John Calvin Commentary Amos 9

The Prophet confirms the threat which we have already explained, for he says that the people would soon be removed, as there was now no hope of repentance. But it must first be observed that he does not speak here of the profane temples which Jeroboam the first had built in Dan and in Bethel, but of the true and lawful temple. It would not have been fitting for this vision to have been given to the Prophet in one of those profane temples, from which, we know, God was far away. Had God appeared in Dan or Bethel, it would have been an indirect approval of superstition.

Therefore, those who think that the vision was given to the Prophet in any other place than on Mount Zion, as we have shown in other places, are mistaken. For the Prophets do not say that God had spoken either in Dan or in Bethel, nor had any oracle been announced from these places; for God intended in every way to show that He had nothing to do with those profane rites and abominations. It is therefore certain that God appeared to His Prophet on Mount Zion, and on the lawful altar.

Let us now see the purpose of the vision. Most interpreters think that the destruction of the kingdom and of the priesthood is predicted here, at the time when Zedekiah was taken and ignominiously led into exile, when his children were killed, and when afterwards the temple was razed and the city demolished.

But this prediction, I do not doubt, should be extended much further, even to the many calamities which immediately followed, by which eventually the whole people were destroyed. I therefore do not confine what is said here to the demolition of the city and of the temple.

But the meaning of the Prophet is the same as if he had said that the Israelites, as well as the Jews, boasted in vain of their descent and of other privileges with which they had been honored, for the Lord had resolved to destroy them, and also the temple, which they employed as a cloak to cover their iniquities. We now therefore understand the meaning of the Prophet.

But this also must be noted: if the Lord did not spare His own temple, which He had commanded to be built and in which He had chosen a dwelling place for Himself, those profane temples, which He had always despised, could not possibly escape destruction. We now see the purpose of this prophecy, which is the last, with the exception of the promise that is given, of which we shall speak in its proper place.

He says then that he saw God standing on the altar. The Prophet might have heard what follows without a vision; but God then, we know, was accustomed to sanction His predictions by visions, as we find in Numbers 12. God, therefore, not only intended to entrust to His Prophet what he was to proclaim, but also to add authority to his doctrine; and the vision was, as it were, the seal, which the Israelites as well as the Jews knew to be a proof that what the Prophet declared by his mouth proceeded from heaven.

It now follows, Smite the lintel. כפתור, caphtur, is, I think, the cover which is on top of the posts of the temple; for the Hebrews call כפתורים, caphturim, apples. Since they painted pomegranates and flowers there, the Hebrew scholars think that the part which is above the two posts of the temple is called כפתור, caphtur.

But that part of the entrance might have taken its name from its round form. However this may be, they called the highest part of the porch of the temple כפתור, caphtur. Now the posts sustained what they commonly called the lintel. God then says, Strike the lintel, and let the posts be moved, or let them shake, let the whole gate of the temple shake.

Then he adds, And strike and break all on the head, or on the head of all. Interpreters read this verb differently. Correctly, according to the rules of grammar, it should be read in the third person, and it will dash to the ground. Some, however, render it thus, “and dash to the ground,” or break, because he had said before, Smite.

As to the meaning, it does not matter much, for an explanation immediately follows. Now as to what he says, “on the head,” and as to the word אחריתם, achritam, which follows, some understand by “the head” the priests and the rulers of the people, a view I am inclined to embrace. But when they explain אחרית, achrit, to mean posterity or children, it does not seem to suit this place; for it should rather, I think, be referred to the common people.

Since the Prophet had spoken of the head, he now adds the people in general. The Hebrews call whatever follows or comes after by אחרית, achrit. They indeed understand posterity by it, but it is a word that has a variety of meanings, for it is taken for end, for a footstep, in short, for anything that comes after.

It is easy now to understand the meaning of the Prophet: A vision was shown to him which revealed that it was decreed by God Himself to smite both the chiefs and the common people. And since God begins with His temple, how can profane men, who had deserted the true and pure worship of God, hope for pardon? They were all apostates; how then could they have hoped that God would be merciful to them, inasmuch as He had broken down His own temple?

He now adds, I will slay with the sword, etc. We see therefore that this vision is to be referred to the stroke which was soon to be inflicted. I will slay then with the sword whatever follows, that is, the common people.

He afterwards says, Flee away from them shall not he who fleeth, nor shall he escape from them who escapeth; that is, though they may think that flight is possible, their expectation will deceive them, for I shall catch them.

Had the Prophet said that there would be no means for them to flee away, he would not have spoken with so much severity. But when he says that when they fled, He would catch them, and that when they thought they had escaped, there would be no safety for them, he says what is much more grievous.

