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Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) |
INTRODUCTION
AMOS (meaning in Hebrew "a burden") was (@Am 1:1) a shepherd of Tekoa, a small town of Judah, six miles southeast from Beth-lehem, and twelve from Jerusalem, on the borders of the great desert (@2Ch 20:20; compare @2Ch 11:6). The region being sandy was more fit for pastoral than for agricultural purposes. Amos therefore owned and tended flocks, and collected sycamore figs; not that the former was a menial office, kings themselves, as Mesha of Moab (@2Ki 3:4), exercising it. Amos, however (from @Am 7:14,15), seems to have been of humble rank.
Though belonging to Judah, he was commissioned by God to exercise his prophetical function in Israel; as the latter kingdom abounded in impostors, and the prophets of God generally fled to Judah through fear of the kings of Israel, a true prophet from Judah was the more needed in it. His name is not to be confounded with that of Isaiah's father, Amoz.
The time of his prophesying was in the reigns of Uzziah king of Judea, and Jeroboam II, son of Joash, king of Israel (@Am 1:1), that is, in part of the time in which the two kings were contemporary; probably in Jeroboam's latter years, after that monarch had recovered from Syria "the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain" (@2Ki 14:25-27); for Amos foretells that these same coasts, "from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness," should be the scene of Israel's being afflicted (@Am 6:14); also his references to the state of luxurious security then existing (@Am 6:1,4,13), and to the speedy termination of it by the Assyrian foe (@Am 1:5 3:12,15 5:27 8:2), point to the latter part of Jeroboam's reign, which terminated in 784 B.C., the twenty-seventh year of Uzziah's reign, which continued down to 759 B.C. He was contemporary with Hosea, only that the latter continued to prophesy in reigns subsequent to Uzziah (@Ho 1:1); whereas Amos ceased to prophesy in the reign of that monarch. The scene of his ministry was Beth-el, where the idol calves were set up (@Am 7:10-13). There his prophecies roused Amaziah, the idol priest, to accuse him of conspiracy and to try to drive him back to Judah.
The first six chapters are without figure; the last three symbolical, but with the explanation subjoined. He first denounces the neighboring peoples, then the Jews, then Israel (from the third chapter to the end), closing with the promise or restoration under Messiah (@Am 9:11-15). His style is thought by JEROME to betray his humble origin; but though not sublime, it is regular, perspicuous, and energetic; his images are taken from the scenes in nature with which he was familiar; his rhythms are flowing, his parallelisms exact, and his descriptions minute and graphic. Some peculiar expressions occur: "cleanness of teeth," that is, want of bread (@Am 4:6); "the excellency of Jacob" (@Am 6:8 8:7); "the high places of Isaac" (@Am 7:9); "the house of Isaac" (@Am 7:16); "he that createth the wind" (@Am 4:13).
HENGSTENBERG draws an able argument for the genuineness of the Mosaic records from the evidence in Amos, that the existing institutions in Israel as well as Judah (excepting the calves of Jeroboam), were framed according to the Pentateuch rules.
Two quotations from Amos occur in the New Testament (compare @Ac 7:42,43, with @Am 5:25,26; and @Ac 15:16,17, with @Am 9:11).
PHILO, JOSEPHUS, MELITO'S catalogue, JEROME, JUSTIN MARTYR (Dialogue with Trypho, 22, quoting the fifth and six chapters of Amos as "one of the twelve minor prophets"), and the sixtieth canon of the Laodicean council support the canonicity of the book of Amos.
CHAPTER 1
@Am 1:1-15. GOD'S JUDGMENTS ON SYRIA, PHILISTIA, TYRE, EDOM, AND AMMON.
1. The words of Amos--that is, Amos' oracular communications. A
heading found only in @Jer 1:1.
among the herdmen--rather, "shepherds"; both owning and tending
sheep; from an Arabic root, "to mark with pricks," namely, to select
the best among a species of sheep and goats
ill-shapen and short-footed (as others explain the name from an
Arabic root), but distinguished by their wool
[MAURER]. God chooses
"the weak things of the world to confound the mighty," and makes a
humble shepherd reprove the arrogance of Israel and her king arising
from prosperity (compare @1Sa 17:40).
which he saw--in supernatural vision (@Isa 1:1).
two years before the earthquake--mentioned in @Zec 14:5. The
earthquake occurred in Uzziah's reign, at the time of his being stricken
with leprosy for usurping the priest's functions
[JOSEPHUS,
Antiquities, 9:10.4]. This clause must have been inserted by Ezra
and the compilers of the Jewish canon.
2. will roar--as a lion (@Joe 3:16). Whereas Jehovah is there
represented roaring in Israel's behalf, here He roars against her
(compare @Ps 18:13 Jer 25:30).
from Zion . . . Jerusalem--the seat of the theocracy, from which ye
have revolted; not from Dan and Beth-el, the seat of your idolatrous
worship of the calves.
habitations . . . mourn--poetical personification. Their
inhabitants shall mourn, imparting a sadness to the very
habitations.
Carmel--the mountain promontory north of Israel, in Asher, abounding in
rich pastures, olives, and vines. The name is the symbol of fertility. When Carmel itself "withers," how utter the desolation!
(@So 7:5 Isa 33:9 35:2 Jer 50:19 Na 1:4).
3. Here begins a series of threatenings of vengeance against six other
states, followed by one against Judah, and ending with one against
Israel, with whom the rest of the prophecy is occupied. The eight
predictions are in symmetrical stanzas, each prefaced by "Thus saith the
Lord." Beginning with the sin of others, which Israel would be ready
enough to recognize, he proceeds to bring home to Israel her own guilt.
Israel must not think hereafter, because she sees others visited
similarly to herself, that such judgments are matters of chance; nay,
they are divinely foreseen and foreordered, and are confirmations of the
truth that God will not clear the guilty. If God spares not the nations
that know not the truth, how much less Israel that sins wilfully
(@Lu 12:47,48 Jas 4:17)!
for three transgressions . . . and for four--If Damascus had only
sinned once or twice, I would have spared them, but since, after having
been so often pardoned, they still persevere so continually, I will
no longer "turn away" their punishment. The Hebrew is simply, "I
will not reverse it," namely, the sentence of punishment which
follows; the negative expression implies more than it expresses; that
is, "I will most surely execute it"; God's fulfilment of His threats
being more awful than human language can express. "Three and four"
imply sin multiplied on sin (compare @Ex 20:5 Pr 30:15,18,21;
"six and seven," @Job 5:19; "once and twice," @Job 33:14; "twice
and thrice," Margin; "oftentimes," English Version, @Job 33:29;
"seven and also eight," @Ec 11:2). There may be also a reference to
seven, the product of three and four added; seven expressing the full completion of the measure of their guilt
(@Le 26:18,21,24; compare @Mt 23:32).
threshed--the very term used of the Syrian king Hazael's oppression
of Israel under Jehu and Jehoahaz (@2Ki 10:32,33 13:7). The victims
were thrown before the threshing sledges, the teeth of which tore their
bodies. So David to Ammon (@2Sa 12:31; compare @Isa 28:27).
4. Hazael . . . Ben-hadad--A black marble obelisk found in the central palace of Nimroud, and now in the British Museum, is inscribed with the names of Hazael and Ben-hadad of Syria, as well as Jehu of Israel, mentioned as tributaries of "Shalmanubar," king of Assyria. The kind of tribute from Jehu is mentioned: gold, pearls, precious oil, &c. [G. V. SMITH]. The Ben-hadad here is the son of Hazael (@2Ki 13:3), not the Ben-hadad supplanted and slain by Hazael (@2Ki 8:7,15). The phrase, "I will send a fire," that is, the flame of war (@Ps 78:63), occurs also in @Am 1:7,10,12,14, and @Am 2:2,5 Jer 49:27 Ho 8:14.
5. bar of Damascus--that is, the bar of its gates (compare
@Jer 51:30).
the inhabitant--singular for plural, "inhabitants."
HENDERSON,
because of the parallel, "him that holdeth the scepter," translates,
"the ruler." But the parallelism is that of one clause complementing the
other, "the inhabitant" or subject here answering to "him that
holdeth the scepter" or ruler there, both ruler and subject alike
being cut off.
Aven--the same as Oon or Un, a delightful valley, four hours'
journey from Damascus, towards the desert. Proverbial in the East as a
place of delight [JOSEPHUS
ABASSUS]. It is here parallel to "Eden,"
which also means "pleasantness"; situated at Lebanon. As
JOSEPHUS
ABASSUS is a doubtful authority, perhaps the reference may be rather to
the valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, called El-Bekaa, where
are the ruins of the Baal-bek temple of the sun; so the Septuagint renders it On, the same name as the city in Egypt bears, dedicated
to the sun-worship (@Ge 41:45; Heliopolis, "the city of the
sun," @Eze 30:17, Margin). It is termed by Amos "the valley of
Aven," or "vanity," from the worship of idols in it.
Kir--a region subject to Assyria (@Isa 22:6) in Iberia, the same
as that called now in Armenian Kur, lying by the river Cyrus which
empties itself into the Caspian Sea. Tiglath-pileser fulfilled this
prophecy when Ahaz applied for help to him against Rezin king of Syria,
and the Assyrian king took Damascus, slew Rezin, and carried away its
people captive to Kir.
6. Gaza--the southernmost of the five capitals of the five divisions
of Philistia, and the key to Palestine on the south: hence put for the
whole Philistine nation. Uzziah commenced the fulfilment of this
prophecy (see @2Ch 26:6).
because they carried away . . . the whole captivity--that is, they left
none. Compare with the phrase here, @Jer 13:19, "Judah . . . carried
captive all of it . . . wholly carried away." Under Jehoram
already the Philistines had carried away all the substance of the king
of Judah, and his wives and his sons, "so that there was never a son
left to him, save Jehoahaz"; and after Amos' time (if the reference
includes the future, which to the prophet's eye is as if already done),
under Ahaz (@2Ch 28:18), they seized on all the cities and
villages of the low country and south of Judah.
to deliver them up to Edom--Judah's bitterest foe; as slaves
(@Am 1:9; compare @Joe 3:1,3,6).
GROTIUS refers it to the fact
(@Isa 16:4) that on Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, many fled for
refuge to neighboring countries; the Philistines, instead of hospitably
sheltering the refugees, sold them, as if captives in war, to their
enemies, the Idumeans.
7. fire--that is, the flame of war (@Nu 21:28 Isa 26:11). Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, smiting the Philistines unto Gaza (@2Ki 18:8). Foretold also by @Isa 14:29,31.
8. Ashdod, &c.--Gath alone is not mentioned of the five chief Philistine cities. It had already been subdued by David; and it, as well as Ashdod, was taken by Uzziah (@2Ch 26:6). Gath perhaps had lost its position as one of the five primary cities before Amos uttered this prophecy, whence arose his omission of it. So @Zep 2:4,5. Compare @Jer 47:4 Eze 25:16. Subsequently to the subjugation of the Philistines by Uzziah, and then by Hezekiah, they were reduced by Psammetichus of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, the Persians, Alexander, and lastly the Asmoneans.
9. Tyrus . . . delivered up the . . . captivity to Edom--the same
charge as against the Philistines (@Am 1:6).
remembered not the brotherly covenant--the league of Hiram of Tyre
with David and Solomon, the former supplying cedars for the building of
the temple and king's house in return for oil and corn
(@2Sa 5:11 1Ki 5:2-6 9:11-14,27 10-22 1Ch 14:1 2Ch 8:18 9:10).
