John Calvin Commentary Amos 5

Some render the verse this way: “Hear ye this word, because upon you, or for you, I raise a lamentation.” However, we will later speak in more detail about the proper rendering. Let us see what the subject is. The Prophet here denounces upon the Israelites the punishment they had deserved, and yet they did not think that it was near. They ferociously despised, I have no doubt, the denunciation itself, because no event had yet taken place that might have indicated such a destruction. Therefore, the Prophet and his threatenings were both despised.

However, he threatens them here in severe terms with the judgment of God, which they did not fear. This is the reason why he says, Hear ye. Indeed, it was not without reason that he began this way and intimated that they greatly flattered themselves, and even stopped their ears against wholesome counsel; the admonition would have been otherwise unnecessary. The Prophet then indirectly reproves that complacent indifference in which the Israelites indulged themselves.

But with regard to the words, some, as I mentioned before, refer this lamentation to Amos himself, as if he had said that he lamented the state of the people, finding that they were so stupid and did not perceive how dreadful the wrath of God is. Since, then, they thus flattered themselves in their sins, those interpreters think that the Prophet here assumes the character of a mourner for that irreclaimable people. Hear, he says, this word, that is, because I lament over you. For the more rebellious the people were, the more touched with grief the Prophet no doubt was, for he saw how horrible the judgment of God was, which was near them, on account of their stubbornness. No wonder then that the Prophet says here, that he undertook or raised a lamentation for the people; and this way of speaking is common in Scripture.

However, I am more inclined to think that another sense is more suitable to this place, which becomes evident by inserting an explanatory particle: Hear then this word which I raise upon you, even a lamentation, etc. The word משא (mesha), rendered “burden,” is derived from the verb נשא (nusha), which means “to raise up”; and there is a striking allusion to the subject discussed here. For the Prophet does not here simply teach the people, nor comfort them, nor does he only warn them, but he denounces upon them the final punishment. From this we see the import of the expression, “to raise up a word”; it was as if he said, “I lay upon you this prophecy,” for a burden is laid on the shoulders of men when God’s wrath is denounced.

It afterwards follows, Even a lamentation, O house of Israel; which means, “I raise upon you a word, which will constrain you to mourn and lament: though now you are so rebellious against God, that you spurn all warnings, and reject all threatening; yet this word shall finally prove mournful to you.” This seems to be the true meaning of the Prophet: firstly, he reproves the stupidity of the people of Israel, by demanding a hearing; then he reproves their contempt of God in despising all threatenings; and he also shows that this prophecy would prove mournful to them for having so long trifled with God, “The lament of the house of Israel shall be this word, which I now raise up upon you.”

This was essentially the vengeance that was now near the Israelites, though they rested securely and even scorned all the threats of God. The virgin of Israel, he says, has fallen. Commentators have explained the word virgin too subtly, for they think that the people of Israel are called a virgin here because God had espoused them to himself, and that though they should have observed spiritual chastity towards God, they yet abandoned themselves to all kinds of pollutions. But a virgin, we know, is a title usually given by the Prophets to this or that people on account of their delicate living. For Babylon, no less than Samaria or the people of Israel, is called a virgin. Certainly, this subtle interpretation cannot be applied to Babylon, to Egypt, to Tyre, and to other places.

I have therefore no doubt that the Prophet here arraigns the Israelites because, relying on their strength, they indulged themselves. They were secure in their own retreats, and when all kinds of blessings abounded, they lived delicately and lavishly. Since they were indulging themselves in such pleasures, he calls them a virgin. The virgin of Israel then has fallen, and shall no more rise again.

A condition may be included here, as an exhortation to repentance immediately follows. We may then appropriately regard this as implying, “unless they repent in time;” otherwise, the Israelites must have fallen without hope of restoration.

But we may also refer this to the body of the people. Fallen then had the virgin of Israel, yet not so that they were all destroyed, as we shall see later, for the Prophet says that a tenth part would remain. But this is rightly said of the people generally, for we know that the kingdom had so fallen that it never afterwards rose.

A remnant of the tribe of Judah did indeed return to Jerusalem, but the Israelites are to this day dispersed throughout various parts of the world; indeed, they are hidden either in the mountains of Armenia or in other regions of the East. Since then what the Prophet here denounces has been truly fulfilled for the whole kingdom, we may understand the passage without supposing anything implied: Fallen has the virgin of Israel.

For the fact that God showed mercy, so that some remained when the people as a body were destroyed, does not contradict the prophecy that the whole body had fallen. Fallen then has the virgin of Israel, nor will she any more rise again; that is, the kingdom will not be restored through recovery, and this, we know, has never taken place.

