Amos 1:10 Ulasan

In this chapter we have, I. The general title of this prophecy (Amo 1:1), with the general scope of it (Amo 1:2). II. God's particular controversy with Syria (Amo 1:3-5), with Palestine (Amo 1:6-8), with Tyre (Amo 1:9, Amo 1:10), with Edom (Amo 1:11, Amo 1:12), and with Ammon (Amo 1:13-15), for their cruelty to his people and the many injuries they had done them. This explains God's pleading with the nations, Joe 3:2.

This chapter begins with the general title of the book, in which the author is described by name, and by his condition of life, and by his country, and the time of his prophecy fixed, Amo 1:1. He first foretells a drought in the land of Israel, in the most fruitful places, which would cause mourning among the shepherds, Amo 1:2; then the captivity of the Syrians, whose metropolis was Damascus, Amo 1:3. Next the destruction of the Philistines, whose principal cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Askelon, and Ekron, Amo 1:6. After that the ruin of Tyre, with the reason of it, Amo 1:9; then the calamities that should come upon Edom, whose chief places were Teman and Bozrah, Amo 1:11; and lastly the desolations of the Ammonites, whose metropolis, Rabbah, should be destroyed, and their king and princes go into captivity, Amo 1:13; and all this for the sins of each of these nations.

But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus,.... An enemy to destroy the walls of it: this was done either by Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians, in the times of Eulaeus king of the Tyrians, of whose expedition against it Josephus (s) makes mention: or by Nebuchadnezzar, who took it after thirteen years' siege of it, in the time of Ithobalus (t): or by Alexander, by whom it was taken, as Curtius (u) relates, after it had been besieged seven months: which shall devour the palaces thereof; of the governor, the great men and merchants in it. Alexander ordered all to be slain but those that fled to the temples, and fire to be put to the houses; which made it a most desolate place, as the above historian has recorded. (s) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 14. sect. 2. (t) Hist. Phoenic. apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 21. (u) Hist. l. 4. c. 4.

(Verse 9, 10.) Thus says the Lord: Because of three crimes of Tyre, and because of four, I will not revoke my decision, because they delivered up a complete captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood, I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it will consume its palaces. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Because of three acts of impiety of Tyre, and because of four, I will not turn away from it, because they delivered up the captivity of Solomon to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. And I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre, and it will devour its foundations. The same three or four acts of impiety or crimes that he had charged to Damascus, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod, and to the other cities of the Philistines, he also assigns to Tyre and reproaches it for having brought to completion and perfection the captivity in Edom, of which we have spoken above: And they have not (or were not) mindful of the covenant of their brothers. We seek to know how the Tyrian brothers are related to the Jews. These brothers call them friends and connected by a bond, because Hiram, the prince of Tyre, had friendships with David and Solomon, to the extent that Hiram sent cedar wood for the construction of the Temple and palace, all the way from Joppa. And these brothers would provide grain and oil to the Tyrians, and give twenty cities in Bashan as a gift, which he refused to accept because they were full of grass (1 Kings 5, 2 Chronicles 2). He says, therefore, that he will hurl fire onto its walls and devour its buildings or foundations, which the Prophet Ezekiel mentions that King Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldeans did in a vision of Tyre, where he says: 'He will surround you with siege works and build a siege ramp against you' (Ezek. 29:6). And again: 'King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was shaved bald, and every shoulder rubbed bare, yet he and his army got no wages from Tyre for the labor he had spent against it' (ibid., 29:18), because his army built a siege ramp to capture Tyre, which was once an island. The history tells that Alexander the Great did the same thing to make a peninsula out of an island, which the Greeks call a chersonese. Tyrus interprets as tribulation or confinement: and all perverse doctrine tries to grasp the truth and conclude it in earthly senses, and does not remember the covenant of his brothers, which we should ascend from earthly things to heavenly ones: and the commandment is for us to inscribe the sacred Scripture in our heart in a threefold manner. But God will send fire into all the strongholds of Tyre, which will devour not only its walls, but also its foundations. We have already mentioned the captivity of Solomon, for whom it is recorded in Hebrew, as being completed and perfected.