10. fire--(Compare @Am 1:4,7 Isa 23:1-18 Eze 26:1-28:26). Many parts of Tyre were burnt by fiery missiles of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander of Macedon subsequently overthrew it.
11. Edom . . . did pursue his brother--(@Isa 34:5). The chief
aggravation to Edom's violence against Israel was that they both came
from the same parents, Isaac and Rebekah (compare
@Ge 25:24-26 De 23:7,8 Ob 1:10,12 Mal 1:2).
cast off all pity--literally, "destroy compassions," that is, did
suppress all the natural feeling of pity for a brother in distress.
his wrath for ever--As Esau kept up his grudge against Jacob, for
having twice supplanted him, namely, as to the birthright and the
blessing (@Ge 27:41), so Esau's posterity against Israel
(@Nu 20:14,21). Edom first showed his spite in not letting Israel pass
through his borders when coming from the wilderness, but threatening to
"come out against him with the sword"; next, when the Syrians attacked
Jerusalem under Ahaz (compare @2Ch 28:17, with @2Ki 16:5); next,
when Nebuchadnezzar assailed Jerusalem (@Ps 137:7,8). In each case
Edom chose the day of Israel's calamity for venting his grudge. This is
the point of Edom's guilt dwelt on in @Ob 1:10-13. God punishes the
children, not for the sin of their fathers, but for their own filling up
the measure of their fathers' guilt, as children generally follow in the
steps of, and even exceed, their fathers' guilt (compare @Ex 20:5).
12. Teman--a city of Edom, called from a grandson of Esau
(@Ge 36:11,15 Ob 1:8,9); situated five miles from Petra; south of
the present Wady Musa. Its people were famed for wisdom (@Jer 49:7).
Bozrah--a city of Edom (@Isa 63:1). Selah or Petra is not
mentioned, as it had been overthrown by Amaziah (@2Ki 14:7).
13. Ammon--The Ammonites under Nahash attacked Jabesh-gilead and
refused to accept the offer of the latter to save them, unless the
Jabesh-gileadites would put out all their right eyes (@1Sa 11:1, &c.).
Saul rescued Jabesh-gilead. The Ammonites joined the Chaldeans in their
invasion of Judea for the sake of plunder.
ripped up . . . women with-child--as Hazael of Syria also did
(@2Ki 8:12; compare @Ho 13:16). Ammon's object in this cruel act
was to leave Israel without "heir," so as to seize on Israel's
inheritance (@Jer 49:1).
14. Rabbah--the capital of Ammon: meaning "the Great." Distinct from
Rabbah of Moab. Called Philadelphia, afterwards, from Ptolemy
Philadelphus.
tempest--that is, with an onset swift, sudden, and resistless as a
hurricane.
day of the whirlwind--parallel to "the day of battle"; therefore
meaning "the day of the foe's tumultuous assault."
15. their king . . . princes--or else, "their Molech (the idol of Ammon) and his priests" [GROTIUS and Septuagint]. @Isa 43:28 so uses "princes" for "priests." So "your Molech," @Am 5:26; and @Jer 49:3, Margin. English Version, however, is perhaps preferable both here and in @Jer 49:3; see on Jer 49:3.
CHAPTER 2
@Am 2:1-16. CHARGES AGAINST MOAB, JUDAH, AND LASTLY ISRAEL, THE CHIEF SUBJECT OF AMOS' PROPHECIES.
1. burned . . . bones of . . . king of Edom into lime--When Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom, combined against Mesha king of Moab, the latter failing in battle to break through to the king of Edom, took the oldest son of the latter and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall (@2Ki 3:27) [MICHAELIS]. Thus, "king of Edom" is taken as the heir to the throne of Edom. But "his son" is rather the king of Moab's own son, whom the father offered to Molech [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9.3]. Thus the reference here in Amos is not to that fact, but to the revenge which probably the king of Moab took on the king of Edom, when the forces of Israel and Judah had retired after their successful campaign against Moab, leaving Edom without allies. The Hebrew tradition is that Moab in revenge tore from their grave and burned the bones of the king of Edom, the ally of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat, who was already buried. Probably the "burning of the bones" means, "he burned the king of Edom alive, reducing his very bones to lime" [MAURER].
2. Kirioth--the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab
(@Isa 15:1). The form is plural here, as including both the
acropolis and town itself (see @Jer 48:24,41, Margin).
die with tumult--that is, amid the tumult of battle (@Ho 10:14).
3. the judge--the chief magistrate, the supreme source of justice. "King" not being used, it seems likely a change of government had before this time substituted for kings, supreme judges.
4. From foreign kingdoms he passes to Judah and Israel, lest it should
be said, he was strenuous in denouncing sins abroad, but connived at
those of his own nation. Judah's guilt differs from that of all the
others, in that it was directly against God, not merely against man.
Also because Judah's sin was wilful and wittingly against light and
knowledge.
law--the Mosaic code in general.
commandments--or statutes, the ceremonies and civil laws.
their lies--their lying idols (@Ps 40:4 Jer 16:19), from which
they drew false hopes. The order is to be observed. The Jews first cast
off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting
them with a righteous retribution (@Ro 1:25,26,28 2Th 2:11,12). The
pretext of a good intention is hereby refuted: the "lies" that mislead
them are "their (own) lies" [CALVIN].
after . . . which their fathers . . . walked--We are not to follow the
fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone. It was an
aggravation of the Jews' sin that it was not confined to preceding
generations; the sins of the sons rivalled those of their fathers
(@Mt 23:32 Ac 7:51) [CALVIN].
5. a fire--Nebuchadnezzar.
6. Israel--the ten tribes, the main subject of Amos' prophecies.
sold the righteous--Israel's judges for a bribe are induced to condemn
in judgment him who has a righteous cause; in violation of @De 16:19.
the poor for a pair of shoes--literally, "sandals" of wood, secured on
the foot by leather straps; less valuable than shoes. Compare the same
phrase, for "the most paltry bribe," @Am 8:6 Eze 13:19 Joe 3:3. They
were not driven by poverty to such a sin; beginning with suffering
themselves to be tempted by a large bribe, they at last are so reckless
of all shame as to prostitute justice for the merest trifle. Amos
convicts them of injustice, incestuous unchastity, and oppression first,
as these were so notorious that they could not deny them, before he
proceeds to reprove their contempt of God, which they would have denied
on the ground that they worshipped God in the form of the calves.
7. pant after . . . dust of . . . earth on . . . head of . . . poor--that is, eagerly thirst for this object, by their oppression to
prostrate the poor so as to cast the dust on their heads in mourning on
the earth (compare @2Sa 1:2 Job 2:12 Eze 27:30).
turn aside . . . way of . . . meek--pervert their cause
(@Am 5:12 Job 24:4 [GROTIUS];
@Isa 10:2).
a man and his father--a crime "not so much as named among the
Gentiles" (@1Co 5:1). When God's people sin in the face of light,
they often fall lower than even those who know not God.
go in unto the same maid--from @Am 2:8 it seems likely "the damsel"
meant is one of the prostitutes attached to the idol Astarte's temple:
prostitution being part of her filthy worship.
to profane my . . . name--Israel in such abominations, as it were,
designedly seeks to insult God.
8. lay themselves . . . upon clothes laid to pledge--the
outer garment, which @Ex 22:25-27 ordered to be restored to the
poor man before sunset, as being his only covering. It aggravated the
crime that they lay on these clothes in an idol temple.
by every altar--They partook in a recumbent posture of their idolatrous
feasts; the ancients being in the habit of reclining at full length in
eating, the upper part of the body resting on the left elbow, not
sitting as we do.
drink . . . wine of the condemned--that is, wine bought with the money
of those whom they unjustly fined.
9. Yet--My former benefits to you heighten your ingratitude.
the Amorite--the most powerful of all the Canaanite nations, and
therefore put for them all (@Ge 15:16 48:22 De 1:20 Jos 7:7).
height . . . like . . . cedars--(@Nu 13:32,33).
destroyed his fruit . . . above . . . roots . . . beneath--that is,
destroyed him utterly (@Job 18:16 Eze 17:9 Mal 4:1).
10. brought you up from . . . Egypt--"brought up" is the phrase, as
Egypt was low and flat, and Canaan hilly.
to possess the land of the Amorite--The Amorites strictly occupied both
sides of the Jordan and the mountains afterward possessed by Judah; but
they here, as in @Am 2:9, stand for all the Canaanites. God kept
Israel forty years in the wilderness, which tended to discipline them in
His statutes, so as to be the better fitted for entering on the
possession of Canaan.
11. Additional obligations under which Israel lay to God; the
prophets and Nazarites, appointed by Him, to furnish religious
instruction and examples of holy self-restraint.
of your young men--It was a specimen of Israel's highly favored state,
that, of the class most addicted to pleasures, God chose those who by a
solemn vow bound themselves to abstinence from all produce of the vine,
and from all ceremonial and moral defilement. The Nazarite was not to
shave (@Nu 6:2, &c.). God left nothing undone to secure the purity
of their worship and their faithfulness to it (@La 4:7). The same
comes from a Hebrew root, nazar, "to set apart." Samson, Samuel,
and John the Baptist were Nazarites.
Is it not even thus--Will any of you dare to deny it is so?
12. Ye so despised these My favors, as to tempt the Nazarite to break his vow; and forbade the prophets prophesying (@Isa 30:10). So Amaziah forbade Amos (@Am 7:12,13,14).
13. I am pressed under you--so CALVIN (Compare @Isa 1:14). The Margin translates actively, "I will depress your place," that is, "I will make it narrow," a metaphor for afflicting a people; the opposite of enlarging, that is, relieving (@Ps 4:1 Pr 4:12). MAURER translates, "I will press you down" (not as Margin, "your place"; so the Hebrew, @Job 40:12; or @Am 2:7 in Hebrew text). Amos, as a shepherd, appropriately draws his similes from rustic scenes.
14. flight shall perish from . . . swift--Even the swift shall not be
able to escape.
strong shall not strengthen his force--that is, shall not be able to
use his strength.
himself--literally, "his life."
16. flee . . . naked--If any escape, it must be with the loss of accoutrements, and all that would impede rapid flight. They must be content with saving their life alone.
CHAPTER 3
@Am 3:1-15. GOD'S EXTRAORDINARY LOVE, BEING REPAID BY ISRAEL WITH INGRATITUDE, OF NECESSITY CALLS FOR JUDGMENTS, WHICH THE PROPHETS ANNOUNCE, NOT AT RANDOM, BUT BY GOD'S COMMISSION, WHICH THEY CANNOT BUT FULFIL. THE OPPRESSION PREVALENT IN ISRAEL WILL BRING DOWN RUIN ON ALL SAVE A SMALL REMNANT.
1. children of Israel--not merely the ten tribes, but "the whole family brought up from Egypt"; all the descendants of Jacob, including Judah and Benjamin. Compare @Jer 8:3, and @Mic 2:3, on "family" for the nation However, as the prophecy following refers to the ten tribes, they must be chiefly, if not solely, meant: they were the majority of the nation; and so Amos concedes what they so often boasted, that they were the elect people of God [CALVIN], but implies that this only heightens their sins.
