John Calvin Commentary Amos 8:1-2

"Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said Jehovah unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more." — Amos 8:1-2 (ASV)

By these words, or by this vision, the Prophet confirms what we have already observed: that paternal chastisements would no longer be exercised toward the people of Israel. Indeed, as is well known, God had treated that people in such a way that He always spared them, even in their greatest calamities. God always struck that people with a restrained hand until, after many trials, they finally seemed so stubborn as not to be benefited by such remedies. Amos now pursues this subject then; but a vision was shown to him to confirm God’s judgment more fully, or at least to produce a greater impression on the minds of the people.

God showed him a Basket full of summer-fruit. By summer-fruit, I do not doubt, he means a ripe punishment, as if he said that the people's vices had ripened so that vengeance could no longer be deferred. For an explanation of the vision immediately follows, when he says that the end of the people had come, etc.; and this we have already explained in the third vision. But there is a similarity in the Hebrew words that cannot be expressed in either Greek or Latin. קיץ, kits, means summer-fruit; קץ, kots, signifies an end: only one letter is inserted in the word, summer-fruit, which God showed in a basket; and then He adds that קץ, kots, the end, had come. But as to the main point, we see that there is nothing ambiguous. We will now return to the first point.

Thus God showed me. There is no need to repeat what I have already discussed. The Prophet here states first that he presented nothing without authority, but only faithfully related what had been commanded him from above. And this should be carefully observed, for God always employed His Prophets in such a way that He still fully reserved for Himself the right of teaching and never transferred His own office to men—that is, as to the authority.

Then he says, The Lord Jehovah showed me, and behold, a basket of summer-fruit. We may understand summer-fruit to mean cherries and those fruits that lack the solid vigor to last long; but this is too subtle. I take the simple meaning: that punishment had now become ripe. For the people had not repented, though they had been so often warned; it was then as if it were summer. He showed me a basket of summer-fruit.

But as to God asking His Prophet what he saw, we have already explained why it was done: it was necessary for the Prophet to be filled with astonishment at first, so that the people might be made more attentive. For when we hear of a conference between God and the Prophet, our minds are awakened, since it must immediately occur to us that there is something worthy of being remembered. God then rouses the minds of His people in this manner. So we see there is nothing superfluous in this repetition.

Now follows the explanation of the vision: Jehovah said to me, Come has the end on my people Israel. We perceive, then, the Prophet's meaning to be that the people had previously been warned by moderate punishments; but that as they had become hardened, extreme vengeance was near at hand, when God would no longer act as a father or a physician, but would utterly destroy those whom He had long endured.

We indeed know that most severe calamities had happened to the people of Israel, even before this time; but whenever God showed forbearance, He always allured them to true penitence. So that they would not, then, promise themselves such treatment in the future, and by self-flattery prolong matters, as hypocrites are accustomed to do, the Prophet declares here expressly that the end had come; as if he said, “Your iniquity is ripe: now then gather the fruit, for you cannot proceed further, no, not even for one day. Fruit will indeed come to you of itself.”

The end then is come, and I will no more add to pass by them. To pass by, as we have already explained, refers to punishment. For why does God chastise His people, except that He is concerned for their salvation? He says, then, that He would make an end, that He would not spend labor any longer in correcting the people, for He saw that nothing had any effect. Hence, I will not pass by them; that is, I will execute My extreme vengeance: Il n’y faudra plus retourner, as we commonly say.