This chapter denounces judgments against the nations bordering on Palestine, enemies to the Jews, viz., the Syrians, Amo 1:1-5; Philistines, Amo 1:6-8; Tyrians, Amo 1:9, Amo 1:10; Edomites, Amo 1:11, Amo 1:12; and Ammonites, Amo 1:13-15. The same judgments were predicted by other prophets, and fulfilled, partly by the kings of Assyria, and partly by those of Babylon; though, like many other prophecies, they had their accomplishment by degrees, and at different periods. The prophecy against the Syrians, whose capital was Damascus, was fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria; see Kg2 16:9. The prophecy against Gaza of the Philistines was accomplished by Hezekiah, Kg2 18:8; by Pharaoh, Jer 47:1; and by Alexander the Great; see Quintius Curtius, lib. 4. c. 6. The prophecy against Ashdod was fulfilled by Uzziah, Ch2 26:6; and that against Ashkelon by Pharaoh, Jer 47:5. All Syria was also subdued by Pharaoh-necho; and again by Nebuchadnezzar, who also took Tyre, as did afterwards Alexander. Nebuchadnezzar also subdued the Edomites, Jer 25:9, Jer 25:21; Jer 27:3, Jer 27:6. Judas Maccabeus routed the remains of them, 1 Maccabees 5:3; and Hyrcanus brought them under entire subjection. The Ammonites were likewise conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. The earthquake, which the prophet takes for his era, is perhaps referred to in Zac 14:5, and also in Isa 5:25. Josephus ascribes it to Uzziah's invasion of the priestly office; see Ch2 26:16.

I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus - The destructive fire or siege by Nebuchadnezzar, which lasted thirteen years, and ended in the destruction of this ancient city; see on Eze 26:7-14 (note), as above. It was finally ruined by Alexander, and is now only a place for a few poor fishermen to spread their nets upon.

GOD'S JUDGMENTS ON SYRIA, PHILISTIA, TYRE, EDOM, AND AMMON. (Amo 1:1-15) The words of Amos--that is, Amos' oracular communications. A heading found only in Jer 1:1. among the herdmen--rather, "shepherds"; both owning and tending sheep; from an Arabic root, "to mark with pricks," namely, to select the best among a species of sheep and goats ill-shapen and short-footed (as others explain the name from an Arabic root), but distinguished by their wool [MAURER]. God chooses "the weak things of the world to confound the mighty," and makes a humble shepherd reprove the arrogance of Israel and her king arising from prosperity (compare Sa1 17:40). which he saw--in supernatural vision (Isa 1:1). two years before the earthquake--mentioned in Zac 14:5. The earthquake occurred in Uzziah's reign, at the time of his being stricken with leprosy for usurping the priest's functions [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9:10.4]. This clause must have been inserted by Ezra and the compilers of the Jewish canon.

fire--(Compare Amo 1:4, Amo 1:7; Isa. 23:1-18; Eze. 26:1-28:26). Many parts of Tyre were burnt by fiery missiles of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander of Macedon subsequently overthrew it.

I. The Approaching Judgment - Amo 1:1-15 and 2 Starting from the saying of Joel (Joe 3:16), "Jehovah will roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem," Amos announces the wrath of the Lord, which will discharge itself upon Damascus (Amo 1:3-5), Philistia (Amo 1:6-8), Tyre (Amo 1:9-10), Edom (Amo 1:11-12), Ammon (Amo 1:13-15), Moab (Amo 2:1-3), Judah (Amo 2:4-5), and Israel (Amo 2:6-16). The announcement of this judgment maintains a certain uniformity throughout; every one of these nations being threatened with the destruction of the kingdom, or with ruin and exile, "for three or four transgressions;" and the threat, as Rckert has well expressed it, "rolling like a storm, in strophe after strophe, over all the surrounding kingdoms," touching Judah as it passes along, and eventually resting over Israel. The six heathen nations mentioned, three of which are related to the covenant nation, represent all the Gentile nations, which rise up in hostility to the people or kingdom of God. For the sins on account of which they are to be punished, are not certain general breaches of morality, but crimes which they have committed against the people of God; and in the case of Judah, contempt of the commandments of the Lord, and idolatry. The whole section, not merely Amos 1:2-2:5, but also Amo 2:6-16, has an introductory character. Whilst, on the one hand, the extension of the prediction of judgment to the Gentile nations indicates the necessity and universality of the judgment, which is sent to promote the interests of the kingdom of God, and preaches the truth that every one will be judged according to his attitude towards the living God; on the other hand, the place assigned to the Gentile nations, viz., before the covenant nation, not only sharpened the conscience, but taught this lesson, that if even the nations which had only sinned indirectly against the living God were visited with severe punishment, those to whom God had so gloriously revealed Himself (Amo 2:9-11; Amo 3:1) would be punished still more surely for their apostasy (Amo 3:2). It is with this design that Judah is also mentioned along with Israel, and in fact before it. "The intention was to impress this truth most strongly upon the people of the ten tribes, that not even the possession of such glorious prerogatives as the temple and the throne of David could avert the merited punishment. If this be the energy of the justice of God, what have we to look for?" (Hengstenberg).