2. You only have I known--that is, acknowledged as My people, and
treated with peculiar favor (@Ex 19:5 De 4:20). Compare the use of
"know," @Ps 1:6 144:3 Joh 10:14 2Ti 2:19.
therefore I will punish--the greater the privileges, the heavier the
punishment for the abuse of them; for to the other offenses there is
added, in this case, ingratitude. When God's people do not glorify Him,
He glorifies Himself by punishing them.
3-6. Here follow several questions of a parable-like kind, to awaken
conviction in the people.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?--Can God's prophets be
so unanimous in prophesying against you, if God's Spirit were not joined
with them, or if their prophecies were false? The Israelites were "at
ease," not believing that God was with the prophets in their denunciations
of coming ruin to the nation (@Am 6:1,3; compare
@1Ki 22:18,24,27 Jer 43:2). This accords with @Am 3:7,8. So "I will
be with thy mouth" (@Ex 4:12 Jer 1:8 Mt 10:20). If the prophets and
God were not agreed, the former could not predict the future as they do.
In @Am 2:12 He had said, the Israelites forbade the prophets
prophesying; therefore, in @Am 3:3,8, He asserts the agreement
between the prophets and God who spake by them against Israel
[ROSENMULLER]. Rather, "I once walked with you" (@Le 26:12) as a
Father and Husband (@Isa 54:5 Jer 3:14); but now your way and Mine
are utterly diverse; there can therefore be no fellowship between us
such as there was (@Am 3:2); I will walk with you only to "punish
you"; as a "lion" walks with his "prey" (@Am 3:4), as a bird-catcher
with a bird [TARNOVIUS].
The prophets, and all servants of God, can have
no fellowship with the ungodly
(@Ps 119:63 2Co 6:16,17 Eph 5:11 Jas 4:4).
4. The same idea as in @Mt 24:28. Where a corrupt nation is, there
God's instruments of punishment are sure also to be. The lion roars
loudly only when he has prey in sight.
Will a young lion cry out . . . if he--the "lion," not the "young
lion."
have taken nothing?--The young lion just weaned lies silent, until the
old lion brings the prey near; then the scent rouses him. So, the
prophet would not speak against Israel, if God did not reveal to him
Israel's sins as requiring punishment.
5. When a bird trying to fly upwards is made to fall upon the earth
snare, it is a plain proof that the snare is there; so, Israel, now that
thou art falling, infer thence, that it is in the snare of the divine
judgment that thou art entangled [LUDOVICUS
DE
DIEU].
shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing--The bird-catcher does not remove his snare off the ground till he has
caught some prey; so God will not withdraw the Assyrians, &c., the
instruments of punishment, until they have had the success against you
which God gives them. The foe corresponds to the "snare," suddenly
springing from the ground and enclosing the bird on the latter
touching it; the Hebrew is literally, "Shall the snare spring from the earth?" Israel entangled in judgments answers to the bird
"taken."
6. When the sound of alarm is trumpeted by the watchman in the city,
the people are sure to run to and fro in alarm (Hebrew, literally).
Yet Israel is not alarmed, though God threatens judgments.
shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?--This is
the explanation of the preceding similes: God is the Author of all the
calamities which come upon you, and which are foretold by His prophets.
The evil of sin is from ourselves; the evil of trouble is from God,
whoever be the instruments.
7. his secret--namely, His purpose hidden from all, until it is
revealed to His prophets (compare @Ge 18:17). In a wider sense,
God's will is revealed to all who love God, which it is not to the world
(@Ps 25:14 Joh 15:15 17:25,26).
unto his servants--who being servants cannot but obey their Lord
in setting forth His purpose (namely, that of judgment against Israel)
(@Jer 20:9 Eze 9:11). Therefore the fault which the ungodly find
with them is groundless (@1Ki 18:17). It aggravates Israel's sin,
that God is not about to inflict judgment, without having fully warned
the people, if haply they might repent.
8. As when "the lion roars" (compare @Am 1:2 Am 3:4), none can help but "fear," so when Jehovah communicates His awful message, the prophet cannot but prophesy. Find not fault with me for prophesying; I must obey God. In a wider sense true of all believers (@Ac 4:20 5:29).
9. Publish in . . . palaces--as being places of greatest resort
(compare @Mt 10:27); and also as it is the sin of princes that
he arraigns, he calls on princes (the occupants of the "palaces") to be
the witnesses.
Ashdod--put for all Philistia. Convene the Philistine and the Egyptian
magnates, from whom I have on various occasions rescued Israel. (The
opposite formula to "Tell it not in Gath," namely, lest the heathen
should glory over Israel). Even these idolaters, in looking on your
enormities, will condemn you; how much more will the holy God?
upon the mountains of Samaria--on the hills surrounding and commanding
the view of Samaria, the metropolis of the ten tribes, which was on a
lower hill (@Am 4:1 1Ki 16:24). The mountains are to be the tribunal
on which the Philistines and Egyptians are to sit aloft to have a view
of your crimes, so as to testify to the justice of your punishment
(@Am 3:13).
tumults--caused by the violence of the princes of Israel in
"oppressions" of the poor (@Job 35:9 Ec 4:1).
10. know not to do--Their moral corruption blinds their power of
discernment so that they cannot do right (@Jer 4:22). Not simple
intellectual ignorance; the defect lay in the heart and will.
store up violence and robbery--that is, treasures obtained by "violence
and robbery" (@Pr 10:2).
11. Translate, "An adversary (the abruptness produces a startling
effect)! and that too, from every side of the land." So in the
fulfilment, @2Ki 17:5: "The king of Assyria (Shalmaneser) came up
throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it
three years."
bring down thy strength from thee--that is, bring thee down from thy
strength (the strength on which thou didst boast thyself): all thy
resources (@Pr 10:15).
palaces shall be spoiled--a just retribution in kind (@Am 3:10).
The palaces in which spoils of robbery were stored up, "shall
be spoiled."
12. shepherd--a pastoral image, appropriately used by Amos, a shepherd
himself.
piece of . . . ear--brought by the shepherd to the owner of the sheep,
so as not to have to pay for the loss (@Ge 31:39 Ex 22:13). So if
aught of Israel escapes, it shall be a miracle of God's goodness. It
shall be but a scanty remnant. There is a kind of goat in the East the
ears of which are a foot long, and proportionally broad. Perhaps the
reference is to this. Compare on the image @1Sa 17:34,35 2Ti 4:17.
that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed--that is, that live
luxuriously in Samaria (compare @Am 6:1,4). "A bed" means here the
Oriental divan, a raised part of the room covered with cushions.
in Damascus in a couch--Jeroboam II had lately restored Damascus to
Israel (@2Ki 14:25,28). So the Israelites are represented as not
merely in "the corner of a bed," as in Samaria, but "in a (whole)
couch," at Damascus, living in luxurious ease. Of these, now so
luxurious, soon but a remnant shall be left by the foe. The destruction
of Damascus and that of Samaria shall be conjoined; as here their
luxurious lives, and subsequently under Pekah and Rezin their inroads on
Judah, were combined (@Isa 7:1-8 8:4,9 17:3). The parallelism of
"Samaria" to "Damascus," and the Septuagint favor English Version rather than
GESENIUS: "on a damask couch." The Hebrew pointing,
though generally expressing damask, may express the city
"Damascus"; and many manuscripts point it so. Compare for Israel's
overthrow, @2Ki 17:5,6 18:9-12.
13. testify in the house, &c.--that is, against the house of
Jacob. God calls on the same persons as in @Am 3:9, namely, the
heathen Philistines and the Egyptians to witness with their own eyes
Samaria's corruptions above described, so that none may be able to deny
the justice of Samaria's punishment [MAURER].
God of hosts--having all the powers of heaven and earth at His command,
and therefore One calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the
guilty whom He threatens.
14. That--rather, "since," or "for." This verse is not, as
English Version translates, the thing which the witnesses cited are
to "testify" (@Am 3:13), but the reason why God calls on the heathen
to witness Samaria's guilt; namely, in order to justify the punishment
which He declares He will inflict.
I will also visit . . . Beth-el--the golden calves which were the
source of all "the transgressions of Israel"
(@1Ki 12:32 13:2 2Ki 23:15,16), though Israel thought that by them
their transgressions were atoned for and God's favor secured.
horns of the altar--which used to be sprinkled with the blood of
victims. They were horn-like projecting points at the corners of ancient
altars. The singular, "altar," refers to the great altar erected by
Jeroboam to the calves. The "altars," plural, refer to the lesser
ones made in imitation of the great one (@2Ch 34:5, compare with
@1Ki 13:2 Ho 8:11 10:1).
15. winter . . . summer house--(@Jud 3:20 Jer 36:22). Winter houses
of the great were in sheltered positions facing the south to get all
possible sunshine, summer houses in forests and on hills, facing the
east and north.
houses of ivory--having their walls, doors, and ceilings inlaid with
ivory. So Ahab's house (@1Ki 22:39 Ps 45:8).
CHAPTER 4
@Am 4:1-13. DENUNCIATION OF ISRAEL'S NOBLES FOR OPPRESSION; AND OF THE WHOLE NATION FOR IDOLATRY; AND FOR THEIR BEING UNREFORMED EVEN BY GOD'S JUDGMENTS: THEREFORE THEY MUST PREPARE FOR THE LAST AND WORST JUDGMENT OF ALL.
1. kine of Bashan--fat and wanton cattle such as the rich pasture of
Bashan (east of Jordan, between Hermon and Gilead) was famed for
(@De 32:14 Ps 22:12 Eze 39:18). Figurative for those luxurious nobles
mentioned, @Am 3:9,10,12,15. The feminine, kine, or cows, not
bulls, expresses their effeminacy. This accounts for masculine forms
in the Hebrew being intermixed with feminine; the latter being
figurative, the former the real persons meant.
say to their masters--that is to their king, with whom the princes
indulged in potations (@Ho 7:5), and whom here they importune for
more wine. "Bring" is singular, in the
Hebrew implying that one "master" alone is meant.
2. The Lord--the same Hebrew as "masters" (@Am 4:1). Israel's
nobles say to their master or lord, Bring us drink: but "the Lord" of
him and them "hath sworn," &c.
by his holiness--which binds Him to punish the guilty (@Ps 89:35).
he will take yon away--that is God by the instrumentality of the enemy.
with hooks--literally, "thorns" (compare @2Ch 33:11). As fish are
taken out of the water by hooks, so the Israelites are to be taken out
of their cities by the enemy (@Eze 29:4; compare
@Job 41:1,2 Jer 16:16 Hab 1:15). The image is the more appropriate,
as anciently captives were led by their conquerors by a hook made to
pass through the nose (@2Ki 19:28), as is to be seen in the Assyrian
remains.
3. go out at the breaches--namely, of the city walls broken by the
enemy.
every cow at that which is before her--figurative for
the once luxurious nobles (compare "kine of Bashan," @Am 4:1)
shall go out each one right before her; not through the gates, but
each at the breach before him, not turning to the right or left,
apart from one another.
ye shall cast them into the palace--"them," that is, "your
posterity," from @Am 4:2. You yourselves shall escape through the
breaches, after having cast your little children into the palace, so as
not to see their destruction, and to escape the more quickly. Rather,
"ye shall cast yourselves into the palace," so as to escape from it
out of the city [CALVIN]. The palace, the scene of the princes riots
(@Am 3:10,15 4:1), is to be the scene of their ignominious flight.
Compare in the similar case of Jerusalem's capture, the king's
escape by way of the palace, through a breach in the wall
(@Eze 12:5,12).
