AMOS LESSON 4
We will begin this lesson in Amos 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."
"Kine", in the verse above, means a heifer. This is not a female
cow, but speaking of women. It is terrible, when a woman has no
compassion on the poor. In the 31st chapter of Proverbs, there is a
description of a virtuous woman. Read it all. I will give one verse
here. Proverbs 31:20 "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea,
she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." The woman, in verse 1 of
this lesson, is the opposite of a virtuous woman. The woman, in verse
1 of this lesson, is a disgrace to womanhood. She is not only greedy
and hurtful to the poor, but it appears she is a drinker, as well. It
is bad enough to see an evil man, but an evil woman, no one can bear.
Amos 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."
God swears by Himself, because there is no one above Him. He is
Holiness. God is absolute Truth and Holiness. The mention of the
"hooks" means that the people will be helpless to save themselves.
God will take them away, as if they had a hook in their mouth. A fish
is helpless, when he has a fishhook in his mouth.
Amos 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."
Cattle find a hole in the fence, and go through it. These women
will find a break in the wall, and go out at it. They will be carried
away by the enemy to their stronghold.
Amos 4:4 "Come to Beth-el, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply
transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your
tithes after three years:"
Beth-el and Gilgal had been places of true worship in the past.
These of Israel had turned both places into a place for false worship.
They, both, were places where idols were worshipped. It is so strange
that all the time the Israelites were worshipping false gods, they
were still going through the motion of worshipping God. They were
still sacrificing every day, as they had before they started
worshipping false gods. There was a tithe that took place every third
year, but most believe this is speaking of a tithe every three weeks
which is not the law. This tithe had to be associated with their
worship of false gods. In 2nd Timothy chapter 3, we read that even in
our day, people will have a form of godliness, but deny the power
thereof.
Amos 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."
Leaven symbolizes sin. The law forbidS any leaven in any meat
offering consumed by fire. Leavened bread was never to touch the
altar. We see, they had strayed very far from the law of their
fathers.
Amos 4:6 "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all
your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not
returned unto me, saith the LORD."
The fact that their teeth were clean indicates a famine in the
land. God brought the famine to cause them to repent and return to
Him. Even the famine did not cause them to repent of their sins.
Amos 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."
This is speaking of a drought coming. Again, God did this to get
them to repent and turn back to Him, and they did not. He caused such
selective places to rain, that it should have been obvious that this
was a judgement of God upon them.
Amos 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."
Sometimes, the drought was so bad, they had to go to another city
to get water. They still did not recognize God's hand in this, and did
not repent.
Amos 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."
Even when they did make a crop, God sent mildew and ruined the
fruit and vegetables. They still did not realize, they were being
punished for sin in their lives, and they did not repent and turn to
God. Even the palmerworm {a type of locust} did not cause them to
repent. God's promise had been to bless them, if they obeyed Him, and
to curse them, if they did not. If they had known His Word, they
should have understood what was happening. It was within their own
power to stop all of this. They just needed to repent and return to
God.
Amos 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."
Each punishment that God sent on them became a little worse, but
it did no good at all. They did not repent. Even the loss of their
sons to the sword, did not cause them to repent. The loss of their
horses did not affect them either. The stink comes from the unburied
dead bodies, possibly, from some battle.
Amos 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."
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone falling
from God in heaven. A very similar thing had happened to some of them,
but they were not moved enough to repent and return to God.
Amos 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."
This last punishment will be so great, that they will die. All of
the plagues God had sent before to warn them, had not caused them to
repent. God does not tell them exactly what this next punishment is,
but frightens them by telling them to prepare to meet their God.
Amos 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."
This is a declaration that Creator God will bring this punishment
on them. This is no idle threat, but is made by the Ruler of the
universe. The mountains are from generation to generation, and are one
of the most permanent of His creations. No one knows where the wind
comes from, but God created it, too. God is God of all His creation.
The Lord, Jehovah, the Eternal One , Alpha and Omega, the One who
exists, the All Powerful, is still in control of all. He can do with
any of it whatever He chooses. It all belongs to God.
Amos 4 Questions
1. What does "kine" mean?
2. Who are the kine in verse 1?
3. Where, in Proverbs, do we read about the virtuous woman?
4. Quote Proverbs chapter 31 verse 20.
5. This woman, in verse 1, is a disgrace to ___________.
6. What had God sworn by?
7. Why did He swear by that?
8. What does the mention of the "hooks" mean?
9. Where do the women go to find a way of escape?
10. What did Beth-el and Gilgal have in common?
11. What terrible thing had happened to them?
12. What do we read about, in 2nd Timothy chapter 3, that is similar
to their problem?
13. Leaven symbolizes ____.
14. The law forbids leaven in what offering?
15. Why were their teeth clean?
16. Why had God allowed this to happen to them?
17. What is verse 7 speaking of?
18. How bad was the drought?
19. When they did make a crop, what did God do to destroy it?
20. Each punishment that God sent on them became a little _______.
21. What did the stink come from?
22. How were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed?
23. What did God tell them to prepare to do?
24. What is verse 13 a declaration of?
25. Why can God do this?
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