AMOS - CHAPTER 4
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2002 James Melough
4:1.
“Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which
oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring,
and let us drink.”
Taylor translates this verse,
“Listen to me, you “fat cows” of Bashan living in Samaria - you women who
encourage your husbands to rob the poor and crush the needy - you who never
have enough to drink!”
Because of Bashan’s rich
pastures, the cattle from that region were renowned, and if Taylor’s
translation is correct, then under the figure of these cattle, God addresses
the wives of those who were rich through oppression of the poor. Their
husbands’ ill-gotten wealth supplied these proud pampered pleasure-loving
women with every luxury that the heart could desire. Since wine is a biblical
symbol of pleasure - good or bad - their demand for wine or liquor may be also
metaphoric, pointing to their inordinate love of pleasure.
If this interpretation is
correct, then none will have difficulty seeing in these sleek pleasure-loving
“cows of Bashan” a picture, not only of the rich women of Israel, but of their
modern day counterparts, many of them prominent in the activities of
Christendom’s “churches.” The warnings pronounced by Amos come across the
ages with no less clarity to the women of apostate Christendom and of our
whole modern world; but as it was with the women of Israel, so is it with
their modern day counterparts. They too are too busy with this world’s
pleasures to listen, and when on a rare occasion they do hear, their response
is to mock.
It is necessary to point out,
however, that some understand the “cows” to be a disdainful reference to the
effeminacy of the rich men themselves, and it is very possible that this may
indeed be the correct interpretation, and certainly it doesn’t change in any
way the import of the message, nor its application to present day society.
Those who accept this latter
interpretation point to the fact that the word for “husbands” is not the
common Hebrew word for husbands, but rather for “lord” or “master”; and that
“bring” is singular in the original, indicating that “masters” should also be
singular, referring to the master of the rich men, i.e., the king. The demand
for wine is understood to relate to the fact that the rich men and the king
often caroused together.
4:2.
“The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon
you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with
fishhooks.”
The certainty of the coming
judgment is declared in the Lord’s swearing by His own holiness. What He
threatens will come to pass, as history attests, for in just a few years they
were indeed led off like cattle by the Assyrians.
The reference to hooks may be
based on the practice of inserting a ring in the nose of a bull or cow, and
then tying a rope to the ring to lead the animal. The pain caused by
resistance made control of the creature much easier. The lesson is clear.
There would be no resisting the will of the conqueror.
The mention of fishhooks is
probably also figurative. As the fish, once hooked, couldn’t escape, neither
would it be possible for the Israelites to escape from their captors.
For the literal use of hooks
in leading captives, see the next verse.
“Posterity” is more accurately
translated “your residue” or “the last of you.” The reference is not to a
future generation, but to the very last one of that present wicked generation.
4:3.
“And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her;
and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.”
The breaches in the walls
would be so many that the captives would be led straight out through them
instead of through the main gate of the city. Still describing them as cows,
God focuses attention on the contrast between their present state and that
which would be theirs when they became captives of the Assyrians. They would
be as mere cattle in the eyes of their captors.
“... and ye shall cast them
into the palace....” Having seen no better explanation of this phrase than
that given in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, I quote it in full, “Once
outside they would be fastened to ropes with hooks for a single-file
march into Assyrian exile. Those who balked or refused to be led away would
be forcibly snagged with large harpoons or fishhooks, much like fish
pierced together and jerked over one’s shoulder to be carried to market.
Yanked in such manner, they eventually would be cast out as corpses as
the march neared Harmon .... “Harmon” may refer to Hermon, a mountain
at the northern tip of the Bashan region on the way to Assyria. If so, an
awful irony would attach to their fate: the “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1) would
end as carrion in Bashan!”
The word which the KJV
translates as “palace” is simply transliterated in some other versions as
Harmon, the location of which is unknown.
4:4.
“Come to Bethel and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring
your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:”
Sadly, the places once
associated with the obedient gatherings and worship of Israel had now become
the principal centers of idolatry.
The Lord, in mocking irony,
tells them to continue their hypocritical “worship” at Bethel where the golden
calf had been set up, and at Gilgal which had also become a center of
idolatry. They might as well continue the travesty which angered Him, for
nothing they might do now could avert His righteous judgment. They had
already exhausted His patience, and crossed the invisible line which separates
His mercy from His wrath.
“... tithes after three years”
probably refers to the command given in Dt 14:28-29, “At the end of three
years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year,
and shalt lay it up within thy gates: and the Levite, (because he hath no part
nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the
widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied;
that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand....”
