Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Amos Chapter 6
Metaphysically Interpreting Amos 6:1-14
6:1Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,
and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria,
the notable men of the chief of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel come!
6:2Pass ye unto Calneh, and see;
and from thence go ye to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines:
are they better than these kingdoms?
or is their border greater than your border?
6:3-ye that put far away the evil day,
and cause the seat of violence to come near;6:4that lie upon beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves upon their couches,
and eat the lambs out of the flock,
and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
6:5that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol;
that invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;
6:6that drink wine in bowls,
and anoint themselves with the chief oils;
but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
6:7Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive;
and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.6:8The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself,
saith Jehovah, the God of hosts:
I abhor the excellency of Jacob,
and hate his palaces;
therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.6:9And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.6:10And when a man's uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.
6:11For, behold, Jehovah commandeth,
and the great house shall be smitten with breaches,
and the little house with clefts.
6:12Shall horses run upon the rock?
will one plow there with oxen?
that ye have turned justice into gall,
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood;
6:13ye that rejoice in a thing of nought,
that say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
6:14For, behold, I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts;
and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath
unto the brook of the Arabah.
April 27, 1924: Amos 6:1-6
What does the prophet Amos represent? The word Amos means “burden bearer.” He was a shepherd in Israel. Metaphysically he represents spiritual consciousness. The natural man calls him “my conscience.”
Is “conscience” a spiritual or a mental quality? “Conscience” is fundamentally spiritual. Conscience looks within and sees the truth; it also looks without and sees error. “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,” soliloquized Hamlet. But Hamlet's conscience looked to the without and he saw the realm of effects instead of the realm of causes. The spiritually wise know that conscience is the monitor within that calls us back to God.
What is the theme of the preachment of Amos given in today’s lesson? Amos was reprimanding his thought people (the children of Israel) for the luxuries, the ease, and the sensuousness of the natural man.
Has this warning of Amos a parallel in our day? Yes. The ease-loving luxury of the sense man is evident in every day and age, not only in individual consciousness, but in race consciousness also.
February 18, 1939: Amos 6:1-6
How do ease and security subject those who enjoy them to “woe”? Ease tends to make man relax his efforts to win the things that endure, and to content himself with the pleasure of the passing moment. Consciousness of security adds to the selfishness and pride of the personal man, so that he grows more arrogant and unsympathetic. Adverse states of mind like these eventually bring adversity to the one who harbors them.
What does Amos represent? Amos was a shepherd, and represents conscience, which watches over the way in which man performs his duty to God and his fellow man.
What is the meaning of “Zion” and of “Samaria”? Zion means “monument”, Samaria “watch mountain.” Both represent a state of development that attracts the religious instincts of man (the house of Israel). One may grow over-sure and self-indulgent even in matters of faith.
What kind of living is found to be inconsistent with a spiritually quickened conscience? The selfish, pleasure-loving, self-pampering habit of living is not approved by the one whose conscience is awake to spiritual truth.
April 23, 1950: Amos 6:1-6
Is it a mistake to feel at ease and secure? No, provided we have faithfully fulfilled the law of love, have been watchful to keep ourselves free from the domination of the sense mind, and have faithfully discharged all our obligations to the cause of peace and justice. Unless we are diligent in regulating our life and affairs under the guidance of Spirit we are not justified in relaxing our efforts.
How can we “put far away the evil day”? Not by ignoring the impending consequences of selfish indulgence and careless ease, but by filling each day with thoughts of good.
Who causes “the seat of violence to come near”? Those who by their disregard of Truth and their submission to the demands of the sense nature make themselves vulnerable to disaster and thus invite it.
May 1, 1951: Amos 6:1-6
What makes for disunion and disaster? Self-centered living or selfishness.
How does sacrificial service have a unifying effect on the race? It unites the race in the worship of the true God under the standard of the Christ.
August 19, 1934: Amos 6:1-7
Why is it not easy to keep full faith in God during prosperity? Prosperity brings with it a subtle temptation to forget God and to concentrate one’s thought on material things. One does not serve both God and mammon, nor do God and mammon serve man jointly.
How may material prosperity be kept from becoming a stumbling block? By holding to our sense of the true values of life and putting first things first, we may make material prosperity serve us and avoid becoming subservient to it.
Explain the symbolism of Zion and Samaria, against which Amos delivered a warning. Zion means “fortress” and Samaria “watch mountain.” Both symbolize a high state of development materially, accompanied by separation in thought from God.
When a nation reaches the zenith of its power, must it then decline? History shows that nations have their rise and their golden age of exercising power, followed by decline and fall. But any nation that retains its belief in God and uses its power righteously, refusing to yield to material-mindedness, need not decline.
How is the equilibrium of the successful life best maintained? By giving in proportion to what one receives, thus sharing one’s good, life is kept in true balance. Equilibrium is lost when one tries to hold and enjoy selfishly all one receives, without thought for the needs of others.
September 6, 1942: Amos 6:1-7
What persons bring suffering and “woe” upon themselves? Those who surrender completely to the sense nature, allowing themselves to become self-centered and pampering this nature to the exclusion of higher interests.
What is meant by the words “They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph”? This means that those who are enslaved by the senses do not see or understand the negative effect of their mistaken imaginings on the character or inner man.
March 12, 1922: Amos 6:1-8
Amos, the writer of this text, was a shepherd of Judah. What does he represent in consciousness? Amos represents the ego, called conscience. He is the shepherd of the natural forces of mind and body.
Explain: “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria.” This passage means that progress is fundamental in soul growth; that when we rest from our work, the tendency is to become negative: to “lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches.”
What does it mean to sing “idle songs?” To sing “idle songs” means to lull the sense man into harmony, without understanding the ideas back of outer expression.
What is the “affliction of Joseph”? The “affliction of Joseph” is beholding the pictures of the mind as visions and dreams and various phenomena, without understanding their spiritual import. Joseph represents the imagination.
What is the meaning of: “They now go captive with the first that go captive”? The negation of ease makes the mind flabby and easily captured by error thoughts, the end of which is subjection to Babylon, or confusion.
What is the meaning of: “I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces”? Jacob represents the intellect partly illumined, and his “excellency” refers to the self-satisfaction of those who have obtained a certain perception of Truth, but are not going forward into its higher revelations.
August 19, 1934: Amos 6:11-14
Has public spirit any connection with truth and righteousness? Public spirit is the active expression of both truth and righteousness in a social sense.
Under what other well-known names are truth and righteousness current today? Other names for these principles are duty, interest in others, and cooperation in all laudable work the common good.
Do violence and destruction serve a useful purpose? Only when man's selfish sense nature has caused him to separate himself in consciousness from the law. He then invites violence and destruction, and these serve to bring him to himself.
What affords true satisfaction in life? Holding to the pursuit of spiritual understanding leads to uniformity of right thought and conduct, and brings deep and abiding satisfaction to the seeker.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-16-2013
