Commentaries:
“Cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1-4) is a figure or symbol for the Israelite women in Samaria. Amos implies that these women are the trendsetters and leaders in Israelite society, a course Judah also took before she also fell (Isaiah 3:12). Apparently, when nations degenerate, leaders of society, who should be setting the standards, are replaced by women (or the effeminate) and children (or the immature), who, Isaiah says, “cause [them] to err, and destroy the way of [their] paths.”
In the United States, women have traditionally been the guardians of moral standards. In general, women have had high standards, while many men have held double standards. Amos, however, shows that the women of his day had slipped so far that they were “leading the pack” in immorality. And in America, the same is true: Women are becoming just as immoral as men in speech, sexuality, and criminal behaviors, even violent ones.
Apparently, God built safeguards into women to ensure that some measure of right ideals, standards, and practices are passed on to the next generation, providing a measure of stability to a society. With their mindset of aggressive ambition and their desire to compete and conquer, men tend to focus on achievement, often at the expense of morality and ethics. In general, women are not designed for this role, and when they begin to fill it, a nation is rapidly on its way down.
Besides this, a growing number of women today pursue full-time career positions for reasons of “fulfillment,” personal ambition, and social advancement, diminishing their high calling as wives and mothers. Womanhood, marriage, and homemaking (Titus 2:5) have become subservient to the selfish accumulation of things. Unfortunately, many women must work these days just to make ends meet. Primarily, Amos is speaking to the greedy, power-hungry, ruthless women we often see portrayed on television and in movies.
Amos impolitely calls them a demeaning name: a bunch of well-fed cows. Like cows, they are just following the herd. They are content with an animal existence, that is, they are completely carnal in their outlook (Romans 8:5-7). Their concern is only for the beautification, care, and satiation of their bodies. They live only for themselves, not for God.
Isaiah captures their attitude in a word—complacent (Isaiah 32:9-11).
Like their husbands, these cows of Bashan oppress the poor and crush the needy. By demanding more things, they push their husbands to succeed—at the expense of the weak. With the attitude shown in this passage, though, they did not care as long as their “needs” were met.
“Behold, the days shall come upon you when He will take you away with fishhooks and your posterity with fishhooks. You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast into Harmon,” says the LORD. (Amos 4:2-3)
The word translated “fishhooks” is relatively obscure in Hebrew, but it suggests that these lazy women will be ignominiously herded into captivity. Some have suggested it means carried away on the shields of their enemies or pulled on a leash.
In any case, those who formerly lay on the beds of ivory and on plush couches, pandering to themselves, will be led in humiliation through Samaria and into slavery. Isaiah describes the same scene in Isaiah 3:16-26. Because of their oppression of others and their haughty self-concern, their riches and beauty will be stripped away, and they will be left with nothing.
John W. Ritenbaugh and Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Four)
Isaiah 3:16—4:1 and Amos 4:1-3 paint rather uncomplimentary pictures of women in our time. Both predict captivity and great humiliation to the women who oppress the poor and needy, satiate their desires, and proudly vaunt their power. We need not be terribly observant to recognize that we have reached such a state in our society. It will not be long before God acts to correct it.
The genie is out of the bottle. Radical feminism will not go away until Christ returns to usher in true cooperation and proper balance between men and women. When He sets up His government, "the times of restoration of all things" will begin (Acts 3:21), and He will declare the eternal end of the battle of the sexes. Then it will not be a woman's world—or a man's world—but God's world!
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
A Woman's World
Amos' language is really vivid. He calls the women of Israel "cows." He seems to aim his derision at the affluent women who are perhaps using their affluence in a manner that God is highly displeased with. Spiritually, could he be talking about some of the various groups [a woman being a type of the church] that are present at this time?
"Go out at the breaches" - A breach is a split, a cleft, a break in a wall. Symbolically, a wall represents protection. Cities once had walls to protect them from enemies on the outside. If the wall is split, it allows room for the invaders to come in, so that the inhabitants are no longer secure. It also allows those who are inside an opportunity to go outside, into the world. God is telling the cows of Bashan that they will "go out" into the world—but as captives.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part Three)
