Amos 6:6

"That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph."

"That drink wine in bowls ..." The sin indicated here is not merely that of "funneling." Something far different is indicated:

"One view is that their offence consists in not being satisfied with drinking wine in small quantities, but drinking it from the bowl; but the meaning is certainly that they have committed an offence by using sacrificial bowls, which it was not permissible to drink from."[23]

"The Hebrew word for "bowl" in this place actually means "the great bowl" and is mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament only in connection with ritual procedures."[24]

The sin which Amos condemned here is therefore a religious violation, and not merely excessive drinking, further pointing up the truth that this whole passage deals primarily with perversion of God's worship, the particular thing here, being desecration of holy vessels. The ancient people of God viewed this latter thing with extraordinary abhorrence. It will be recalled that for a similar offence of drinking from the sacred vessels robbed from the temple in Jerusalem, Belshazzar was punished by a summary judgment from God; and the kingdom was torn away from him in the same night (Daniel 5:1-25).

"And anoint themselves with the chief oils ..." Hammershaimb assures us that the word for chief oils (or first oils) could also "be taken with the meaning of firstfruits; their sin would then be that they have anointed themselves with the firstfruits which belong to God."[25] Thus, it is seen that the religious factor is the dominating thought throughout these verses. Understanding the transgression in this light certainly clears up the problem with the other view, which would make it appear that Almighty God was concerned about the "size" of a wine-guzzler's goblet, bottle, or bowl. It was not "drinking," as such, which was condemned here, but their drinking from "bowls," evidently the consecrated vessels which had been dedicated to God. Here also is strong presumptive evidence that it is a similar religious violation in Amos 6:5.

An additional facet of the sin mentioned in these verses with regard to their anointing themselves with the "first" oils is seen in the fact that all anointing was suspended in time of mourning (1 Samuel 14:2); and, the sad state of Israel's rebellion against God should have led to widespread mourning and prayer, instead of the drinking and anointing evident here. That Amos probably had this in mind also, is manifest in the next clause which mentions "the affliction of Joseph."