Exposition of Amos 4-9, Part 1 · Section 1
VERSE 2.
The Lord hath sworn by his Holiness, that loe the dayes shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fish-hooks.
IN the precedent Verse we had the Sin of the Rulers of Samaria, now comes their Punishment. The Prophet here tells them, that the time is even now at hand when the Lord will visit for all their Idolatry, Oppression, &c. and to procure the more credit and authority to what he spake, hee brings in the Lord himself swearing their destruction; Gods bare word had been sufficient, but the better to awaken these secure Sinners, and assure them of some approaching Judgement, he tells them,Becodsho, in sanctita…e sita, i. e. per sanctitatem suam, Heb. enim Beth, i. e. In, est nota jurantis. that the Lord had sworn by his Holiness; that is, by himself, for Holiness is so essential to God, that hee may as soon cease to be God, as cease to be Holy, and Good. Man when he swears must swear by a greater than himself, but since there is none greater than God, therefore the Lord swears by himself, Heb. 6.13. it is himself that is meant when he swears by his great name, Jer. 44.26. By his Soul, Jer. 51.14. Amos 6.8. and by his Holiness, as here; for whatsoever is in God, is God himself.
In this Verse we have two parts.
1 A Commination of a dreadful Judgement.
2 A Confirmation of this Commination with an Oath; the Judgement threatned is in these words, Loe, the dayes shall come upon you, (i. e.) direful, dismal dayes, full of misery, and calamity shall certainly and suddenly surprize you, when you shall be carried away captive by the Assyrian (Amos 5.18, 19, 20.) As men have their dayes of sinning, so God hath his appointed times when he will visit for sin, Ierem. 46.21.
Obj. We are rich and mighty, and cannot easily bee carried away?
Ans. Riches avayl not in the day of Gods Wrath; the Assyrian shall as easily carry you away as the Fisher doth his little Fish which he catcheth with his hook or thorn,Facilitatem indicat qua bostes eos non aliter ac pisc… eulos solent Piscatores capturi s…nt & abd…eturi. Mercer. and puts into his bagge; they shall not need Carts to carry you away, Fish-hooks shall doe it. It is a Metaphor frequent in Scripture, as 2 King. 19.28. Iob 41.1, 2. Ezek. 19.4. & 29.9. & 38.4.
2 Here is the aggravation of their misery, they shall not only perish themselves: but their posterity shall suffer with them; You shall be taken away with Hooks like *Tsinnoth, spinis, i. e. hamis, v. Leigh. Critic. S. Heb. p. 200.Thorns, and your posterity with †Besiroth dugah, hamis piscatoriis, Stroth à Sir, spina, olla, hamus, significat spinas seu hamos quibus minora animalia trajici solent, & venalia proponi, &c. Sanctius.Fish-hooks, q. d. you shall be like Fishes which are industriously caught, easily pulled up, and suddenly carried away on a Thorn, or Fish-hook, yee shall bee no more like fat Kine which abide in their Pasture, but I will root up you and yours, you shall be carried into Captivity. As the Fisher driveth the Fish out of his holds, and then catcheth and killeth it; so shall the Assyrians violently pull you out of your holds and habitations for the slaughter.
OBSERVATIONS.
1 Obs. Swearing in it self is not unlawful. God himself who cannot sin, yet swears by his Holiness; so Isa. 45.23. & 62.8. Ier. 51.14. Heb. 6.13. but of this at large elsewhere.In my Com. on 2 Tim. 4.1. p. 305. Doct. Gouge on Heb. 6.13. p. 83. to 92.
2 Obs. God is Holiness it self. It is essential to him, and therefore it is here put for himself. The Lord hath sworn by his Holiness; that is, by himself. Holiness in Angels and Men is Accidental, they may lose their Holiness and yet bee Creatures still;Beauty of Holiness, chap. 1. but Holiness is so con-natural to God, that hee may as soon cease to bee God, as to be holy. But of this elsewhere.
3 Obs. It is a very hard thing to convince secure Sinners of an approaching Iudgement. God is constrained to swear here, to assure them of the certainty and infallibility of his Threatnings. As in times of Adversity and Temptation men are hardly brought to beleeve the Promises,See more in Greenhil on Ezek. 12.22. Obs. 1. p. 493. and Mr. Trapp on Jer. 22.21 (Psal. 116.11.) so in times of Prosperity: it is hard to convince men of the truth of Gods Threatnings; I spake to thee in thy prosperity, and thou wouldest not hear, Jer. 22.21.
4 Obs. Sin and Punishment are inseparable. In the first Verse we had their Sin, and in this second, their Punishment; as men have their daies of sinning, so God hath his dayes of punishing for sin, Deut. 28.16, 17, &c. Psal. 37.13. Ier. 46.21. & 50.27.31. Ioel 1.15. Luke 19.43. Revel. 18.8.
No sooner had Ahab killed Naboth, and taken possession of his Vineyard, but presently the Lord sends Elijah with a whole volley of Judgements against him, 1 King. 21.16. to 25.
5 Such as oppress others, shall at last bee oppressed themselves. Look what measure men mere to others, God will raise up some that shall mere the like to them again. These fat Beasts did goar the poor, and get their estate from them; now the Lord raiseth up the Assyrian against them, who with their Hooks should pull them out of their estates and habitations, as Fishes out of the water. God loves to pay Sinners in their own coyn, and to retaliate the wrongs which they have done to others. Thus Adonibezek confesseth, that as he had done to others, so God had requited him, Iudg. 1.7. such as shew no mercy to others, shall have none themselves, Iam. 2.13. Babylon, that had tortured and abused the Saints, must have double given her, Revel. 18.6. the Sodomites that burnt with lust, were burnt with fire from heaven. Gen. 19.5.24. Iosephs Brethren that sold him into distress, were at last distressed themselves, and acknowledge Gods Justice in it, Gen. 4.21. Davids Sin in numbering the people, was punisht with diminishing of the people. Hereby God doth more sensibly convince men of their Sin, when they may read it in the punishment.
Thus those who are disobedient to their Parents, God raiseth up of their Children that shall rebel against them. Those that abuse their first Wives, are oft-times punisht by the second; and those Servants that were false to their Masters, shall be punisht with Servants that will be perfidious to them. Let us therefore by the punishment labour to finde out the Sin that brought it, and judge our selves for it, and we shall not be judged of the Lord, 1 Cor. 11.32.
6 Obs. When a People are ripe for ruine they shall suddenly and easily be destroyed. God staies but till the sins of a People be full, and then he suddenly brings them down, Gen. 15.16. look how easily the Fisher pulls up his little Fish with his Hook, and carries it away; so easily did the Assyrian carry away this Idolatrous people into Captivity, now that their day was come.See more in Greenhil on Ezek. 29.4. p. 553. and in my Comment. on 2 Tim. 3.9. p. 183. There is no power or policy against God, hee can destroy the stoutest enemy with the greatest facility, Isa. 25.11. if he be angry with a People, he wants not Fishers, Hooks, Hunters, to pursue them, and carry them away, Ier. 16.16. Hab. 1.14, 15, 16.
7 Obs. Children many times fare the worse for their wicked Parents. The Parents are taken away with hooks, and the Posterity with Fish-hooks; root and branch must be stockt up. It is just with God to cut off the wicked with their seed, as we kill the Wolf with her Litter,In my Comment. on Hos. 13.16. Obs. 12. p. 80, to 86. & Attersol on Numb. 14. 34. p. 615. and the Fox with her Cubs, Deut. 28.41. Hos. 13.16. But of this at large elsewhere.