Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. ~ Amos 6:1a, 4-7
We've had quite a stretch of passages about God's feelings about wealth and poverty.
This one, however, has what might be the best lines of all: the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
Or as the Message Bible puts it: a rag-tag-bunch-of-good-for-nothings!
Amos was telling those Israelites used to partying and displaying their gratuitous wealth, that they would be the first ones to be taken when the invaders arrived.
What is it they say? The higher you go, the harder you fall?
These were the folks who ate, drank, and made merry while their other citizens starved.
Now, the way our current geopolitical situation is, it's unlikely that those of us in the US will be taken into exile anytime soon.
But then again, given the current geopolitical situation, I suppose anything is possible these days, as we saw with Ukraine. So to use another cliche, I won't count my chickens before they hatch.
Because if something did happen, do I want to be caught lounging?
Move me out of my stupor, God. Help me not to keep resting while your world is weary. Amen