# Amos 04 đź“–: Prepare to Meet Your God
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[[-Amos Overview]] | [[Amos 03]] | [[Amos 05]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria!
You oppress the poor;
you crush the needy.
You say to your husbands,
“Bring us more to drink!”
[[#Verse 02.]] The Sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character:
“Certainly the time is approaching
when you will be carried away in baskets,
every last one of you in fishermen’s pots.
[[#Verse 03.]]Â Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls;
you will be thrown out toward Harmon.”
The Lord is speaking.
### Israel has an Appointment with God
[[#Verse 04.]] “Go to Bethel and rebel!
At Gilgal rebel some more!
Bring your sacrifices in the morning,
your tithes on the third day!
[[#Verse 05.]]Â Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast!
Make a public display of your voluntary offerings!
For you love to do this, you Israelites.”
The Sovereign Lord is speaking.
[[#Verse 06.]] “But surely I gave you no food to eat in all your cities;
you lacked food everywhere you lived.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
[[#Verse 07.]] “I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest.
I gave rain to one city, but not to another.
One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.
[[#Verse 08.]] People from two or three cities staggered into one city to get water,
but remained thirsty.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
[[#Verse 09.]] “I destroyed your crops with blight and disease. Locusts kept devouring your orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees.
Still you did not come back to me.” The Lord is speaking
[[#Verse 10.]] “I sent against you a plague like one of the Egyptian plagues. I killed your young men with the sword,
along with the horses you had captured.
I made the stench from the corpses rise up into your nostrils.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
[[#Verse 11.]] “I overthrew some of you the way God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames.
Still you did not come back to me.”
The Lord is speaking
[[#Verse 12.]] “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel. Because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, Israel!”
[[#Verse 13.]] For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind.
He reveals his plans to men.
He turns the dawn into darkness
and marches on the heights of the earth.
The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Bashan, east of the Sea of Galilee, was famous for its well-fed cattle (Deuteronomy 32:14; Psalm 22:12).
2. Ancient art shows captives being led away with ropes or hooks, which fits the image in 4:2.
3. The law required a special tithe every three years (Deuteronomy 14:28). Amos sarcastically tells them to bring tithes every three days (4:4).
4. Leavened bread was allowed with a thank offering (Leviticus 7:13), but Amos mocks their boasting about offerings (4:5).
5. The phrase "yet you did not return to Me" appears five times (4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11).
6. The disasters in 4:6-11 echo the covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.
7. God sent rain on one city but not another (4:7), showing His hand in the drought.
8. Israel was "like a burning stick snatched from the fire" (4:11), the same image used in Zechariah 3:2.
9. 4:13 is the first of three hymns about God's power in Amos (4:13; 5:8-9; 9:5-6).
10. Each hymn in Amos ends with the declaration that the Lord is His name.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One we must all prepare to meet (4:12). God will judge the world through Jesus, whom He raised from the dead (Acts 17:31), and Jesus is the Savior who snatches us like a burning stick from the fire (4:11; Jude 23).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Amos calls wealthy women "cows of Bashan" who oppress the poor (4:1). How can comfort make us blind to others' needs?
2. Five times God says, "Yet you did not return to Me" (4:6-11). How does God use hardship to call people back?
3. "Prepare to meet your God" (4:12). How would you live differently if you took this seriously today?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 1: The "cows of Bashan" oppress the poor and crush the needy.
- đź“– verse 6: God sent hardship, yet they did not return to Him.
- đź“– verse 12: Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[Acts 17#Verse 31.|Acts 17:31]] - God will judge the world through Jesus.
- đź”— [[Jude 01#Verse 23.|Jude 23]] - Snatch others from the fire.
- đź”— [[Hebrews 09#Verse 27.|Hebrews 9:27]] - People die once and then face judgment.
- đź”— [[Zechariah 03#Verse 02.|Zechariah 3:2]] - A burning stick snatched from the fire.
- đź”— [[Leviticus 26#Verse 18.|Leviticus 26:18-20]] - Covenant warnings of drought and famine.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Amos 04 - SOAP|Don’t Forget Who Your Daddy Is]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes