John Calvin Commentary Amos 3

The Prophet undoubtedly wished by these words to confirm his own authority, for he saw that his doctrine was regarded with contempt. It is probable that the words recited here were not only delivered by him once, but had been often repeated. We know how great the pride and confidence of that people was; it was therefore necessary to beat it down, so that they might become accustomed to dread and fear when God reproved them by His prophets.

It was then the common way of speaking when he said, Hear the word which God has spoken concerning you, O children of Israel. He brings forward the name of God here so that they might know that they were not dealing with a mortal man, or with a shepherd, such as he was.

We then observe here what I have just referred to: the Prophet seeks to strengthen his authority as a teacher, so that he might gain more respect among the people. But he adds, concerning the whole family which I brought up out of Egypt. It is certain that this discourse was addressed only to the ten tribes; why, then, does the Prophet speak here so generally?

This was because the kingdom of Israel formed the greater part of the race of Abraham, and on this account, they boasted that the adoption remained with them. Since, then, they despised the tribe of Judah and the half-tribe of Benjamin, which was connected with it, and had always boasted of their great number, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they were indeed the blessed seed, the posterity of Abraham—in a word, the elect people, whom God had redeemed from Egypt.

So, the Prophet does not include the kingdom of Judah here but concedes to the Israelites what they boasted—that they were the elect people, the holy race of Abraham, the very nation that had been miraculously delivered. “Let, then,” he says, “all these boasts be granted, yet God will not, on this account, refrain from executing His judgment upon them.”

We now understand the Prophet's design. He first seeks to gain respect for his doctrine and takes the opportunity to speak of his own calling: that he brought nothing of his own, but only faithfully discharged the office committed to him. Indeed, he was the instrument of the Holy Spirit and brought forth nothing from his own mind, but only spoke what the Lord had commanded him.

Then, as the Israelites, relying on their large number, thought that wrong was done to them when they were severely rebuked by the prophets, and as there was an absurd rivalry between them and the kingdom of Judah, the Prophet concedes to them that for which they were foolishly proud. However, at the same time, he shows that they trusted in vain in their number, since God summoned them to judgment, though they were the elect people, the holy seed, and the redeemed nation. These are the main points.

The Prophet afterward declares what he had been charged to say: Only you have I known of all the families of the earth: I will therefore visit you for your iniquities. Many think that he still concedes to the Israelites what they were accustomed to boast of—that they were separated from the common class of men because the Lord had adopted them. But it seems rather to be a reproach cast upon them.

God then brings forward His benefits here (we noted a similar instance yesterday) so that He might magnify even more the sin of the people in returning the worst kind of repayment to God, by whom they had been so liberally and so kindly treated. “I,” He says, “have loved you only.” It is indeed true, as we have often observed in other places, that the Israelites gloried in their privileges; but the Prophet does not seem to have this in view.

God then reasons earnestly with them for being so ungrateful: “You only,” He says, “have I known.” It is indeed certain that God’s care extends to the whole human race, yes, even to oxen and asses, and to the very sparrows. Even the young ravens cry to Him, and the smallest bird is fed by Him.

We therefore see that God’s providence extends to all mortal beings, but not in an equal degree. God has always known all people so as to give what is necessary to preserve life. God has, therefore, made His sun to rise on the entire human race and has also made the earth to produce food. Thus, concerning the necessities of life, He performs the office of a Father toward all people.

But He has known His chosen people because He separated them from other nations, so that they might be like His own family. Israel, then, is said to be known because God favored them alone with a free adoption and designed them to be a peculiar people to Himself. This is the knowledge of which the Prophet now speaks.

But by saying that they only, רק, rek, had been known, He shows that they had been chosen through God’s unique favor, for there was no difference between the seed of Abraham and other nations when considered in themselves; otherwise, this exception would have been superfluous. For if there had been any superiority or merit in the people of Israel, this objection might have readily been made: “We have indeed been chosen, but not without cause, for God had respect for our worthiness.”

