Amos8
King James Version · Public Domain
1Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
2And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
3And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
4Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
13In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
14They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer–sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Amos 8.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The near approach of the ruin of Israel. (1–3). Oppression reproved. (4–10). A famine of the word of God. (11–14).
vv1-3
Amos saw a basket of summer fruit gathered, and ready to be eaten; which signified, that the people were ripe for destruction, that the year of God's patience was drawing towards a conclusion. Such summer fruits will not keep till winter, but must be used at once. Yet these judgments shall not draw from them any acknowledgement, either of God's righteousness or their own unrighteousness. Sinners put off repentance from day to day, because they think the Lord thus delays his judgments.
vv4-10
The rich and powerful of the land were the most guilty of oppression, as well as the foremost in idolatry. They were weary of the restraints of the sabbaths and the new moons, and wished them over, because no common work might be done therein. This is the character of many who are called Christians. The sabbath day and sabbath work are a burden to carnal hearts. It will either be profaned or be accounted a dull day. But can we spend our time better than in communion with God? When employed in religious services, they were thinking of marketings. They were weary of holy duties, because their worldly business stood still the while. Those are strangers to God, and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than sabbath days, who would rather be selling corn than worshipping God. They have no regard to man: those who have lost the savour of piety, will not long keep the sense of common honesty. They cheat those they deal with. They take advantage of their neighbour's ignorance or necessity, in a traffic which nearly concerns the labouring poor. Could we witness the fraud and covetousness, which, in such numerous forms, render trading an abomination to the Lord, we should not wonder to see many dealers backward in the service of God. But he who thus despises the poor, reproaches his Maker; as it regards Him, rich and poor meet together. Riches that are got by the ruin of the poor, will bring ruin on those that get them. God will remember their sin against them. This speaks the case of such unjust, unmerciful men, to be miserable indeed, miserable for ever. There shall be terror and desolation every where. It shall come upon them when they little think of it. Thus uncertain are all our creature-comforts and enjoyments, even life itself; in the midst of life we are in death. What will be the wailing in the bitter day which follows sinful and sensual pleasures!
vv11-14
Here was a token of God's highest displeasure. At any time, and most in a time of trouble, a famine of the word of God is the heaviest judgment. To many this is no affliction, yet some will feel it very much, and will travel far to hear a good sermon; they feel the loss of the mercies others foolishly sin away. But when God visits a backsliding church, their own plans and endeavours to find out a way of salvation, will stand them in no stead. And the most amiable and zealous would perish, for want of the water of life, which Christ only can bestow. Let us value our advantages, seek to profit by them, and fear sinning them away.
Key Words
כֹּה: properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now
אֲדֹנָי: the Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
רָאָה: to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
הִנֵּה: lo!
כְּלוּב: a bird-trap (as furnished with a clap-stick or treadle to spring it); hence, a basket (as resembling a wicker cage)
קַיִץ: harvest (as the crop), whether the product (grain or fruit) or the (dry) season
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
עָמוֹס: Amos, an Israelite prophet
מָה: properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses
אֵל: near, with or among; often in general, to
Cross References
Amos 8Repeats God's identical question and solemn decree: 'I will not again pass by them any more.'
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the specific indictment of selling the poor for silver and needy for shoes.
Supported by JFB
Direct Mosaic prohibition of selling brothers as bondmen, violated by the oppressors.
Supported by JFB
Parallel judgment of prophet silencing and lack of answers from God.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the prophetic declaration that 'the end is come' upon the land.
Supported by JFB
Contrasts the earlier joyous songs of the temple/palace with howlings.
Supported by JFB
Parallels casting out dead bodies in silent despair and terror under divine judgment.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Mosaic law forbidding deceptive, unequal weights and measures (ephah and shekel).
Supported by JFB
Uses the same vivid judgment image of the sun going down at noon.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the supreme intensity of sorrow described as 'mourning of an only son.'
Supported by JFB
Identifies the calf worship at Dan, specifically referenced as 'the sin of Samaria'.
Supported by JFB
God swearing by the 'excellency of Jacob', which correlates to His temple.
Supported by JFB
Verbal echo of the land rising and sinking like the flood of Egypt.
Supported by JFB
Historically exemplifies a rare period where there was 'no open vision' from God.
Supported by JFB