GESENIUS translates, "Ye shall be cast (as captives)
into the (enemy's) stronghold"; in this view, the enemy's stronghold is
called "palace," in retributive contrast to the "palaces" of Israel's
nobles, the store houses of their robberies (@Am 3:10).
4. God gives them up to their self-willed idolatry, that they may see
how unable their idols are to save them from their coming calamities. So
@Eze 20:39.
Beth-el--(@Am 3:14).
Gilgal--(@Ho 4:15 9:15 12:11).
sacrifices every morning--as commanded in the law (@Nu 28:3,4).
They imitated the letter, while violating by calf-worship the spirit, of
the Jerusalem temple-worship.
after three years--every third year; literally, "after three (years of)
days" (that is, the fullest complement of days, or a year); "after
three full years." Compare @Le 25:20 Jud 17:10, and "the days" for
the years, @Joe 1:2. So a month of days is used for
a full month, wanting no day to complete it (@Ge 29:14, Margin; @Nu 11:20,21). The Israelites here also kept to
the letter of the
law in bringing in the tithes of their increase every third year
(@De 14:28 26:12).
5. offer--literally, "burn incense"; that is, "offer a sacrifice of
thanksgiving with burnt incense and with leavened bread." The
frankincense was laid on the meat offering, and taken by the priest from
it to burn on the altar (@Le 2:1,2,8-11). Though unleavened cakes were to accompany the peace offering sacrifice of animals,
leavened bread was also commanded (@Le 7:12,13), but not as a
"meat offering" (@Le 2:11).
this liketh you--that is, this is what ye like.
6-11. Jehovah details His several chastisements inflicted with a view
to reclaiming them: but adds to each the same sad result, "yet have ye
not returned unto Me" (@Isa 9:13 Jer 5:3 Ho 7:10); the monotonous
repetition of the same burden marking their pitiable obstinacy.
cleanness of teeth--explained by the parallel, "want of bread." The
famine alluded to is that mentioned in @2Ki 8:1
[GROTIUS]. Where
there is no food to masticate, the teeth are free from uncleanness, but
it is the cleanness of want. Compare @Pr 14:4, "Where no oxen are,
the crib is clean." So spiritually, where all is outwardly smooth and
clean, it is often because there is no solid religion. Better fighting
and fears with real piety, than peace and respectable decorum without
spiritual life.
7. withholden . . . rain . . . three months to . . . harvest--the time
when rain was most needed, and when usually "the latter rain" fell,
namely, in spring, the latter half of February, and the whole of March
and April (@Ho 6:3 Joe 2:23). The drought meant is that mentioned in
@1Ki 17:1 [GROTIUS].
rain upon one city . . . not . . . upon another--My rain that fell was
only partial.
8. three cities wandered--that is, the inhabitants of three cities (compare @Jer 14:1-6). GROTIUS explains this verse and @Am 4:7, "The rain fell on neighboring countries, but not on Israel, which marked the drought to be, not accidental, but the special judgment of God." The Israelites were obliged to leave their cities and homes to seek water at a distance [CALVIN].
9. blasting--the blighting influence of the east wind on the corn
(@Ge 41:6).
when . . . gardens . . . increased--In vain ye multiplied your gardens,
&c., for I destroyed their produce. BOCHART
supports Margin, "the
multitude of your gardens."
palmer worm--A species of locust is here meant, hurtful to fruits
of trees, not to herbage or corn. The same east wind which brought the
drought, blasting, and mildew, brought also the locusts into Judea
[BOCHART], (@Ex 10:13).
10. pestilence after the manner of Egypt--such as I formerly sent on
the Egyptians (@Ex 9:3,8, &c. @Ex 12:29 De 28:27,60). Compare the
same phrase, @Isa 10:24.
have taken away your horses--literally, "accompanied with the captivity
of your horses"; I have given up your young men to be slain, and their
horses to be taken by the foe (compare @2Ki 13:7).
stink of your camps--that is, of your slain men (compare
@Isa 34:3 Joe 2:20).
to come up unto your nostrils--The Hebrew is more emphatic, "to
come up, and that unto your nostrils."
11. some of you--some parts of your territory.
as God overthrew Sodom--(@De 29:23 Isa 13:19 Jer 49:18 50:40 2Pe 2:6 Jude 1:7). "God" is often
repeated in Hebrew instead of "I." The earthquake here apparently
alluded to is not that in the reign of Uzziah, which occurred "two
years" later (@Am 1:1). Traces of earthquakes and volcanic agency
abound in Palestine. The allusion here is to some of the effects of
these in previous times. Compare the prophecy, @De 28:15-68, with
@Am 4:6-11 here.
as a firebrand plucked out of . . . burning--(Compare
@Isa 7:4 Zec 3:2). The phrase is proverbial for a narrow escape
from utter extinction. Though Israel revived as a nation under Jeroboam
II, it was but for a time, and that after an almost utter destruction
previously (@2Ki 14:26).
12. Therefore--as all chastisements have failed to make thee "return
unto Me."
thus will I do unto thee--as I have threatened (@Am 4:2,3).
prepare to meet thy God--God is about to inflict the last and worst
judgment on thee, the extinction of thy nationality; consider then what
preparation thou canst make for encountering Him as thy foe
(@Jer 46:14 Lu 14:31,32). But as that would be madness to think of
(@Isa 27:4 Eze 22:14 Heb 10:31), see what can be done towards
mitigating the severity of the coming judgment, by penitence
(@Isa 27:5 1Co 11:31). This latter exhortation is followed up in
@Am 5:4,6,8,14,15.
13. The God whom Israel is to "prepare to meet" (@Am 4:12) is
here described in sublime terms.
wind--not as the Margin, "spirit." The God with whom thou hast to
do is the Omnipotent Maker of things seen, such as the stupendous
mountains, and of things too subtle to be seen, though of powerful
agency, as the "wind."
declareth unto man . . . his thought--(@Ps 139:2). Ye think that
your secret thoughts escape My cognizance, but I am the searcher of
hearts.
maketh . . . morning darkness--(@Am 5:8 8:9). Both literally
turning the sunshine into darkness, and figuratively turning the
prosperity of the ungodly into sudden adversity (@Ps 73:12,18,19;
compare @Jer 13:16).
treadeth upon . . . high places--God treadeth down the proud of the
earth. He subjects to Him all things however high they be (@Mic 1:3).
Compare @De 32:13 33:29, where the same phrase is used of God's people,
elevated by God above every other human height.
CHAPTER 5
@Am 5:1-27. ELEGY OVER THE PROSTRATE KINGDOM: RENEWED EXHORTATIONS TO REPENTANCE: GOD DECLARES THAT THE COMING DAY OF JUDGMENT SHALL BE TERRIBLE TO THE SCORNERS WHO DESPISE IT: CEREMONIAL SERVICES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO HIM WHERE TRUE PIETY EXISTS NOT: ISRAEL SHALL THEREFORE BE REMOVED FAR EASTWARD.
1. lamentation--an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Compare @Eze 32:2, "take up," namely, as a mournful burden (@Eze 19:1 27:2).
2. virgin of Israel--the Israelite state heretofore unsubdued by
foreigners. Compare @Isa 23:12 Jer 18:13 31:4,21 La 2:13; may be
interpreted, Thou who wast once the "virgin daughter of Zion." Rather,
"virgin" as applied to a state implies its beauty, and the delights on
which it prides itself, its luxuries, power, and wealth
[CALVIN].
no more rise--in the existing order of things: in the Messianic
dispensation it is to rise again, according to many prophecies. Compare
@2Ki 6:23 24:7, for the restricted sense of "no more."
forsaken upon her land--or, "prostrated upon," &c. (compare
@Eze 29:5 32:4) [MAURER].
3. went out by a thousand--that is, "the city from which there used
to go out a thousand" equipped for war. "City" is put for "the
inhabitants of the city," as in @Am 4:8.
shall leave . . . hundred--shall have only a hundred left, the rest
being destroyed by sword and pestilence (@De 28:62).
4. Seek ye me, and ye shall live--literally, "Seek . . . Me, and live." The second imperative expresses the certainty of "life" (escape from judgment) resulting from obedience to the precept in the first imperative. If they perish, it is their own fault; God would forgive, if they would repent (@Isa 55:3,6).
5. seek not Beth-el--that is, the calves at Beth-el.
Gilgal--(See on Am 4:4).
Beer-sheba--in Judah on the southern frontier towards Edom. Once "the
well of the oath" by Jehovah, ratifying Abraham's covenant with
Abimelech, and the scene of his calling on "the Lord, the everlasting
God" (@Ge 21:31,33), now a stronghold of idolatry (@Am 8:14).
Gilgal shall surely go into captivity--a play on similar sounds in the
Hebrew, Gilgal, galoh, yigleh: "Gilgal (the place of rolling)
shall rolling be rolled away."
Beth-el shall come to naught--Beth-el (that is, the "house of God"),
called because of its vain idols Beth-aven (that is, "the house of
vanity," or "naught," @Ho 4:15 10:5,8), shall indeed "come to
naught."
6. break out like fire--bursting through everything in His way. God
is "a consuming fire" (@De 4:24 Isa 10:17 La 2:3).
the house of Joseph--the kingdom of Israel, of which the tribe of
Ephraim, Joseph's son, was the chief tribe (compare @Eze 37:16).
none to quench it in Beth-el--that is, none in Beth-el to quench it;
none of the Beth-el idols on which Israel so depended, able to remove
the divine judgments.
7. turn judgment to wormwood--that is, pervert it to most bitter wrong.
As justice is sweet, so injustice is bitter to the injured. "Wormwood"
is from a Hebrew root, to "execrate," on account of its noxious and
bitter qualities.
leave on righteousness in . . .
earth--MAURER translates, "cast righteousness to the ground," as in @Isa 28:2 Da 8:12.
8. the seven stars--literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (@Job 9:9 38:31). The former whole
passage seems to have been in Amos mind. He names the stars well known
to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of
the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in
spring.
shadow of death--Hebraism for the densest darkness.
calleth for the waters of the sea--both to send deluges in
judgment, and the ordinary rain in mercy (@1Ki 18:44).
9. strengtheneth the spoiled--literally, "spoil" or "devastation":
hence the "person spoiled." WINER,
MAURER, and the best modern critics
translate, "maketh devastation (or destruction)
suddenly to arise," literally, "maketh it to gleam forth like the
dawn." Ancient versions support English Version. The Hebrew is
elsewhere used, to make, to shine, to make glad: and as
English Version here (@Ps 39:13), "recover strength."
the spoiled shall come--"devastation," or "destruction shall come
upon" [MAURER].
English Version expresses that, strong as Israel
fancies herself after the successes of Jeroboam II (@2Ki 14:25),
even the weakest can be made by God to prevail against the strong.
10. him that rebuketh in the gate--the judge who condemns their
iniquity in the place of judgment (@Isa 29:21).
abhor him that speaketh uprightly--the prophet telling them the
unwelcome truth: answering in the parallelism to the judge, "that
rebuketh in the gate" (compare @1Ki 22:8 Pr 9:8 12:1 Jer 36:23).
11. burdens of wheat--burdensome taxes levied in kind from the
wheat of the needy, to pamper the lusts of the great
[HENDERSON]. Or
wheat advanced in time of scarcity, and exacted again at a burdensome
interest [RABBI
SALOMON].
built houses . . . but not dwell in them . . . vineyards, . . . but
not drink wine of them--according to the original prophecy of Moses
(@De 28:30,38,39). The converse shall be true in restored Israel
(@Am 9:14 Isa 65:21,22).
12. they afflict . . . they take--rather, "(ye) who afflict . . .
take."
bribe--literally, a price with which one who has an unjust cause
ransoms himself from your sentence (@1Sa 12:3, Margin; @Pr 6:35).
turn aside the poor in the gate--refuse them their right
in the place of justice (@Am 2:7 Isa 29:21).
13. the prudent--the spiritually wise.
shall keep silence--not mere silence of tongue, but the prudent shall
keep himself quiet from taking part in any public or private affairs
which he can avoid: as it is "an evil time," and one in which all law is
set at naught. @Eph 5:16 refers to this. Instead of impatiently
agitating against irremediable evils, the godly wise will not cast
pearls before swine, who would trample these, and rend the offerers
(@Mt 7:6), but will patiently wait for God's time of deliverance in
silent submission (@Ps 39:9).
14. and so--on condition of your "seeking good."
shall be with you, as ye have spoken--as ye have boasted; namely, that
God is with you, and that you are His people (@Mic 3:11).
15. Hate . . . evil . . . love . . . good--(@Isa 1:16,17 Ro 12:9).
judgment in the gate--justice in the place where causes are tried.
it may be that the Lord . . . will be gracious--so, "peradventure"
(@Ex 32:30). Not that men are to come to God with an uncertainty whether or no He will be gracious: the expression merely implies the
difficulty in the way, because of the want of true repentance on man's
part, so as to stimulate the zealous earnestness of believers in seeking
God (compare @Ge 16:2 Joe 2:14 Ac 8:22).
the remnant of Joseph--(see @Am 5:6). Israel
(represented by
"Ephraim," the leading tribe, and descendant of Joseph) was, as compared
to what it once was, now but a remnant, Hazael of Syria having smitten
all the coasts from Jordan eastward, Gilead and Bashan, Gad, Reuben, and
Manasseh (@2Ki 10:32,33)
[HENDERSON]. Rather, "the remnant of Israel
that shall have been left after the wicked have been destroyed"
[MAURER].
16. Therefore--resumed from @Am 5:13. God foresees they will not
obey the exhortation (@Am 5:14,15), but will persevere in the
unrighteousness stigmatized (@Am 5:7,10,12).
the Lord--JEHOVAH.
the God of hosts, the Lord--an accumulation of titles, of which His
lordship over all things is the climax, to mark that from His judgment
there is no appeal.
streets . . . highways--the broad open spaces and the
narrow streets common in the East.
call the husbandman to mourning--The citizens shall call the
inexperienced husbandmen to act the part usually performed by
professional mourners, as there will not be enough of the latter for the
universal mourning which prevails.
such as are skilful of lamentation--professional mourners hired to
lead off the lamentations for the deceased; alluded to in @Ec 12:5;
generally women (@Jer 9:17-19).
17. in all vineyards . . . wailing--where usually songs of joy were
heard.
pass through thee--taking vengeance (@Ex 12:12,23 Na 1:12). "Pass
over" and "pass by," on the contrary, are used of God's forgiving (@Ex 12:23 Mic 7:18; compare @Am 7:8).
18. Woe unto you who do not scruple to say in irony, "We desire that
the day of the Lord would come," that is, "Woe to you who treat it as if
it were a mere dream of the prophets" (@Isa 5:19 Jer 17:15 Eze 12:22).
to what end is it for you!--Amos taking their ironical words in
earnest: for God often takes the blasphemer at his own word, in
righteous retribution making the scoffer's jest a terrible reality
against himself. Ye have but little reason to desire the day of the
Lord; for it will be to you calamity, and not joy.
19. As if a man did flee . . . a lion, and a bear met him--Trying to
escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in
@Am 5:18 their ironical desire for the day of the Lord was as if it
would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of
the Lord would be good news to us, if true: for we have served God (that
is, the golden calves). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death
and judgment, as if these would be a relief from existing ills of life.
The lion may from generosity spare the prostrate, but the bear spares none (compare @Job 20:24 Isa 24:18).
leaned . . . on the wall--on the side wall of the house, to support
himself from falling. Snakes often hid themselves in fissures in a wall.
Those not reformed by God's judgments will be pursued by them: if they
escape one, another is ready to seize them.
21. I hate, I despise--The two verbs joined without a conjunction
express God's strong abhorrence.
your feast days--yours; not Mine; I do not acknowledge them:
unlike those in Judah, yours are of human, not divine institution.
I will not smell--that is, I will take no delight in the sacrifices
offered (@Ge 8:21 Le 26:31).
in your solemn assemblies--literally, "days of restraint."
@Isa 1:10-15 is parallel. Isaiah is fuller; Amos, more condensed. Amos
condemns Israel not only on the ground of their thinking to satisfy God
by sacrifices without obedience (the charge brought by Isaiah against
the Jews), but also because even their external ritual was a mere
corruption, and unsanctioned by God.
22. meat offerings--flour, &c. Unbloody offerings.
peace offerings--offerings for obtaining from God peace and prosperity.
Hebrew, "thank offerings."
23. Take . . . away from me--literally, "Take away, from upon Me";
the idea being that of a burden pressing upon the bearer. So
@Isa 1:14, "They are a trouble unto Me (literally, 'a burden upon Me'): I am weary to bear them."
the noise of thy songs--The hymns and instrumental music on sacred
occasions are to Me nothing but a disagreeable noise.
I will not hear--Isaiah substitutes "prayers" (@Isa 1:15) for the
"songs" and "melody" here; but, like Amos, closes with "I will not
hear."
24. judgment--justice.
run down--literally, "roll," that is, flow abundantly (@Isa 48:18).
Without the desire to fulfil righteousness in the offerer, the sacrifice
is hateful to God (@1Sa 15:22 Ps 66:18 Ho 6:6 Mic 6:8).
25, 26. Have ye offered? &c.--Yes: ye have. "But (all the time with
strange inconsistency) ye have borne
(aloft in solemn pomp) the
tabernacle (that is, the portable shrine, or model tabernacle: small
enough not to be detected by Moses; compare @Ac 19:24) of your
Molech" (that idol is "your" god; I am not, though ye go through the
form of presenting offerings to Me). The question, "Have ye," is not a
denial (for they did offer in the wilderness to Jehovah sacrifices
of the cattle which they took with them in their nomad life there,
@Ex 24:4 Nu 7:1-89 9:1, &c.), but a strong affirmation
(compare
@1Sa 2:27,28 Jer 31:20 Eze 20:4). The sin of Israel in Amos' time
is the very sin of their forefathers, mocking God with worship, while at
the same time worshipping idols (compare @Eze 20:39). It was
clandestine in Moses' time, else he would have put it down; he was aware
generally of their unfaithfulness, though not knowing the particulars
(@De 31:21,27).
Molech . . . Chiun--"Molech" means "king" answering to Mars
[BENGEL]; the Sun
[JABLONSKI]; Saturn, the same as "Chiun"
[MAURER]. The Septuagint translates "Chiun" into Remphan, as
Stephen quotes it (@Ac 7:42,43). The same god often had different
names. Molech is the Ammonite name; Chiun, the Arabic and
Persian name, written also Chevan. In an Arabic lexicon Chiun means "austere"; so astrologers represented Saturn as a planet
baleful in his influence. Hence the Phoenicians offered human
sacrifices to him, children especially; so idolatrous Israel also.
Rimmon was the Syrian name (@2Ki 5:18); pronounced as
Remvan, or "Remphan," just as Chiun was also Chevan. Molech
had the form of a king; Chevan, or Chiun, of a star
[GROTIUS]. Remphan
was the Egyptian name for Saturn: hence the Septuagint translator of Amos gave the Egyptian name for the Hebrew, being an
Egyptian.
[HODIUS II,
De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus. 4.115]. The same as the Nile, of
which the Egyptians made the star Saturn the representative
[HARENBERG].
BENGEL considers Remphan or Rephan akin to
Teraphim and Remphis, the name of a king of Egypt. The Hebrews
became infected with Sabeanism, the oldest form of idolatry, the
worship of the Saba or starry hosts, in their stay in the Arabian
desert, where Job notices its prevalence (@Job 31:26); in
opposition, in @Am 5:27, Jehovah declares Himself "the God of
hosts."
the star of your god--R. ISAAC
CARO says all the astrologers
represented Saturn as the star of Israel. Probably there was a
figure of a star on the head of the image of the idol, to represent the
planet Saturn; hence "images" correspond to "star" in the parallel
clause. A star in hieroglyphics represents God (@Nu 24:17). "Images"
are either a Hebraism for "image," or refer to the many images made to
represent Chiun.
27. beyond Damascus--In @Ac 7:43 it is "beyond Babylon," which includes beyond Damascus. In Amos time, Damascus was the object of Israel's fear because of the Syrian wars. Babylon was not yet named as the place of their captivity. Stephen supplies this name. Their place of exile was in fact, as he states, "beyond Babylon," in Halah and Habor by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes (@2Ki 17:6; compare here @Am 1:5 4:3 6:14). The road to Assyria lay through "Damascus." It is therefore specified, that not merely shall they be carried captives to Damascus, as they had been by Syrian kings (@2Ki 10:32,33 13:7), but, beyond that, to a region whence a return was not so possible as from Damascus. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go captive among idolaters. Compare @2Ki 15:29 16:9 Isa 8:4, whence it appears Tiglath-pileser attacked Israel and Damascus at the same time at Ahaz' request (@Am 3:1).
CHAPTER 6
@Am 6:1-14. DENUNCIATION OF BOTH THE SISTER NATIONS (ESPECIALLY THEIR NOBLES) FOR WANTON SECURITY--ZION, AS WELL AS SAMARIA: THREAT OF THE EXILE: RUIN OF THEIR PALACES AND SLAUGHTER OF THE PEOPLE: THEIR PERVERSE INJUSTICE.
1. named chief of the nations--that is, you nobles, so eminent in
influence, that your names are celebrated among the chief nations
[LUDOVICUS
DE
DIEU]. Hebrew, "Men designated by name among the
first-fruits of the nations," that is, men of note in Israel, the people
chosen by God as first of the nations (@Ex 19:5; compare @Nu 24:20)
[PISCATOR].
to whom . . . Israel came--that is, the princes to whom the Israelites
used to repair for the decision of controversies, recognizing their
authority [MAURER]. I prefer to refer "which" to the antecedent "Zion"
and "Samaria"; these were esteemed "chief" strongholds among the heathen
nations "to whom . . . Israel came" when it entered Canaan; @Am 6:2
accords with this.
2. Calneh--on the east bank of the Tigris. Once powerful, but recently
subjugated by Assyria (@Isa 10:9; about 794
B.C.).
Hameth--subjugated by Jeroboam II (@2Ki 14:25). Also by Assyria
subsequently (@2Ki 18:34). Compare @Am 6:14.
Gath--subjugated by Uzziah (@2Ch 26:6).
be they better--no. Their so recent subjugation renders it needless for
Me to tell you they are not. And yet they once were; still they
could not defend themselves against the enemy. How vain, then, your secure confidence in the strength of Mounts Zion and Samaria! He takes
cities respectively east, north, south, and west of Israel (compare
@Na 3:8).