But as they differed in no way from other nations, and as the condition of all was alike by nature, the Lord reproaches them with this: that He had known them only; It is as if He said, “How has it happened that you are My peculiar possession and heritage?

Has it been by your merit? Has it been because I was more bound to you than to other nations? You cannot allege these things. It has therefore been My free adoption. You are then the more bound to Me, and less excusable is your ingratitude for rendering to Me so unjust a repayment.” So also Paul says, ‘Who makes thee to differ?’ (1 Corinthians 4:7). He wished to show that every excellence in people ought to be ascribed to God.

For the same purpose it is said here, You only have I loved and known of all the families of the earth: “What were you? You were children of Adam, just as all other nations; the same has been the beginning of all. There is then no reason for you to say that I was attached to you by any bias; I freely chose you and chose you alone.”

All this tends to magnify grace, and their ingratitude thereby appears more evident.

For had God spoken these words about His general benefits, the guilt of His chosen people would not have been so great. But when He says that they only had been chosen, while others were passed by, their impiety undoubtedly seemed more base and wicked for not acknowledging God in return, so as to devote themselves wholly to Him, to whom they owed everything.

And the generosity of God is also evident in this respect: that He had known the Israelites alone, though there were many other nations. Had God owed anything to humankind, He would not have kept it from them; this is certain. But since He repudiated all other nations, it follows that they were justly rejected when He took no account of them.

Why then was it that He chose the Israelites? We see here how highly God’s grace is exalted by this comparison of one people with all other nations. And the same thing also appears from these words, of all the families of the earth.

It is as if God had said, “There were many nations in the world, the number of people was very great; but I regarded them all as nothing, so that I might take you under My protection. Thus I was content with a small number, when all people were Mine. And this I have done through mere favor, for there was nothing in you by which you excelled others, nor could they allege that they were unjustly rejected.

Since then I preferred you of My own will, it is evident that I was under no obligation to you.” So now we understand the design of the Prophet’s words.

He then adds, I will therefore visit upon you your iniquities. God declares here that the Israelites would have to suffer a heavier judgment because they did not acknowledge their obligations to God, but seemed willfully to despise His favor and to scorn Him, the author of so many blessings. Since then the Israelites were bound by so many unique benefits, and yet at the same time were as wicked as other nations, the Prophet shows that they deserved a heavier punishment, and that God’s judgment, such as they deserved, was near at hand. This is the substance of the whole.

The Prophet here gathers comparisons, which may, however, be reduced to five specific points:

1. He shows that he did not speak empty words but had God’s authority for what he said, and he appeals to God as his witness and approver.
2. He shows that God intentionally announces the punishment He would inflict on transgressors, so that they might repent in time; God does not cry out without reason, as thoughtless men become angry for nothing, but He is driven to anger by just causes and therefore terrifies them through His prophets.
3. He teaches that nothing happens by chance, so that the Israelites might thereby be led to consider God's judgments more attentively.
4. He declares that men are extremely stupid when they are not moved by the threats they hear proceeding from God.
5. He intimates that their execution was ready to take place, and that when God has denounced anything, His threatenings are not empty, like those used to frighten children.

These, then, are the five points, which we will notice later in their proper order. At the same time, he confirms what he said at the beginning of the chapter—that God did not suddenly take vengeance on the Israelites but called them to repentance, provided they were capable of being healed. He had indeed spoken before more distinctly, ‘For three transgressions, and for four, I will not be propitious to them;’ but now he demands attention from the people of Israel, “Hear this, you children of Israel, Will two men walk together, unless they agree among themselves?” By these words he teaches that, though God might have immediately and unexpectedly brought punishment on them, He yet spared them and suspended His judgment until they repented, provided they were not wholly beyond reclaiming. Amos now then confirms the truth that God would not punish the Israelites as He justly might, but would first try whether there was any hope of repentance.

