John Calvin Commentary Amos 4:10

"I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have carried away your horses; and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Jehovah." — Amos 4:10 (ASV)

God now expostulates with the people because their perversity had not been overcome even by additional punishments, for He had in vain exhorted and urged them to repentance. He says that they had been smitten with pestilence. Until now, the Prophet has spoken only of the barrenness of the land and of the fruit being destroyed by blights; he has until now mentioned only lack with its causes; this only has been stated. But now he adds that the people had been afflicted with pestilence and also with war, and that they had still persevered in their wickedness. The Prophet now complains and deplores that whatever measures God had adopted to correct the people's vices, they all had been tried in vain. So many reproaches are mentioned so that God might show that there was no longer any hope of pardon, since they thus continued to be unmanageable and perverse.

He then says that He had sent pestilence according to the manner of Egypt. דרך (darec) means a way, but is taken for mode or manner, as in Isaiah chapter 10: “I will smite him according to the manner of Egypt,” says God, speaking of Sennacherib, as though He said, “You know how formerly I restrained the fury of Pharaoh; I will now use the same means, that I may drive far from you your enemy Sennacherib.”

But the Prophet says here that God had exercised towards the Israelites the same extreme severity which He had used towards the Egyptians. It is as though He said, “I have been forced by your obstinacy to turn My power against you. You know how Egypt was formerly struck by Me out of kindness toward your ancestors; I then showed how dear your preservation was to Me by putting forth My strength to destroy the Egyptians.”

“How is it that I now turn My weapons against you for your destruction? I have indeed always been ready to oppose your enemies and kindly to cherish you in My paternal bosom. Since then you have become to Me like the Egyptians, how is this, and from where does this change come, except that you have compelled Me by your incorrigible wickedness?”

We now then see why the Prophet speaks here expressly of the Egyptians. He implies that God could not show favor to the Israelites, which He would have continued to show, had they not closed the door against it. It is as though he said, “I had chosen you from other nations; but now I chastise you, not as I do the uncircumcised Gentiles, but I avowedly carry on war with you, as though you were Egyptians.” We see how much it serves for amplification when Amos compares the Israelites to the Egyptians, as though he had said that they, by their perverse wickedness, had extinguished all God’s favor, so that the memory of their adoption by grace was no longer of any use to them. I have therefore sent among you pestilence after the manner of Egypt.

And he adds, I slew with the sword your strong men. It was a different kind of punishment: all the strong men had been slain, their horses had been led into captivity, and finally, the stench of dead bodies had risen to suffocate them. These were certainly unusual tokens of God’s wrath. Since the people had not repented, it became quite evident once more that their spiritual diseases were incurable, for God had achieved nothing by applying so many remedies. These different kinds of punishments ought to be carefully noticed, because the Lord has collected them together as so many arguments to prove the rebelliousness of the people.

By saying that the foetor of camps had ascended to their nostrils, it was the same as if he had said, “There has been no need of external force; though no enemy was hostile to you, you were still suffocated by your own stench, for this came up from your own camps into your nostrils and deprived you of life.”

Since God then had brought about this internal corruption, should you not have finally been seriously affected and returned to a sound mind? Since, then, no fruit followed, who does not see that you have been chastised in vain, and that what alone remains for you is complete destruction?

Since God has until now urged you in vain with punishments, if He were to proceed, He would lose all His effort. Since God has until now to no purpose visited you with His afflictions, there is no reason why He should chastise you more moderately: you must now then be utterly destroyed. This is the meaning. He further adds: