Verse
1. "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the
mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
Who say to your husbands, 'Bring now, that we may drink!'"
"Bashan"
("smooth soil") was a wide, fertile
region east of the Sea of Galilee, noted for the size and quality
of its cattle, its pastures and its oak trees. The inhabitants
of that place were addressed by God through the Prophet Amos
in this verse, as "cows of Bashan."
It can be a reference to the women of that place, who indeed
were superficial and vain, having no regard at all for God's
beloved "poor" and "needy"
of this world. The Lord does have a special concern for
the downtrodden of this world and He will defend those who are
in need.
"Cows
of Bashan" may also be an insulting reference to the
men of that land. The idea is that the leaders and most
of the people in "Samaria" (the
country of Israel, to the north of Judah), had become like lazy,
fat, cud-chewing animals, fit for the butcher shop. The
"butchers" in this context would be the Assyrians, who would
subsequently destroy Israel, killing thousands in the process
and placing untold more into a cattle-like existence as slaves.
Verse
2. "The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness, 'Behold, the
days are coming upon you when they will take you away with meat
hooks, and the last of you with fish hooks.'"
Continuing the analogy
of verse 1, that the people of Samaria (Israel) had become like
fat "cows," fit only for the butcher's
shop, the Lord through Amos, said they would be taken away with
"meat hooks." The Assyrians
would be the invaders that soon would kill many and drag still
more into terrible slavery. The "fish
hook" reference is that His people would be completely
helpless in relation to what would happen, like fish caught
with hooks or in a net.
Additionally, there
was a terrible custom among the Assyrians and other fierce cultures
of the day, in which captives were impaled by literal hooks
that pierced one or more parts of their bodies (often their
noses) as they were taken away. The hooks would disfigure
their bodies and the effect would be to bring low the pride
of princes and other notables who were on their way from prosperity
into degradation, like cattle marked and taken to the marketplace
for sale or slaughter.
Verse
3. "'You will go out through breaches in the walls, each
one straight before her, and you will be cast to Harmon,' declares
the Lord."
The people of Israel,
those who were not killed outright by the Assyrians, would be
taken out through "breaches
in the walls" of their city, not
unlike cattle taken out through gaps in a fence. Captives
would be marched in straight lines, each one tied or chained
to the one in front of him or her. At the time of capture,
they would not know their fate, though God certainly told them
on a number of occasions (like this one) what would happen if
they did not abandon idolatry and turn to Him.
There is an old tradition
by scholars that "Harmon" meant
Armenia, and others have thought it related to the Assyrians
who would conquer Israel. Still others in more recent
times, such as Dr. J. Vernon McGee, have said the word can be
translated as "palace." With
the latter in mind, Dr. McGee noted, "In
effect, God is saying, 'If you think because you are rich or
because you are a ruler living in a palace that you will be
spared, you are wrong.'" None would escape the
wrath that was to come.
Verse
4. "Enter Bethel and transgress; in Gilgal multiply transgression!
Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three
days."
There are many sins,
crimes committed against God's Law, in which the perpetrators
think they are acting in secret. It's accurate to say
that all humanity is blind, even though there is a great LIGHT
shining into everything we think, say and do. We don't
see that light because we are blind to the things of the Spirit,
but it is very much there - we just don't see it. We are,
however, open for all in the heavenlies to see. Evidence
for that idea is seen in this verse.
"Bethel"
("House of God") was one of the places where the first king
of the northern kingdom, Jeroboam, set up a golden calf for
the people to worship (1 Kings 12:25-33). There were three
places called "Gilgal" ("rolling"
or "circle of stones"), and this one, about five miles southwest
of Shiloh, became a place of idolatrous worship (Hosea 4:15,
9:15). They pretended outwardly to worship God, but He
saw through the walls of their buildings and into the secrets
of their hearts, just as He sees us all.
Verse
5. "'Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,
and proclaim freewill offerings, make them known, for so you
love to do, you sons of Israel,' declares the Lord God."
In the Law, God was
very specific that grain offerings were to be offered WITHOUT
leaven (Leviticus 23), but here He is, telling them, "O go ahead
and offer it with leaven!" Now, the "thank
offering" (Leviticus 7:13) COULD be offered with leaven,
but these were not people who were thankful to God. Their
hearts were far from Him, which is a danger for us all.
