Amos 4-6

Amos 4

Amos 4:1-3 Cows worship a golden bull. They constantly consume luxury, the richest goods. The superficial religion of offerings, tithes, and sacrifices doesn’t address the deep self-centered sin manifested in oppressing the poor, because they continue to do it. 

Amos 4:4-5 They go to religious sites and brag about their offerings. Jesus remarked on public displays of offerings in contrasting the large offerings of the wealthy to the widow’s two cents. (Luke 21:1-4) Are our offerings done for show before man, or before God to try to manipulate Him, or an attitude of meek obedience? 

 

Amos 4:6-11 Amos lists the ways God rebuked the Israelites, that they did not respond by turning back to Him.

• Amos 4:6 Famine
• Amos 4:7-8 Drought
• Amos 4:9 Blight, mildew, and locusts
• Amos 4:10 Plague
• Amos 4:11 Fire from Heaven

Amos 4:12-13 To get them to return to Him, God will reveal Himself to them. The almighty, uncreated creator who simply is, will meet them. In 4:2 He sovereignly swore by His holiness that a day was coming. What day? The day of the Lord. The response to seeing Him is recorded by His servants as overwhelming. (Isaiah 6:5; Daniel 10:8-9; Revelation 1:17, 22:8) What will be the response of those who have rebelled against Him? (Daniel 10:7; Hosea 10:8; Revelation 6:16)

Amos 5

Amos 5:1-3 The Lord laments what will happen to Israel as she reaps what she has sowed. He does not take any pleasure in this, but grieves, not that He has deserted them, but that they have deserted Him.

Amos 5:4-6 God pleads with them to seek Him for their own benefit. Only He offers life. Religious rites at religious sites offer nothing if their hearts aren’t right.

Amos 5:7-15 God enumerates their sins, from His eternal perspective, that are calling forth inevitable disasters: injustice, unrighteousness, lying, exploiting the poor, oppressing the innocent. He pleads with them to turn from these. What does He want? To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. (Micah 6:8) This is a life and death issue, both individually and nationally. 

Amos 5:16-20 When it is too late, then they will cry. But it will be because He is present among them. There will be darkness. Whether this will be physical or spiritual darkness isn’t clear, but the language suggests physical as fell on Egypt during the ninth plague. (Exodus 10:21-23) They already were in spiritual darkness.

Amos 5:21-27 Hypocritical worship is worse than useless; it is offensive to God. He is looking for lives that embody justice and righteousness, like the rainy season in Israel that brings water to the crops, so that there will be a harvest. The harvest of their idolatry will be exile beyond Damascus. This crop was reaped about 722 BC, when Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, invaded and captured Samaria, and deported the Israelites. (2 Kings 17:3-23)

Amos 6

Amos 6:1-3 The ruling class of Samaria felt secure based on geography, not on God. They did not take into account things that were out of view, beyond the mountains. If they had gone to look at other locations of previous battles, they would have reckoned with risks. There is a coming reign of terror, because of their actions. 

Amos 6:4-7 Amos lists their luxuries, which they believe they are entitled and will continue.

• Ivory beds and couches 
• Choice meats
• Pleasant musical instruments for entertainment
• Lots of wine
• Lotion

God grieves over Manasseh and Ephraim’s ruin, but the people in charge do not. Their luxuries will end, and they are oblivious to the spiritual reality.

Amos 6:8-14 Many will die, and survivors will hide from the Assyrians and deny YHWH to avoid death or exile. But the Lord is in charge; people can’t hide in demolished houses, large or small. Some things simply don’t work, like trying to plow the sea. Turning virtues into evil may try to boast of strength, but the Lord will bring a conqueror against them that will oppress the entire nation. The sins of the rulers will ruin the people as a whole. The Assyrians will come to exile everyone. They will bring non-Jews to settle in Samaria, who will be despised by the Jews. (2 Kings 17:23-24) The Samaritans were despised in the time of Christ because they weren’t descended from Jacob, or were mixed-breed. But Jesus ministered to the Samaritans (John 4:4-42) and told a parable comparing Jews unfavorably with them. (Luke 10:30-37)