Let us now come to the first comparison; he asks, Will two walk together without agreeing? Some forcibly misapply the Prophet’s words, as though the meaning was that God was constrained to depart from that people because He saw that they were going astray so perversely after their lusts. The meaning, according to these interpreters, would be, “Do you wish Me to walk with you?” That is, “Do you wish that My blessing should dwell among you, that I should show you, as usual, My paternal love, and bountifully support you?

Why then do you not walk with Me, or why should there not be a mutual consent? Why do you not respond to Me? For I am ready to walk with you.” But this interpretation, as you see, is too forced. There are two other interpretations: either that the Prophet implies here that so many of God’s servants did not, as it were with one voice, threaten the Israelites in vain; or, that the agreement of which he speaks was that between God and His prophets. This last interpretation, being rather obscure, requires a clearer explanation. Some, then, take the meaning of this verse to be the following: “I am not alone in denouncing punishment on you, for God has warned you before by other prophets. Many of them still live, and you see how well we agree together. We have not conspired as men do, and it has not happened by any human agreements that Isaiah and Micah denounce on you what you hear from my mouth. It is then a hidden agreement, which proceeds from the Holy Spirit.” This meaning is not unsuitable.

But there is a third interpretation, equally fitting, to which I have briefly referred: that the Prophet here affirms that he speaks by God’s command, just as when two people agree to follow the same road. For example, when one meets a chance companion, asks him where he is going, and upon hearing the destination, says, ‘I am going on the same road with you.’

Thus, Amos by this comparison very aptly illustrates the agreement between God and His prophets; for they did not rashly intrude themselves to announce anything according to their own will, but waited for God’s call. They were fully persuaded that they were not going astray by chance, but were keeping the road which the Lord had pointed out.

This in itself could not have been a sufficiently satisfactory proof of his call; but the Prophet had already begun his course of teaching. And though nearly the whole populace clamored against him, he still had given clear proofs of his call. He does not, then, mention all the evidence here, as though he intended to show that he was God’s prophet from the beginning; but he only confirms, by way of reproof, what his teaching had already sufficiently attested. Hence he asks, Will two walk together unless they agree among themselves? as though he said, “You are mistaken in judging me as though I were alone, and in taking no account of God. You think I am a shepherd, and this is true; but it ought to be added that I am sent by God and endowed with the gift of prophecy. Since, then, I speak by God’s Spirit, I do not walk alone, for God goes before me, and I am His companion. Know then that whatever I bring forward does not proceed from me, but God is the author of what I teach.”

This seems to be the genuine meaning of the Prophet: by this comparison, he affirms that he faithfully discharged his office, for he had not separated himself from God but was His companion, just as when two agree to travel the same road. So also, he shows that he and God were agreed. If, however, the former interpretation is more approved, I will not dispute the point; that is, that the Prophet here confirms his own doctrine by asserting that he was not alone but had other colleagues; for it was no small confirmation when it became evident that the other prophets added their testimony to what he taught. However, since he does not apply this comparison in this way, I do not know whether such was his design. I have therefore presented what seems to me to be a simpler view.

The second comparison follows: Will a lion roar in the forest without a prey? Will a lion send forth his voice from his den when he has caught nothing? By this verse, he implies that God does not cry out for nothing through His prophets; for ungodly men supposed that the air only reverberated with an empty sound when the prophets threatened. “These,” they said, “are mere words;” as though, indeed, they could not see that the necessity for this crying arose from themselves, because they had provoked God by their vices.

Hence the Prophet, addressing their objection, says, “If lions do not roar, except when they have obtained prey, shall God cry from heaven and send forth His voice as far as the earth, when there is no prey?” The meaning is that the word of God was very shamefully despised by the Israelites, as though there was no reason for crying, as though God were trifling with them. His word is indeed precious and is not thrown carelessly into the air as if it were mere refuse; it is an invaluable seed.

