New Life Bible Fellowship Church
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      • Psalm 113:4–6NKJV

  • Holy Holy Holy
  • The Holy Heart

      • Psalm 85ESV

  • Doxology

  • Introduction:

    We continue this morning in our study of the Old Testament prophet Amos. When we left off last week, we were beginning to see the detail of why God was about to send judgment on his people Israel, particularly, the 10 northern tribes. We saw how God’s judgment was imminent, and that God is not one to threaten and not carry through with what he declares will happen. We saw how his imminent judgments would be meted out on a specific people, his people, the people that he knew intimately but had chosen not to return his intimacy. A judgment that was so reasonable that even the pagans who didn’t know him and were by no means scholars of his law understood the indictment against them. Even the inanimate objects like the mountains were called as witnesses against his people. We finally saw that this judgment would not just be a slap on the wrist, but a comprehensive judgment on their land, their worship, and their rich.
    This morning, we will delve deeper into these Prophecies against Israel, and look at the absurdity of how a blessed people who have had all the advantages, been given numerous warnings, and yet still Israel Is Unrepentant. Let’s learn together this morning as we study Amos 4.

    Text: Amos 4

    Amos 4 ESV
    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, that we may drink!’ 2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. 3 And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon,” declares the Lord. 4 “Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; 5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord God. 6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 7 “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; 8 so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 9 “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 10 “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 11 “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord. 12 “Therefore thus I will 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 the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

    Main Idea: Since God is the most holy, all powerful, all knowing God, we his people must live in such a way that we acknowledge his continual presence with us.

    This morning’s passage is the second in the covenant lawsuits that God brings against his people, with last weeks message being the first. So we begin this morning, with an indictment on…

    I. Sins of Self-Indulgence (1-5)

    A. Sins Against Idle Women (1-3)

    (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, that we may drink!’
    Amos calls certain society women, cows of Bashan. Bashan was rich pastureland northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Cattle that grazed there tended to be plump and healthy. Amos compares these society matrons of Samaria to those cattle.
    Amos charges these women with urging their husbands on to greater oppressions of the poor that their greedy animal appetites might continue to be gratified. Three sins were involved:
    (1) The society matrons were ruling their husbands;
    (2) the husbands of these women were securing their money unjustly; and
    (3) the wives were using the money wrongly, for self-gratification.
    (2) The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. (3) And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon,” declares the Lord.
    sworn by his holiness - There is no greater oath in which God can swear then to swear by himself. Holiness is at the very core of God’s attributes; it is what sets God apart from all else. This same phrase occurs once elsewhere, in Ps. 89:35. No oath can be greater or more final (Heb. 6:13-18).
    Psalm 89:35 ESV
    35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
    Hebrews 6:13–18 ESV
    13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
    After these proud women of Samaria have cast away the luxurious things of their palaces, they will be led by the Assyrians, single file through the broken-down walls (breaches) like a fisherman dragging a fish out of the water with fishhooks and chained together with chains in their noses. They will be led away into captivity and slavery.
    cast out into Harmon - this location is unknown.

    B. Sins Against Idle Worship (4-5)

    Amos in a rather sarcastic way, outlines the sins of Israel’s idle worship. It’s like a mother saying sarcastically, “I just love the fact that I broke my back cleaning and that you thank me by not wiping your feet and tracking mud on my newly cleaned floor!” Thus, far from procuring forgiveness for transgression, this activity was itself transgression!
    (4) “Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;
    Bethel … Gilgal. These were important sites in the earlier history of Israel; Bethel was a sanctuary during the period of the judges, and Samuel judged both there and at Gilgal (1 Sam. 7:16). bring your sacrifices every morning; They were also centers of syncretistic worship during the period of the divided kingdom.
    your tithes every three days. Israel’s religious observances went beyond what the law required. Though enthusiastic about ritual, they had no living relationship with God.
    (5) offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!” declares the Lord God.
    offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened - The covenant law made it clear that they were not to burn leavened bread as a sacrifice (Lev. 2:11; 6:17; 7:12). Amos sarcastically urges them to continue in their disobedience.
    proclaim freewill offerings, publish them - Israel made it clear to all around them of the great things they were doing, hoping to refocus attention from their sins against God to their display of good deeds.
    for so you love. In the ancient Near East, the term to love had special significance in covenants: the vassal’s “love” for the sovereign entailed obedience (Deut. 6:5; cf. John 14:15). The nation’s disobedience made it apparent that Israel loved rituals and idolatry rather than the Lord.

