Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Amos Chapter 4
Metaphysically Interpreting Amos 4:1-14
4:1Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords, Bring, and let us drink. 4:2The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that they shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks. 4:3And ye shall go out at the breaches, every one straight before her; and ye shall cast yourselves into Harmon, saith Jehovah. 4:4Come to Beth-el, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days; 4:5and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill-offerings and publish them: for this pleaseth you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.
4:6And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. 4:7And I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. 4:8So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, and were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. 4:9I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: the multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees hath the palmer-worm devoured: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. 4:10I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. 4:11I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a brand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah. 4:12Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 4:13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought; that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the Earth-jehovah, the God of hosts, is his name.
April 23, 1950: Amos 4:1-2
What does "ye kine of Bashan" refer to? Bashan (fertile soil; fruitful) represents life and substance, inexhaustible and limitless, when the animal forces (herds) are properly directed and handled by the understanding. Kine means "cows, cattle." "Ye kine of Bashan" refers to the souls that are dominated by the sense mind, expressing themselves in self-indulgence and selfishness, and giving no thought to the outworking of flouted law.
What is the outcome of such heedless living? The outcome is wholesale destruction by violence. "They shall take you away with hooks, and your residue with fish-hooks." There is no escaping the effects of disregard of divine law without the intervention of spiritual understanding.
April 30, 1950 Amos 4:4
What do Bethel and Gilgal represent that transgressions can be multiplied there? Bethel (house of God) represents the body; Gilgal, the total denial of sense bondage. The body, which is meant to be the abode of Divine Mind may nevertheless be given over altogether to error. Gilgal ("circle"; "a wheel") may be a symbol of repeated lapses from consciousness of spiritual freedom.
Transcribed by Mark on 11-30-2013
