Lord or am I living to please myself?
- Do I ever try to push or cut my way to the front of the lines of life?
These are all good questions for us to consider in light of Amos’ prophecy. We would also do well to review Jesus’ words:
- Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
- Matthew 16:25-26: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The first in complacency shall be the first to face God’s judgment!
As I conclude today’s sermon today, let me briefly allude to verses 9-14 where Amos once again describes the great destruction that will befall both kingdoms if they don’t repent from their conceit and complacency. Amos uses the analogy of a great house that is struck down and obliterated into bits and pieces. The house obviously represents the nation of Israel!
Friends, Amos is calling our nation and each one of us to humble ourselves before the Lord! He is calling us to repent from our conceit and complacency—our materialism and our misplaced priorities! He is compelling us to realign our lives with the one who would one day send his own son to die on the cross for our sins. He is reminding us that the first shall be first God’s judgment!