Some translations render the
“three years” as “three days,” so that the literal statement might be rendered
“Even if you brought the prescribed tithe every third day instead of every
third year, etc.”
They continued to observe the
empty religious ritual, deluding themselves that observance of the mere
outward form was sufficient to guarantee Jehovah’s blessing. Someone has
commented on the ominous absence of any mention of the sin or trespass
offering, the ones they really needed to present.
Apostate Christianity engages
in the same travesty, and labors under the same delusion; but her punishment
is no less certain than was that of Israel.
4:5.
“And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish
the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the
Lord God.”
Some have taken “with leaven”
to mean that they were departing from the authorized order, but it is to be
noted that while leaven was excluded from most of the offerings, it was
authorized when the Peace offering was being presented for a thanksgiving, see
Le 7:13, “Besides the (unleavened) cakes, he shall offer for his offering
leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.”
The fact is, they were
punctilious relative to the outward form of worship. What made their
offerings an abomination to God was that with them the only thing that
mattered was the observance of the mere outward form. God Himself meant
nothing more to them than did any of the other gods they also worshiped. To
them He was just another of those many gods.
“... proclaim and publish the
free offerings,” was God’s denunciation of their practice of making sure that
everyone knew how much they were giving as freewill offerings. Their later
day counterparts were also rebuked by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself for the
very same ostentation, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be
seen of them ... when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before
thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may
have glory of men.... But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand
know what they right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly,” Mt 6:1-4.
“... for this liketh you,” is
literally, “This is what you love to do.” They loved the adulation of those
who witnessed the parade of their “generosity.”
What made their ostentatious
hypocritical presentation of the free will offerings so abominable in God’s
sight was the fact that such offerings were meant to be the voluntary
expression of the genuine love of the offerer for God.
Little has changed since
then. The same proud spirit governs much of Christendom - and will receive
the same recompense: God’s denunciation and punishment.
4:6.
“And I also have given you cleanness of teeth (famine) in all your cities, and
want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the
Lord.”
Had they remembered God’s word
they would have known that famine was a sure sign of His displeasure, for He
had warned them of this in Le 26:26; Dt 28:17, and 1 Ki 8:37-40. But they had
forgotten His word, with the result that the famine went unrecognized as the
sign of His anger in response to their sin,as it is written, “For God
speaketh once, yea twice, but man perceiveth it not,” Job 33:14.
Many times, by the same means:
famine, He has sought to turn the men of this present age back to Himself, but
with the same result: blind eyes have failed to see His hand; deaf ears, to
hear His voice, and the result is that they too are plunging on to foretold
doom.
4:7.
“And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three
months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it
not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece
whereupon it rained not withered.”
Drought had been another
device by which He had sought to turn the people back to Himself, but with no
more success than when He had used famine; yet the very fact of His having
made the drought selective - sending rain upon one city, and not on another -
ought to have awakened them to the fact that this was no mere chance
occurrence, but the direct act of God in chastisement, see Le 26:19; Dt
28:23-24, and 1 Ki 8:35-36.
And so also has it been with
today’s world. There has been drought in many places, but as with famine,
only a rare individual has recognized it as the voice of God calling men to
the genuine repentance which alone can save them from eternal judgment.
4:8.
“So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were
not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
In the midst of drought the
people had made every effort to find water in other places, but with scant
success, failing to understand that all they had to do was to repent, confess
their sin, and He Who commands the rain would have opened the heavens to give
more than was needed. Nor has it been different in drought-stricken areas of
today’s world. Very few see in the drought God’s response to sin; and still
fewer believe that repentant confession is all that is needed to end the
drought and bring His blessing. Such a world is plunging recklessly in the
footsteps of rebellious Israel toward judgment.
4:9.
“I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your
vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm
devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
Like the previous judgments,
these too had been foretold, see Le 26:20; Dt 28:18,22,30, and 1 Ki 8:37.
Blasting was the result of excessive heat; mildew, of too much moisture; but
the one was as useless as the other to catch the attention of the rebellious
people, and turn them back to God. Nor was it any different when He increased
the fruit of their fields and gardens, and then sent the palmerworm (locust?)
to denude those same fields and gardens. Their sin-blinded eyes, darkened
minds, and seared consciences rendered them impervious to every Divine
overture. Nothing would turn them aside from the road to ruin.
Today’s rebels are equally
unwilling to yield any response to God, so that they too pursue the path to
destruction.
4:10.
“I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young
men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have
made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not
returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
Plagues similar to those with
which He had afflicted the Egyptians; wars that had brought death to their
young men, and to the horses in which they had placed so much trust; slaughter
so great in their military camps that they reeked with the stench of the
unburied dead - all alike had failed to produce repentance. Instead of
recognizing that these calamities had been foretold, see Le 26:16,17,25; Dt
28:21,25-27,49-50, and 1 Ki 8:33, and had come because of their sin, they
apparently simply regarded them as facts of life, and not the voice of God
calling them to repentance.
Nor has today’s world been any
different. The very same disasters have been viewed in the same light, and
with the same results - they have failed to turn the people back to God in
repentance. For today’s sinful, unheeding world, as for Israel of old, there
are coming the still more terrible judgments of the Tribulation era which will
cause all past disasters to pale into comparative insignificance, as they
reduce the whole structure of society to ruins.
4:11.
“I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye
were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto
me, saith the Lord.”
Specific catastrophes similar
to those which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, are unknown, but their being
recorded here as historic realities leaves no doubt of their having occurred,
nor any doubt that those addressed by Amos were familiar with them. Some
believe the reference to be to earthquakes. Those who had survived those
judgments - and clearly those addressed were they - were likened to burning
sticks that had been plucked out of a fire, and thus had been saved from
burning, i.e., being also destroyed. Neither the destruction of their
fellows, nor their own deliverance, however, had effected any change in them:
they had continued in brazen rebellion against God.
4:12.
“Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto
thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.”
That wicked generation which
had been graciously preserved through all the judgments listed, but having
failed to repent of and forsake their sin, had simply plunged deeper and
deeper into iniquity; and now, having exhausted God’s patience, were about to
be destroyed.
Apostate Christianity, and the
rest of today’s world, having compounded their sin by ignoring the lesson of
Israel’s fate, are also about to become the objects of God’s destructive
judgments in the impending Tribulation era.
This verse is frequently used
in the gospel, and certainly it may be used for that purpose, but the preacher
should make it clear that he is making an application of it, and that
in proper context it is a message of irrevocable doom to a people who had
exhausted God’s patience, and for whom there was therefore no longer any hope
of national salvation. A few believing individuals might be saved, but
the nation was doomed.
The nature of the threatened
final judgment isn’t revealed. It may have been the Assyrian and Babylonian
captivities; the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70; or the terrible
Tribulation judgments of which those mentioned are but the precursors. The
latter seem the most likely, for they will conclude with the judgment of the
nations which will result in the consignment of all unbelievers - Jews and
Gentiles alike - into hell, and the invitation to the remainder - believing
Jews and Gentiles - to enter into the enjoyment of the blessings of the
millennial kingdom.
Beyond its immediate
application to the Israel addressed by Amos, the command, “Prepare to meet thy
God,” is one that applies to every man, believer and unbeliever alike, for we
who believe should remember that we must appear at the judgment seat of Christ
for the review of our service, and the bestowal of reward proportionate to the
faithfulness of our service, 2 Cor 5:10, while every unbeliever will be
arraigned before Him at the great white throne for the assessment of the
degree of punishment to be endured eternally in the unquenchable flame of the
lake of fire, Re 20:11-15.
4:13.
“For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth
unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth
upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.”
Having cataloged His failed
efforts to bring them to repentance so that they might be blessed, Jehovah now
proceeds to remind them that His coming judgments are no idle threats: what He
has promised to do He has the power to execute. He is the Creator Who has
brought the universe into existence simply by commanding it to be, see Ps
33:6-9, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of
them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together
as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the
Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake,
and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
His failure to bring Israel to
repentance is not to be attributed to lack of power, but to the fact that in
His sovereignty He has given man a free will, and the freedom to choose life
or death for his soul. But He has placed a limit on the time during which man
can make that choice, and once he crosses over the invisible line separating
the time of God’s permissive will from that of His directive will, the power
of choice ends. What man has chosen within that time of free willed choice
then becomes irrevocable: he remains a believer who will live for ever in
heaven, or an unbeliever who will exist, also for ever, in the torment of the
lake of fire.
Jehovah, having given a few
evidences of His omnipotence, then concludes this section by declaring His
name, “The Lord, the God of hosts (armies).” The man who chooses to make God
his enemy is guilty of consummate folly, for he thereby chooses the lake of
fire as his eternal dwelling place.
While the words, “and
declareth unto man what is his thought,” are taken by a few to mean that God
can tell man what he (man) is thinking, the majority of expositors take it to
mean that God has revealed His thoughts to men for their instruction and
warning. If the explicit revelation given Israel through Amos placed them
under responsibility to obey or perish, how much greater is man’s
responsibility today! because two thousand years ago God revealed Himself in
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written, “God, who at sundry
times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last day spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high....” Heb 1:1-3.
[Amos 5]