The Bible

 

Amos 6

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1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

2 Pass unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go to Hamath the great; and go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;

5 that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;

6 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.

7 Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

8 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.

9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10 And a man's uncle, and he that should burn him, shall take him up to bring out the bones from the house, and shall say unto him that is in the inner parts of the house, Is there yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, None. And he will say, Silence! for we may not make mention of Jehovah's name.

11 For behold, Jehovah commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will [men] plough [thereon] with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

13 -- ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us power by our own strength?

14 For behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah the God of hosts, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the torrent of the Arabah.

   

Commentary

 

Exploring the Meaning of Amos 6

By Helen Kennedy

Woe is called upon people who seem to live a life of ease and fill it with pleasures -- for example, those who “eat lambs from the flock.” (Amos 6:4)

Using the significations mentioned elsewhere in Swedenborg’s works, this could mean “those who attribute innocence (the lamb) to themselves,” or think they are blameless when they have actually sinned.

Also, to ask, “Do horses run on rocks?”(Amos 6:12) is a great image for when our understanding is filled with only literal or external truths but doesn’t delve into deeper ones that show the Lord’s leading more clearly.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9852

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9852. 'And two small chains of pure gold' means coherence with the good of the whole kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'small chains' as coherence (the reason why 'small chains' has this meaning is that such chains serve to join things together, and when joined together those things cohere, coherence with the spiritual kingdom being meant here because the small chains were fabricated to make [the shoulder-pieces] cohere with the ephod, which represented the spiritual kingdom in general, 9824); and from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9490. The words 'pure gold' are used because good from the Divine is meant; for this good is pure, and it holds all things in heaven in connection and in an outward form. The meaning of 'chains' as coherence is also evident in Isaiah,

The craftsman casts a graven image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it. Isaiah 40:19.

'A graven image' means teachings presenting falsity, which are a product of self-intelligence, and so are devoid of life from the Divine, 8869, 8941. Producing such teachings is meant by 'the craftsman casts a graven image'. The effort to make them look like a product of good is meant by 'a goldsmith overlays it with gold'. To make falsities cohere is meant by 'he casts silver chains for it', 'silver' meaning truth and in the contrary sense falsity, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6911, 6917, 8932.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.