Amos 5:9 Commento

The scope of this chapter is to prosecute the exhortation given to Israel in the close of the foregoing chapter to prepare to meet their God; the prophet here tells them, I. What preparation they must make; they must "seek the Lord," and not seek any more to idols (Amo 5:4-8); they must seek good, and love it (Amo 5:14, Amo 5:15). II. Why they must make this preparation to meet their God, 1. Because of the present deplorable condition they were in (Amo 5:1-3). 2. Because it was by sin that they were brought into such a condition (Amo 5:7, Amo 5:10-12). 3. Because it would be their happiness to seek God, and he was ready to be found of them (Amo 5:8, Amo 5:9, Amo 5:14). 4. Because he would proceed, in his wrath, to their utter ruin, if they did not seek him (Amo 5:5, Amo 5:6, Amo 5:13, Amo 5:16, Amo 5:17). 5. Because all their confidences would fail them if they did not seek unto God, and make him their friend. (1.) Their profane contempt of God's judgments, and setting them at defiance, would not secure them (Amo 5:18-20). (2.) Their external services in religion, and the shows of devotion, would not avail to turn away the wrath of God (Amo 5:21-24). (3.) Their having been long in possession of church-privileges, and in a course of holy duties, would not be their protection, while all along they had kept up their idolatrous customs (Amo 5:25-27). They have therefore no way left them to save themselves, but by repentance and reformation.

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 5 In this chapter the prophet exhorts Israel to hear his lamentation over them for their impending ruin, Amo 5:1; nevertheless to seek the Lord, and all that is good; to forsake their idols, and repent of their sins, in hopes of finding mercy, and living comfortably; or otherwise they must expect the wrath of God for their iniquities, especially their oppression of the poor, Amo 5:4; otherwise it would be a time of weeping and wailing, of darkness and distress, however they might harden or flatter themselves, or make a jest of it, Amo 5:16; for all their sacrifices and ceremonial worship would signify nothing, so long as they continued their idolatry with them Amo 5:21; and therefore should surely go into captivity, Amo 5:27.

That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong,.... Such as have been taken by an enemy, who have been stripped of their armour, and spoiled of all their goods and substance, and have no friends nor allies, nor anything to help themselves with; the Lord can supply them with strength, furnish them with weapons, and send them helpers, so that they shall rise up against their conquerors and spoilers, and in their turn subdue them. The Targum is, "that strengthens the weak against the strong;'' or causes the weak to prevail over the strong. A learned man, from the use of the word in the Arabic language, chooses to render it, "who intends", or "designs, destruction to the strong" (d); that is, in his secret purposes, and which he brings about in providence; though he is doubtful whether it may not have the signification of recreation and refreshment, and whether the construction and circumstances will admit of it; and some do so translate it, "who refreshes himself with destruction against the strong" (e); takes delight and pleasure in it; it is a recreation to him: so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress: lay siege to it and take it, in which the spoiler thought himself secure with the spoil and substance he had taken from the spoiled; such sudden changes and vicissitudes can God bring upon men when he pleases. Some apply this to the Romans strengthened against the Jews, and besieging their fortified city Jerusalem; but not very aptly. (d) "qui intendit destinat destructionem forti", Hottinger, Smegma Orientale, l. 1. c. 7. p. 129. (e) "Qui recreat se vastatione contra fortem sive robustum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius. So Stockius, p. 136.