3. Ye persuade yourselves that "the evil day" foretold by the prophets is "far off," though they declare it near (@Eze 12:22,27). Ye in your imagination put it far off, and therefore bring near violent oppression, suffering it to sit enthroned, as it were, among you (@Ps 94:20). The notion of judgment being far off has always been an incentive to the sinner's recklessness of living (@Ec 8:12,13 Mt 24:48). Yet that very recklessness brings near the evil day which he puts far off. "Ye bring on fever by your intemperance, and yet would put it far off" [CALVIN].
4. (See @Am 2:8).
beds of ivory--that is, adorned, or inlaid, with ivory (@Am 3:15).
stretch themselves--in luxurious self-indulgence.
lambs out of the flock--picked out as the choicest, for their owners
selfish gratification.
5. chant--literally, "mark distinct sounds and tones."
viol--the lyre, or lute.
invent . . . instruments . . . like David--They fancy they equal David
in musical skill (@1Ch 23:5 Ne 12:36). They defend their luxurious
passion for music by his example: forgetting that he pursued this
study when at peace and free from danger, and that for the praise of
God; but they pursue for their own self-gratification, and that when
God is angry and ruin is imminent.
6. drink . . . in bowls--in the large vessels or basins in which
wine was mixed; not satisfied with the smaller cups from which it
was ordinarily drunk, after having been poured from the large mixer.
chief ointments--that is, the most costly: not for health or
cleanliness, but wanton luxury.
not grieved for the affliction of Joseph--literally, "the breach,"
that is, the national wound or calamity (@Ps 60:2 Eze 34:4) of the
house of Joseph (@Am 5:6); resembling in this the heartlessness
of their forefathers, the sons of Jacob, towards Joseph, "eating bread"
while their brother lay in the pit, and then selling him to Ishmaelites.
7. Therefore . . . shall they go captive with the first--As they were
first among the people in rank (@Am 6:1), and anointed themselves
"with the chief ointments" (@Am 6:6), so shall they be among the
foremost in going into captivity.
banquet--literally, the "merry-making shout of revellers"; from an
Arabic root, "to cry out." In the Hebrew, marzeach; here, there
is an allusion to mizraqu, "bowls" (@Am 6:6).
them that stretched themselves--on luxurious couches (@Am 6:4).
8. the excellency of Jacob--(@Ps 47:4). The sanctuary which was
the great glory of the covenant-people [VATABLUS],
(@Eze 24:21). The
priesthood, and kingdom, and dignity, conferred on them by God. These,
saith God, are of no account in My eyes towards averting punishment
[CALVIN].
hate his palaces--as being the storehouses of "robbery"
(@Am 3:10,15). How sad a change from God's love of Zion's gates
(@Ps 87:2) and palaces (@Ps 48:3,13), owing to the people's sin!
the city--collectively: both Zion and Samaria (@Am 6: 1).
all that is therein--literally, "its fulness"; the multitude of
men and of riches in it (compare @Ps 24:1).
9. If as many as ten (@Le 26:26 Zec 8:23) remain in a house (a rare case, and only in the scattered villages, as there will be scarcely a house in which the enemy will leave any), they shall all, to a man, die of the plague, a frequent concomitant of war in the East (@Jer 24:10 44:13 Eze 6:11).
10. a man's uncle--The nearest relatives had the duty of burying the
dead (@Ge 25:9 35:29 Jud 16:31). No nearer relative was left of
this man than an uncle.
and he that burneth him--the uncle, who is also at the same time
the one that burneth him (one of the "ten," @Am 6:9). Burial was the
usual Hebrew mode of disposing of their dead. But in cases of
necessity, as when the men of Jabesh-gilead took the bodies of Saul and
his three sons from the walls of Beth-shan and burned them to save them
from being insulted by the Philistines, burning was practised. So in
this case, to prevent contagion.
the bones--that is, the dead body (@Ge 50:25). Perhaps here
there is an allusion in the phrase to the emaciated condition of the
body, which was little else but skin and bones.
say unto him that is by the sides of the house--that is, to the only
one left of the ten in the interior of the house
[MAURER]
(compare Note,
see on Isa 14:13).
Hold thy tongue . . . we may not . . . mention . . . the Lord--After
receiving the reply, that none is left besides the one addressed, when
the man outside fancies the man still surviving inside to be on the
point, as was customary, of expressing devout gratitude to God who
spared him, the man outside interrupts him, "Hold thy tongue! for there
is not now cause for mentioning with praise (@Jos 23:7) the name of
Jehovah"; for thou also must die; as all the ten are to die to the
last man (@Am 6:9; compare @Am 8:3). Formerly ye boasted in the
name of Jehovah, as if ye were His peculiar people; now ye shall be
silent and shudder at His name, as hostile to you, and as one from whom
ye wish to be hidden (@Re 6:16), [CALVIN].
11. commandeth, and he will smite--His word of command, when once
given, cannot but be fulfilled (@Isa 55:11). His mere word is enough
to smite with destruction.
great house . . . little house--He will spare none, great or small
(@Am 3:15). JEROME
interprets "the great house" as Israel, and "the
small house" as Judah: the former being reduced to branches or ruins,
literally, "small drops"; the latter, though injured with "clefts" or
rents, which threaten its fall, yet still permitted to stand.
12. In turning "judgment (justice) into gall (poison), and . . . righteousness into hemlock" (or wormwood, bitter and noxious), ye act as perversely as if one were to make "horses run upon the rock" or to "plough with oxen there" [MAURER]. As horses and oxen are useless on a rock, so ye are incapable of fulfilling justice [GROTIUS]. Ye impede the course of God's benefits, because ye are as it were a hard rock on which His favor cannot run. "Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as rocks" [CALVIN].
13. rejoice in a thing of naught--that is, in your vain and fleeting
riches.
Have we not taken to us horns--that is, acquired power, so as to
conquer our neighbors (@2Ki 14:25). Horns are the Hebrew
symbol of power, being the instrument of strength in many animals
(@Ps 75:10).
14. from the entering in of Hamath--the point of entrance for an
invading army (as Assyria) into Israel from the north; specified here,
as Hamath had been just before subjugated by Jeroboam II (@Am 6:2).
Do not glory in your recently acquired city, for it shall be the
starting-point for the foe to afflict you. How sad the contrast to the
feast of Solomon attended by a congregation from this same Hamath, the most northern boundary of Israel, to the Nile, the
river of Egypt, the most southern boundary!
unto the river of the wilderness--that is, to Kedron, which empties
itself into the north bay of the Dead Sea below Jericho (@2Ch 28:15),
the southern boundary of the ten tribes (@2Ki 14:25, "from the entering
of Hamath unto the sea of the plain")
[MAURER].
To the river Nile, which skirts the Arabian wilderness and separates Egypt from Canaan
[GROTIUS]. If this verse includes Judah, as well as Israel (compare
@Am 6:1, "Zion" and "Samaria"),
GROTIUS' view is correct; and it
agrees with @1Ki 8:65.
CHAPTER 7
The seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters contain VISIONS, WITH THEIR EXPLANATIONS. The seventh chapter consists of two parts. First (@Am 7:1-9): PROPHECIES ILLUSTRATED BY THREE SYMBOLS: (1) A vision of grasshoppers or young locusts, which devour the grass, but are removed at Amos' entreaty; (2) Fire drying up even the deep, and withering part of the land, but removed at Amos' entreaty; (3) A plumb-line to mark the buildings for destruction. Secondly (@Am 7:10-17): NARRATIVE OF AMAZIAH'S INTERRUPTION OF AMOS IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE FOREGOING PROPHECIES, AND PREDICTION OF HIS DOOM.
1. showed . . . me; and, behold--The same formula prefaces the three
visions in this chapter, and the fourth in @Am 8:1.
grasshoppers--rather, "locusts" in the caterpillar state, from a
Hebrew root, "to creep forth." In the autumn the eggs are deposited
in the earth; in the spring the young come forth
[MAURER].
the latter growth--namely, of grass, which comes up after the mowing.
They do not in the East mow their grass and make hay of it, but cut it
off the ground as they require it.
the king's mowings--the first-fruits of the mown grass, tyrannically
exacted by the king from the people. The literal locusts, as in Joel,
are probably symbols of human foes: thus the "growth" of grass "after
the king's mowings" will mean the political revival of Israel under
Jeroboam II (@2Ki 14:25), after it had been mown down, as it were,
by Hazael and Ben-hadad of Syria (@2Ki 13:3),
[GROTIUS].
2. by whom shall Jacob arise?--If Thou, O God, dost not spare, how can
Jacob maintain his ground, reduced as he is by repeated attacks of
the Assyrians, and erelong about to be invaded by the Assyrian Pul
(@2Ki 15:19,20)? Compare @Isa 51:19. The mention of "Jacob" is
a plea that God should "remember for them His covenant" with their
forefather, the patriarch (@Ps 106:45).
he is small--reduced in numbers and in strength.
3. repented for this--that is, of this. The change was not in the mind
of God (@Nu 2:19 Jas 1:17), but in the effect outwardly. God
unchangeably does what is just; it is just that He should hear
intercessory prayer (@Jas 5:16-18), as it would have been just for
Him to have let judgment take its course at once on the guilty nation,
but for the prayer of one or two righteous men in it (compare
@Ge 18:23-33 1Sa 15:11 Jer 42:10). The repentance of the sinner, and
God's regard to His own attributes of mercy and covenanted love, also
cause God outwardly to deal with him as if he repented (@Jon 3:10),
whereas the change in outward dealing is in strictest harmony with God's
own unchangeableness.
It shall not be--Israel's utter overthrow now. Pul was influenced by
God to accept money and withdraw from Israel.
4. called to contend--that is with Israel judicially
(@Job 9:3 Isa 66:16 Eze 38:22). He ordered to come at His call the
infliction of punishment by "fire" on Israel, that is, drought (compare
@Am 4:6-11), [MAURER].
Rather, war (@Nu 21:28), namely,
Tiglath-pileser [GROTIUS].
devoured the . . . deep--that is a great part of Israel, whom he
carried away. Waters are the symbol for many people (@Re 17:15).
did eat up a part--namely, all the land (compare @Am 4:7) of
Israel east of Jordan (@1Ch 5:26 Isa 9:1). This was a worse judgment
than the previous one: the locusts ate up the grass: the fire not only
affects the surface of the ground, but burns up the very roots and
reaches even to the deep.
7. wall made by a plumb-line--namely, perpendicular.
8. plumb-line in . . . midst of . . . Israel--No longer are the
symbols, as in the former two, stated generally; this one is expressly
applied to Israel. God's long-suffering is worn out by Israel's
perversity: so Amos ceases to intercede (compare @Ge 18:33). The
plummet line was used not only in building, but in destroying houses
(@2Ki 21:13 Isa 28:17 34:11 La 2:8). It denotes that God's judgments
are measured out by the most exact rules of justice. Here it is placed
"in the midst" of Israel, that is, the judgment is not to be confined to
an outer part of Israel, as by Tiglath-pileser; it is to reach the very
center. This was fulfilled when Shalmaneser, after a three years' siege
of Samaria, took it and carried away Israel captive finally to Assyria
(@2Ki 17:3,5,6,23).
not . . . pass by . . . any more--not forgive them any more
(@Am 8:2 Pr 19:11 Mic 7:18).