Since the Lord cries, it is not, says Amos, without a lawful cause. How so? Indeed, lions do not roar without prey; God then does not cry through His prophets, except for the best reason. It therefore follows that the Israelites were until now extremely stupid, inasmuch as they did not listen with more earnestness and attention to the teaching of the prophets, as though God had uttered only an empty sound.

The third comparison now follows: Will a bird fall on the earth, he says, without a fowler? The Prophet means here that nothing happens without being foreseen by God; for just as nets are laid for birds, so God ensnares men by His hidden punishments. Indeed, calamity comes unexpectedly, and it is commonly ascribed to chance; but the Prophet here reminds us that God stretches His nets, in which men are caught, though they think that chance rules and do not observe the hand of God.

They are deceived, he says; for the bird does not foresee the snare prepared for him; but yet he does not fall on the earth without the fowler, for nets do not weave themselves by chance, but they are made by the effort of the man who catches birds. So also, calamities do not happen by chance but proceed from the secret purpose of God.

But we must observe that comparisons ought not to be too strictly applied to the subject at hand. If one were to ask how God could compare Himself here to a fowler, since craft and artifice are employed in catching innocent birds when nets are laid for them, it would be a frivolous question; for it is evident enough what the Prophet meant, and that the design of his words was to show that punishments fall on men and that they are ensnared through the secret purpose of God; for God has long ago foreseen what He will do, though men act carelessly, like the birds who foresee nothing.

Then, in the fourth place, it follows: Will the fowler remove his snare before he has made a capture? In this second clause, the Prophet implies that God’s threatening would not be without effect, for He will execute whatever He declares. It is indeed true that fowlers often return home empty and gather their nets though they have caught nothing; but the Prophet, as I have said, in using these comparisons, only states what fowlers usually do when they are hoping for some prey.

For instance, when someone spreads his nets, he will wait and will not gather his nets until he catches some prey, if prey should come; he may indeed wait in vain all night. Then, just as fowlers are not easily discouraged and do not wish to lose their labor after they have spread their nets, so also the Prophet says that God does not proclaim His threatenings in vain to serve as empty scare tactics, but that His nets remain until He has taken His prey; which means that God will really execute what He has threatened through His prophets.

The meaning then is that God’s word is not ineffectual; when God declares anything, it is sure to be accomplished. And therefore he reproves the Israelites for receiving all God’s threatenings so carelessly and with deaf ears, as though God were only trifling with them. “It will not be,” he says, “as you expect; for God will take His prey before He takes up His nets.”

He adds, in the last place, Shall a trumpet sound and the people tremble not? Here he reprehends, as I have said, the sluggishness of the people, to whom all threatenings were a sport. “When a trumpet sounds,” he says, “all tremble, for it is a signal of danger. All then either flee for aid or stand amazed when the trumpet sounds. God Himself cries; His voice deserves much more attention than the trumpet which fills men’s minds with dread, and yet it is a sound uttered to the deaf. What then does this prove, but that madness possesses the minds of men? Are they not destitute of all judgment and of every power of reason?”

We therefore see that the Prophet in these words intended to show that the Israelites were, in a way, fascinated by the devil, for they had no thought of the evils; and though they knew that God sounded the trumpet and declared ruin, they yet remained careless and were no more moved than if all things were in a quiet state. What remains I cannot finish now.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You are pleased daily to exhort us to repentance, and do not suddenly execute Your judgment by which we might be instantly overwhelmed, but give us time to seek reconciliation, — O grant that we may now attend to Your teaching, and all Your admonitions and threatenings, and become teachable and obedient to You, lest You be constrained, on finding us hardened against Your threatening and wholly beyond reclaiming, to bring extreme vengeance upon us. Make us then so to submit ourselves to You in the spirit of teachableness and obedience, that being placed under the protection of Your Son, we may truly call on You as our Father, and find You to be so in reality, when You shall show us that paternal love, which You have promised, and which all of us who have truly and from the heart called on Your name from the beginning have experienced, through the same, even Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

In our last lecture, these words of Amos were noted—that a whole people tremble at the sound of a trumpet. He now seems to add a completely different sentence, saying, No calamity happens, except through God. But he had previously said what we already noted regarding the sound of the trumpet, so that the people might understand that nothing happens by accident and that punishments are inflicted by the Lord for just reasons.