God SEES your intentions and mine. If you are not right
inside, your religious acts will not please Him.
This verse is especially
interesting because it reveals that God is far less interested
in your outward acts than He is in the condition of your heart.
He is essentially saying, "Go ahead and give whatever offerings
you want, any way you want because I am not going to accept
them anyway." You must be right inside before Almighty
God will accept your religious acts, but if you are right in
your heart before Him, He will accept your actions (Psalm 51:16-19).
Father, thank You
for all You have done for us. Please forgive our iniquities,
cleanse us from all unrighteousness and give us peace with God
through Your Son. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Amos 4:6-10
Verse 6. "'But
I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack
of bread in all your places, yet you have not returned to Me,'
declares the Lord."
"Cleanness of
teeth" in this verse, was an idiom that conveyed this
idea: Their teeth were clean because they had nothing to eat!
The idea is continued in the next expression, "lack
of bread," leaving no doubt that God had withheld food
from their midst in memorable, recent times. The people
of Israel had entered a time and circumstance where at least
sometimes they lacked the basic necessities of life.
Notice that God "gave"
them hunger, and in the next verse He "withheld
the rain." Nobody wants to lack anything in life,
and yet it is clear that suffering can have additional meaning,
in that part of its purpose is to bring us to a deeper relationship
with God. Almighty God is absolutely sovereign.
He knows everything and can DO all things. We were created
for relationship with Him, and He will do what it takes to save
us, even if our comfort zone is shaken in the process.
Verse 7. "Furthermore,
I withheld the rain from you while there were still three months
until harvest then I would send rain on one city and on another
city I would not send rain; one part would be rained on, while
the part not rained on would dry up."
God, through the prophet Amos, continues
to present evidence for the prosecution in determining the fate
of the nation Israel. Their lack of faith, their unbelief,
was demonstrated clearly in their response to recent events.
God had allowed famine and hunger to become widespread in that
land (Verse 6). It either WAS in their land or this was
a prophesy that soon would come to pass. In either event,
did they (or would they) PRAY to Him for help? They did
not pray and would not pray, and that was the problem.
Honest prayer is an expression of belief
in God. Prayer can be called "applied faith." If
you pray, it is a sign that you have some kind of belief in
the Lord - otherwise you would not do it. If a crisis
comes and you do not pray, it demonstrates the presence of unbelief
in your heart and life. In this verse, God observes something
interesting to them: The lack of rainfall they had recently
experienced was selective in nature. In would interestingly
rain in one place, but not in another. They should have
recognized in this unusual pattern (for that region), an Intelligent
Hand in what was happening to them.
Verse 8. "'So
two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water,
but would not be satisfied;" yet you have not returned to Me,'
declares the Lord."
So many times we respond to our difficulties
with intense EFFORT, which was what Israel was doing at that
time. They of the cities that had not received rain, would
feverishly send wagons, buckets and whatever else they had,
to areas where the rain was abundant. Their effort was
commendable, but they did not pray to God for help. The
fact that they did not pray indicates that their hearts were
far from Him.
To be fair, many of them probably DID
pray, but the nation had fallen deeply into idolatry, and worse
than no prayer at all, they likely had been seeking help from
worthless idols. What do YOU do when trouble fills your
life? Do you "stagger" from
one "solution" to another? When troubles come, we should
reach out to Him who loves us. The problem we have may
or may not personally be directed at us, but the solution will
be in His hand.
Verse 9. "'I smote
you with scorching wind and mildew; and the caterpillar was
devouring your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive
trees; yet you have not returned to Me,' declares the Lord."
There is an assumption among human-kind,
that by achieving adult-status, that is: as compared with one
another, we become "grown-ups," able to determine our own destiny.
It's not true! In the sight of God, we are all His little
children, in need of His care. Children misbehave and
they (we) need correction and periodic discipline to put us
back into the right direction as determined by Him who loves
us.
"Burn-out" is an emotional response
that can be characterized by the phrase: "I can't do it anymore!"
Like Israel, you've given it everything you've got, and yet
it's like "scorching wind and mildew"
has eaten up all you've done. Forces greater than you
are "devouring" your best efforts,
and if there is faith in you, it's time to give all your problems
over to the Lord, who loves you enough to let those circumstances
be there in the first place!
