Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
A Lamenlation for Fallen Israel, AMOS V. An Exhortation to Repentanee, ntbtle to be seen, though of powerful agencj', as the " wind." declari'tli imto man . . . Uls lUouglit—(Psalm 139. 2.) Ye thiiiK that your secret thoughts escape my cognizance, but 1 am tlie searclier of hearts. iiia WetU . . . inornliig darknessi—(Cli. 5.8; 8.!).) Both lit. turning the sunsliine Into darkness, ami Jig. turning tlie prosperity of tlie ungodly into sudden adversity (Psalm 73.12, 18, 19; cf. Jeremiah 13. Iti). trcadetli u]in» . . . high places—God treadeth down the proud of the earth. He subjects to Him all things however high they be (Micah 1. 3). Cf. Deuteronomy 32. 13; 33. 29, where the same phrase is used of God's people, elevated by (Jod above every other human height.
shadow of deatli—Hobr.Tism for the <lcn.<<rst darknes*. calleth for the waters of tlie sen— bolli lo si-nd dclugei in judgment, and the ordinary rain in nieicy (1 Kings 18.
44). 9. strcngtheneth the spoiled— i/7., .ijioil or devastation: hence the pn-son s-poilcd. Winku, Maukj;r, and Iht best modern (MiUi:H translate, " makrlh (U-vaslation lo: de siructioni suddi-nlji lo arise," lit., makrth it to glenm forth lilct the dawn. yVncient versions support £n(//(>/i Versiim. Tht Hebrnii is elsewhere used, to make, to shine. In make glad and as English Version liere (I'salm 39. 13), "recover sirenylh." the spoiled shall come—"devastation," or "destruction sliall come upon." IMaurer.| English Version expresses lliat, strong as Israel fancies hersell alter the successes of Jeroboam II. (2 Kings U. 2.3), even the weakest can be made by God to prevail against the slrong. 10. him that rebuketh In the gate—the judge wllo condemns lliei r i n iq u i ty in the place of judgment ( Isaiah 29. 21 ). abhor him that speaketli uprightly—the /)» op/ie< telling them the unwelcome truth: answering in the parallelism to Xhti judge " that rebuketh in the gate" (cf. 1 Kings 22. K; Proverbs 9.8; 12. 1; Jeremiah 36. 23). 11. burdens of wixe&tburdensome taxes levied in kind from the w/icat 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. [Habbi Salomon.) built houses . . , but not dwell In them . . . vineyards, . . . but not drink wine of them—according to the original prophecy of Moses (Deuteronomy 28. 30, 38,39). The converse shall be true in restored Israel (ch. 9. H; Isaiah 65. 21, 22). la. they aitllct . . . they take—rather, "(ye) who afflict . , . take." bribe— HI., a jirice witli wliich one wiio has an unjust cau.se ransoms liimself from your sentence (1 Samuel 12.3, Margin; Proverbs 6.35). turn aside the poor lu the gate—refuse them their right in the place of jtistice (ch. 2. 7 ; Isaiah 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 allai)-? which he can avoid: as it is "an evil time," and one ill which all law is set at naught. Ephesians5. 16 refers lo this. Instead of impatiently agitating against irremediable evils, tlie godly wise will not cast pearls before swine, wlio would trample these, and rend the ollerers (Matthew
CHAPTER V.
Ver. 1-27. Elegy over the Prostrate Kingdom: kbNEWED 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 PlETY EXISTS not: Israel shall therefore be Removed far Eastward. 1. lamentation—an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Cf. Ezekiel 32. 2, " take up," viz., as a mournful burden (Ezekiel 19. 1 ; 27. 2). trirglu of Israel —the Israelite state heretofore unsubdued by foreigners.
Cf. Isaiah 23.12; Jeremiah 18. 13; 31.4, 21; Lamentations 2. 13 may be interpi-eted, 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. Cf. 2 Kings 6.23; 24.7, for the restricted sense of "no more." forsaken upon her land—or, "prostrated upon," &c. (cf. Ezekiel 29. 5; 32. 4). [Maurer.J 3. went out by a thousand i. e., " 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 ch. 4. 8. shall leave. . . hundred—shall have only a hundred left, the rest being destroyed by sword and pestilence (Deuteronomy
28. 02). 4. Seek ye me, and ye shall live lit., "Seek , . . me, and live." The second imperative expresses the certainti/ 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 (Isaiah 55.3,6). 5. seek not Beth-el i. e., the calves at Beth-el. Gllgal— (iVoe, ch.4. 4.) Beer-sheba —in Juilah 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" (Genesis 21. 31, 33), now a stronghold of idolatry (ch. 8. 14). GUgal shall surely go into captivity—a play on similar sounds in the Hebrew, Gilijdl, galoU, yigleh : "Gilgal (the place o( rolling) shall rolling be rolled away." Beth-el shall come to naught— Beth-el (i.e., the house of God), called because of its vain idols Beth-aven (i. e., the home of van:t}/, or naught, Hosea4. 15; 10.5, 8), shall indeed "come to naught." 6. break out like Arc—bursting through every thing in His way. God is "a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4.
7. 0), but will patiently wait for God's lime of deliverance In silent submission (Psalm 39. 9). 14. and so—on condition of your "seeking good." shall be with you as ye have spoken—as ye have boasted, viz., that God is with you, and that j'ou are His people (Micali 3. 11). 15. Hate. . . evil . . . love . . . gooti— (Isaiah 1. 16, 17; Romans
12.9.) judgment lu the gate—justice \n tlie place where causes are tried. It may be that tlie Lord . , . will be gracious—so, " peradveuture " (Exodus 32. ;10). 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 (cf. Genesis 16.2; Joel 2. 14; Acts 8. 22). the remnant of Joseph—(see v. 6.) Israel (represented by "Ephraim," the leading tribe, and descendant of Joseph) was, comparatively to what it once was, now but a remnant, Hazaei of Syria having smitten
24 ; Isaiah lU. 17 ;' Lamentations 2. 3). the house of Joseph —the kingdom of Israel, of which the tribe of Epliraim, Josepli's son, was the cliief tribe (cf. Ezekiel 37. 16). none to quench It In Beth-el ie., none in Beth-el to quench all the coasts from Jordan eastward, Gilead and Bashan, Gad, Reuben, and Mauasseh (2 Kings 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 v. 13. God foresees they will not obey the exhortation (v. 14, 15); but will per.severe in the unrighteousness stigmatized (v.~. 10,
It; none of the Beth-el idols on which Israel so depended, able to remove the Divine judgments. 7. turn Judgment to wormwood i. e., pervert it to most bitter wrong. As justice is sweet, so injustice is bitterness to the injured. Wo7-)nwood is froma i/eftreiyroot, to execrate, on account of
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 judgmeni there is no appeal, streets . . . highways—the broad open sj)aces and the 7iarroiv streets common in the East, call the husbandman to mourning—the citizens sliall
Its noxious and bitter qualities, leaveoff righteousness In . . . earUi Maurer translates, "cast righteousness «o the ground," as In Isaiah 28. 2; Daniel 8. 12. S. the seven slAi-s lit., the heap or cluster of teven larger stars and Others smaller (Job 9.9; 38.31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos' mind. He names tlie stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged i, Orion as the precursor of tlie tempests which are call the inexperierced hitsbandvien to act the part usualiv performed by professional m Jiirners, as there will not ht enough of the latter for the universal mourning which prevails, such as arc skilful of lamentation— profe».
licre l lu ealened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring.