Amos 4 - Introduction

Prepare to Meet Thy God Amos Four

Amos chapter four is filled with some very colorful, powerful and direct teaching from God. Amos compared the women to fat cows. The women are compared to fat cows or kine living in fertile Bashan. The husbands or masters of the women met their demands by oppressing the poor and needy. Much like our society today, Israel was worshipping at the shrine of materialism. Economic exploitation is always a problem when people serve the god of materialism.

The priest would call people to Bethel and Gilgal to worship. This was a mistake because Jerusalem was the true place of worship. Now Amos, speaking with sarcasm calls the people there to sin. God was sickened by their worship that had no heart or commitment in it. Their worship was only empty show! God had done everything He could to bring them to repentance. However five times He was forced to say, "yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD." God sent Famine (Amos 4:6), Drought (Amos 4:7-8), Locusts (Amos 4:9), Plague (Amos 4:10) and Conquest. (Amos 4:10) God's efforts to save these people were continually rejected. He was merciful yet it availed nothing with these hard hearted people.

The entire book of Amos might well turn upon one simple statement, "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." (Amos 4:12) Even though the message of Amos for Israel was that they should prepare to meet God as His judgment was poured out against that wicked nation those same words are also God's message for every man! "Prepare to meet thy God."