The Holy Sarcasm
of an Offended God
Amos 4:1-5
[1] Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria,Amos 4:1-5
which oppress the poor, which crush the needy,
which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
[2] The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you,
that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
[3] And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her;
and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
[4] Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression;
and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
[5] And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
and proclaim and publish the free offerings:
for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
Introduction:
The Covenant Lawsuit continues, dripping with sarcasm, the holy sarcasm of an offended God!
Irony as a figure of speech employed in Scripture:
"The Expression of Thought in a form that naturally conveys its opposite."
"The figure is so called when the speaker intends to convey a sense contrary to the strict signification of the words employed: not with the intention of concealing his real meaning, but for the purpose of adding greater force to it." [footnote 1]
Sarcasm - What is it? A form of irony -
"a. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
b. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule." [footnote 2]
"a. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
b. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark..." [footnote 3]
The place of sarcasm in the prophets - Observe the sarcasm in the following passages running the gamut from Moses to Paul:
Deut. 32:37 - And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they
trusted,
1 Kings 18:27 - And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
Ezekiel 20:39 - As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye,
serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
1 Cor. 4:8 - Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us:
and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
1 Cor. 6:4 - If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
2 Cor. 10:12 - For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
2 Cor. 11:19 - For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
2 Cor. 12:13 - For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
2 Cor. 13:5 - Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
The Lord is here adding insult to injury!
If anyone else spoke to us this way we might be tempted to respond: "You can’t talk to me like that!" But, this is God talking!
The time will come when the Son of God will be slapped in the face by sinners -
Matthew 26:67-68 - [67] Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, [68] Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Mark 14:65 - And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
Luke 22:64 - And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
John 18:22 - And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
But, for now, it is God slapping Israel in the face with His sarcasm uttered through His prophet Amos.
Let us see how God slaps reprobate Israel in the face!
I. The Objects of God’s Holy Sarcasm Addressed (4:1)
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria,
which oppress the poor, which crush the needy,
which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
1. The Insulting Characterization of the Objects (4:1a-c)
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria
Bashan - area east of Jordan and the Sea of Galilee between Gilead and the river Yarmuk on the south, Mt. Hermon on the north, and Salecah on the east. It includes the cities of Ashtaroth, Golan and Edrei. This area is today called en-Nuqra. At the time of the conquest by the Israelites it was ruled by Og. It became the inheritance of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Psalm 22:12 - Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Ezekiel 39:18 - Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
Amos 6:1 - Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
2. The Carnal Behavior of the Objects (4:1d-g)
which oppress the poor, which crush the needy,
which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
Amos 2:6 - Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
1) Oppress the poor - Greedy
2) Crush the needy - Selfish
3) Say to their master, "Bring, and let us drink!" - Self-centered
By the way, who is in control here? This explains the address of the Lord's comments!
What "word" is it that God wants these "fat cows" to hear?
Here it comes in the verses that follow!
II. The Result of God’s Holy Sarcasm Prophesied (4:2-3)
[2] The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you,
that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
[3] And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her;
and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
1. The Solemn Nature of the Result (4:2a-b)
The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you,
"The same phrase occurs once elsewhere, in Ps. 89:35. No oath can be greater or more final (Heb. 6:13, 14)." [footnote 4]
Psalm 89:35 - Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
2. The Horrible Reality of the Result (4:2c-3)
that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her;
and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
The cruelty of the Assyrians - humans treated as cattle
"The Assyrians frequently led prisoners by ropes attached to rings or hooks in their noses and lips." [footnote 5]
Isaiah 37:29 - Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. [cp. 2 Kings 19:28]
Ezekiel 38:4 - And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
God does not take sin lightly - He is holy!
Those who deny eternal punishment need to have their faces rubbed in the awfulness of the temporal punishments God inflicted on His people!
All that being said, what would God have His people Israel do in the meantime?
The answer to that question is contained in the next verses!
III. The Invitation of God’s Holy Sarcasm Proclaimed (4:4-5)
[4] Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression;
and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
[5] And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
and proclaim and publish the free offerings:
for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
1. The Specific Details of the Invitation (4:4-5b)
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression;
and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
and proclaim and publish the free offerings:
Worship as sin, Religion as multiplied sin
Hosea 9:15 - All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
Hosea 12:11 - Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.
Leviticus 7:13 - Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
Numbers 28:3-4 - And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. [4] The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even;
Amos 5:21-22 - [21] I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. [22] Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
Matthew 23:32 - Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
We may not define worship as we please!
God only accepts worship that is pleasing to Him.
You cannot worship God with a divided heart.
First, foremost, and always, God wants our devotion -
a clean heart and a right spirit.
Consider, on this issue, an episode in the life of Dwight Lyman Moody:
"Sometimes an easy conversation between friends can have ramifications far beyond what either person expects. Such was the case in the summer of 1872 near Dublin , Ireland , when two prominent evangelists were discussing ministry. The two men were the British evangelist Henry Varley and the renowned American evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Their conversation contains one of the best-remembered quotes attributed to the life and times of Moody. The remark affected him for the rest of his life.
The morning after an all-night prayer meeting, as the two men strolled around the grounds of the mansion where the meeting had been held, Varley uttered a brief but thought-provoking statement to Moody. This is how Moody recorded it in one of his diaries:
"The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him." . . . A man! Varley meant any man. Varley didn’t say he had to be educated, or brilliant, or anything else. Just a man. Well, by the Holy Spirit in me I’ll be that man [quoted in John Pollock, Moody: The Biography (Chicago: Moody, 1963, 1983), pg. 115, author’s italics]." [footnote 6]
I believe that there has been one great exception to this claim, the Person of the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. That being said, Varley's challenge remains.
2. The Reasonable Explanation for the Invitation (4:5c-e)
for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
We do what we love - God knows our heart
Hosea 9:1 - Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.
Hosea 9:10 - I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.
Jeremiah 7:9-10 - Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; [10] And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
Psalm 81:11-12 - But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. [12] So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
Conclusion:
Have you learned the lessons of the "fat cows of Bashan"?
What will be your response?
Consider Psalm 51:1-10 on the holiness of God, and the heart of man:
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. [1] Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. [2] Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. [3] For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. [4] Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. [5] Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. [6] Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. [7] Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. [8] Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. [9] Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. [10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Footnotes:
1. Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode; New York: E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), pg. 807. See esp. pp. 807-814.
2. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Ed. (n.p.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004). http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm (accessed: July 16, 2007), s.v. "sarcasm".
3. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, Unabridged (v 1.1). (n.p.: Random House, Inc., n.d.).
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm (accessed: July 16, 2007), s.v. "sarcasm".
4. New Geneva Study Bible, eds. Luder Whitlock, R. C. Sproul, Bruce Waltke, Moises Silva, et al. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), pg. 1399, s.v. note on 4:2.
5. Ibid.
6. Grace to You, "What Does It Mean to Be Filled with the Spirit", by John MacArthur (2003), http://www.gty.org/resources.php?section=positions&aid=196; Adapted from The Silent Shepherd, by John MacArthur (n.p.: Victor Books, 1996).
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