Amos 4

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Amos
Chapter 4 From Bad to Worse««
If you have not read Chapter 4, please go ahead and do so«..
Recall that we were talking about Samaria in Chapter 3
 Samaria is the capital of Israel  Israel is the Northern Kingdom  Israel was involved in sinning as they were worshipping Baal  There was also no justice in Israel
Take a look at the first 3 verses
  The Cows of Bashan were actually cows. They lived in Bashan which is a lush pasture near the Jordan River where cows go to get fattened. Actually the best cows and the fattest come from this area. Amos¶ anger was directed against the elite women in Samaria who were the upper crust of society. They were the wives of landowners, businessmen, and politicians They were overweight while other folks went hungry. So Amos was calling them FAT COWS!!! How NOT to win friends and influence people
 
   
What is going to happen to the Fat Cows????
 Notice that in verse 2, it says that they will be taken away with hooks  Hooks were used to prod cattle or to take them away when they are dead  So, these women will die and be taken away
Verses 4 and 5 are interesting
     Bethel was a site in northern Israel that was critical for the Jews It was here where Jacob dreamed of the ladder from heaven to earth (see Genesis) It was a holy place and people would come for miles to worship there. They would bring sacrifices and offerings Amos is saying that the worship at Bethel is not true worship because how can you worship God when there is so much corruption in society? How can you worship God when the poor are oppressed? There is a critical relationship here between the right worship of God and the condition of society
 
Gilgal
     Take a look at the book of Joshua In this book, we see Israel crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land When they cross, the water is parted for them. They are told by God to take 12 stones from the river bed and set up an altar. So, Gilgal is a holy place where people would go and offer sacrifices and worship God. Again, the same problem as before² how can you worship God when there is so much corruption in society?

Of Course«««
 This line of thought raises a question for us  Considering we live in a society where it can be argued there is injustice  Can we have a true worship of God?  Should we as a church work to right these injustices?  How?
Rest of the chapter
 The rest of the chapter (verses 6-13) is really a call to WAKE UP!!!!  God declares rain has been withheld, people have gone hungry, gardens and vineyards have been struck with disease, and there have been plagues  These are all wake up calls to repent and turn from sinful ways  If you ignore them, things will get worse«..
So«««««««
 Are people and their needs on top of our agendas?  Are there injustices in our society?  If the answer is YES to these, can we have true worship of God????