(REFLECTIONS ON Amos 6:1-14)

In Romans 1:25, Paul writes,

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

This is the fundamental problem with humanity in the face of the God that created all of creation. There is a fine line between worshiping and serving God, and worshiping and serving the creature created by God.

Can we tell the difference? Perhaps it is more nuanced than we think. Have we exchanged the truth of God for a lie, but the lie is so good, so deep, so nuanced, than we don’t realize that we have taken God’s creation, removed God, and are left with the creature, not the Creator?

This is what is happening in Amos 6,

1 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria,
The distinguished men of the foremost of nations,
To whom the house of Israel comes.

Israel should be secure in the Lord. Yes, they should be at ease in the hands of the Creator. However, once you remove the Lord, and are just left with creation, rather than being secure and at ease in the Source, we can easily become secure and at ease in His creation instead.

Perhaps this is nuanced also and not as clear cut and easy to identify as we think. Israel was to be secure in the Lord, but they became secure in the things of the Lord. Small difference, but huge impact.

Being secure in the things of God versus God Himself again can feel like a small difference, but it had massive repercussions.

Let us come to the Lord today in prayer and worship. Let us let the Holy Spirit manifest in our heart and take a long hard look at our faith. Do we have faith in the Creator, or in the Creator’s creatures?

May we live a life dedicated to the Creator through Jesus Christ our Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and not just in what He has done or what He has created.

Let’s not chase the miracles, the healings, the works, but the Source.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Amos 6