20240217

fat cows

Amos 4:1-13 (JDV)

Amos 4:1 Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the hill of Samaria, women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to their husbands, “Bring us something to drink.”
Amos 4:2 The Lord Yahveh has sworn by his holiness: Notice, the days are coming when you will be taken away with butcher’s hooks, and the last of you with fishhooks.
Amos 4:3 You will go through breaches in the wall, each woman straight ahead, and you will be driven along toward Harmon. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:4 Come to Bethel and rebel; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tenths every three days.
Amos 4:5 Offer leavened bread as a thank offering, and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings, because that is what you Israelites love to do! This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:6 I gave you clean teeth in all your cities, a shortage of food in all your communities, yet you did not return to me. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:7 I also withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest. I sent rain in one city but no rain in another. One field received rain while a field with no rain withered.
Amos 4:8 Two or three cities staggered to another city to drink water but were not satisfied, yet you did not return to me. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:9 I struck you with blight and mildew; the recently mature locust1 devoured your many gardens and vineyards, your fig trees and olive trees, yet you did not return to me. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:10 I sent plagues like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I caused the stench of your camp to fill your nostrils, yet you did not return to me. This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:11 I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick snatched from a fire, yet you did not return to me — This is Yahveh’s declaration.
Amos 4:12 Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you, and since I will do that to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God!
Amos 4:13 Notice: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the land. Yahveh, the God of Armies, is his name.

fat cows

The fat cows of Bashan stand as a symbol of a people who have chosen to satisfy themselves above all else. Even their religious practices are a means of demonstrating their selfishness. The only reason they “darken the door” of the temple is to bring offerings so that others can know how rich they are. The LORD sent judgment after judgment upon Israel, and yet they continued to play with life and religion. Now, his only recourse is to force them to meet him in judgment again.

LORD, forgive us for the flippant and selfish way we have treated our churches, and You. Change us into people who truly fear and love you.