Forsaken is she, he says, on her own land, and there is none to raise her up. This means that she will continue fallen; though she may remain in her own place, she will not yet recover what she had lost. We now understand the Prophet’s meaning. We also see that those people had fallen so completely as never to rise again into a kingdom, as has been stated.

The Prophet now expresses more clearly what he had previously said: that the kingdom would perish, yet in such a way that the Lord would preserve some remnants. So, regarding the main body of the people, Israel had fallen; but concerning a few remnants, they were saved. However, they were a small number, as the Prophet mentions. Therefore, we see that some hope of mercy was given to God’s chosen people, while at the same time destruction was proclaimed against the whole nation. We have already seen that their wickedness was beyond hope; it was therefore necessary to announce to them the sentence of final destruction. But this was done in such a way as not to drive to despair the faithful few who remained hidden among the multitude.

The city, then, from which a thousand went forth, will have a hundred remaining; and the city from which a hundred went forth, will have ten. Armies were formerly accustomed to be decimated when any rebellion occurred, but God here threatens the Israelites with a much heavier judgment: that only a tenth part would be saved from ruin. We now perceive the Prophet's design.

Now, this could not alleviate the grief of the people; instead, the hypocrites were more exasperated upon hearing that few would be saved and that all hope of deliverance was cut off from them. Therefore, when they saw that God dealt with them with such severity, envy increased their grief and further embittered their minds; and this was what the Prophet intended.

For it was useless to offer any comfort to those who despised God. But since God knew that some seed remained among the people, He intended to provide for the afflicted, who would have been overwhelmed by grief many times over if no relief had been offered them. The Prophet then directs his message to the few, when he says, “In the city from which a thousand had gone forth there will be a hundred; and in that from which a hundred went forth, ten will remain alive.”

Amos here again exhorts the Israelites to repentance. This address was common to all, though the greater part, as we have said, were altogether past recovery. However, it was necessary, as long as they continued a chosen people, to call them to repentance, for they had not yet been cast off.

We further know that the Prophets preached to invite some to God and to render others inexcusable. Regarding the purpose of public teaching, it is that all should be called collectively. But God’s purpose is different, for He intends, according to His own secret counsel, to draw the elect to Himself, and He designs to take away all excuse from the reprobate, so that their obstinacy may become more and more apparent.

We must further bear in mind that while the people of Israel continued, the doctrine of repentance and faith was preserved among them. The reason was the one I have alluded to: because they still remained in the fold of God. It is no wonder then that the Prophet again gives the Israelites the hope of pardon, provided they repented.

Thus saith Jehovah to the house of Israel, Seek me, and ye shall live. This sentence has two clauses. In saying, Seek me, the Prophet exhorts the Israelites to return to a sane mind, and then he offers them the mercy of God, if only they sought from the heart to reconcile themselves to Him.

We have said elsewhere that people cannot be led to repentance unless they believe that God will be favorable to them; for all who think Him to be implacable always flee from Him and dread the mention of His name. Hence, if anyone were to proclaim repentance throughout his whole life, he could achieve nothing unless he were to connect with this the doctrine of faith—that is, unless he were to show that God is ready to give pardon, if people only repent from the heart.

These two parts, then, which ought not to be separated, the Prophet here connects very wisely and for the best reason when he says, Seek me, and ye shall live. This intimates that the gate of mercy was still open, provided the Israelites did not persevere in their obstinacy. But, at the same time, he charges them with this: that they willfully perished through their own fault. For he shows that the only hindrance to their being saved lay within themselves, because God was not only ready to receive them into favor but also proactively exhorted them and of His own free will sought reconciliation.

Why then did the Israelites despise the salvation offered to them? This was the madness with which he now charges them, for they preferred ruin to salvation, because they did not return to God when He so kindly invited them, Seek me, and ye shall live. The same thing is stated in another place, where it is said that God seeketh not the death of a sinner (Ezekiel 18:32).

But as we have already said, the Prophets spoke thus in common to all the people, but their doctrine was not efficacious for all; for the Lord inwardly attracted His elect, and others were rendered inexcusable. Still, this is true: the whole blame for their perishing lay with the children of Israel, for they refused the salvation offered to them. What indeed was the cause of their destruction but their own obstinacy? And the root of the evil, was it not in their own hearts? Therefore, none of them could evade the charge made against them by the Prophet: that they were the authors of their own ruin, for each of them must have been conscious of his own perverseness.

But Amos afterwards defines the character of true repentance when he says, Seek not Bethel, go not to Gilgal, pass not over to Beersheba. Some think that the Prophet here repudiates all the disguises that hypocrites usually adopt. We indeed know that when God calls such people to Himself, they seek indirect and devious paths, for none of them return sincerely and willingly to God.

