Amos 4:2
The Sovereign LORD has sworn by his holiness:
“The time will surely come
when you will be taken away with hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
Amos is a rural guy sent to preach God’s word in the city of Samaria. He has not been sent with good news but he goes to the assignment anyway. His assignment is to warn the Israelites that God will not bear with their sins forever and He will respond harshly very soon.
The Israelites were used to listening to sermons from prophets. They had heard warnings from God and it all sounded like the prophets are on duty nothing serious, they are just doing their work. Amos was just one of the many they had seen. No sermon moved them at all. They listened and carried on with their duties and sinful living.
We should be careful when we get to the point where nothing moves us. When sermons and worship are routine and you aren’t moved you should worry. You should be afraid if you now perceive religious things as ordinary normal and nothing to worry about. When all you see in religious leaders is their negative side and their lack of commitment. You could like Israelites end up missing a life-saving situation. This is where Israel had reached.
Therefore to capture the attention of these people, God sends a prophet to use strong language. In this chapter, Amos refers to the wealthy powerful women of Samaria as cows of Bashan, Amos 4:1. Strong language has been used elsewhere in scripture too. Apostle Paul referred to his members in Galatia as fools, Galatians 3:1. Jesus referred to Herod as a fox, Luke 13:32. John the Baptist referred to the part of his congregation as a brood of vipers, Matthew 3:7. There are times when a parent must change methods for children to understand. There are times a teacher or preacher must change the method in order to be understood. The use of strong language should not be common and should be highly tempered.
The women of Samaria were so wicked that the prophet dedicated this section of the sermon to them. The women of Samaria oppressed the poor and did not stop there, they abused their husbands. The women of Samaria would defy culture and expectations and sit back and order their husbands to serve them drinks as they relax. The husbands were not serving drinks as a sign of love and romance, it was an order they had to obey or face unspecified consequences. God was and still is concerned with how we treat other people including our spouses. God through Amos condemns this abuse of the poor and husbands.
Since the people were hardly moved by prophetic messages, Amos shocks us with what he says in our text today. Amos tells us that God has sworn. Hey, God does not need to swear. God swears so that we can know He means business. God does what God never does in order to catch our attention. God swears that He will punish these women of Samaria. Perhaps the swearing of God would jolt these cows of Bashan to repentance. Before anyone is punished for sins, God goes to the extreme to attempt to save the person. God swearing is an extreme that God went to let Israelites know that He means every word that has been reported to them.
God swears that a time will come when He will punish the cows of Bashan. The time was not yesterday and the time is not today, but that should not fool you to think that it can’t be tomorrow. God swears that the time will surely come. Every sermon that has been written or preached will come true. It didn’t seem so yesterday and it may not seem so today, but God swears that it will happen. No past message will go down as waste. No prophet came in vain. All that was preached by great and small will happen. God swears, “The time will surely come!”
All the bad things God promised will come to pass upon every unrepentant sinner. All the good things God promised will come to pass on those who believe in God. God swears, “The time will surely come!”
We should not be blinded by how frequently a message has been preached or how common preachers have become, the message remains sure and it will come to pass. The prosperity of evil and evil doesn’t mean God will not address it. The suffering of the helpless and needy doesn’t mean that God has left them. The inactivity around us in relation to what we expect or hear from God’s word does not mean God is unaware. God has promised that do not mind the silence and situation, I will fulfill all my promises. God swears, “The time will surely come!”
God has set time for everything. What has happened today is because it was in God’s plan for today. What hasn’t happened today could never have happened because it was not in God’s plan. God has a plan and it is time-sensitive. At the right time, God will reverse the gains of the enemy and restore the honor of the helpless and poor. The time hasn’t come but it is coming. God swears, “The time will surely come!”
Have you waited for God to avenge your tormentors but nothing is happening? God swears, “The time will surely come!” Have you been Offending people and having your way in all evil schemes and God hasn’t stopped you and you actually feel invincible, happy, and free to do as you please? God swears, “The time will surely come!” Have you waited for justice but nothing satisfactory? God swears, “The time will surely come!”
Are you working hard at something but very little results are coming out? God swears, “The time will surely come!” Has virtue paid nothing except multiplying misery? God swears, “The time will surely come!” Are you looking forward to blessings that seem delayed? God swears, “The time will surely come!” May that time surely come and find us safe in Jesus, Amen!
Amen!
May the time come in Jesus’ name.
Thank you pastor and God bless you.
Be blessed too!
The time will surely come. Amen.
Amen
Amen
Amen