This he soon after confirms by saying that God did nothing without first having revealed His secret to His prophets. The meaning then is that the people of Israel were extremely stupid for not having repented after so many warnings; indeed, they still remained in their perverseness, though they had been constrained by the most powerful means.

We now then understand what the Prophet means; but so that the whole subject may be made clearer, let us notice this intervening sentence: there is no evil in the city which God has not done. By these words, the Prophet reminds us that calamities do not happen by chance, as common people believe; for the words, “Prosperous or adverse fortunes,” are, we know, on everyone's lips, as though God were idle in heaven and took no care of human affairs.

Hence, whatever happens, the world usually ascribes it to fortune. But the Prophet here shows that the government of this world is administered by God and that nothing happens except through His power. He does not, indeed, discuss sin here; but the Prophet, according to the usual practice, calls whatever is adverse to us רעה (roe), evil.

Whatever, then, we naturally shun is usually called an evil. Amos follows this way of speaking here, as God is said by Isaiah to have in His power night and day, light and darkness, good and evil (Isaiah 45:7). When good and evil are spoken of there, it is certain that what is referred to is prosperity and adversity.

So also here, the Prophet teaches that men are chastised by God whenever anything adverse happens to them. It is as though he said that fortune does not rule, as the world imagines, and that things do not happen at random, but that God is at all times the judge of the world.

In short, Amos wished to recall the people to an examination of their lives, as though he summoned them to God’s tribunal; and he showed by evident external signs that God was justly offended with the Israelites: “You see that you are severely dealt with; do you think that God sleeps idly in heaven?

Since nothing happens but by the will of God, He now intends to awaken you by treating you with such sharpness and severity, so that you may recognize your vices.” We now then perceive the Prophet’s design in saying that there was no evil in the city which God had not done.

In a similar way, God also sharply expostulates through Jeremiah with the people because they imputed slaughters in war, famine, and other evils to fortune. When, therefore, any calamity happened, the Jews complained of bad fortune, as people in the world are accustomed to do. God was displeased and severely reproved this profane notion, for the government of the world was thus taken away from Him.

For if anything were to take place against His will, that much would be subtracted from His power; and furthermore, men would grow hardened in their sins. For however grievously He might punish them, they would still not acknowledge His hand. They might indeed cry out under the blows and feel how severe His scourges were, but they would not regard the hand of the One striking, which is the principal thing, as it is stated elsewhere (Isaiah 9:13).

Then the Prophet takes this for granted: that whenever any calamity happens, men are extremely stupid if they are not roused to reflect on their sins and consider the signs of God’s wrath, so as to flee to Him, confess themselves guilty, and implore His mercy.

But he had previously spoken of the sound of the trumpet, for every excuse was thereby taken away from the Israelites, as God had not only recalled them to the right way by His scourges but had also preceded these with His word. And he shows how justly He was displeased with them; hence the Prophet adds another sentence, For the Lord Jehovah will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants, the Prophets.

The Prophet declares in this verse that God did not deal with the Israelites as with heathen nations. For God punished other peoples without warning them by His word; He summoned to judgment neither the Edomites, nor the Ammonites, nor the Egyptians, but executed His vengeance, though He never addressed them. His dealing with the Israelites was different; for God not only brought on them such punishment as they deserved, but He preceded it with His word and showed beforehand what evil was near them, so that they might anticipate it.

He indeed gave them time to repent and was ready to pardon them, had they been capable of being restored. Now then, the Prophet aggravates the guilt of the people because they had not only been chastised by the Lord, but they might, if they chose, have averted their punishment; instead of doing so, they hardened themselves in their wickedness.