People indeed see that they are justly reproved for having departed from God. But when they are called back to Him, they take a circuitous path, as I have said, and not the straight road. Thus, though they pretend to seek God, they seek subterfuges so that they may not present themselves to Him.

All this is no doubt true, but the Prophet goes further. He shows here that the Israelites, by going to Bethel, not only lost all their labor but also grievously offended God, for superstition was in itself condemnable.

If Amos had preached at Jerusalem, he might have said, “Go not into the temple, for in vain ye offer sacrifices;” as indeed he does say later, “Come not with your flock.” For he there shows that God is not to be pacified by ceremonies. Indeed, in that very chapter, he rejects feast-days and sacrifices.

But in this place, he ascends higher and says that these two things are wholly contrary: to seek God and to seek Bethel. It is as though he said, “If ye from the heart return to me, renounce all the superstitions to which you have been until now attached.”

It is indeed a proof of true conversion when the sinner is displeased with himself on account of his sins, hates the things which before pleased him, and with a changed mind devotes himself wholly to God.

This is what the Prophet now discusses. It is as though he said, “If there is in you a purpose to return to God, cast away all your superstitions; for these two things—true religion and idolatry—cannot be joined together. As long then as ye remain fixed in that false worship to which you have accustomed yourselves, ye continue alienated from God. Then reconciliation with Him demands that you bid adieu to all your corrupt forms of worship.”

The import of the whole then is this: that the Israelites could not be reconciled to God unless they departed from their superstitions. Let them turn away, he says, from Bethel, and Gilgal, and Beersheba.

We indeed know that the calves were made at Bethel. Gilgal, no doubt, became celebrated for the passing of the people over the Jordan, and also, as is well known, for the circumcising of the children of Abraham. As to Beersheba, we know that Abraham dwelt there for a long time and frequently offered sacrifices to God.

Now, this vicious zeal (κακοζηλία—evil zeal or affectation) always prevails in the world. Without reason or judgment, it seizes upon something special when it undertakes to set up the worship of God, as we see to be the case under the Papacy. But God has prescribed to us a certain rule according to which He is to be worshipped; therefore, it is not His will that there should be a mixture of our inventions.

When, therefore, the posterity of Abraham presumptuously availed themselves of his example, and when they extolled the memorable event of the circumcision, God repudiated all contrivances of this kind. For as was well known, it was expressly His will to be worshipped at Jerusalem; and by appointing one tabernacle and one altar, He designed to cherish unity and concord among the people.

We now understand then that it was the intention of Amos to show that the conversion of the people would be fictitious until they turned away from all the superstitions and vicious modes of worship in which they had habituated themselves. Hence, Seek not Bethel, come not to Gilgal, pass not over to Beersheba.

The same thing may be said today to those who wish to blend the dregs of the Papacy with the pure and holy worship of God. For there are today many go-betweens (mediatores) who, while they see that our doctrine cannot be disapproved of, yet wish to contrive some middle course; that is, they wish to reconcile Popery with the doctrine of the Gospel. But the Prophet shows that such a mixture cannot be endured by God. How so? Because light cannot agree with darkness. Hence, corruptions, unless they are abolished, will always subvert the true worship of God. We now see that the lesson conveyed by this doctrine is that the pure worship of God cannot be restored while the corruptions of the world, which are contrary to His word, prevail.

Come not then to Gilgal, for by migrating it shall migrate. There is an alliteration in the words of the Prophet, “Gilgal by rolling shall be rolled,” for Gilgal means rolling. If such wording were allowable, it would be this, “Gilgal by gilling shall be gilled;” that is, it shall be rolled with quick rolling. God intimates that this place, under the protection of which the Israelites thought themselves safe, would be destroyed, as it had already been destined for destruction. Gilgal then by migrating shall migrate; not that the place could remove, but that it would be wholly demolished, so that nothing should remain there but dreadful signs of God’s vengeance.

He then adds, Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live. This repetition is not superfluous. The Prophet confirms what I have already stated: that such was the opposition between the true and legitimate worship of God, and idolatry and superstition, that the people of Israel, as long as they retained their corruptions, proved that they had nothing to do with God, whatever they might have pretended with their mouths and by their ceremonies.

Seek God, he says, and ye shall live. This repetition was very useful so that hypocrites might know that they were justly condemned, since they did not consecrate themselves wholly to God; for they were always ready to contend with God whenever they could. “Why does God deal so strictly with us? Why does He not concede at least something to us? For we do not deny Him everything. But if we do what we think to be right, why does He not indulge us at least on this account?”

