Amos 4 begins, [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.
Amos is saying, "Here comes the judge!" He starts out rude: "Ye kine of Bashan." Kine is a fancy word for a female cow. In the original Hebrew language the word is heifer. That's not a real polite way to talk about ladies. He's saying, "Hey, you cows up there in Samaria . . ."
[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.What's happening in Samaria is they've just gone out and through hook and crook, and through sophisticated governmental scams, robbed people and made themselves riches and they sit on beds and couches of ease, explains Richard Jordan.
You'll see them described in Isaiah 3. Isaiah was a contemporary of Amos and he describes them. This is one of those passages people read sometime and they try and make fun of.
Isaiah 3: [16] Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
[17] Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.[18] In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
[19] The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
[20] The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
[21] The rings, and nose jewels,
[22] The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
[23] The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
[24] And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
[25] Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
[26] And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
They're trying to look dignified. They've got bells on their toes. They've got their hair all set up high and He's going to scald them bald and put a scab up there.
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Here is an old post:
"What you see throughout the Old Testament is a lot of oxen worship and it's no secret what it is," says Columbus, Ohio Preacher David Reid. "It's because a cherub fundamentally can be described in Scripture as an 'ox.'
"Now, in what countries are cows considered sacred? Our gut reaction is to say India, but really they are almost everywhere. Wikipedia says, 'Cattle are considered sacred in world religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and others. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Israel, ancient Rome, and ancient Germany. Ancient texts such as Rig Veda, Puranas highlight the importance of cattle.[13]'
"Why is the ox worshipped almost everywhere? Because he is 'the god of this world,' and what Satan has done is tricked the vast majority of humanity into worshipping him.
"We know from the Book of Ezekiel that cherubs have four wings and four different faces. They're not a little baby with two wings who looks small and cute; they're fundamentally different creatures and we've already seen that Satan is a cherub.
"Ezekiel 1:3-11: [3] The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
[4] And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.[5] Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
[6] And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
[7] And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
[8] And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
[9] Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
[10] As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
"Now, look at what Ezekiel 10 does: [14] And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
"The list is different from what we saw in Ezekiel 1. Notice verse 15: [15] And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
"What that verse tells you is this creature is the same one that's in Ezekiel 1, even though the description is different.
"If man equals man, lion equals lion, eagle equals eagle and they're the same creatures, what does ox have to equal? Cherub. Simple process of elimination.
"What we've established beyond a doubt here, because Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10 told you that those were the same creature, is that Scripture is using the word 'ox' to approximate cherub.
"So what implications can we learn from that? What happens in Genesis 3:14: [14] And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
"Boy, that's a strange saying. Why would you curse a snake above all cattle? Why would you curse a heavenly being above all cattle unless that being could be described as cattle, a cow, an oxen? That's why that's there.
"Here's a question for you. Why did Aaron make a molten calf as opposed to a molten donkey?
"Exodus 32:4: [4] And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
"Was he possibly paying homage to someone? What did Jeroboam do? What God decides to do after King Solomon's reign is split the kingdom of Israel into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. Jeroboam takes the top 10 tribes and forms Israel. He doesn't want his people going down to Judah to worship because he knows if the northern tribes did so they would view Judah as the legitimate home of their religion.
"I Kings 12:28: [28] Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
"Who did he make their gods? Calves.
"Now, what did Samaria do? Hosea 8: [5] Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? [6] For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.
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