Amos 4

Amos 4:1–13 (NASB)

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!” 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. 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. 4 “Enter Bethel and transgress; In Gilgal multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” 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.

Three sins that were grieving God that we can relate to…

Luxury: (v. 1-3)

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!” 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. 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.

Be Concerned (1. Luxury (Amos 4:1–3))

What is luxury? The word “luxury” comes from a Latin word LUXUS and it means “excessive.” It originally referred to plants that grow abundantly (our English word “luxurious”), but then it came to refer to people who have an abundance of money, time, and comfort, which they use for themselves as they live in aimless leisure. Whenever you are offered “deluxe service,” that’s the same Latin word: service above and beyond what you really need.

Be Concerned (1. Luxury (Amos 4:1–3))

Luxury doesn’t mean owning abundant possessions so much as allowing possessions to own us. To live in luxury is to use what we have only for our own enjoyment and to ignore the needs of others. It means being irresponsible in the way we use our wealth, wasting it on futile pleasures instead of using it for the good of others and the glory of God. A sign in an exclusive clothing store read, “If you must ask the price of our garments, you can’t afford them.” People who live in luxury don’t bother to ask the prices. They don’t care how much they spend so long as they get what they want.

Be Concerned (1. Luxury (Amos 4:1–3))

Why did Amos, the farmer, use this image? Not because these women were overweight and looked like cows, but because by their sins they were fattening themselves up for the coming slaughter

1 Timothy 6:17–19 (NASB)

17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Matthew 19:23–24 (NASB)

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 20:32–35 (NASB)

32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB)

7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

False Worship (Idolatry and Hypocrisy): (v. 4-5)

4 “Enter Bethel and transgress; In Gilgal multiply transgression! Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days. 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.

Be Concerned (2. Hypocrisy (Amos 4:4–5))

2. Hypocrisy (Amos 4:4–5)

The prophet used “holy irony” when he spoke these words, for he later instructed them to do just the opposite (5:5). It’s as though a pastor today said to his congregation, “Sure, go ahead and attend church, but by attending, you’re only sinning more. Go and visit the summer Bible conferences, but by doing so, you will be transgressing more. Your heart isn’t serious about knowing God or doing His will. Since it’s all just playacting. Since it’s the popular thing to do, so you do it.”

Bethel was a very special place to the Jewish people because of its associations with Abraham (Gen. 12:8; 13:3) and Jacob (28:10–22; 35:1–7). At one time, the ark was kept at Bethel (Jud. 20:18–28), but in Amos’ day it was the site of “the king’s chapel” where Amaziah, the priest, served (Amos 7:10ff). Gilgal was also important to Israel because that’s where Joshua and the people camped when they first entered the Promised Land (Josh. 4:19–20; 5:2–9). Gilgal is also where Saul was made king of Israel (1 Sam. 11:15). Unfortunately, both of these places had become shrines, where the people worshiped pagan gods while claiming to worship the Lord.

Be Concerned (2. Hypocrisy (Amos 4:4–5))

On the surface, it looked as if Israel was experiencing a religious revival. Crowds of people were flocking to the “holy places” (Amos 5:5), bringing their sacrifices and tithes (4:4; 5:21–22) and even singing songs of praise to the Lord (v. 23; 6:5; 8:3, 10). They offered sacrifices more frequently than the law required as if to prove how spiritual they were. But their gifts and songs didn’t impress the Lord, for He saw what was in their hearts; and the sin in their hearts made their sacrifices unacceptable.

To begin with, their sacrifices were unclean, like offering leaven on the altar, which was forbidden by God (Lev. 2:11; 6:17). God doesn’t want the sacrifices of bulls and goats; He wants the obedience of our hearts (1 Sam. 15:22–23; see Pss. 50:8–9; 51:16–17; Isa. 1:11–17; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6–8; Mark 12:28–34). If the heart isn’t right with God, the sacrifice means nothing (Gen. 4:1–7).

1 Samuel 15:22–23 (NASB)

22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

Psalm 51:16–17 (NASB)

16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Genesis 4:1–4 (NASB)

1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.” 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;

Be Concerned (2. Hypocrisy (Amos 4:4–5))

The application to today’s church is obvious. It’s very easy for us to join a large, happy religious crowd, enthusiastically sing rousing songs, and put money in the offering plate, and yet not be changed in our hearts. The test of a spiritual experience is not “Do I feel good?” or “Did we have a big crowd and a good time?” The real test is “Do I know God better and am I more like Jesus Christ?”

The people in Amos’ day didn’t return home determined to help the poor, feed the hungry, and care for the widows and orphans. They went home with the same selfish hearts that they had when they left home, because their “worship” was only an empty ritual (Isa. 1:11–17). Any religious “revival” that doesn’t alter the priorities of Christians and help solve the problems in society isn’t a “revival” at all.

Isaiah 1:11–15 (NASB)

11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

Stubbornness and Rebellion: (v. 6-11)

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Be Concerned (3. Obstinacy (Amos 4:6–13))

3. Obstinacy (Amos 4:6–13)

Five times in this passage, Amos says to the people, “Yet you have not returned to Me” (4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11 NKJV). The people of Israel experienced God’s disciplines, but they wouldn’t submit to His will; and yet they continued practicing their hypocritical religion! “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21 NKJV).