    II. Reproofs Against Sins (6-11)

    As we mentioned last week, God is not without his warnings. When his people disregard his love and subsequent call to obedience, he responds with every increasing substantive warnings that are meant to get their attention.

    A. God’s Reproofs (6-11)

    These reproofs should have been no surprise to Israel since God had clearly outlined them as part of the covenant curses he declared to Moses in Deuteronomy 28:15-68.
    (6a) “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, …
    God had sent famine.
    (7) “I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither; (8a) so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; …
    God had sent drought (4:7, 8)
    The winter rains from October through February were essential for the crops to begin their growth. The spring or “latter” rains of March and April would provide for mature growth (Jer. 5:24). The Lord had promised these rains, if Israel would obey His commands (Lev. 26:3, 4), but also warned that He would withhold them if they disobeyed (Lev. 26:18, 19; Deut. 28:23, 24).
    Note that God times and directs the rain
    (9a) “I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; …
    God had sent plagues (blasting, mildew, and locusts) (4:9)
    (10a) “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; …
    God had sent the pestilences (diseases) of Egypt
    God had slain their youth in warfare (4:10b)
    (11a) “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; …
    God had sent other judgments (4:11)
    you were as a brand plucked out of the burning - Showed God’s repeated mercy in the midst of his judgment.
    The chastisements were motivated by love and were sent to turn Israel from her sins and so eliminate the need for more and greater chastisements, Heb. 12:5–11
    Hebrews 12:5–11 ESV
    5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

    B. Israel’s Unrepentant Response (6-11)

    What should have been an aha moment for Israel, ends up being a further disregard for God himself, as he reminds them 5 times, in 5 verses, …
    (6b) “… yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
    (8b) … yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
    (9b) “… yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
    (10b) “… yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
    (11b) “… yet you did not return to me,” declares the Lord.
    If we persistently refuse reproof, then only doom awaits us, Prov. 29:1
    Proverbs 29:1 ESV
    1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
    Therefore, the only thing left is to…

    III. Prepare to Meet the Judge (12-13)

    A. The Judge will Judge (12)

    (12) “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
    We must prepare to meet God in judgment if we keep on rejecting His correction (His reproofs).
    The doom awaiting Israel is not here stated, but elsewhere in the book of Amos it is revealed to be warfare, defeat, and captivity.

    B. The Judge Is Preeminent (13)

    (13) For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
    The Person that Israel is soon to meet face to face in judgment is named and here described. He is the Lord, the God of Hosts, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Israel had better fear.
    In the end, when we violate God’s commands, we should not fear puny man but God himself!

    So What?

    Do we realize that to live in self-indulgence, seeking comfort and self-gratification as our highest goal, is a sin against God and his care for us?
    When all our efforts are focused on our comforts, we are essentially saying, “God, what you are giving me is not enough, I want more, and I deserve more.”
    Do we understand that when God allows trials to bring reproof, he does so because of his eternal love for us, who tend to lose focus on him, and brings about a realignment of our lives to his.
    Are you prepared to meet God?
    Most people fear death not just because their life as they know it ends, but because of what lies beyond the grave.
    This is why many people attempt to deny the existence of God, not because there is no evidence, but because of what the implications may be when they meet the eternal God.
    To the christian, this is a glorious truth, even though there is a fear of standing before Jesus Christ and giving an account of the things done while his ambassadors here on earth, and thus determining their rewards.
    To the unbeliever, they should fear in a greater way since God knows their ever thought, their every action, and their every word and each one of these will heap up evidence against them, incurring his wrath. Jesus says it like this:
    Matthew 10:28 ESV
    28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
    ​

      • Amos 4ESV

      • Psalm 89:35ESV

      • Hebrews 6:13–18ESV

      • Hebrews 12:5–11ESV

      • Proverbs 29:1ESV

      • Matthew 10:28ESV

  • Lord Be Glorified
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
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