Amos 4
- Indictment of Social Oppression (4:1–3)
It was not just the men who oppressed the poor. Here, God addressed the women of Samaria as oppressors who were obsessed with drinking parties. He used a derogatory term, “cows of Bashan”, when addressing them.
Bashan was an area of good pastureland where the cattle ate well and grew fat, having a nice life. It was east of the Jordan River in the area originally allotted to Manasseh. The area is now partially in the Golan Heights of Israel and partially in Syria.
As a result of this oppression, God swore that the women would be taken away from their land and exiled somewhere else. (3) The city would be conquered and the all torn down. The women would be tied or chained together and make to walk straight ahead, in a single file line, through the breaches in the wall, all the way to Assyria.
II. Condemnation of Empty Worship (4:4–5)
It turns out that God can be sarcastic. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony, characterized by stating the opposite of what is actually intended, typically with a mocking, critical, or humorous intent. It is designed to insult, amuse, or convey irritation, often utilizing a specific, drawn-out, or lower-pitched tone of voice to signal that the words should not be taken literally.
God called the people to worship at Bethel, the site of one of the golden calf idols. He said bring those sacrifices, tithes, and offering. Let people know you did it (publish it). Because this is what you love to do.
The people were engaged in public displays of worship of these idols. They did all the things they were supposed to do in the worship of God at the temple in Jerusalem. But, they had perverted the proscribed worship with idolatry. We can see that the idea “it does not matter what you believe as long as you believe” is false. God actually finds it abhorrent.
In the New Testament, Jesus condemned the Jews for some of these same things. They did not worship idols, but they deed all their deeds to be seen by others. (Matthew 23:5) Like the Israelites of Amos’ time, they had a lot of ritual, but failed to practice justice, mercy and faithfulness. (Matthew 23:23)
III. Discipline Rejected: “Yet You Did Not Return to Me” (4:6–11)
In this passage, God lists the covenant curses he imposed on them to bring them to repentance. (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). But they did not repent. After God recites each covenantal curse imposed on them, he concluded with “Yet you did not return to me”. (6,8,9,10,11)
First, God brought famine (cleanest of teeth) to them. But, that did not bring repentance.
Next, he brought drought (withholding the rain) during the months before harvest. (7-8) They did not have enough water to drink and their fields dried up, killing the crops. Yet, they did not return to God.
He struck them with blight and mildew in their gardens, vineyards, and orchards. He sent locusts to eat their fruit trees, a pestilence. (10) Yet that did not make them repent.
God then brought war to them. Their young men were killed and their horses taken. Yet, they still did not repent.
Finally, God overthrew some of their cities just as he had overthrown Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, they still did not repent and return to the Lord.
God’s judgment was not just punitive. It was corrective. He did it to bring them to repentance. It was discipline to bring restoration.
In the New covenant, God delegates corrective discipline partially to the church. In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus set out the process for church discipline. If a person sinned, the one harmed should speak to him. If he does not listen, the person takes others with him to speak to the one who sinned. If he refuses to listen to them, the matter is to be taken to the church. If he still refuses to listen, he is to be removed from the church and treated as an outsider.
Paul urged the Corinthian church to impose disciple on a member who was living in sexual immorality by removing him from the congregation. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians deals with the follow-up to excommunication. In 2 Corinthians 2:5–11, Paul seems to be talking about the very same person he had instructed the church to excommunicate.
The sinner had repented, and Paul writes, “The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him” (verses 6–8).
As soon as the excommunicated believer repents, he should be welcomed back into warm relationship with the church community. Once repentance has been established, the excommunication should be fully reversed. The goal has been accomplished.
However, God also reserves the right to judge and discipline churches. We see this in the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. For example, God called the church in Ephesus to repent and do the works they did when they first came to faith. If not, God did he will come to them and remove their lamp stand. (Revelation 2:4-5)
God may also discipline individual believers. The book of Hebrews addresses this. The writer quotes Proverbs 3:11-12:
My son, do not regard lightly the disciple of the Lord,
Nor be weary when reproved by him.
for theLord disciplines the one he loves
and chastises every son whom he receives.
The writer goes on to say that God disciplines us for our good, to move us toward holiness. (Hebrews 12:3-10)
IV. The Climactic Warning: “Prepare to Meet Your God” (4:12–13)
Because of Israel’s refusal to repent, God says he is coming in judgment. The Israelites may have looked to the Day of the Lord as rescue or vindication, but God says it will be judgment instead.
God then identifies himself as the creator of the earth, the one who knows all things, and as God of hosts, (Sabaoth).“Hosts” refers to vast angel armies. Some translations, such at the New International Version, use the term Lord God Almighty instead of LORD of Hosts.
This is the one who will impose judgment against them. He is not weak or incapable, rather he is powerful and sovereign.
Takeaways
God’s Holiness - he is holy and expects his people to be
Social Justice Matters to God
Religious Activity ≠ Repentance and worship
Divine Discipline Aims at Return
God’s Patience Has Limits
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