God’s covenant with the Jews clearly stated that He would bless them if they obeyed His Law and would discipline them if they disobeyed (Deut. 27–29). God set before them life and death, blessing and cursing; and He urged them to choose life (30:19–20). Unfortunately, they spurned His love, rejected His warnings, and chose death.

Matthew 7:21 (NASB)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.

Romans 10:9 (NASB)

9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…

What had God done to discipline them and bring them back to repentance and conformity to His will?

12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” 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.

Be Concerned (3. Obstinacy (Amos 4:6–13))

Famine (Amos 4:6). “Cleanness of teeth” simply means the people had no food to eat. So their teeth didn’t get dirty. (The NIV paraphrases it “empty stomachs.”) God’s covenant promised bumper crops if the people obeyed the Lord, but famine if they disobeyed (Lev. 26:27–31; Deut. 28:1–11). When farmers can’t grow crops, food is scarce, food prices go up, and people suffer and die. You would think that this would move people to confess their sins and return to God, but Israel did not return to God.

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.

2 Kings 6:25–30 (NASB)

25 There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 He said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 And the king said to her, “What is the matter with you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 “So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body.

Drought (vv. Amos 4:7–8). Instead of sending a general drought over the entire kingdom, God withheld the rain in different places from time to time, thus proving that He was in control. This remarkable demonstration of God’s sovereign power should have reminded the Jews of what the covenant said about the promised rains (Lev. 26:18–20; Deut. 11:16–17; 28:23–24), but they paid no heed.

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. 8 “So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water, But would not be satisfied…

Jeremiah 14:1–4 (NASB)

1 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the drought: 2 “Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended. 3 “Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads. 4 “Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.

Destruction of crops (Amos 4:9). Even when God did allow them to grow fruits and vegetables, they weren’t grateful. So He destroyed the crops with blight, mildew, and locusts. Once again, God was being true to His covenant warnings (Deut. 28:38–42). So the nation should not have been surprised.

9 “I smote you with scorching wind and mildew; And the caterpillar was devouring Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees…

Joel 1:4 (NASB)

4 What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.

Deuteronomy 28:38–39 (NASB)

38 “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. 39 “You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.

Sicknesses (Amos 4:10a). One of God’s promises was that His people would not experience the dreadful diseases they saw in Egypt if they were faithful to obey His Law (Ex. 15:26); but if they rebelled against Him, they would suffer all the diseases of Egypt (Lev. 26:23–26; Deut. 28:21–22, 27–29, 35, 59–62). As with the other disciplines, God kept His Word.

10a “I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt…

Exodus 7-13

Ezekiel 6:11–12 (NASB)

11 “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, “Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague! 12 “He who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I spend My wrath on them.

Defeat in war (Amos 4:10b). “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways” (Deut. 28:7 NKJV; see Lev. 26:6–8). What a promise for a small nation surrounded by huge empires! But the promise would be fulfilled only if the people were faithful to the Lord. If they disobeyed, they would be humiliated and defeated before their enemies (Lev. 26:32–39; Deut. 28:49–58). So terrible would be their defeat that the dead bodies in the camps would not be given decent burial, but would lie there and rot. God kept His promise: the Assyrians conquered Israel and the Babylonians took Judah into captivity.

10b … 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…

Around 721 BC, Assyria conquered Israel and ended the Kingdom of Northern Israel. They took the survivors of the tribes into captivity and dispersed them throughout the Assyrian Kingdom.

2 Kings 17 (Northern Israel defeated and destroyed by Assyria)

In 597 BC, the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Judah and took captive the court of the King of Judah and all the prominent citizens and craftsmen of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 24:10–16 (NASB)

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15 So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar came back to Jerusalem, led a second seige on the remaining Jews, this time destroying Solomon’s Temple, the palace, and all the walls, ending the Kingdom of Judah.

2 Kings 25

Natural/Supernatural Disaster (Amos 4:11). We aren’t sure just what this calamity was. Perhaps it was an earthquake (1:1), or it may have been the devastating invasion of an army (2 Kings 10:32–33; 13:7). Whatever it was, it had to be something terrible for the Lord to compare it to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24–25; see Deut. 29:23; Isa. 1:9; 13:19). The image of a stick pulled out of the fire suggests that the Lord intervened and saved them at the last minute (Zech. 3:2). They had been burned but not consumed. If so, then their ingratitude and hardness of heart was even more wicked.

11 “I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze…

Genesis 19 (The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah)

Amos 1:1 (NASB)

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

God had told them that all these exact things would happen…

Deuteronomy 28

1 Corinthians 10:6 (NASB)

6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

Ultimate judgment (vv. Amos 4:12–13). The kingdom of Israel had experienced famine, drought, blight, plagues, wars, and devastating catastrophes as God had tried to speak to His people and bring them to repentance. No matter what discipline He sent, they would not return to Him. What more could He do? He could come Himself and deal with them! “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!” (v. 12) was not a call to repentance but an announcement that it was too late to repent. The Lord of Hosts (armies) Himself would come with the Assyrian hordes and take the people away like cattle being led to the slaughter (v. 2). “There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst” (5:17 NIV).

12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.” 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.

Matthew 25:31–32 (NASB)

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;