John Calvin Commentary Amos 6:3

"-ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;" — Amos 6:3 (ASV)

The Prophet here reproves the Jews and Israelites for another crime: that they had often provoked God’s wrath, continually brought about new punishments by their sins, and, in the meantime, through their haughtiness and obstinacy, rejected all His threatenings as if they were vain and would never be carried out against them. We must always remember what I have said before: that the Prophet is not speaking here of the whole people, but of the leaders. For the expression that they drew near the throne of iniquity could not be applied to the common people. This discourse, then, was addressed particularly to the judges and counselors, and those who were in power in both kingdoms, in Judah as well as in Israel.

But it is a remarkable saying that they drove far off the evil day while they drew near the throne of iniquity, or of violence. It is as if he said, “You seek a fever for yourselves by your intemperance, and yet you drive it far off, as drunken men are accustomed to do, who swallow down wine without any moderation. When a physician or someone more moderate comes and warns them not to indulge in excess, they ridicule all their forebodings: ‘What! Will a fever seize me? I am entirely free from fever; I am indeed accustomed to drink wine.’”

Such are ungodly men, when they provoke God’s wrath, as it were, deliberately, and at the same time scorn all threatenings, as if they were safe through some special privilege. So now we see what the Prophet meant by saying that they drove far the evil day and yet drew near the throne of iniquity.

He means that they drew near the throne of iniquity when the judges strengthened themselves in their tyranny and took the liberty to steal, to rob, to plunder, to oppress. Therefore, when they thus hardened themselves in all kinds of licentiousness, they then drew near the throne of iniquity. And they put away the evil day because they felt no alarm, for when the Prophets denounced God’s vengeance, they regarded it as a fable.

In short, Amos here charges the principal men of the two kingdoms with two crimes: first, that they continually provoked God’s wrath by subverting and trampling all equity underfoot, and by ruling the people in a tyrannical and haughty manner; and second, that in the meantime, they heedlessly despised all threatenings, procrastinated, and promised themselves impunity. Even when God seriously and sharply addressed them, they still thought that the evil day was not near.

We find passages of this kind everywhere in the Prophets, where they show their indignation at this kind of heedlessness, when hypocrites, casting off every feeling of sorrow, as if they had deluded themselves, scornfully laughed at all the Prophets because they thought that the hand of God was far removed from them. Thus Isaiah speaks of them, saying:

‘Let us eat and drink, since we must die,’
(Isaiah 22:13)

They indeed thought that the Prophets did not seriously threaten them; but they regarded the mention of a near destruction as an empty scare. So now we understand what the Prophet meant.