1
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,
who are on the mountain of Samaria,
who oppress the weak, who crush the poor,
who say to your masters:
Bring now, that we may drink!”
2
The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness:
surely, the days are coming upon you,
when they shall take you away with hooks,
and your descendants with fishhooks.
3
You shall go out through the breaches in the wall,
each one straight ahead,
and you shall be cast toward Hermon,”
declares the LORD.
4
“Come to Bethel and do evil,
to Gilgal and multiply evil!
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
and your tithes every third day!
5
Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving from leavened bread,
and proclaim freewill offerings; make them known!
For this is what you love to do, O Israel,”
declares the Lord GOD.
6
“Yet I gave you
clean teeth in all your cities,
and lack of bread in all your places of dwelling;
yet you did not return to Me,”
declares the LORD.
7
“I also withheld the rain from you,
when there were still three months to the harvest;
I caused it to rain on one city,
and on another city I caused it not to rain;
one field was rained upon,
and the field on which it did not rain withered;
8
so two or three cities wandered to one city
to drink water, but they were not satisfied;
yet you did not return to Me,”
declares the LORD.
9
“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your gardens and your vineyards I laid waste; he locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees,
yet you did not return to Me,”
declares the LORD.
10
“I sent pestilence among you
as I did to Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
along with your captured horses;
I made the stench of your camp
rise into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to Me,”
declares the LORD.
11
“I overthrew some of your cities,
as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
so that you were like a brand plucked from the fire,
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,
who declares to man what He thinks,
who makes the dawn and the darkness,
and who treads on the high places of the earth —
the LORD, the God of hosts, is His name.
🐄💰⛈️ Summary of Amos 4 – Rebuke for Luxury, Judgment Without Repentance, and the Call: “Prepare to Meet Your God!”
Amos 4 is a chapter that severely rebukes the wealthy women of Samaria, showing how God repeatedly gave warnings through disasters, yet Israel remained hard-hearted. At the climax, God says:
“Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” — this is not a gentle invitation, but a warning of judgment.
📌 1. Rebuke to the Rich Women of Samaria (verses 1–3)
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan…”
- “Cows of Bashan” = a figure of speech for the wealthy women in Samaria
- They lived in luxury, but:
They oppressed the weak
They told their husbands to bring drink (self-indulgence)
- The Lord swore that they would:
Be taken with hooks
Be punished like cattle — harshly, shamefully, and inevitably
🎯 Luxury without mercy is an abomination in the sight of God.
📌 2. False Worship at Bethel and Gilgal (verses 4–5)
“Come to Bethel and sin…”
- Sharp sarcasm from God: as if saying, “Go on with your false worship!”
- They were diligent in worship and brought offerings, but:
For show, not from a sincere heart
They loved ritual, but rejected repentance
🎯 God does not desire public worship without personal repentance.
📌 3. The Lord Has Given Many Warnings (verses 6–11)
After this, the Lord reminds them that He has repeatedly rebuked Israel:
- Famine (verse 6)
- Drought (verses 7–8)
- Crop failure and pests (verse 9)
- Sickness like that in Egypt (verse 10)
- Destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 11)
Each time, the Lord said:
“Yet you did not return to Me…”
🎯 The Lord speaks through suffering — not to destroy, but to call you home.
📌 4. Prepare to Meet Your God! (verses 12–13)
“Therefore… prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
- Final warning: time is almost gone
- The Lord is no one to be trifled with:
“He is the One who forms the mountains… declares His purpose… the LORD, the God of hosts.”
🎯 If you will not listen to His love, prepare to meet Him in His judgment.
📖 Main Lessons
- The Lord pays attention to lifestyle, not merely liturgy
- Worship can become a cover for sin, if it is not joined with repentance
- The Lord speaks through life events: famine, disease, drought, ruin
- The Lord does not punish without repeated warning
- There is a time limit for repentance — if ignored, judgment comes
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“You appear righteous in people’s eyes, but within you are full of hypocrisy…”
→ Just like Israel, diligent in worship at Bethel, yet their hearts were far from the Lord.
“Unless you repent, you will all perish.”
→ The Lord’s warning must be answered with repentance, not self-justification.
“Because you say: I am rich… but you do not know that you are wretched…”
→ The rich women of Samaria = a mirror of the church in Laodicea
“The Lord’s discipline brings peace…”
→ Warning and suffering from the Lord are not a curse, but disciplining love.
🎯 Amos 4 is a firm warning: do not ignore God’s call through crisis. Repentance today is far more beautiful than judgment tomorrow.
🕊️ “You cows of Bashan… you oppress the weak and say to your husbands…” – Amos 4:1
🕊️ “Yet you did not return to Me.” – repeated in verses 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11
🕊️ “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” – Amos 4:12
🕊️ “He who forms the mountains and creates the wind…” – Amos 4:13
