John Calvin Commentary Amos 6:2

"Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?" — Amos 6:2 (ASV)

By this representation Amos shows that there was no excuse for the Jews or the Israelites for sleeping in their sins, since they could see, as it were in a mirror, the judgments which God brought on heathen nations. It is a unique favor when God teaches us at the expense of others, for He could justly punish us as soon as we transgress. But He does not do this; on the contrary, He spares us and at the same time sets others before us as examples.

This is, as we have said, a unique favor, and this is the mode of teaching which our Prophet now adopts. He says that Calneh, Hamath, and Gath were remarkable evidences of God’s wrath, by which the Israelites might learn that they had no reason to rest on their wealth, to rely on their fortresses, and to think themselves free from all dangers. For as God had destroyed these cities, which seemed impregnable, so He could also cut off Jerusalem and Samaria whenever He pleased. This is the real meaning of the Prophet.

Some read the sentence negatively: “Are not these places better than your kingdoms?” But this is not consistent with the Prophet’s words. Others do not consider the Prophet’s purpose, for they think that the blessings of God are here compared, as if he said, “God deals more generously with you than with the Chaldeans, the Assyrians, and the neighboring nations.” For Calneh was situated in the plain of Babylon, as is evident from Genesis 10:10; and Hamath was also a celebrated city, mentioned in that chapter and in many other places; and Gath was a renowned city of the Philistines.

In this opinion, therefore, interpreters mostly agree: that is, that God’s bounty to the Jews and Israelites is presented here, since He had favored them with a rich and fertile country and preferred them to other nations. But this view does not seem to me to be the correct one, for when a comparison is made between Calneh and Jerusalem, Babylon was no doubt the more fruitful and the more pleasant country, as we learn from all histories.

The Prophet then does not speak here of the ancient condition of these places but shows, as I have already said, that it was of no avail to these cities that they were wealthy and fortified by all kinds of defenses, for God, at last, executed vengeance on them. Hence the Prophet declares that the same was now near the Jews and the Israelites.

“What will hinder the hand of God,” he says, “from delivering you to destruction? For if men could have stopped God’s wrath by any fortresses, certainly Calneh, Hamath, and Gath would have resisted by their forces. But the Lord nevertheless executed His vengeance on these cities, though fortified; your confidence then is nothing but infatuation, which deceives you.” Jeremiah uses similar language when he says, ‘Go to Shiloh,’ (Jeremiah 7:12). He certainly does not remind the Jews that the Lord had more splendidly adorned them than Shiloh, but he had something quite different in mind.

Shiloh had indeed been eminent, for it had long provided a dwelling for the ark of the covenant; the sanctuary of God had been there. But at that time the place was deserted, and Jeremiah presents to the people its sad desolation, that they might know that they should dread the same event unless they repented. For if they hardened their necks, nothing could prevent God from dealing with them as He had previously dealt with the inhabitants of Shiloh.

So now we perceive the Prophet's meaning when he says, Go and pass into Calneh, and see. In telling them to see, he no doubt refers to the dreadful change that had taken place there. For Calneh had been a strongly fortified city and possessed supreme power, and the neighboring country was also no less pleasant than fruitful; but it was now a solitary place, for Babylon, as is well known, had swallowed up Calneh. Since the place presented such a spectacle, the Prophet rightly says, Pass over into Calneh, and see; that is, consider, as in a mirror, what men can gain by their pride and haughtiness when they harden themselves against God, for this was the cause of destruction to that celebrated city.

From there, he says, go to Hamath, רבה, rebe, the great; which was a well-known city of Assyria. And see there, “How has it happened that a city so famous was entirely overthrown, unless it was because the Lord could not endure such great perverseness? As they had abused His patience, He finally executed His vengeance. The same thing also happened to your neighbors.” For the Jews and the Israelites were not far from Gath. So now, since there were so many evidences of God’s wrath before their eyes, the Prophet justly inveighs here against their thoughtlessness, because they did not fear God’s judgment, which was near at hand.

Are they then better? That is, is the condition of these cities better than that of the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel? And then, Is their border larger than your border? They have indeed been reduced to such straits that they even pay tribute for their houses, whereas previously they occupied a wide extent of country and ruled, as it were, with extended wings, far and wide. But God has taken away those territories, for all these cities have become tributaries. See, he says, Is their border larger than your border?