God then will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants, the Prophets. This ought to be understood as confined to that people, and it also ought to be confined to the punishments of which the Prophet speaks. It is certain that God executes many judgments which are hidden from both men and angels. Amos did not intend to impose a necessity on God, as if He were not free to do anything without previously revealing it; such was not the Prophet’s design.

But his object was simply to condemn the Israelites for their unreformable perverseness and obstinacy, because, having been warned, they did not seriously think of repenting but despised all God’s threatenings and even scorned them.

God then will do nothing—that is, “God will not treat you in an ordinary way, as He does with other nations, whom He chastises without speaking to them. They, for the most part, do not understand what is done. But God, in a paternal manner, kindly reminds you of your sins, shows why He resolves to chastise you, and forewarns you, so that you may have time to seek and ask forgiveness.”

God therefore reveals His secret to His Prophets; that is, “He does not suddenly or unexpectedly punish you, as He might do, and as you see that He does with respect to others; but He proclaims what He will do and sends His messengers, as though they were heralds sent to declare war on you; and at the same time they open a way for reconciliation, provided you are not wholly past recovery and perverse in your wickedness.

You are then doubly inexcusable if God can achieve nothing by His word and by the punishment which He afterwards adds to His word.”

We now understand the Prophet’s object. Then the question is foolish, or at least unreasonable: “Does God here bind Himself by a certain law, that He will do nothing but what He previously reveals to His prophets?” For Amos does not mean this, but only affirms that it was the common method which the Lord adopted in chastising that people.

It is certain that the prophets did not know many things, for God distributed His Spirit to them by measure; all things, then, were not revealed to the prophets. But Amos here only implies that God did not deal with His chosen people as He did with heathen nations; for these often found God unexpectedly displeased with them and had no time to reflect so that they might repent.

God has acted much more kindly and mercifully with that people, says Amos; for God was unwilling suddenly to overwhelm or surprise them but has warned them through His prophets. We see how widely this doctrine unfolds; but it is enough to understand the Prophet’s design and to know the purpose to which his discourse should be applied.

God then will do nothing without first revealing His secret to the prophets. He calls it a secret because men are perplexed when God executes vengeance on them and stand amazed. But when they are warned in time, then what God intends becomes evident to them, and they know the cause and the source of punishment.

Thus then the secret is revealed which was hidden from miserable men; and the guilt of the people is doubled when, after these threatenings, they do not repent.

It now follows, The lion roars who would not fear? The Lord Jehovah speaks, who would not prophesy? In this verse, the Prophet reproved the Israelites for their usual contentions with the prophets when their sins were sharply reprehended. Thus indeed men are accustomed to do; they do not consider that prophets are sent from above and that a charge has been committed to them.

Hence, when prophets are severe in their words, the world clamors and argues: “What do these men intend? Why do they urge us so much? Why do they not allow us to rest quietly? For they provoke God’s wrath against us.” Whenever, then, men are roused, they immediately threaten God’s prophets with strife and contention and do not regard the threatening as coming from God Himself.

This vice the Prophet now condemns: The lion roars, he says, who would not fear? God speaks, who would not prophesy? “You think that I am your adversary, but you can gain nothing by quarreling with me. Were I silent, the voice of God would by itself be formidable enough.

The evil then does not proceed from my mouth but from God’s command, for I am constrained, willing or unwilling, to obey God. He has chosen me to be a prophet and has shown what He intends for me to proclaim. What can I do?” he says. “I am not at liberty to invent revelations, but I faithfully bring to you what has been delivered to me by the Lord.

How great then is your madness, that you contend with me and do not consider that your strife and contention are with God Himself?” We now see what the Prophet meant and also understand why he presented the four comparisons of which we have already spoken. I will now proceed with the remaining context.

Amos begins here to set judges over the Israelites. Because they would not patiently submit to God’s judgment, he appoints and sets the Egyptians and Idumeans over them as judges. This prophecy no doubt increasingly exasperated the minds of the people, who were already very stubborn and rebellious; yet this was necessary.

Indeed, God had summoned them to His tribunal as long as a hope of reconciliation remained. But when they grew angry because of God’s threatening, clamored against His servants, yes, and obstinately disputed as if they were guilty of no fault, what else remained but for God to appoint judges over them, whom the Prophet names—namely, the Egyptians and Idumeans?

“You cannot bear My judgment; unbelievers, who are already condemned, will pronounce sentence on you. I am indeed your legitimate judge; but since you have repudiated Me, I will prove to you how true My judgment is. I will be silent; the Egyptians will speak.”

And who were these Egyptians? They were those who were equally guilty with the Israelites and labored under the same charges, or were at least not far from deserving a similar punishment. Yet God would compel the Israelites to hear the sentence to be pronounced on them by the Egyptians and Idumeans.

We know how proudly the Israelites gloried in their birthright; but the Lord here exposes this arrogance to scorn, because they made such bad use of His benefits. Thus we now perceive the Prophet’s intention.

Publish, he says, in the palaces of Ashdod, in the palaces of the land of Egypt, and say—what? Assemble on the mountains of Samaria. He would have the Egyptians and the Idumeans meet together, and the mountains of Samaria to be, as it were, the theater, though the idea of a tribunal is more suitable to the comparison being used.

It was then as if the Egyptians and Idumeans were to be seated on an elevated place, and God were to set before them the oppressions, the robberies, and wicked plundering that prevailed in the kingdom of Israel.

Assemble then on the mountains of Samaria. The Prophet alludes to the situation of the country, for though Samaria was situated on a plain, there were still mountains around it. They thought themselves hidden there and were like wine settled on its dregs.

God says now, “Let the Egyptians and Idumeans meet and view the scene. I will allot them a place from which they can see how greatly all kinds of iniquity prevail in the kingdom of Israel. They indeed dwell in their plain and think themselves sufficiently defended by the mountains around; but from these mountains even the very blind will be able to see how abominable and shameful their condition is.”

Let them come and see, he says, the oppressions in the midst of her. The word he uses is מהומת, meumet, tumults; but he means oppressions committed without any regard for reason or justice, when all things are done with clamor and violence.

“Let them see then the oppressions; let them see the distresses.” He speaks of their deeds; afterwards, he mentions the persons. But the Prophet means the same thing, though he uses different forms of expression—namely, that the kingdom of Israel was filled with many crimes. For plunder of every kind prevailed there, and men kept within no bounds of moderation, but by tumult and clamor pillaged the poor and the miserable.

In this verse, he confirms what I have already said about oppressions: he says that they despised everything right. But their not knowing this does not lessen their guilt, as if they offended ignorantly. On the contrary, the Prophet means that they had cast far away from themselves everything that was just and allowed themselves complete freedom in sinning, without any discernment, without any shame. It is as if he said, “They are brute animals, devoid of all judgment, all reason, and all shame, for they no longer seek to have an enlightened understanding.”

Here, then, he accuses the Israelites of willful blindness, for they hardened themselves in every kind of evil and extinguished all judgment, shame, and reason, so that they no longer distinguished between what was just and unjust. He mentions one thing in particular: that they accumulated much wealth by plunder and robbery.

The Israelites were no doubt guilty of many other crimes. But by mentioning a part for the whole, he mentions one thing that includes other things and intimates that the people were completely given over to all kinds of crimes. Having cast aside all shame, obliterated every distinction, and repudiated all regard for justice, they abandoned themselves to every kind of wickedness. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s words.

