Amos 4:1-3

Amos chapter 4, the first three verses of the chapter, hear this word ye kind 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, Lord God has sworn by His holiness, lo, the days shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks and your posterity with fish hooks. And ye shall go out at the breeches every cow at that which is before her. And you shall cast them into the palace, set the Lord. Thank God bless to us His sacred and holy word. evening. I once heard an advertisement for a woman’s health spa, which was called the Foxy Lady. And the idea behind the name, of course, is to promote the right image to attract new members. Most women would be very happy to perceive of the Fox, I suppose, good-looking, attractive, sleek, and so forth. Somehow, God’s choice of description for the women in Israel here lacks that kind of image that a lady would like. Without hesitation here and without reluctance, Amos addresses these dignified ladies of nobility and wealth as kind or cows. Not very pleasant, kind of insulting. Is it not? The women of Samaria certainly would not appreciate Amos’ less than flattering description of themselves. They would be extremely indignant, perhaps, that this crude farmer from Tocoa, in the southern kingdom, had the nerve to call them the culture and the elite women of the city, cows. Now, God’s prophets. are not in the business of just calling people nasty names. We find there’s a purpose in it. Amos’s words are intended as an expression of the holy indignation of God. Verse one talks about the life of luxury here that the cows of the shand enjoy. Now let me say this. You righteous women, should certainly pay attention to what God says here about the ungodly women of Samaria, lest you be tempted to be envious of their lifestyle. No matter how glamorous or perhaps how sophisticated these women saw themselves, God saw them as brute or dumb beast, if you would. The cows of Bashan. I have to look at this, at the backdrop against which God chose to use this term. During the prosperity, the economic boom, the good times which Israel enjoyed under Jerobo, the second, the king, people, especially those in the cities, enjoyed a life of luxury and abundance, and the women had it particularly good. Wealth met nice homes, choice food, fine articles of clothing, expensive trinkets, like jewelry and necklaces and earrings and so forth. This abundance of luxurious things is why Amos uses the phrase here, the cows of Bashan or the kind of Bashan. The expression, cows of Vishan has a redshan, has a redoubt. reference to a particular breed of cattle famous for their fatness and their beef because the fruitful countryside of Bashan was well known for its excellent pastures and abundant vegetation. And so the cows had plenty to eat and the ideas they became fat. They enjoyed all this abundance. Thus any cattle allowed to graze there would be, you know, good-looking, well-fed animals. Amos is saying, you women who live in luxury, you are like cows that are well-fed on the rich pasture land of Bashan. You are enjoying all the abundance of the land. So these legacies here were utterly between. materialistic. They never stopped chewing the cod here of luxury and abundance. And so they were grazing among the wealth and riches day in and day out. The second part of the verse here talks about the fact that they oppress the poor and crush the needy, say to their masters bring, let us drink. Were they content with all this luxury? Were they satisfied with the abundance that they enjoyed? No, the more they got, the more they wanted. And so we find them here always demanding more. The ordinary incomes would not do to satisfy their extravagant tastes. And so these sophisticated ladies knew how to overcome their limitations. They encouraged their husbands, which I take the word masters as referring to the husbands as the head here of the home, to engage in the trampling of the little guy, in order to gain more wealth and to achieve their ends. The important thing was to be financially secure. The important thing was to make sure you continue to have to have. this life of ease that you were enjoying. So they ruthlessly squeezed every penny they could out of the poor and the needy, like juice out of an orange, like wringing water out of a washcloth, and the Israelite wife, well, not directly involved in crushing the poor. They left that up to their husbands. They were sure on the sidelines influencing their husband. One woman said, I don’t want to be the head of the home, but the neck, which turns the head. Well, that’s kind of the idea here. The words, bring us, bring and let us drink. Indicate these women let their husbands know what pleased them. So that when their husbands went off to work in the morning for the day’s business, they were told to make sure you bring some wine home to drink when you return that evening. Don’t fail to provide what pleases me. dear, make sure we don’t have it to do without any of our pleasures. We should always recognize that excessive drinking is one of the signs of an affluent society being given over to pursuing pleasures. So who is really to blame? Well, because these women were the driving force behind what’s taking place, God places the blame right on their doorstep. You kind here of Bashan, you cows of Bashan. The injustice and violence in Israel could be traced directly to these women who had unsatisfied desires that they wanted fulfilled. So their husbands were called masters, but get the distinct impression here, that there was a queen on the throne at home running the show. to speak. So the men of Israel were certainly guilty because they would use their power influence to oppress the poor, but the wives were the ones that were coaxing them and urging them on. They were the cheerleaders, so to speak, back home. And to please their wives, the husbands engaged in further exploitation of the poor. And so he strikes God in speaking here at the very heart of the issue. and that is the cows of Bashan. Secondly, we see here that God’s holiness fires his judgment upon Israel in verses 2 and 3. Now God’s oath is spoken off here in verse 2. The Lord has sworn by His holiness. The fact that God would take an oath places his statement here as something very grave. To swear by something, to take an oath, is to add a note of assurance, a guarantee of the words that were spoken. As Hebrew 616 says, For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife, puts an end all arguments. God is taking here an oath for confirmation, so to speak. God. is saying, I’m going to punish your iniquities as surely as I am a holy God. You can count on it. It is a firm and resolute purpose that I have. God’s very nature here is brought into the picture to show the weight and the seriousness of his intentions. God swears by His holiness and an attribute which is used to express the glory of his being, that he’s most perfect and pure, that he will not tolerate evil. He will by no means clear to guilty. And God’s holiness will be magnified in the punishment of the wicked people refuse to submit his laws and his righteous ways. For as surely as God is a holy God, those who plow iniquity shall reap the same. God’s holiness ignites his wrath against sinful behavior. And then God changes the metaphor here. He stops talking about cows and he starts talking about fish. Notice he says here in the second part of verse 2, and lo the day shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks in your posterity with fish hooks, and you shall go out at the day. the breeches every cow at that which is before him and ye shall cast them into the palace said the Lord sinful activity cannot go on undisturbed forever the harvest. The harvest period of sin is approaching. You reap what you sow is the biblical principle. So there’s going to be a time Amos prophesies when your cows are going to be like fish. You’re going to be torn out of this state of luxury and from your rich homes, just as fish are pulled unexpectedly and suddenly out of their pleasant environment in the water. A fish stupidly surrenders its life by swallowing the hook with the bait on it. Failing to see the danger inside that hook or inside the bait I should say the women of Samaria here are swimming around in luxury and abundance and soon they’re going to be hooked and hauled away they’re going to be someone’s catch in fact it’s going to be like a string of fish on a line of an angler he’s going to somebody’s going to carry them all off so they’re going to be like fish in the sea Assyria is going to be the angler and soon they will be the catch of the day. The Assyrian king Issaar Hayden to commemorate his victory over Egypt had had a stone memorial carved. And on this stone, Esar Hayden, is shown holding cords, that are attached to the stones. of captive kings, as if he has him on a fishing line. This is the catch of the day, and he’s hauling them all away. The conquer people were dragged away like fish. And that’s the idea here. Note this, that evil doing will be the undermining of your entire family, you and your posterity, he says here. Not just you, not just the hundredmining, not just the husband and the wife, but all the children, everybody’s going to be whole off because of this. Assyria takes Israel into captivity, as verse three indicates here. Assyria would be, or Samaria, I should say, will be besieged. The capital city was going to be besieged by the Assyrians. And her protective walls will be battered down. There will be holes in the walls as they have broken it down. in their siege. And when the Assyrians drag them away, there would be a hole or a breach in the wall for each woman to pass through. No detours. We don’t have to go all the way around to the front gate to get out in and out. No, no, there’ll be holes in the walls all over the place for people to be taken out of the city. Verse three is somewhat difficult to translate. You shall cast them into the palace. some translate this cast they’ll be cast forth into Harmon. This could mean that the Israelites will attempt to hide themselves