◄ Amos 6:11 ►
For the LORD gives a command: "The great house will be smashed to pieces, and the small house to rubble."
Study Bible
For the LORD gives a command
This phrase emphasizes the sovereignty and authority of God. The Hebrew word for "LORD" is "YHWH," the sacred name of God, which signifies His eternal and unchanging nature. The word "command" in Hebrew is "tsavah," which implies an authoritative order that must be obeyed. This highlights God's ultimate control over the events of history and His ability to enact judgment. In the context of Amos, this command is a divine decree against the complacency and injustice of Israel.

The great house
The "great house" refers to the opulent and luxurious dwellings of the wealthy and powerful in Israel. Historically, this can be seen as a critique of the social and economic inequalities present in the society of the time. The Hebrew word "gadol" for "great" indicates not only size but also importance and influence. This phrase serves as a reminder that no amount of earthly wealth or status can protect one from divine judgment.

will be smashed to pieces
The imagery of being "smashed to pieces" conveys total destruction. The Hebrew verb "ra'ats" means to shatter or break violently, suggesting a complete and irreversible ruin. This reflects the severity of God's judgment against those who have turned away from His commandments. It serves as a warning that the structures of sin and pride will ultimately be dismantled by God's righteous hand.

and the small house to rubble
The "small house" represents the more modest dwellings, possibly of the poorer classes. The Hebrew word "qatan" for "small" indicates something of lesser size or significance. The phrase "to rubble" uses the Hebrew "sebel," meaning debris or ruins, indicating that God's judgment is comprehensive, affecting all levels of society. This underscores the message that sin and injustice have consequences for everyone, regardless of social standing.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The sovereign God of Israel, who is issuing a command of judgment.

2. Amos
The prophet delivering God's message to Israel, warning them of impending judgment due to their complacency and injustice.

3. Israel (Northern Kingdom)
The primary audience of Amos's prophecy, known for its prosperity and subsequent moral and spiritual decline.

4. Great House
Symbolic of the wealthy and powerful in Israel who are living in luxury and ignoring God's laws.

5. Small House
Represents the common people who are also subject to judgment, indicating that no one is exempt from God's justice.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Judgment
God is the ultimate authority and His commands are executed without fail. His judgment is impartial and affects both the great and the small.

The Danger of Complacency
Prosperity can lead to spiritual complacency and moral decay. Believers must remain vigilant and faithful, regardless of their material circumstances.

Social Justice and Righteousness
God cares deeply about justice and righteousness. Ignoring the plight of the oppressed and living in luxury at their expense invites God's judgment.

The Universality of God's Judgment
No one is exempt from God's judgment. Both the powerful and the common people are accountable to God for their actions.

Repentance and Humility
The call to repentance is urgent. Humility before God and a return to His ways can avert disaster and restore right relationships.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of God's sovereignty in Amos 6:11 challenge our understanding of justice in today's world?

2. In what ways can prosperity lead to spiritual complacency, and how can we guard against it in our own lives?

3. How does the judgment of both the "great house" and the "small house" reflect God's impartiality, and what does this mean for us as believers?

4. What are some practical ways we can promote social justice and righteousness in our communities, in light of Amos's message?

5. How can the themes of repentance and humility in Amos 6:11 be applied to our personal spiritual journey and relationship with God?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 5:8-10
This passage also speaks of judgment against those who accumulate wealth and property at the expense of others, similar to the "great house" in Amos.

Micah 2:1-3
Micah condemns those who devise iniquity and oppress others, paralleling the social injustices Amos addresses.

Luke 12:16-21
Jesus' parable of the rich fool warns against the dangers of wealth and complacency, echoing the themes in Amos.

James 5:1-6
James warns the rich about the miseries coming upon them, similar to the judgment pronounced in Amos.
Sermons
The Lord CommandethJ.R. Thomson Amos 6:11
People
Amos, David, Hemath, Jacob, Joseph
Places
Ashteroth-karnaim, Brook of the Arabah, Calneh, Gath, Hamath, Lebo-hamath, Lo-debar, Samaria, Zion
Topics
Behold, Bits, Breaches, Broken, Chips, Clefts, Command, Commandeth, Commanding, Commands, Cracks, Fragments, Full, Order, Pieces, Smash, Smashed, Smite, Smitten, Splinters
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Amos 6:10

     4826   fire
     5288   dead, the

Library
The Carcass and the Eagles
'Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! 2. Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be 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, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

June the Twenty-Fourth at Ease in Zion
"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion!" --AMOS vi. 1-7. I would be delivered from the folly of confusing ease and rest. There is an infinite difference between comforts and comfort. It is one thing to lie down on a luxurious couch: it is a very different thing to "lie down in green pastures" under the gracious shepherdliness of the Lord. The ease which men covet is so often a fruit of stupefaction, the dull product of sinful drugs, the wretched sluggishness of carnal gratification and excess. …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

A Sermon for the Time Present
I am going to begin with the last verse of the text, and work my way upwards. The first; head is, a trying day for God's people. They are sorrowful because a cloud is upon their solemn assembly, and the reproach thereof is a burden. Secondly, we will note a glorious ground of consolation. We read in the seventeenth verse, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." And, thirdly, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 33: 1887

Whether it is Proper to Christ to be Head of the Church?
Objection 1: It seems that it is not proper to Christ to be Head of the Church. For it is written (1 Kings 15:17): "When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel?" Now there is but one Church in the New and the Old Testament. Therefore it seems that with equal reason any other man than Christ might be head of the Church. Objection 2: Further, Christ is called Head of the Church from His bestowing grace on the Church's members. But it belongs to others …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Of Christian Liberty.
1. Connection of this chapter with the previous one on Justification. A true knowledge of Christian liberty useful and necessary. 1. It purifies the conscience. 2. It checks licentiousness. 3. It maintains the merits of Christ, the truth of the Gospel, and the peace of the soul. 2. This liberty consists of three parts. First, Believers renouncing the righteousness of the law, look only to Christ. Objection. Answer, distinguishing between Legal and Evangelical righteousness. 3. This first part clearly …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Of Orders.
Of this sacrament the Church of Christ knows nothing; it was invented by the church of the Pope. It not only has no promise of grace, anywhere declared, but not a word is said about it in the whole of the New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to set up as a sacrament of God that which can nowhere be proved to have been instituted by God. Not that I consider that a rite practised for so many ages is to be condemned; but I would not have human inventions established in sacred things, nor should it be …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Tiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire from 745 to 722 B. C.
TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE FROM 745 to 722 B.C. FAILURE OF URARTU AND RE-CONQUEST Of SYRIA--EGYPT AGAIN UNITED UNDER ETHIOPIAN AUSPICES--PIONKHI--THE DOWNFALL OF DAMASCUS, OF BABYLON, AND OF ISRAEL. Assyria and its neighbours at the accession of Tiglath-pileser III.: progress of the Aramaeans in the basin of the Middle Tigris--Urartu and its expansion into the north of Syria--Damascus and Israel--Vengeance of Israel on Damascus--Jeroboam II.--Civilisation …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7

The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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