“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.
Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord
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! Amos 4 ESV
Amos 4
…17And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls— all the fattened animals of Bashan. 19At the sacrifice I am preparing, you will eat fat until you are gorged and drink blood until you are drunk.… Ezekiel 39: 17-19
1-3 You cows of Bashan - This is in an area in northern Israel known for its exceptionally large, well fed livestock. In Psalm 22, which details and predicts Christ's suffering on the cross, it mentions being surrounded by the bulls of Bashan, making a comparison to those that were judging and calling for Christ's crucifixion, probably many of the rich who sat on the Sanhedrin, those that abused their power, neglecting or taking advantage of the poor.
“The sarcastic epithet cows of Bashan seems to refer both to the luxury that the wealthy women enjoyed and to a certain voluptuousness and sensuality which their extravagant life-style afforded them.” (Hubbard)
…11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.… Psalm 22: 11-13
Who say to your husbands, bring that we may drink - These divas expected nothing less than first class accommodations, to be waited upon, served, even at the expense of the poor, if someone else starves then it was worth it because they needed to live in luxury. They were the kind of people that would think of love as something based in feelings, a shiny thing, to be bought or received, a sentiment, and they were incapable of knowing true love, for there was no room for true self sacrifice, theirs would have to come with a trophy. The poor were to be warn about their necks and groveling at their feet. Their husbands were a source of income and needed to idolize these high maintenance princesses, who were the center of their world.
…41But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you. 42 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. 43Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.… Luke 11: 41-43
…20Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. 21For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!… 1 Corinthians 11: 20-22
4 & 5 Come to Bethel, and transgress - Bethel means "House of God", but they did not worship God there in the manner that He prescribed. Even if they brought sacrifices every morning, followed religiously a set of rites and ritual practices, yet these would only multiply the transgression. They prayed to God by way of metal calves, idols, which He strictly forbid, directed by priests who He did not pick, they were not Levites. In fact, anyone who wanted to be a priest, for the sake of exercising such influence, for the sake of choice wine and meat, could buy this office for a price. The Samaritans no longer worshiped the true God, they worshiped idols, they worshiped themselves.
11 I am sick of your sacrifices. Don’t bring me any more of them. I don’t want your fat rams; I don’t want to see the blood from your offerings. 12-13 Who wants your sacrifices when you have no sorrow for your sins? The incense you bring me is a stench in my nostrils. Your holy celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath, and your special days for fasting—even your most pious meetings—all are frauds! I want nothing more to do with them. 14 I hate them all; I can’t stand the sight of them. 15 From now on, when you pray with your hands stretched out to heaven, I won’t look or listen. Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are those of murderers; they are covered with the blood of your innocent victims.
16 Oh, wash yourselves! Be clean! Let me no longer see you doing all these wicked things; quit your evil ways. 17 Learn to do good, to be fair, and to help the poor, the fatherless, and widows. Isaiah 1: 11-17
6-13 I gave you cleanness of teeth - He brought famine as an answer to their misuse of plenty. They were ungrateful for the much, unsharring, jealous of their neighbors, so He took away that which they had, but this did not bring them to the repentance spoken of by the prophet Isaiah above.
I withheld rain - They were a very agricultural community, and bread was a staple, so when there is no rain there was no irrigation back then, drawing from the well would be too labor intensive to water a crop. Instead of turning to God they turned to other areas that had received rain, but though it wasn't enough, yet they would not humble themselves. During Elijah's ministry it did not rain for more than 3 years, and this will happen again during the Tribulation.
16So Obadiah went to inform Ahab, who went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.… 1 Kings 18: 16-18
I struck you with blight and mildew - Crops are much more fragile, but here even the fruit trees, which are planted once and send out deep roots, even these that were counted on to flower and fruit every year were brought to failure.
I killed your young men with the sword - No longer did He fight their battles for them, and so their young men, the strength of their cities, were annihilated by war.
You were as a brand plucked out of the burning - God destroyed Sodom and rescued only Lot and his daughters. His wife was brought out with them, yet her heart remained in Sodom so God gave her over to their destruction with them. Israel was like Lot's wife, or as someone who fled the city right before it's destruction, knowing that God was against sin, and in order to be just that He would have to pay to it the wages, yet their hearts were attached to what was perishing. He spared this remnant from the complete destruction experienced by Sodom, and we would think that would be the trumpet sound that warned them of their sin, convinced them of their foolishness, yet they did not turn to God.
Prepare to meet your God - When He has warned them often, and more than strongly suggested they repent, only a lost person would not tremble then at the thought of facing God. You boast now but every ounce of your strength will feel like it is draining into your feet. They will beg the mountains to fall on them, and like the Israelites in the wilderness they will not want to hear the voice of God. You will only know that you are naked, but look, the locust have eaten all the fig leaves.
…30For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.” 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.… Hebrews 10: 30-32
4I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.… Luke 12: 4-6
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