The Golden Calf

THE GOLDEN CALF

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan… who oppress the poor, who crush the needy… Amos 4:1

This week we will examine a major theme in the prophetic literature: the day of the Lord. This phrase occurs in nine prophetic books: Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah and Malachi. The first and earliest use of the phrase occurs in the preaching of Amos. Please read Amos 5:18-20.

This day of the Lord has a number of nuances to its meaning, but the overriding emphasis of the term is that of judgment: A day of reckoning with God.

Amos lived and prophesied during the days of Judah’s King Uzziah and Israel’s King Jeroboam II (c. 793-739 B.C.). This was a golden age of prosperity, unknown since the days of Solomon. The Assyrian Empire was unable to continue its rapid expansion and conquest from 780-745 B.C. As a result, a time of peace and prosperity came upon both the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). This affluence made the Jews both worldly and haughty. They longed for the day of the Lord when God would judge all their enemies, especially Assyria, and usher in an age of Israelite domination over the Gentiles. As a result of this false hope, Israel and Judah failed to see their own sins. As is usual among men, they interpreted economic prosperity as God’s blessings and favor. They were wrong.

Assyria was not in a time of decline but of internal reorganization. It’s zenith as an empire was yet to come. In 754 B.C. a brilliant military leader and governor, Tiglathpileser III, would succeed to the Assyrian throne, and in 722 B.C., he would conquer Israel, scatter its people in the dispersion of his vast empire and subdue Judah to the status of vassal state. The worst was on the horizon, but only Amos could see it.

Amos compares the women of Israel to the “cows of Bashan” (4:1), a rich pasture-land northeast of Galilee. These bovines were well-fed, fat and lazy. Hardly a complimentary comparison to the comfortable, affluent and fashionable women of Israel. This would be like a preacher today referring to his hard-bodied, well-heeled, suburban “alpha moms,” fresh out of the Lady Fitness Center, as “fat cows.” Offensive to say the least; offensive, but true.

What was the sin of the “cows of Bashan?” Their materialism had driven their husbands to unethical, greedy and oppressive practices that hurt the poor. Their wives’ dainties were purchased at the expense of a poor man’s family.

This is nearly impossible for conservative, well-to-do, middle-class Christians to accept. But the facts cannot be argued with: In America, the gap between the rich and the poor widens every year, and the middle class of workers is both shrinking and laden down with taxes and inflation. The “haves” deny this; the ”have-nots” know this for a fact. Truly, this was perhaps the one overarching reason the majority of Americans––white and black, urban and rural––threw out the Republicans and elected President Obama.

The church is not in the business of the redistribution of wealth. The church traffics in truth, and the truth seems painfully obvious to all except “the Israel of God,” the Church (Galatians 6:16). Our prosperity cannot be acquired at the cost of those who work for us being unable to afford medical coverage. Low wages for workers and excessive packages for executives are sin. Second wives cannot join the country club with dues paid for by their husbands’ truancy in paying his first wife her alimony and child support, leaving her and his kids impoverished.

The Bible presents the principles upon which capitalism is based as the path to prosperity. But runaway, irresponsible, consumerist capitalism is our Golden Calf. “What the market can bear” may be the law of Adam Smiths’s “invisible hand” in economics, but it is certainly neither the law nor hand of God. Our economic collapse may well be the day of the Lord for us. A dark day. A day to listen to what the Lord of the Nations has to say about our money.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Pray for the members of the Administrative Committee as they meet on June 16th, that they will have wisdom and discernment in the decisions they make, especially relating to the work of the Assembly.

CTS: Pray for energy and faith for Covenant Seminary’s faculty of pastor-scholars as they teach in the classroom, in local churches and around the world, and that the Lord will use their experience, knowledge and wisdom to edify, enrich and encourage their students.

MTW: Ask God to bless the PCA with an increased burden of and love for prayer, including prayer for missions and missionaries. . RUM: Please pray for RUF to effectively serve and provide pastoral care to covenant students on their university campuses. Pray that Reformed University Fellowship’s desire to build Christ’s church will be made manifest through teaching students the importance of belonging to the body of believers. Pray that the RUF graduates will quickly root themselves in a church.

RBI: Patience is a great virtue for the staff at RBI. They often work long hours and serve many people, some of whom are struggling with problems and anxious about life. Please pray for patience for the RBI staff.