Amos 4:1-13
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 wine, let us drink!"
2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:
"Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will be cast into Harmon,"
Says the LORD.
4 "Come to Bethel and transgress,
At Gilgal multiply transgression;
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.
5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!"
Says the Lord GOD.
6 "Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
7 "I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
9 "I blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
10 "I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
11 "I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,"
Says the LORD.
12 "Therefore thus will I 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,
Who declares to man what his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
Who treads the high places of the earth—
The LORD God of hosts is His name.
These cows of Bashan were from rich ones on the fertile hills east of the Jordan river but who now lived in Samaria (capital of Israel) who thought themselves better because of their position and possessions. This pride was the source of their prejudice with these women symbolized as cows oppressing the poor and crushing the needy instead of caring for them in humility. They looked down on others who were seen as less than them because of these temporal advantages. God told them that they would be fished out of their comfortable places and thrown into a castle called Harmon most likely used as a prison for their crimes of unrighteousness. They loved to bring sacrifices and tithes as religious shows to earn an outward holiness, but the LORD only told them they loved their works and themselves in their insincerity. Israel did not accept correction even though He tested them in many ways with famine, drought, blight and ruin of their crops with locusts as in Egypt, death by disease and attacks, and still He told them, “you have not returned to Me.” He repeated this five times to gain their attention. His calls for repentance were inexplicably left unanswered after all these attempts to gain their attention to turn from sin to Him once more, even as He plucked some of them out of the fire. They were just never satisfied and so God gave the ultimatum that they were about to meet their God, spoken to call them to accountability and subsequent judgment. To make these promises clear, the prophet Amos extolled the sovereign might of the Almighty LORD God’s abilities, character, and actions. He is described as the Creator of the universe and the world they lived on which He provided the nature to sustain them. He is described as omniscient to know every attempted hidden thought (Psalm 94:11, 139:2, Matthew 9:4, 1 Corinthians 3:20) they tried to hide. He is described as the One above all and all things who even makes night and day as He walks in heaven unseen above. Yes, this is the One true God who is who He is, Yahweh God over all He created! They were not just being judged for breaking some rules, but for rejecting their God along with His word and will in willful disregard and disobedience. The five-fold call to repent was finalized with the ultimatum to turn from sin to Him or face Him to be held to account. We all likewise are called to repent of our sin by confessing we are sinful, believe in Christ’s sacrificial atoning work, and face Him in humility for deliverance from our just due. Otherwise, we also will be called to face this same Almighty LORD of all creation in the final day of judgment after death (Hebrews 9:27-28).
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