(Verse 8 onwards) You who turn judgment into wormwood and abandon righteousness on earth, who makes the Bear and Orion, who turns darkness into morning and darkens day into night. He who calls the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth: His name is the Lord. He who laughs at destruction, bringing devastation upon the strong. The One who brings judgment from on high and establishes justice on earth; the One who does all things, who transforms and turns the shadow of death into morning and darkens day into night. He who calls the water of the sea, and pours it out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name. He who brings destruction upon strongholds, and brings misery upon fortresses. In this place, the Hebrew truth diverges greatly from the Vulgate edition, as the discerning reader immediately understands without our prompting. Therefore, let us first explain according to the Hebrews, and then what seems to us in the translation of the Septuagint, if we are worthy of Christ revealing it to us. Let us say, the house of Joseph, that is, the house of Ephraim, and through this, the royal house, and Bethel, or as the Septuagint translated, the house of Israel, that is, both kings and peoples, worshippers and idols alike will be overthrown, who have provoked God to anger with their unjust judgment. And they turned the sweetness of judgment into the bitterness of wormwood, which is a type of very bitter herb, taking up wickedness, and abandoning justice. Now what is this justice, the following verse shows: The one who makes the Bear and Orion, and turns darkness into morning, and transforms day into night. Of whom it was said above: He who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and announces his word to man, making the morning mist, and walking on the highest points of the earth: The Lord God of hosts is his name, he is the Creator of the Bear, which in Hebrew is called Chima (חִימָה), and in Symmachus and Theodotion it is translated as Pleiades. It is commonly known as Boötes: and what follows, Orion, which in Hebrew is called Chasil (חָסִיל), Symmachus interprets as absolute stars, Theodotion as the evening. However, the Hebrew, who has taught us in the holy Scriptures, thinks that Chasil should be interpreted as splendor, and generally signify shining stars. But when we hear about Arcturus and Orion, we should not follow the fables of poets, and the ridiculous and monstrous lies, with which they even try to defame the heavens and place the wages of prostitution among the stars, saying (Aeneid. book I and III): Arcturus, the rainy Hyades, and the twin Bears: And Orion armed with gold looks upon them. But the Hebrew names, which are called differently among them, have been translated into the words of the mythological Gentiles into our language, which we cannot understand what is said, except through those words which we have learned and absorbed through usage and error. Hence, in the book of Kings, they have rendered the Hebrew word Raphaim into Greek as 'titans': which is a famous tale among the pagans, from which they write about the battle of the giants, and the Typhoean weapons, and the mountain of Etna placed on Enceladus, from whose movement Trinacria trembles. But this is the God, the creator of all things, who makes the Bear and Orion, who changes night into day and day into night, and nurtures the most bitter waters of the sea with ethereal heat, and distills them into the sweet taste of rain, like a medicinal gourd, which, by the heat of the higher circle, draws up moisture and blood aloft: from which we learn where the rains come from. And what follows: Who smiles upon vastness over strength, turns back to the present time, and there is order: Who is the creator of all things, also threatens captivity upon Samaria, and brings depopulation upon the mighty: for he turns judgment into wormwood, and leaves justice on the earth. Where we said, 'he who smiles,' Aquila interpreted as 'the one who smiles.' Properly, however, it is called 'a smirk,' which we can refer to as a smile when someone is angry, and with slightly parted lips pretends to smile in order to show the magnitude of their anger. Let us also say according to the Septuagint: 'God judges from on high when He judges the truth, and He renders to each one according to his deeds.' And everyone who desires to be an imitator and a son of His, and to be perfect just as His Father is perfect, who dwells in heaven (Matt. V), judges from on high and does not imitate that judge who did not fear God and did not respect man, and with a perverse judgment did not elevate his sentence to heaven but rather lowered it to the lowest levels (Luke XV). And what follows: and He has placed justice on earth, according to that which we must accept, that Christ has given us His righteousness, and has not rejected it: but has laid it on the earth, so that, with all iniquity overcome, He might make us heavenly from earthly. I think from this passage even a pagan poet has stolen, who, while expounding on the simplicity and blessedness of country folk, introduced. Justice, surpassing the limits of the Earth, made its extreme footprints through them. And what they say, that He does everything and transforms everything, in one word they comprehend Arcturus and Orion, neglecting the proper names in Greek translation. But God transforms everything when He makes heavenly things from earthly ones, and bestows upon human beings the likeness of angels: when the moon shines with the brightness of the sun, and the sun has sevenfold light, when the animalistic, weak, and corruptible human is transformed into a spiritual, robust, and incorruptible being, changing glory but not nature: when the intelligent ones will shine like the splendor of the firmament, and what is written will be fulfilled: One glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars. For star differs from star in brightness; so also is the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:41). For when every creature shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. This is the God who transforms all things, also changing the shadow of death into light (Luke 1); for when those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death saw a great light, and those who were the children of night and darkness became the children of light and the children of day. This is God who also turns day into darkness: their day who said: Crucify, crucify him (John XIX, 6), remove such a person from the earth: when from the sixth hour the day turned into the darkness of Jewish blindness. And not only literally, but also according to a higher understanding, the light that rose for them in the Law and the prophets, turned into darkness, ignorant of what they read, what they heard, so that what was written about them may be fulfilled: Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see: and their backs be constantly bent (Psalm LXVIII, 24). This God calls the water of the sea to Himself, and pours it out upon the surface of the earth, making the righteous out of sinners. To illustrate this, let us put forth just one example to emphasize brevity. The Apostle Paul, like a turbulent and fierce storm, pursued the raging waves of the sea and endeavored to oppress the Church of God. But when he was called by the Lord, he was poured out upon the entire surface of the earth to preach the Gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and to build not upon another foundation where it had already been preached (Rom. XV); but rather to extend as far as Spain, and to run from the Red Sea, or rather from one ocean to another, imitating his Lord and the sun of righteousness, of whom we read: His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it (Ps. XIX, 6), so that the earth would grow faint before him before his zeal for preaching. This God divides contrition over strength, so that he may make those who are strong in a bad way weak, and they may imitate the Apostle saying: When I am weak, then I am stronger (2 Cor. XII). For even the children of this world are wiser than the children of light in their generation (Luke XXVI). The strength of the body is weakness of the soul, and again the strength of the soul is weakness of the body. Therefore, the Lord, who dispenses all things by reason and truly does all things by judgment, divides contrition over the strong enemy, so that he may bring misery upon the fortification which he erected against the knowledge of God. Regarding this, we read in Proverbs: The wise man enters fortified cities and destroys the stronghold in which the wicked have put their trust (Prov. XXI, 22). This applies to all worldly strength, but it specifically applies to heretics who try to strengthen the falsehood of their doctrines with arguments, sophisms, and dialectical art. However, the wise man destroys it and with the help of God's aid, shows that all these fortifications are utterly vain, in order to bring misery upon them and, with their pride humbled, they can say with the Apostle: 'Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' (Rom. VII, 24).