9. high places--dedicated to idols.
of Isaac--They boasted of their following the example of their
forefather Isaac, in erecting high places at Beer-sheba (@Am 5:5;
compare @Ge 26:23,24 46:1); but he and Abraham erected them before
the temple was appointed at Jerusalem--and to God; whereas they did so,
after the temple had been fixed as the only place for sacrifices--and to
idols. In the Hebrew here "Isaac" is written with s, instead of
the usual ts; both forms mean "laughter"; the change of spelling
perhaps expresses that their "high places of Isaac" may be well so
called, but not as they meant by the name; for they are only fit to be
laughed at in scorn. Probably, however, the mention of "Isaac" and
"Israel" simply expresses that these names, which their degenerate
posterity boasted in as if ensuring their safety, will not save them and
their idolatrous "sanctuaries" on which they depended from ruin (compare
@Am 8:14).
house of Jeroboam with . . . sword--fulfilled in the extinction of
Zachariah, son of Jeroboam II, the last of the descendants of Jeroboam
I, who had originated the idolatry of the calves (@2Ki 15:8-10).
@Am 7:10-17. AMAZIAH'S CHARGE AGAINST AMOS: HIS DOOM FORETOLD.
10. priest of Beth-el--chief priest of the royal sanctuary to the
calves at Beth-el. These being a device of state policy to keep Israel
separate from Judah. Amaziah construes Amos words against them as
treason. So in the case of Elijah and Jeremiah
(@1Ki 18:17 Jer 37:13,14). So the antitype Jesus was charged
(@Joh 19:12); political expediency being made in all ages the
pretext for dishonoring God and persecuting His servants
(@Joh 11:48-50). So in the case of Paul (@Ac 17:6,7 24:5).
in the midst of . . . Israel--probably alluding to Amos' own words,
"in the midst of . . . Israel" (@Am 7:8), foretelling the state's
overthrow to the very center. Not secretly, or in a corner, but
openly, in the very center of the state, so as to upset the whole
utterly.
land is not able to bear all his words--They are so many and so
intolerable. A sedition will be the result. The mention of his being
"priest of Beth-el" implies that it was for his own priestly gain, not
for the king or state, he was so keen.
11. Jeroboam shall die, &c.--Amos had not said this: but that "the house of Jeroboam" should fall "with the sword" (@Am 7:9). But Amaziah exaggerates the charge, to excite Jeroboam against him. The king, however, did not give ear to Amaziah, probably from religious awe of the prophet of Jehovah.
12. Also--Besides informing the king against Amos, lest that course
should fail, as it did, Amaziah urges the troublesome prophet himself to
go back to his own land Judah, pretending to advise him in friendliness.
seer--said contemptuously in reference to Amos visions which
precede.
there eat bread--You can earn a livelihood there, whereas remaining
here you will be ruined. He judges of Amos by his own selfishness, as if
regard to one's own safety and livelihood are the paramount
considerations. So the false prophets (@Eze 13:19) were ready to say
whatever pleased their hearers, however false, for "handfuls of barley
and pieces of bread."
13. prophesy not again--(@Am 2:12).
at Beth-el--Amaziah wants to be let alone at least in his own
residence.
the king's chapel--Beth-el was preferred by the king to Dan, the other
seat of the calf-worship, as being nearer Samaria, the capital, and as
hallowed by Jacob of old (@Ge 28:16,19 35:6,7). He argues by
implication against Amos' presumption, as a private man, in speaking
against the worship sanctioned by the king, and that in the very place
consecrated to it for the king's own devotions.
king's court--that is, residence: the seat of empire, where the king
holds his court, and which thou oughtest to have reverenced. Samaria was
the usual king's residence: but for the convenience of attending the
calf-worship, a royal palace was at Beth-el also.
14. I was no prophet--in answer to Amaziah's insinuation
(@Am 7:12), that he discharged the prophetical office to earn his
"bread" (like Israel's mercenary prophets). So far from being rewarded,
Jehovah's prophets had to expect imprisonment and even death as the
result of their prophesying in Samaria or Israel: whereas the prophets
of Baal were maintained at the king's expense (compare @1Ki 18:19).
I was not, says Amos, of the order of prophets, or educated in their
schools, and deriving a livelihood from exercising the public functions
of a prophet. I am a shepherd (compare @Am 7:15, "flock"; the
Hebrew for "herdsman" includes the meaning, shepherd, compare
@Am 1:1) in humble position, who did not even think of prophesying
among you, until a divine call impelled me to it.
prophet's son--that is, disciple. Schools of prophets are mentioned
first in First Samuel; in these youths were educated to serve the
theocracy as public instructors. Only in the kingdom of the ten tribes
is the continuance of the schools of the prophets mentioned. They were
missionary stations near the chief seats of superstition in Israel, and
associations endowed with the Spirit of God; none were admitted but
those to whom the Spirit had been previously imparted. Their spiritual
fathers travelled about to visit the training schools, and cared for the
members and even their widows (@2Ki 4:1,2). The pupils had their
common board in them, and after leaving them still continued members.
The offerings which in Judah were given by the pious to the Levites, in
Israel went to the schools of the prophets (@2Ki 4:42). Prophecy
(for example, Elijah and Elisha) in Israel was more connected with
extraordinary events than in Judah, inasmuch as, in the absence of the
legal hierarchy of the latter, it needed to have more palpable divine
sanction.
sycamore--abounding in Palestine. The fruit was like the fig, but
inferior; according to PLINY,
a sort of compound, as the name expresses,
of the fig and the mulberry. It was only eaten by the poorest (compare
@1Ki 10:27).
gatherer--one occupied with their cultivation
[MAURER]. To cultivate
it, an incision was made in the fruit when of a certain size, and on the
fourth day afterwards it ripened
[PLINY, Natural History, 13.7,14].
GROTIUS from
JEROME says, if it be not plucked off and "gathered" (which
favors English Version), it is spoiled by gnats.
15. took me as I followed the flock--So David was taken
(@2Sa 7:8 Ps 78:70,71). Messiah is the antitypical Shepherd (@Ps 23:1-6 Joh 10:1-18).
unto my people--"against"
[MAURER]; so @Am 7:16. Jehovah claims
them still as His by right, though slighting His authority. God
would recover them to His service by the prophet's ministry.
16. drop--distil as the refreshing drops of rain (@De 32:2 Eze 21:2; compare @Mic 2:6,11).
17. Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city--that is, shall be forced
by the enemy, while thou art looking on, unable to prevent her dishonor
(@Isa 13:16 La 5:11). The words, "saith the Lord," are in striking
opposition to "Thou sayest (@Am 7:16).
divided by line--among the foe.
a polluted land--Israel regarded every foreign land as that which
really her own land was now, "polluted" (@Isa 24:5 Jer 2:7).
CHAPTER 8
@Am 8:1-14. VISION OF A BASKET OF SUMMER FRUIT SYMBOLICAL OF ISRAEL'S END. RESUMING THE SERIES OF SYMBOLS INTERRUPTED BY AMAZIAH, AMOS ADDS A FOURTH. THE AVARICE OF THE OPPRESSORS OF THE POOR: THE OVERTHROW OF THE NATION: THE WISH FOR THE MEANS OF RELIGIOUS COUNSEL, WHEN THERE SHALL BE A FAMINE OF THE WORD.
1. summer fruit--Hebrew, kitz. In @Am 8:2 "end" is in Hebrew, keetz. The similarity of sounds implies that, as the summer is the end of the year and the time of the ripeness of fruits, so Israel is ripe for her last punishment, ending her national existence. As the fruit is plucked when ripe from the tree, so Israel from her land.
2. end--(@Eze 7:2,6).
3. songs of . . . temple--(@Am 5:23). The joyous hymns in the
temple of Judah (or rather, in the Beth-el "royal temple,"
@Am 7:13; for the allusion is to Israel, not Judah, throughout
this chapter) shall be changed into "howlings."
GROTIUS translates,
"palace"; compare @Am 6:5, as to the songs there. But @Am 5:23,
and @Am 7:13, favor English Version.
they shall cast them forth with silence--not as the Margin, "be
silent." It is an adverb, "silently." There shall be such great
slaughter as even to prevent the bodies being buried
[CALVIN]. There
shall be none of the usual professional mourners (@Am 5:16), but the
bodies will be cast out in silence. Perhaps also is meant that terror,
both of God (compare @Am 6:10) and of the foe, shall close their
lips.
4. Hear--The nobles needed to be urged thus, as hating to hear reproof.
swallow up the needy--or, "gape after," that is, pant for their goods;
so the word is used, @Job 7:2, Margin.
to make the poor . . . to fail--"that they (themselves) may be placed
alone in the midst of the earth" (@Isa 5:8).
5. So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a single
day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are strangers to God and
enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days;
and they who have lost piety will not long keep honesty. The new-2moons
(@Nu 10:10) and sabbaths were to be kept without working or trading
(@Ne 10:31).
set forth wheat--literally, "open out" stores of wheat for sale.
ephah--containing three seahs, or above three pecks.
making . . . small--making it below the just weight to purchasers.
shekel great--taking from purchasers a greater weight of money than
was due. Shekels used to be weighed out in payments (@Ge 23:16).
Thus they committed a double fraud against the law (@De 25:13,14).
6. buy . . . poor for silver . . . pair of shoes--that is, that we may
compel the needy for money, or any other thing of however little worth,
to sell themselves to us as bondmen, in defiance of @Le 25:39; the
very thing which brings down God's judgment (@Am 2:6).
sell the refuse of . . . wheat--which contains no nutriment, but which
the poor eat at a low price, being unable to pay for flour.
7. Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob--that is by Himself, in
whom Jacob's seed glory [MAURER].
Rather, by the spiritual privileges of
Israel, the adoption as His peculiar people
[CALVIN], the temple, and
its Shekinah symbol of His presence. Compare @Am 6:8, where it means
Jehovah's temple (compare @Am 4:2).
never forget--not pass by without punishing
(@Am 8:2 Ho 8:13 9:9).
8. the land . . . rise up wholly as a flood--The land will, as it
were, be wholly turned into a flooding river (a flood being the image of
overwhelming calamity, @Da 9:26).
cast out and drowned, &c.--swept away and overwhelmed, as the land
adjoining the Nile is by it, when flooding (@Am 9:5). The Nile rises
generally twenty feet. The waters then "cast out" mire and dirt
(@Isa 57:20).
9. "Darkness" made to rise "at noon" is the emblem of great calamities (@Jer 15:9 Eze 32:7-10).
10. baldness--a sign of mourning (@Isa 15:2 Jer 48:37 Eze 7:18).
I will make it as . . . mourning of an only son--"it," that is, "the
earth" (@Am 8:9). I will reduce the land to such a state that there
shall be the same occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an
only son (@Jer 6:26 Zec 12:10).
11. famine of . . . hearing the words of the Lord--a just retribution on those who now will not hear the Lord's prophets, nay even try to drive them away, as Amaziah did (@Am 7:12); they shall look in vain, in their distress, for divine counsel, such as the prophets now offer (@Eze 7:26 Mic 3:7). Compare as to the Jews' rejection of Messiah, and their consequent rejection by Him (@Mt 21:43); and their desire for Messiah too late (@Lu 17:22 Joh 7:34 8:21). So, the prodigal when he had sojourned awhile in the "far-off country, began to be in want" in the "mighty famine" which arose (@Lu 15:14; compare @1Sa 3:1 7:2). It is remarkable that the Jews' religion is almost the only one that could be abolished against the will of the people themselves, on account of its being dependent on a particular place, namely, the temple. When that was destroyed, the Mosaic ritual, which could not exist without it, necessarily ceased. Providence designed it, that, as the law gave way to the Gospel, so all men should perceive it was so, in spite of the Jews' obstinate rejection of the Gospel.
12. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to
the Mediterranean, from east to west.
from . . . north . . . to . . . east--where we might expect "from north
to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite
even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem
for religious information. The circuit is traced as in @Nu 34:3, &c.,
except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord"
would not be from a sincere desire to obey God, but under the pressure
of punishment.
13. faint for thirst--namely, thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of all other comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm (@Isa 40:30,31)!
14. swear by the sin of Samaria--namely, the calves
(@De 9:21 Ho 4:15). "Swear by" means to worship (@Ps 63:11).
The manner--that is, as "the way" is used (@Ps 139:24 Ac 9:2),
the mode of worship.
Thy god, O Dan--the other golden calf at Dan (@1Ki 22:26-30).
liveth . . . liveth--rather, "May thy god . . . live . . . may the
manner . . . live." Or, "As (surely as) thy god, O Dan, liveth." This is
their formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah
liveth!"
CHAPTER 9
@Am 9:1-15. FIFTH AND LAST VISION.
None can escape the coming judgment in any hiding-place: for God is omnipresent and irresistible (@Am 9:1-6). As a kingdom, Israel shall perish as if it never was in covenant with Him: but as individuals the house of Jacob shall not utterly perish, nay, not one of the least of the righteous shall fall, but only all the sinners (@Am 9:7-10). Restoration of the Jews finally to their own land after the re-establishment of the fallen tabernacle of David; consequent conversion of all the heathen (@Am 9:11-15).
1. Lord . . . upon the altar--namely, in the idolatrous temple at
Beth-el; the calves which were spoken of in @Am 8:14. Hither they
would flee for protection from the Assyrians, and would perish in the
ruins, with the vain object of their trust
[HENDERSON]. Jehovah stands
here to direct the destruction of it, them, and the idolatrous nation.
He demands many victims on the altar, but they are to be human victims.
CALVIN and
FAIRBAIRN, and others, make it in the temple at Jerusalem. Judgment was to descend both on Israel and Judah. As the services of
both alike ought to have been offered on the Jerusalem temple-altar, it
is there that Jehovah ideally stands, as if the whole people were
assembled there, their abominations lying unpardoned there, and crying
for vengeance, though in fact committed elsewhere (compare
@Eze 8:1-18). This view harmonizes with the similarity of the vision
in Amos to that in @Isa 6:1-13, at Jerusalem. Also with the end
of this chapter (@Am 9:11-15), which applies both to Judah and
Israel: "the tabernacle of David," namely, at Jerusalem. His attitude,
"standing," implies fixity of purpose.
lintel--rather, the sphere-like capital of the column
[MAURER].
posts--rather, "thresholds," as in @Isa 6:4, Margin. The temple
is to be smitten below as well as above, to ensure utter destruction.
cut them in the head--namely, with the broken fragments of the capitals
and columns (compare @Ps 68:21 Hab 3:13).
slay the last of them--their posterity
[HENDERSON]. The survivors
[MAURER]. Jehovah's directions are addressed to His angels, ministers of
judgment (compare @Eze 9:1-11).
he that fleeth . . . shall not flee away--He who fancies himself safe
and out of reach of the enemy shall be taken (@Am 2:14).
2. Though they dig into hell--though they hide ever so deeply in the
earth (@Ps 139:8).
though they climb up to heaven--though they ascend the greatest heights
(@Job 20:6,7 Jer 51:53 Ob 1:4).
3. Carmel--where the forests, and, on the west side, the caves,
furnished hiding-places (@Am 1:2 Jud 6:2 1Sa 13:6).
the sea--the Mediterranean, which flows at the foot of Mount Carmel;
forming a strong antithesis to it.
command the serpent--the sea-serpent, a term used for any great water
monster (@Isa 27:1). The symbol of cruel and oppressive kings (@Ps 74:13,14).
4. though they go into captivity--hoping to save their lives by voluntarily surrendering to the foe.
5. As Amos had threatened that nowhere should the Israelites be safe from the divine judgments, he here shows God's omnipotent ability to execute His threats. So in the case of the threat in @Am 8:8, God is here stated to be the first cause of the mourning of "all that dwell" in the land, and of its rising "like a flood, and of its being "drowned, as by the flood of Egypt."
6. stories--literally, "ascents," that is, upper chambers, to which
the ascent is by steps
[MAURER]; evidently referring to the words in
@Ps 104:3,13.
GROTIUS explains it, God's royal throne, expressed
in language drawn from Solomon's throne, to which the ascent was by
steps (compare @1Ki 10:18,19).
founded his troop--namely, all animate creatures, which are God's
troop, or host (@Ge 2:1), doing His will
(@Ps 103:20,21 Joe 2:11).
MAURER translates, "His vault," that
is, the vaulted sky, which seems to rest on the earth supported by the
horizon.
7. unto me--however great ye seem to yourselves. Do not rely on past privileges, and on My having delivered you from Egypt, as if therefore I never would remove you from Canaan. I make no more account of you than of "the Ethiopian" (compare @Jer 13:23). "Have not I (who) brought you out of Egypt," done as much for other peoples? For instance, did I not bring "the Philistines (see on Isa 14:29, &c.) from Caphtor (compare @De 2:23; see on Jer 47:4), where they had been bond-servants, and the Syrians from Kir?" It is appropriate, that as the Syrians migrated into Syria from Kir (compare Note, see on Isa 22:6), so they should be carried back captive into the same land (see on Am 1:15; @2Ki 16:9), just as elsewhere Israel is threatened with a return to Egypt whence they had been delivered. The "Ethiopians," Hebrew, "Cushites," were originally akin to the race that founded Babylon: the cuneiform inscriptions in this confirming independently the Scripture statement (@Ge 10:6,8,10).
8. eyes . . . upon the sinful kingdom--that is, I am watching all its
sinful course in order to punish it (compare @Am 9:4 Ps 34:15,16).
not utterly destroy the house of Jacob--Though as a "kingdom" the
nation is now utterly to perish, a remnant is to be spared for "Jacob,"
their forefather's sake (compare @Jer 30:11); to fulfil the covenant
whereby "the seed of Israel" is hereafter to be "a nation for ever"
(@Jer 31:36).
9. sift--I will cause the Israelites to be tossed about through all nations as corn is shaken about in a sieve, in such a way, however, that while the chaff and dust (the wicked) fall through (perish), all the solid grains (the godly elect) remain (are preserved), (@Ro 11:26; compare Note, see on Jer 3:14). So spiritual Israel's final safety is ensured (@Lu 22:32 Joh 10:28 6:39).
10. All the sinners--answering to the chaff in the image in
@Am 9:9, which falls on the earth, in opposition "to the grain" that
does not "fall."
overtake . . . us--"come on us from behind"
[MAURER].
11. In that day--quoted by James (@Ac 15:16,17), "After this,"
that is, in the dispensation of Messiah
(@Ge 49:10 Ho 3:4,5 Joe 2:28 3:1).
tabernacle of David--not "the house of David," which is used of
his affairs when prospering (@2Sa 3:1), but the tent or booth, expressing the low condition to which his kingdom and family had fallen
in Amos' time, and subsequently at the Babylonian captivity before the
restoration; and secondarily, in the last days preceding Israel's
restoration under Messiah, the antitype to David
(@Ps 102:13,14 Jer 30:9 Eze 34:24 37:24;
see on Isa 12:1). The type is taken from architecture
(@Eph 2:20). The restoration under Zerubbabel can only be a
partial, temporary fulfilment; for it did not include Israel, which
nation is the main subject of Amos prophecies, but only Judah; also
Zerubbabel's kingdom was not independent and settled; also all the
prophets end their prophecies with Messiah, whose advent is the cure of
all previous disorders. "Tabernacle" is appropriate to Him, as His human
nature is the tabernacle which He assumed in becoming Immanuel, "God
with us" (@Joh 1:14). "Dwelt," literally, tabernacled "among
us" (compare @Re 21:3). Some understand "the tabernacle of David"
as that which David pitched for the ark in Zion, after bringing it from
Obed-edom's house. It remained there all his reign for thirty years,
till the temple of Solomon was built, whereas the "tabernacle of the
congregation" remained at Gibeon (@2Ch 1:3), where the priests
ministered in sacrifices (@1Ch 16:39). Song and praise was the
service of David's attendants before the ark (Asaph, &c.): a type of
the gospel separation between the sacrificial service (Messiah's priesthood now in heaven) and the access of believers on earth
to the presence of God, apart from the former (compare
@2Sa 6:12-17 1Ch 16:37-39 2Ch 1:3).
breaches thereof--literally, "of them," that is, of the whole nation, Israel as well as Judah.
as in . . . days of old--as it was formerly in the days of David and
Solomon, when the kingdom was in its full extent and undivided.
12. That they may possess . . . remnant of Edom, and of all the
heathen--"Edom," the bitter foe, though the brother, of Israel;
therefore to be punished (@Am 1:11,12), Israel shall be lord of the
"remnant" of Edom left after the punishment of the latter. James quotes
it, "That the residue of men might
seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles," &c. For "all the heathen"
nations stand on the same footing as Edom: Edom is the representative
of them all. The residue or remnant in both cases expresses
those left after great antecedent calamities (@Ro 9:27 Zec 14:16).
Here the conversion of "all nations" (of which the earnest was
given in James's time) is represented as only to be realized on the
re-establishment of the theocracy under Messiah, the Heir of the throne
of David (@Am 9:11). The possession of the heathen nations by
Israel is to be spiritual, the latter being the ministers to the former
for their conversion to Messiah, King of the Jews; just as the first
conversions of pagans were through the ministry of the apostles, who
were Jews. Compare @Isa 54:3, "thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles"
(compare @Isa 49:8 Ro 4:13). A remnant of Edom became Jews under
John Hyrcanus, and the rest amalgamated with the Arabians, who became
Christians subsequently.
which are called by my name--that is, who belong to Me, whom I claim
as Mine (@Ps 2:8); in the purposes of electing grace, God terms them
already called by His name. Compare the title, "the children,"
applied by anticipation, @Heb 2:14. Hence as an act of sovereign
grace, fulfilling His promise, it is spoken of God. Proclaim His title
as sovereign, "the Lord that doeth this" ("all these things,"
@Ac 15:17, namely, all these and such like acts of sovereign love).
13. the days come--at the future restoration of the Jews to their own
land.
ploughman shall overtake . . . reaper . . . treader of grapes him that
soweth--fulfilling @Le 26:5. Such shall be the abundance that the
harvest and vintage can hardly be gathered before the time for preparing
for the next crop shall come. Instead of the greater part of the year
being spent in war, the whole shall be spent in sowing and reaping the
fruits of earth. Compare @Isa 65:21-23, as to the same period.
soweth seed--literally, "draweth it forth," namely, from the sack in
order to sow it.
mountains . . . drop sweet wine--an appropriate image, as the vines in
Palestine were trained on terraces at the sides of the hills.
14. build the waste cities--(@Isa 61:4 Eze 36:33-36).
15. plant them . . . no more be pulled up--(@Jer 32:41).
thy God--Israel's; this is the ground of their restoration, God's
original choice of them as His.
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Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) |
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