But our Prophet here points out the gross sins of the Israelites, because he had previously appointed the blind as their judges. Therefore, it was as if he had said: “Though the Egyptians and Idumeans are devoid of light, yet your iniquity is so palpable that they will be able to perceive it. There is indeed no need for any subtle argument, since plundering and pillaging are carried on with such violence, since no moderation or equity is any longer observed, and no shame exists. Instead, people rush headlong with blind impetuosity into every kind of evil, so that even the blind, though without eyes, can know what your state is. Then the Egyptians and Idumeans, when positioned on the neighboring mountains, will perceive your vices.” This is the meaning.

The Prophet here announces the punishment God would inflict on the Israelites. An enemy, he says, and indeed one around you, and so on. Some think צר, tsar, to be a verb in the imperative mood, but this cannot be maintained. But Amos here declares that an enemy was near the Israelites, who would besiege them on every side.

The ungodly always seek escapes, and if they see the smallest hole, they think that they can escape. Strange is the presumption of men with regard to God: when they see themselves hemmed in, they are truly frightened, indeed, they become completely disheartened; yet they seek subterfuges on the right hand and on the left, and never submit to God except when forced.

This is the reason why the Prophet now says that an enemy was near, and indeed around them; as if he said, “You have no reason to think that any way of escape is open to you, for God has hemmed you in on every side. There is therefore a siege that so confines you, that you hope in vain to escape.” An enemy, he says, is indeed around — around the whole land, who will take away from thee thy strength.

Here the Prophet removes from the Israelites their vain confidence, for they could not think of God’s vengeance while looking at their own power. They indeed thought that they had sufficient protection in their own large numbers, riches, and arms, as men are accustomed to set up against God what proceeds from Him, as though creatures could do anything against Him, and as though God could not take away, when He pleases, what He has given. Yet such is the blindness of men.

Hence the Prophet says that all the wealth and all the strength in which the Israelites excelled would be useless, since an enemy, he says, armed by God, shall take from thee thy strength; and thy palaces shall be plundered.

In the next verse he leaves some hope, though this is not explicitly done. For when he says that some would be saved, as when a shepherd snatches from the jaws of a lion the ear of a sheep or two legs, it is not the Prophet’s design to mitigate the severe judgment he had spoken of before. Instead, he shows that if any were saved, it would not be because the people could defend themselves or were able to resist, but it would be like when a trembling shepherd snatches some small portion of the spoil from the lion’s mouth.

We must bear in mind what I have just said about the proud confidence of the people, for the Israelites thought that they were safe enough from danger and therefore despised all threats.

But what does Amos say? “Do not think,” he says, “that there will be any defense for you, for your enemies will be like lions, and you will have no more strength to resist them than sheep do when not only wolves but lions seize them and take them as their prey.” When anything is then saved, it is, as it were, by a miracle; the shepherd may perhaps take a part of the ear or two legs from the lion’s mouth after it is satisfied.

The shepherd dares not contend with the lion; he always runs away from it, but the lion will have its prey and devour it at its pleasure. When it leaves a part of the ear or two legs, the shepherd will then seize them and say, “See, how many sheep have been devoured by lions.” These will be the proofs of his loss.

So now the Prophet says, “The Lord will expose you as prey to your enemies, and their rapacity will be no less dreaded by you than that of a lion. In vain then you think yourselves defended by your forces, for what is a sheep to a lion?

But if any part of you should remain, it will be like an ear or a leg. And still more — as when a lion devours a sheep and leaves nothing after having taken its prey until it is satisfied, so it shall happen to you.”

They are then mistaken who think that the preceding denunciation is here intentionally mitigated. For the Prophet does not do this, but continues the same subject and shows that the whole people would become prey, that their enemies would be like lions, and that they would have no strength to resist.

Some hope, I do admit, is here given to the people; for, as has been seen before, God intended that there should always be some remnant as a seed among that chosen people. This, I admit, is true, but we must still consider what the Prophet is discussing and what he had in view. He then did not expressly intend here to console the Israelites; though incidentally he says that some would remain, his object was to show that the whole kingdom was now given up as prey to lions, and that nothing would be saved except a very small portion, like when a shepherd carries away an ear after the wolves and lions have been satiated.