This chapter opens with a tender and pathetic lamentation, in the style of a funeral song, over the house of Israel, Amo 5:1, Amo 5:2. The prophet then glances at the awful threatening denounced against them, Amo 5:3; earnestly exhorting them to renounce their idols, and seek Jehovah, of whom he gives a very magnificent description, Amo 5:4-9. He then reproves their injustice and oppression with great warmth and indignation; exhorts them again to repentance; and enforces his exhortation with the most awful threatenings, delivered with great majesty and authority, and in images full of beauty and grandeur, Amo 5:10-24. The chapter concludes with observing that their idolatry was of long standing, that they increased the national guilt, by adding to the sins of their fathers; and that their punishment, therefore, should be great in proportion, Amo 5:25-27. Formerly numbers of them were brought captive to Damascus, Kg2 10:32, Kg2 10:33; but now they must go beyond it to Assyria, Kg2 15:29; Kg2 17:6.

That strengtheneth the spoiled - Who takes the part of the poor and oppressed against the oppressor; and, in the course of his providence, sets up the former, and depresses the latter.

ELEGY OVER THE PROSTRATE KINGDOM: RENEWED 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 PIETY EXISTS NOT: ISRAEL SHALL THEREFORE BE REMOVED FAR EASTWARD. (Amos 5:1-27) lamentation--an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Compare Eze 32:2, "take up," namely, as a mournful burden (Eze 19:1; Eze 27:2).

strengtheneth the spoiled--literally, "spoil" or "devastation": hence the "person spoiled." WINER, MAURER, and the best modern critics translate, "maketh devastation (or destruction) suddenly to arise," literally, "maketh it to gleam forth like the dawn." Ancient versions support English Version. The Hebrew is elsewhere used, to make, to shine, to make glad: and as English Version here (Psa 39:13), "recover strength." the spoiled shall come--"devastation," or "destruction shall come upon" [MAURER]. English Version expresses that, strong as Israel fancies herself after the successes of Jeroboam II (Kg2 14:25), even the weakest can be made by God to prevail against the strong.

The Overthrow of the Kingdom of the Ten Tribes - Amos 5 and Amo 6:1-14 The elegy, which the prophet commences in Amo 5:2, upon the fall of the daughter of Israel, forms the theme of the admonitory addresses in these two chapters. These addresses, which are divided into four parts by the admonitions, "Seek Jehovah, and live," in Amo 5:4 and Amo 5:6, "Seek good" in Amo 5:14, and the two woes (hōi) in Amo 5:18 and Amo 6:1, have no other purpose than this, to impress upon the people of God the impossibility of averting the threatened destruction, and to take away from the self-secure sinners the false foundations of their trust, by setting the demands of God before them once more. In every one of these sections, therefore, the proclamation of the judgment returns again, and that in a form of greater and greater intensity, till it reaches to the banishment of the whole nation, and the overthrow of Samaria and the kingdom (Amo 5:27; Amo 6:8.).