Amos 4:1-13. Chapter four is the next message to the people of the Northern Kingdom.  In the last message Amos confronted and warned the Israelites by comparing them to some of their harsh and evil neighbors.  This next sermon is not any more gentle.

Bashan is a fertile plain east of the Sea of Galilee.  This area was part of the territory given to the family or tribe of Manasseh, one of the ten tribes in the Northern Kingdom.  It would have been an area very suitable for grazing cattle.  Cookie and I have a running joke when ever we drive somewhere; if we are passing by cows in a field I always mention how they are always just standing around eating.  I tell her that the ranchers must come out and move them every once in a while because they never walk.  Over the years she has tried to point out examples of cows walking but I conveniently seem to be looking the other way.  At any time in any language I think it’s not much of a compliment to call someone a cow.  Cows seem to be kind of fat and laid back.  Amos is evidently directing this particular comment at rich women of the Northern Kingdom and he clearly is not complimenting them.  Sure enough they are all about their own easy life; they oppress the poor, crush the need (like cows trampling down the field as they stampeed maybe(can’t admit they walk)), and they nag their husbands for more (the verb in this last part is in a form called an imperative, that means they are being insistent or nagging).  God has noticed this selfishness and the result is that these women will suffer the fate of most cows or cattle, they will be carried away with meat hooks.  A few might escape but they will no longer be standing around grazing in a nice pasture.  Scholars don’t really know of a place called Harmon.  The Hebrew language has “root” words that have suffixes.  This word seems to be related to a root that means “piled up”.  The actual word is used only here in the Bible.  In many other cases the root is translated as mountain or hill.  Isaiah uses a form of the root in Isaiah 25:10 when he declares that a certain “mountain” will be treated like a pile of manure.  Some scholars think that Amos might be saying something similar; that these selfish women will trade their lush pasture for a muddy manure filled field all trampled down like the people they had walked on (Oh! I mean stampeded on, no walking).

It is interesting that about 40 years later the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom and ended it’s existence.  They led many of the leading people away and brought foreigners in to live among and intermarry with the Israelites.  The Assyrians wanted to destroy any identity and tribal loyalty.  These intermarried people came to be known as Samaritans.  In 2 Chronicles 33:11 we find a story of a later king of the Southern Kingdom being captured by the Assyrian army.  In that verse we are told that he was bound with chains and led away with hooks.  The Assyrians would put hooks into the lips of their captives and lead them around that way.  So it is quite possible that some of the leading women in the time of Amos were literally led away with hooks at the time of the Assyrian captivity about 40 years later.  Just because Amos is using the women as an example here it does not mean tht men are off the hook.  In verse 2 the first “you” is in a masculine form meaning that the prediction does not just apply to women.

Verses 4-5 give us more information about just how bad these selfish people were.  These verses paint a picture of people who are very religious; every morning they make sacrifices and every three days they give 10% of their money.  But where are they doing this?  In Gilgal and Bethel, their “alternate” worship centers.  In verse 4 God calls this offensive.  Don’t get confused by verse 5 either when it looks like God is telling them to do even more; the statement is sort of sarcastic like, “Sure just keep on spitting in my face!”  We see from verse 5 that they love their religion but that doesn’t change that face that they are truly worshipping false gods and falsely trying to honor the true God.  We need to honor God where and how he tells us to other wise we are only trying to impress ourselves and others.

Verses 6-11 we see God dealing with the rebellion and disobedience (sins) of the Israelites.  We see hunger,  drought,  too much rain or rain at the wrong time (causing mildew on their crops), wind that dried their crops up, a caterpillar invasion (different from the mentioned earlier), plagues, war, and some other sort of destruction like “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 19).  In verses 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) we see a phrase repeated that tells us two things.  First, although Amos started off this book by calling it “the words of Amos” we see that it is really ll from God.  In all four of these verse it is Yahweh ( the LORD) who is talking.  Second we see that God is disappointed that the people have not turned back to him.  God will sometimes bring trouble into our lives to get our attention, to help us realize that rejecting His ways can hurt us now and will hurt us in eternity if we do not turn back to Him.  Of course turning back doesn’t take away our guilt for past disobedience and the consequence for that is separation from God (that is what the word “death” means).  Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that we all sin and in Romans 6:23 that by sinning we earn “death” or separation from God, forever.  Thankfully the same love and desire for a relationship with those early Israelites (and us) that made God so disappointed at their failure to turn their lives back to Him (and our failure too), also motivate God to do something about it all beyond the “time outs” and “spankings” he gave them (and us).  The same verse in which Paul tells us that by “sinning” we have earned eternal separation from God (death) he tells us of God’s loving solution; God will freely give us eternal life (a restored relationship with him forever) through Jesus.  Jesus took our punishment on that cross.  Jesus’ follower John tells us in 1 John 2:2 that Jesus death was enough for every man and woman who ever lived or ever will but he also told us in John 1:12 that it will only apply to those people who take the gift by believing in and trusting in Jesus as the only way to have a fixed relationship with God.  Verses 12 encourages the people to respond once more by telling them to prepare to meet God.  The way verse 13  describes God not only indicates that we are dealing with the “real deal” but I think echoes back to the beginning of this message when Amos describes God as “holy”.  Holy has the idea of purity and a pure and holy God must deal with our evil but he also loving reaches out to us (notice in v. 13 where he “declares his thoughts to us”).  The question now is, “How will you respond?”  Will all of the troubles that living in a fallen and sinful world remind you of the holiness and love of God and turn you back to him or will you continue to ignore the truth and be led to eternal destruction by our selfish desire for pleasure now?

God thank you for being loving and patient.  Thank you for being clear.  Thank you for wanting us back even though we have been unfaithful.  Help me respond each day to your love for me by honoring you in your way and by treating others with love and respect.  You are the creator God and your way is the only real and good way.