in the palace of Samaria, the royal palace, which would be more fortified, would be the last place of refuge maybe in the city, when it’s taken away by the enemy. Or, it could indicate a place of unknown exile, and they would be exiles in the land where they would be slaves and outcasts. And many commentators think the reference is to Armenia or Harmon, a mountainous area in the northern part of Assyria’s borders where Turkey borders do Black Sea today. But despite the uncertainty to detail, the overall sense is clear. You’re going to be captive to a foreign nation. and you will be all hauled away. So God’s holiness fires his judgment upon Israel. Now, what are the practical implications of this text? What are the observations we could make from this text tonight? Well, the first thing I suggest to you is this. A woman can exert great influence over her husband. The influence which a wife can exercise over her husband, and either for good or bad can hardly be underestimated. A woman can act a part of an angel or a devil. She can have a preserving influence or a corrupting influence in the life of her husband. She can be a Priscilla, the godly wife of Aquila, you remember, an aid to his holiness and godliness, or she can be a priscilla. She can be a Jezebel, who was the evil wife of Ahab and just urged him on and all the evil doings that he engaged in. Whatever role she chooses, she’s usually pretty consistent in that role. It’s no exaggeration to say in world history, the course of many a man’s life has been influenced by the woman, her husband, or his wife. The deeds that fill many a man’s life can only be explained by the fact there was someone behind him pushing him, urging him on, whether there would be conflicts or thefts or even murder. When you read about Jezebel and how she ended up putting Naboth to death, in order to steal his vineyard, she was behind all that in giving her husband the vineyard of that man. Now, this devil was certainly aware of the woman’s potential here, powerful potential to influence her husband. The drama here of Samaria, where women led their husbands down the wrong path, is only really a sequel to what took place in paradise in the beginning. When you think about it, the devil probably knew Eve was the best way to get at Adam. So a frontal assault on Adam was never made. Satan used the indirect approach. He used the woman that Adam loved, his own wife, Eve, to be his representative and do the work for him. And so he approaches Adam indirectly and tempts him, appealing to him through his lovely wife, Eve. And this is the method the devil has used from that time period, from that time period on. It just seems like Satan knows which buttons to push who to use. We read in the book. book of Job. When Satan is tempting Job to curse God to his face, he uses Job’s wife. When all things go bad and he loses everything, she’s wanted to just curse God and die. That was Satan, using her to influence her husband. Satan still uses it very successfully today. Satan still in marriages. So ladies, you need to ponder how Satan may use you to influence your husband for evil. So ladies ask yourself, in what ways am I guilty of being like the women of Samaria? The conditions of Samaria are not that far removed from the wealthy society, the luxury that we enjoy in our own society. The women of Samaria wanted to preserve their lives. luxury at all cost to maintain their position. To achieve this goal, they encourage their husband to use sinful means. Often husbands get pushed too far in order to satisfy their wives. Pressure is always on the man, you know, to make more money, to do more, to provide, to heap up riches by any means necessary. You remember what Paul said to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 733, how they he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. The point of that is, you know, the unmarried man, hopefully is focused on honoring God, but sometimes the married man gets so caught up in pleasing his wife that he’s not focused as much as he should be on pleasing God. Now, it’s not necessarily wrong to want new things in life. ladies, we have to be careful where our priorities lie, that covetousness is not the leading factor in our lines. Perhaps we need to ponder carefully what Paul wrote to Timothy. Look at 1 Timothy 6 and verses 6 through 11 with me tonight, if you would. 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verses 6 through 11. Paul writes here, The godliness with contentment is great gain. But we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. Having food and raiment, let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. The love for the love of money is the root of all evil. which, while some coveted after, they’ve erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, old man of God, flee these things, follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. What are the things we ought to pursue as the people of God and as godly women are these traits of verse 11, these fruit of the spirit, if you would, rather than having a covetous nature about us. And so we can see here the need to be careful in regard to these things. You know, having the best in the latest fashions is not that really and that important. Having a beautiful hairdo. is not your primary goal. Not that we can’t have the latest fashions or have nice clothes or get our hair fixed. But keeping up with the Joneses should not be the driving force behind all that we do. I like what one husband said to his wife. He says, I don’t mind trying to keep up with the Joneses, but I’m tired of being the Joneses. The main focus for you as a godly woman is on these spiritual traits. So let it be understood. And I’m not saying that we have to look like a little orphan Annie or, as some of you may remember, you know, Philist Diller on a bad day or something of that nature. But we don’t have to be all consumed about our clothing and our jewelry and all these things that other people of this world are so focused on and make a priority because their priorities are misconstrued. So you need you ask yourself, Am I a cow Bashan? Am I materially overfed? Am I acting like someone who is materially overfed? And then if you would look at 1st Peter chapter 1, verse 3 to 6. Because ladies, I suggest you covet what God considers important. Here is what the scriptures indicate to us is important. First Peter chapter 3. and verses three to six. I was going to read verses three to six of chapter three of 1st Peter. Who’s adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold or putting on the apparel, but it let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible, even the ornament ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. for after this manner in old time the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection to their own husband even as sarah obeyed abraham calling him lord whose daughters ye are as long as you do well and are not afraid with any amazement proverbs 31 we read about the the godly woman there Proverbs 31 12, she will do him, her husband, good, and not evil all the days of his life. Promote good with regard to her husband. In Proverbs 31.30, favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. The fear of the Lord is an important trait for godly women to have. It’s not the new clothes or the new houses and a new cars or the jewelry or things of this nature. But it’s the beauty here of the hidden person of the heart, the charm of having a gentle and peaceful spirit, a godly character. Developing a respectful and obedient attitude toward your husband. You notice Sarah calls her husband Lord in this past. And so the whole idea is cultivate spiritual fruit as the most important thing in your Christian life. Make the best of what God grants you. And then you’ll be more valuable to God in his kingdom and more valuable to your husband. And he will say indeed that you are someone whose price is far above rubies. as Proverbs 31.10 indicates. So a woman can exert great influence on her husband. Secondly, we see the importance of encouraging her husband to do what’s right in God’s eyes or God’s sight. Did you notice these cows of Bashan called their husband’s master, sort of like Sarah calls her husband, her lord in this passage. Now, these women were mouthing the words. words of submissiveness, but they show no evidence of true godliness and no real reverence for their husbands here. In this case, they had the language of piety without the inner commitment to God’s will. God’s will is for a wife to be submissive to her husband with the very purpose of God’s word being paramount in the lives of the husband and the wife. If anything, these wives should be submissive to her husband and her husband, and the wife. should have opposed their husband’s evil schemes rather than promoting them. Acknowledging that your husband is the master, the head or the leader of the home is right, certainly, but encourage him to rule the home according to God’s will is another thing altogether. There are times when a wife must oppose, even perhaps gently rebuke her husband when he’s wrong, because your duty is to God first. We ought to obey God rather than man, even if that man is your husband. Husbands do not always do what is right or proper. Abigail opposed her husband, Nabal, knowing that he was doing wrong. He should have given David more respect and not, treated him and his messengers rudely. Safara should have opposed her husband, Ananias, instead of conspiring with him, to lie under the church. Or as Peter says, you’ve lied under the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So there may be times when the why as a wife, you must say to your husband, this is wrong, this is not the best choice. God would have us do something else. sure you have biblical grounds for making such a stand. But it can’t just be a whim on your part, and certainly should be even respectful in our opposition to our husbands, but encouraged them to do right and to do what’s pleasing in the sight of God. Well, let us close with a word of prayer tonight.