Verse 10. "'I
sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your
young men by the sword along with your captured horses, and
I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; yet
you have not returned to Me,' declares the Lord."
Ten astonishing and terrible plagues
came upon the nation Egypt, the former slave masters of Israel,
and the purpose of them was to set God's people free from slavery.
Similar plagues were falling on Israel at the time of this verse,
and there was a PURPOSE in what was happening - it was all carefully
designed to set His people free from the slavery of sin.
They lacked an ingredient which should be inside us all - faith
in God!
Note that even though the leaders of
Israel were far from the Lord, there were those among the people
who DID have faith in God, and yet the nation was headed in
a direction that would bring ALL into ruin. But if the
sin of unbelief was left unchecked, it would bring dishonor
to God, and many would be lost to Him who otherwise might be
saved. God MUST act in such circumstances. What
is happening to YOUR nation, your land? Yes, innocent
people suffer when trouble comes, but it may be that God is
speaking to your nation through events that will lead many to
a safety that is infinitely higher than our comfort on earth.
Father, we accept Your Hand in the
events of our lives - You know what they mean and we look to
You for help. Enable us to trust in You and help us to
PRAY in everything. Let us trust in Your Son. Save
us, Lord; save our families, our land. In Jesus Name.
Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Amos 4:11-13
Verse 11. "'I
overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you
were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; yet you have not
returned to Me,' declares the Lord."
A detailed account of the utter destruction
of the city-states called Sodom and Gomorrah is in Genesis Chapter
19. The concluding verses of Genesis 18 reflect Father
Abraham's prayers for the people of Sodom, in which God revealed
that He would spare them if even "ten"
inhabitants were "righteous" (Genesis
18:26, 28 & context). The fact that Sodom and Gomorrah
were NOT spared, is a clear indication that the places had become
utterly corrupt.
From the context of Genesis 19:5, many
have concluded that the chief sin of Sodom was homosexuality,
the "gay" lifestyle. But actually there was much more.
God revealed their sin through the prophet Ezekiel: "Look,
THIS was the iniquity of your sister Sodom. She and her daughter
had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither
did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy..."
(Ezekiel 16:49). They were proud, and yet, like He has
done for you and me, God gave them everything. In response
to what we have been given, God reasonably expects that we,
in turn, will be drawn to help others! To NOT "strengthen
the hand of the poor..." is to invite destruction.
Verse 12. "Therefore
thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel."
Israel was like a "firebrand
snatched from a blaze" (verse 11).
The imagery is a wildfire that comes out of the brush and sweeps
through the village, and yet, just ONE "house" is saved, and
it is by the grace of God! He had cared for them and tenderly
helped the nation Israel, and when they turned their backs on
Him; He allowed TROUBLE to come into their lives so they would
see their need! But STILL they did not trust in Him!
Have you thought about life as it relates
to you? Has it occurred to you that what is commonly called
"life" falls infinitely short of what it actually can be?
There is an end to what we think of as "ours." Just when
it seems like there is enough money or power or influence to
get you through; suddenly it's the end of life here on earth,
and the words heard are these: "Prepare
to meet your God." At that point you have nothing
- except Him! NOW is the time to turn to and TRUST in Him, for
He is your only hope, in heaven and on earth.
Verse 13. "For
behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares
to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness
and treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of
hosts is His name."
How did the "mountains"
get where they are? Why does the "wind"
do what it does? And your thoughts - is there Someone
who knows your thoughts and can tell you what they are? Those
questions are in this verse, and so is the answer to them all
- "The Lord God of hosts is His name."
He is your Creator and the One who knows you. Everything
about you and the very earth you walk on, was created by the
God who loves you.
David correctly observed: "O
Lord, You have searched me and known me, You know my sitting
down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted
with all my ways" (Psalm 139:1-3). Since God knows
not only David and others like him, but He also knows YOU so
well, don't you think it's time to get to know HIM better?
Father, Your Word says it to us all:
"Prepare to meet your God!" and
it could be today we meet you in Person, and if not, it's just
a few years for everyone. Father, You have given us Your
Son, that we may be prepared in Your Sight. We trust in
Him now. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham,
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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