But when God not only urges hypocrites by His doctrine but also visits them with punishments, then they become angry and even raise a clamor. Hence the Prophet, the second time, calls them to this duty, Seek Jehovah, and ye shall live. It is as though he said, “Ye will gain nothing by evasion; for if any one seeks God truly and from the heart, God will not disappoint him. He will receive him into favor and will bless him. That ye then pine away in your calamities, impute this to your own obstinacy and stubbornness: it is so, because ye do not truly seek God; for while ye retain your corruptions, as I have said before, ye do not seek Him.”

But he adds, Lest he pass on like a fire. צלח, tselach, means to pass on, to advance; it also means to break out, and sometimes to prosper; but, in this place, the Prophet no doubt meant what I have said. Thus it is, Lest he advance like fire upon the house of Joseph and consume it, and there be none to extinguish it in Bethel. The kind of vengeance that God threatened is not expressed here, but it may be easily understood.

There is, therefore, no obscurity in the meaning; for he declares that if the Israelites hardened their hearts against God, a burning was near at hand, which would seize them, devour, and consume them. A fire shall then come—or, as he puts it, shall advance—upon the house of Joseph; some say it shall burst out, which amounts to the same thing.

The house of Joseph means Ephraim, for he was, we know, the second son of Joseph. By taking a part for the whole, the Prophets usually include the ten tribes, as is well known, when they mention Ephraim; and the kingdom of Israel is sometimes called the house of Joseph.

Lest then he ascend as fire into the house of Joseph, and consume it, and there be none to extinguish it: this was said because the Israelites never thought that they would be consumed by such a sudden burning. The fire then shall devour the house of Joseph, and there will be none to quench it.

In the verse before, I omitted one thing, which I will now address. The Prophet said that Bethel would be for a trouble, or be nothing. Bethel, we know, is called in another place Bethaven, the house of iniquity; and Aven in Hebrew sometimes means iniquity, sometimes grief or trouble, sometimes labor or difficulty, and sometimes nothing.

It is not to be taken for iniquity in this place; this is certain. But Amos, on the contrary, speaks of the punishment that awaited that place, since it was abominable in the sight of God. As he had said of Gilgal, that it would be rolled, so now he says of Bethel, that it would be for a trouble or grief, or be nothing. Either meaning would be appropriate: that Bethel, from which the Israelites hoped for a remedy to all their evils, would be a trouble to them (that is, the cause of their ruin), or that it would be nothing, as though he had said that their hopes of expecting any relief from Bethel would be fallacious and empty.

Here the Prophet, after having spoken strongly against superstitions, comes to the second table of the law. The Prophets are sometimes accustomed to shake off self-satisfaction from hypocrites, when they spread their external veils before God, by saying that all their ceremonies are useless unless accompanied by integrity of heart. But in this place, the Prophet expressly condemns two things in the Israelites: first, that they had corrupted the true worship of God, departed from the doctrine of the law, and polluted themselves with ungodly superstitions; and second, he also reproves them for their wicked and dishonest conduct towards men—for their disregard of what was right and equitable, for plunder, cruelty, and fraud. This second subject the Prophet addresses when he says, that they converted judgment into wormwood and allowed righteousness to fall on the ground. But the rest I must defer until tomorrow.

Grant, Almighty God, that as you see us to be so entangled, not only by depraved desires, but also by the allurements of Satan, and by our own ignorance and blindness—O grant, that being roused by your word we may at the same time learn to open our eyes to your wholesome warnings by which you call us to yourself. And since we cannot do this without your Spirit being our guide and leader, grant that he may enlighten our eyes, so that, being truly and from the heart turned to you, we may know that you are gracious and ready to hear all who sincerely seek you. And, being reconciled to you in Christ, may we also know that you are to us a gracious Father, and that you will bestow on us all kinds of blessings, until you at length gather us to your celestial kingdom, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

You who convert judgment into wormwood, and leave righteousness on the ground. We stated yesterday why the Prophet added this sentence: he wished in every way to prove the Israelites guilty. Having spoken strongly against their superstitions, he now adds that they also acted falsely and unjustly towards men. And he attacks the leaders who ruled the people, not because they alone were blameworthy, but because they drew the whole community with them.

We know that diseases descend from the head to the whole body, and this is the reason why the Prophet directs his address especially to the rulers. He says that they turned judgment to wormwood. This comparison often occurs. Nothing, we know, is sweeter than justice, when everyone gains his own right, for this greatly serves to preserve peace.

Hence, nothing can be more gratifying to us than when uprightness and equity prevail. This is the reason why the Prophet calls that unjust state of things bitterness, when no regard is paid to justice and rectitude. He also says that righteousness was cast down on the ground, or thrown to the ground. Now, the judges ought to have defended what was right among the people, for this, we know, is the duty assigned to them. And the Prophet now charges them with this: that they left justice on the ground—that they allowed it to lie prostrate. We now perceive the Prophet’s design.