Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · minor prophets · Amos · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
BEhold a basket of summer fruit; and the Lord said unto me, What seest thou Amos, &c. V. 1. V. 2.And the Lord said, the end is come upon my people Israel. Here by another Vision the speedy and inevitable destruction of Israel is again set forth together with the cause: For when are baskets filled with summer fruit but when it is ripe, so that hereby was shewed, that the sins of Israel were ripe, and therefore they must soon be gathered by cutting down, and so be destroyed and carryed away into captivity, as the 7 chapter concluded, so that this is nothing else but a further confirmation of that, which was said before. And it is not unusuall by similitude taken from fruits that are ripe to set forth sin grown to full maturity, as Joel 3. 13. and here Expositours note an elegancy in the Hebrew more then in the Translations, for in saying summer fruits, he useth the word foreign and for end he hath foreign. For passing by it any more, see before chap. 7. 8.
When will the new Moon be gone, and the Sabbath that we may sell wheat. Here the Prophet returns again to the recounting of other sins, as first of prophanenesse, V. 5.they had rather have other dayes then Sabbaths. 2. Of deceit in buying and selling of corn, making the Ephah, that is, the corn measure so called small and the shekel great, and falsifying weights. 3. Oppression of the poore for the words used, see chap. 2. 6. but here another thing is also V. 6.meant which is an horrible sin, viz. by oppress men to bring them to such poverty, that they inforced to sell themselves for servants, and that for a small matter, whereas by the Law of God Hebrew servants were to have favour shewed them, if by casualty any became poor, that he was inforced to sell himselfe, no man ought to hold such a servant any longer then to the seventh yeare, and then not to dismisse him empty, but being furnished with some stock Deut. 15.our of his chattels. 4. Having thus inthralled their brethren they kept them with food not fit for men, but beasts, set forth in the next words, the refuse of the wheat, whereby is meant either the bran, wherewith they fed them, or light wheat mingled with soil, so as that it was food for hogs, or fowls, and not for men, or else that they mingled such base stuffe with better, and so sold it altogether for the best, poorer men, who have but from hand to mouth, being necessitated to buy it so or none. And this reproveth not onelyonly such as Note.doe so, but the like in any other commodities of this life, as putting any thing to that which is sold by weight to make it heavy to the detriment of the buyer, or in cloth that, which is vile and makes it soon to wear out, but to shew as fair.
The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, surely I will never forget any of their V. 7.workes. Here again after their sins follow judgements almost in the words used before chap. 6. 8. onelyonly there it is said, the Lord hath sworn by his soul, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, here by the excellency of Jacob, the same word foreign being used, which, as was said there signifieth either pride or excellency, but here the word is manifestly used for God himselfe, who was the excellency of Jacob above all other Nations, in that he graced them by his dwelling amongst them. And he rather sets himselfe forth here by this Periphrasis, then in plain terms, to taxe their ingratitude the more, and to intimate, that they were well worthy of the judgements threatened, in that when the Lord had made them so much to excell other Nations, they made themselves so base by their sins. And he sweareth, that none might be unbeleeving but beleeveing, and fear and repent. But what meaneth he by saying, I will not forget any of their works? Sol. This is spoken, because he may be thought to forget mens wickednesses all the time that he forbears to punish them, but when hee punisheth, then it appeares, that he forgat them not, so that hereby he meaneth, that he would severely punish them, as followeth, vers. 8, 9, 10. Shall not the land mourn for this, and every one that dwelleth therein? it shall be cast out and drowned V. 8.as by the floud of Egypt, which drowneth the whole land, as an huge floud by the overflowing of Nilus, many dayes together, so that in all the plain parts no land appeareth, but it is all as a Sea, and he doth not only to expresse this say, that it shall be cast out and drowned, but also it shall rise up wholly as a flood, which Calvin saith is by some expounded thus, it shall be lifted up as a flood and then be cast Calvin.out, saying, first it shall be thus lifted up, and then it shall be drowned, whereas the meaning is plain, that from land it shal be all turned, as it were into a Sea, all places being covered with miseries, as Egypt with waters, and these waters shall be as a flood sweeping and carrying away the inhabitants, and making the land as no land any more to them, or to be inhabited by them.
I will cause the Sun to goe down at noon, this is spoken, because that in this Jeroboams V. 9.time, it was noone as it were, the day being most clear through the great prosperity, wherein the land then was: but in thus saying, he sheweth, that the case should be quite altered to greatest adversity, as it was in the time of Hoshea the last King of Israel.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, that is, when my judgements shall come upon you, as hath been said, yee shall see how little acceptable your keeping V. 10.of feasts to me have been, ye rejoyced and were merry then, as beleeving, that much good would hence redound unto you, as from singular devotion, but because yee lived in abominable sinnes, it shall fall out clean contrary, yee shall have sorrow for this your joy as impious, it being also had in abomination.Esa. 1.
I will send a famine, not of bread and water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. Having V. 11.hitherto threatned corporeall judgements, now he proceedeth to threaten spirituall, as Amaziah, chap. 7. had put the Word of God away, bidding the Prophet flee to Judah, and not to prophesie there. As a punishment therefore of this sin, of being against the Prophesying of some holy men, sent of God, who are disliked for their tartnesse against the sins of the great ones, and rich ones of the land, a famin of the Word is here threatned, as most grievous of all judgements, a corporeall famin being nothing comparable to it, as is implyed in the words. And indeed, if it be rightly considered, there is no judgement to this, for men consisting of soules and bodies, if they want bodily sustenance, are in an evill case, for hunger is a sharp sauce, but as the soul excels the body, so if spirituall sustenance be wanting to them, their misery is far greater. But when there is no man of God to teach any more, there is a famin of hearing his Words, which be as food to the soul, for which teaching 1 Pet. 22. Heb. 5. 12. Esa. 55.is called the sincere milk of the Word, and some part of it strong meat, yea it is both milk, and wine, and water and bread, hereby Christ, the true bread that came down from heaven is conveighed into the soul, when by the working of the spirit together with the Word preached Faith is wrought in the heart, beleeving Rom. 10. Joh. 6.being an eating hereof, although not the onelyonly eating, for we are also injoined to eat the bread and drink the wine of the Lords Supper, and that often, that we may eat his flesh and drink his bloud, and live eternally. Therefore they that want preaching, want the food of the soul to the hunger-starving thereof, they are in a wildernesse, as it were without Manna, and so cannot but perish everlastingly, there being nothing in this world, more then in a barren wildernesse for the body, for their souls to feed upon: which should serve to make all men to take heed how they provoke God to deprive them of his Word, as Note. they doe, that seek to stop the mouth of any good Preacher as not able to bear his reproofs, or if they give such the hearing, but bring forth no fruits agreeable to their teaching, for this Christ threatneth the taking away of the Kingdome of God, which is by withdrawing the Ministery of his Word, seeing Matth. 21. 43.where the Word is preached, Gods Kingdom is, but where not now, but it hath been, it is taken away.
They shall run to and fro to seeke the Word of the Lord and shall not finde it: this V. 12.Prophesie was notoriously fulfilled in the Israelites, for through their putting of the Word of God from them, and rejecting the Messiah sent unto them, they have ever since been like hunger-starved persons, running sometimes after one impostour, and sometimes after another, thinking him to be the promised Messiah, and from one Rabbin they goe to another for comfort in this respect, but can no where finde any. But as St. Paul once said unto them, for so much as ye put the Word of God from you, we goe to the Gentiles, so the Gentiles hear …he Word at this day, but the Jews not, wherefore it hath been a famin of a long continuance, and their wandering from one part of the world to another hath been long, even to 1615 years, God have mercy upon them and open their eyes, that they may repent and turn yet to Christ; and so have bread and not lye still under this judgement of famin, whereby so many have perished these many generations past. And Christian Nations for rejecting the Word have also many of them suffered by the like judgement, as those seven Note. famous Churches in Asia, and some others, to which Saint Paul wrote his Epistles, swallowed up by the Turk and his Mahumetism long agoe, and Rome by the Pope and Popery, no true servant of God teaching there, or in any of his Dominions, but superstitious sworn servants of his, that are authours to their blinded Proselytes of wandering for pieties sake to Rome from remote parts, and running to and fro to other places in Pilgrimage, but all in vaine, there being in all this no comfort to any poor hunger-starved soul, because neither in one place or another they can finde the Word of God, which alone feeds the famished soul, that it may live. Let us in England that may suffer by famine of bread, blesse God yet, that we suffer not by this famin, but live in Note. plenty, and feed upon it, not with the ear, but with the heart, that we may never be deprived of this blessing, as otherwise we are in danger to be. Lyra, Lyra.whom some follow, saith, that this Prophesie was then fulfilled, when being besieged in Samaria three years, and in great straights, they had some emissaries, who wandered about into all parts to some Prophet from whom they might have comfort, as when three Kings being together they were distressed for want of water, inquiry was made after a man of God, that might speake some comfortable word from God unto them, and then Elishah came; 2 King. 3. from whom also some words of comfort came at the siege of Samaria, in time of famine, 2 King. 7. But now he saith, they should wander from Sea to Sea, and from North to East, that is, the Assyrians coming to destroy them when they should be in greatest distresse by famin through a three yeares siege, they should send out all over the longitude and latitude of the land for a Prophet to comfort them by some good words from God, but should finde none.
Then in the next words, their faire young maides and men faint for thirst, V. 13.he expoundeth of the famin corporeall, which was at that time, when each one had so little for himselfe, that even such as to whom mens affections are most moved, could not get a cup of cold water to save their lives, whether fair maides or youngmen. But against this it maketh, that he said before, not a famin of bread and water, but onelyonly a spirituall famin, and therefore it cannot be understood, as Lyra saith, but rather as was before said out of Gualter, who therefore expounds this of fair maides, and young mens fainting Gualter.through thirst of a spirituall thirst, in the want of teaching, this famin falling soar upon young persons, that grow up in stature, and are comely of body, but hearing nothing to form their manners, their soules that never lived in the time of teaching to make them well liking in grace, are in a most languishing condition of all others, seeing some others, though but a few, might before this defect of bread and water be so well fed, that they might walk still in the strength thereof, being holpen by their own private meditations and prayers. Here then is a Prophesie chiefly of the Evangelicall times according to that which was said before. And herein Amos his Prophesying extends further then to the judgements of God by Assyrians or Caldeans.
They that swear, Thy God O Dan, liveth, and by the sin of Samaria, and the manner V. 14.of Beershebah, shall fall and never rise again: Here the Prophet sheweth, that the judgement which should come upon them in spirituall things was most just, because that rejecting God and his Word, commanding them to swear by his name, they sware by idols in Samaria, Dan and Beershebah, upon which it hath been spoken before, which was an abomination, for which they were worthy to hear the Word of God no more, but to come to all misery, and therein to lye without ever being raised up again, he chargeth them first with the sin of Samaris, because that was the seat of the Kingdome whereby idolatry was set up in other places, that is, by the Kings dwelling there. Then Dan and Beershebah are named as the most remote places, in which idols were set up. Dan in the North, and Beershebah furthest South, to travell to which therefore they counted the greatest piety, for which the way of Beershebah is spoken of, for so it is in the Hebrew.