12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
for ye know perfectly well yourselves, that the day of [the] Lord so comes as a thief by night. When they may say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon her that is with child; and they shall in no wise escape. But *ye*, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief:
Whence [come] wars and whence fightings among you? [Is it] not thence, -- from your pleasures, which war in your members? Ye lust and have not: ye kill and are full of envy, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war; ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask evilly, that ye may consume [it] in your pleasures. Adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore is minded to be [the] friend of the world is constituted enemy of God. Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously? But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God sets himself against [the] proud, but gives grace to [the] lowly. Subject yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, ye double-minded. Be wretched, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves before [the] Lord, and he shall exalt you.
Ye have not gone up into the breaches, nor made up the fence for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the fence, and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.
the Lord Jehovah hath sworn by his holiness, that behold, days shall come upon you, when he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fish-hooks; and ye shall go out by the breaches, every one straight before her, and ye shall be cast out to Harmon, saith Jehovah.
For thus saith Jehovah unto the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and ye shall live. And seek not Bethel, neither go to Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought. Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour [it], and there be none to quench [it] in Bethel. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth, [seek him] that made the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: Jehovah is his name. He causeth destruction to break forth suddenly upon the strong, and bringeth destruction upon the fortress. They hate him that reproveth in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. Forasmuch, therefore, as ye trample upon the poor, and take from him presents of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, and ye shall not drink the wine of them. For I know how manifold are your transgressions and your sins mighty: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside [the right of] the needy in the gate. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in this time; for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so Jehovah, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye say. Hate evil, and love good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that Jehovah, the God of hosts, will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar; and he said, Smite the chapiter that the thresholds may shake; and break all of them in pieces, in the head; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not get away by flight, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into Sheol, thence shall my hand take them; and though they climb up to the heavens, thence will I bring them down; and though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I command the serpent, and it shall bite them; and though they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
Make friends with thine adverse party quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest some time the adverse party deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
But of that day or of that hour no one knows, neither the angels who are in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray, for ye do not know when the time is: [it is] as a man gone out of the country, having left his house and given to his bondmen the authority, and to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper that he should watch. Watch therefore, for ye do not know when the master of the house comes: evening, or midnight, or cock-crow, or morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. But what I say to you, I say to all, Watch.
Or what king, going on his way to engage in war with another king, does not, sitting down first, take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him coming against him with twenty thousand? and if not, while he is yet far off, having sent an embassy, he asks for terms of peace.
And he said, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have cast into the gifts [of God]; but she out of her need has cast in all the living which she had. And as some spoke of the temple, that it was adorned with goodly stones and consecrated offerings, he said, [As to] these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down. And they asked him saying, Teacher, when then shall these things be; and what [is] the sign when these things are going to take place? And he said, See that ye be not led astray, for many shall come in my name, saying, *I* am [he], and the time is drawn nigh: go ye not [therefore] after them. And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end is not immediately. Then he said to them, Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be both great earthquakes in different places, and famines and pestilences; and there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things they shall lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering [you] up to synagogues and prisons, bringing [you] before kings and governors on account of my name; but it shall turn out to you for a testimony. Settle therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand [your] defence, for *I* will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your opposers shall not be able to reply to or resist. But ye will be delivered up even by parents and brethren and relations and friends, and they shall put to death [some] from among you, and ye will be hated of all for my name's sake. And a hair of your head shall in no wise perish. By your patient endurance gain your souls. But when ye see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that its desolation is drawn nigh. Then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of it depart out, and those who are in the country not enter into it; for these are days of avenging, that all the things that are written may be accomplished. But woe to them that are with child and to them who give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress upon the land and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of [the] nations until [the] times of [the] nations be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity [at] the roar of the sea and rolling waves, men ready to die through fear and expectation of what is coming on the habitable earth, for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws nigh. And he spoke a parable to them: Behold the fig-tree and all the trees; when they already sprout, ye know of your own selves, [on] looking [at them], that already the summer is near. So also *ye*, when ye see these things take place, know that the kingdom of God is near. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall in no wise pass away until all come to pass. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away. But take heed to yourselves lest possibly your hearts be laden with surfeiting and drinking and cares of life, and that day come upon you suddenly unawares; for as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, praying at every season, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things which are about to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and keep [it] and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come [upon thee] as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I shall come upon thee.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Amos 4
Commentary on Amos 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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—Any 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 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.