Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord. Amos 4:1-13
“Prepare to Meet thy God, O Israel”
II. THE STATEMENT OF ISRAEL’S ACCUSATION, Amos 3-6
2. Defiance of God’s Judgments, Amo_4:1-13
SINS THAT DEMAND REBUKE
Hear this word, you [well-fed, pampered] cows (women) of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who say to their husbands, “Bring [the wine] now, and let us drink!” [Psa_22:12; Eze_39:18]
The Lord GOD has sworn [an oath] by His holiness That, “Behold, the days are coming upon you When they shall take you away with meat hooks, And the last of you with fish hooks. [Psa_89:35]
Amo 4:3 “And you shall go out through the breaches [made in the city wall], Every woman straight before her [unable to turn aside], And you shall be cast to Harmon,” Says the LORD.
“Come to Bethel [where the golden calf is] and transgress; In Gilgal [where idols are worshiped] multiply transgression; Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days!
“Offer [by burning] a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, And [boastfully] proclaim freewill offerings, announce them. For this you so love to do, O children of Israel!” Says the Lord GOD.
ISRAEL HAS NOT RETURNED TO THE LORD
“I also gave you cleanness of teeth [because of the famine] in all your cities And lack of bread in all your places, Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the LORD.
“Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you When there were still three months until the harvest. Then I would send rain on one city, And on another city I would not send rain; One piece of ground was rained on, While the part not rained on would dry up.
“So [the people of] two or three cities would stagger into one city to drink water, But would not be satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the LORD.
“I wounded you with blight [from the hot, blasting east wind] and with mildew; And the caterpillar devoured Your many gardens and vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees; Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the LORD.
“I sent a plague among you like [those of] Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword and I captured your horses, I made the stench of your camp rise up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the LORD. [2Ki_8:12; 2Ki_13:3, 2Ki_13:7]
“I overthrew and destroyed [some among] you, as [I, your] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were [rescued] like a log pulled out of the flame; Yet you have not returned to Me [in repentance],” says the LORD. [Gen_19:24-25; Isa_13:19; Jer_49:18]
CALAMITIES ARE GOD’S WARNINGS
Speaking after the imagery of his vocation, Amos the herdsman compares the rich and powerful of Samaria, who were living in luxury and wantonness, to the kine of Bashan, a breed of cattle notorious for strength and stubbornness. They broke through hedges, threw down fences, trespassed on neighboring pastures, and gored lesser cattle. The judges and magistrates were in cruel collusion with the masters who oppressed the serfs, and were willing to condone breaches of the law for drink. Sacrifices and tithes were rigorously maintained, but the entire religious system was rotten.
Already heavy judgment had fallen upon the degenerate people. There had been famine, the intermission of the rainy seasons, blasting and mildew, pestilence and murrain-but all in vain. That God was behind these phenomena was obvious from the fact that rain showers had fallen in one place and not in another. There had been a method in God’s dealings that indicated a personal agency. The worst cities had suffered the most. But the people had refused to lay it to heart. Note the sorrowful refrain-yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. It may be that some reader of these lines may find herein a clue to the mysterious succession of strokes that have befallen himself and his household.
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