Amos Chapter 4

Does God Mock You? A Sobering Message from the Past

God proclaims judgment against Israel for their sins.

Chapter Outline

• 1-3 God promises to judge Israel for their sins.
• 4-5 God mocks their religion.
• 6-11 God details the coming physical judgment.
• 12-13 God details the coming spiritual judgment.

Today's Lesson

​The Israelites were not ashamed of their sins. They came to Bethel to worship the golden calves (2 Kings 10:29). They were faithful to their religion. Every morning, they burned sacrifices. In accordance with their law, they brought tithes. They even gave freewill offerings to thank the calves. They boasted of how they gave extra to their priests at Bethel.

However, their religion was in vain.

Not one offering mattered. The golden calves could not see or hear their sacrifices. The statues could not bless them with forgiveness or accept their tithes. They wasted their time and resources being faithful to a dead religious system. Worse, their choice brought them into condemnation from the one, true God (Hosea 8:5–6, 10:5; Amos 5:5).

Unfortunately, the same happens today. People attend church faithfully, give ten percent of their weekly earnings, and boast about what their church is doing. Yet, they do not know the living God. They have religion but not faith. In biblical terms, they have works but no faith (James 2:17).

Does God have cause to mock you as He did the Israelites? Does He look down and say, “Look at these fools! See how they believe that giving extra money makes them better than everyone else? See how they believe that attending church every Sunday buys them a ticket to Heaven?”

Every good deed we do—including attending church—is pointless if we do not have a personal relationship with God. Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, the Holy Spirit bearing witness to and guiding us in our redemption (Romans 3:27–28, 8:9; Ephesians 2:8–9). So, do not get caught up in religion. Instead, fall madly in love with a person: Jesus Christ.

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Verse by Verse Study

1-3 Compare with Ezekiel 34:2–4. God insults the Jews by calling them cows. Though in the role of servants, they acted like masters: instead of fulfilling their responsibilities, they lived in self-indulgence. They had the audacity to demand that their masters serve them while they had a drinking party. God did not mean this literally; it is an analogy. Those who were supposed to obey and honor God acted as if they were God, doing whatever they pleased. This desire to be God is the essence of the sin nature (Genesis 3:5). In response, God promised destruction. The hooks and fishhooks represent captivity, and the breaches represent the collapse of the nation’s defenses. This prophecy was fulfilled when Assyria carried away the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:6).

4-5 The people believed they could worship the golden calves at Bethel and Gilgal (2 Kings 10:29) while also supporting (proclaiming) the journeys to Jerusalem to worship God with the thanksgiving and freewill offerings prescribed by Moses (Leviticus 7:11–15, 22:18; Deuteronomy 12:1–18). Such divided worship is unacceptable (Exodus 20:1–6). If the Lord is God, then all other gods are idols—or worse, demons (1 Corinthians 10:20–21). Unlike religions in which polytheism may be tolerated, both Judaism and Christianity rest on the belief in a single, supreme God. A person cannot logically reconcile devotion to the Lord with devotion to another god. Nevertheless, as with the Israelites here, people often do as they please regardless of logic or reason.

6-11 This passage addresses a common question about God: If He is almighty, why does He permit evil and tragedy? Here, the answer is to call sinners back to Himself. While people naturally view the circumstances described in this passage as negative—and certainly they were for those who endured them—God viewed them as a positive opportunity to provoke repentance before it was too late. By sending judgment in this world, God warns people of the eternal judgment to come after death. When His gentle call failed—when He sent prophets to expose sins and urge repentance—He appointed harsher circumstances to try to gain their attention. God uses what we consider natural disasters, alongside war and even the supernatural, to accomplish His purposes. All creation belongs to God, and He will use it as He deems fit to fulfill His righteous desire. See Deuteronomy 28, Hebrews 12:5–11, Luke 13:1–5, Job 1–2.

12-13 Having turned from God and ignored His calls to return—both through the prophets and judgments—the sinners in Israel had only one future: to stand before their God and give an account for their sin. Nothing is hidden from Him; He knows every thought of man (Hebrews 4:12–13). How dare we think we can live as we please and bow to no one! If we refuse to heed God’s warnings through Scripture and preaching, and if we ignore His discipline through life’s circumstances, rest assured, we will stand before Him, accused without excuse, when we die in our sin. Additional references: Romans 14:10–12, Hebrews 9:27, Psalm 139, Isaiah 40.