What is the "ruin of Joseph" mentioned in Amos 6?
Amos 6:6 - 8
NIV - 6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
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Asked September 21 2016
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Rosemary Nord
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Tim Maas
In my opinion, the "ruin of Joseph" as mentioned in this verse is a reference to the depths of sin (specifically, complacency, pride, and corruption) to which the leaders of the northern ten tribes of Israel -- the tribes that had broken away from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin following the death of Solomon, as described in 1 Kings 12 -- had sunk, as the rest of Amos' prophecy discusses. Joseph is used as a metaphor for all of the northern ten tribes, since he is portrayed in Genesis 50:15-20 as having been righteous in forgiving his brothers (the patriarchs of the other tribes) for having sold him into slavery in Egypt, where God had eventually prospered him, and had made him the means by which Israel was saved from famine, and was allowed to grow into a great nation. The intent is to contrast Joseph's righteousness with the current sin of the northern tribes, which eventually resulted in God allowing them to be conquered and dispersed by the Assyrians, turning them into the "lost" tribes of Israel.
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