In short, he cuts off all hope from the Israelites, that they might understand that they were certain to perish, because God had until now tried in vain to restore them to the right way. Therefore, inasmuch as they had been wholly incurable, they now hear that no hope remained for them.

And since the Prophet denounces such a dreadful destruction of an elect people, and since the vision was shown to him in the temple, there is no reason for us to trust in our outward profession and to wait until God’s judgments come, as we see many doing in our day, who are wholly careless because they think that no evil can happen to them, inasmuch as they bear the name of God.

But the Prophet here shows that God sits in His temple, not only to protect those whom He has adopted as His people and peculiar possession, but also to vindicate His own honor, because the Israelites had corrupted His worship, and the Jews also had departed from true religion.

Since, then, impiety prevailed everywhere, he now shows that God sits there as the punisher of sins, so that His people may know that they are not to tolerate those evils which for a time He does not punish; this forbearance is not as though He had forgotten His office, or as though He intends His favor to be the cover for their iniquity, but because He intends by degrees to draw to repentance those who are healable, and at the same time to take away every excuse from the reprobate. Let us proceed—

Here the Prophet denounces horrible punishments, but not without reason, for there was astonishing lethargy in that people, as there usually is in all hypocrites when they have any shadow of excuse. They were then the only elect people in the whole world. When, therefore, they thought that they excelled others and that they were endowed with singular privileges beyond all other nations, this glory intoxicated them, and they imagined that God was in a way bound to them, as we have seen in other places. This, then, was the reason why the Prophet in so many ways elaborated on the judgment of God on hypocrites: it was so that they might be terrified by the vehemence and severity of his words.

Hence he says, If they dig for themselves passages to hell, that is, to the center of the earth, for שאול, shaul, is here used for the center; from there my hand shall draw them out; and then, If they ascend to heaven, from there I will draw them down, says the Lord. If they hide themselves in deserts, if they flee to the top of Carmel, I will trace them out. In short, they shall find no corner either in heaven, or on the earth, or in the sea, where they can be hidden from my sight.

There is no need here to understand “heavens” as high citadels, as the Chaldean paraphraser explains it; it is a cold paraphrase. But the Prophet speaks in hyperbolic language of the center of the earth, of the heavens, and of the deep of the sea, as if he had said, “Should all the elements open themselves for hiding places, yet the Israelites shall in vain try to escape, for I will follow them when sunk in the depth of the sea; I will draw them down from heaven itself. There shall, in a word, be no hiding place for them either above or below.”

We now understand the Prophet’s meaning, and a useful warning may be gathered from this: when God threatens us, we in vain seek evasions, as his hand extends itself to the lowest deep as well as to heaven, as it is said in Psalm 139:7-9:

Where shall I flee from your presence, O Lord?
If I ascend into heaven, you are there;
if I descend to the grave, you are present;
if I take the wings of the dawn, (or, of the morning star,)
and dwell in the extremities of the sea,
there also shall your hand lead me.

The Prophet does not speak in that psalm, as some have very absurdly philosophized, of the unlimited essence of God, but he rather shows that we are always in his sight. So then we ought to feel assured that we cannot escape whenever God designs to scrutinize our sins and to summon us to his tribunal.

But we must at the same time remember that the Prophet has not employed an unnecessary heap of words; there is not one syllable here that is not important, though at first glance it seems otherwise. But the Holy Spirit, as I have already reminded you, knowing our carelessness, here shakes off all our self-flatteries.

There is in us, we know, an innate lethargy by nature, so that we despise all threats, or at least we are not properly moved by them. As the Lord sees us to be so careless, he rouses us with his goads.

Whenever, then, Scripture denounces punishment on us, let us at the same time learn to join with it what the Prophet here relates: “You have to do with God. What can you achieve now by evasions? Though you climb to heaven, the Lord can draw you down; though you descend to the abyss, God’s hand will from there draw you out; if you seek a hiding place in the lowest depths, he will from there also bring you out to the light; and if you hide yourself in the deep sea, he will there find you out. In a word, wherever you take yourself, you cannot withdraw yourself from the presence and from the hand of God.”

From this we see the design of all these expressions: that we may not think of God as being like ourselves, but that we may know that his power extends to all hiding places.

But these words ought to be subjects for meditation, though it is sufficient for our purpose to summarize in a few words what the Prophet had in view. But as we are so entangled in our vain confidences, the Prophet, as I have said, has not used so many words in vain.

Now as to what he says, I will command the serpent to bite them, some understand by נחש, nuchesh, not a serpent on land, but the whale, or some other marine animal, such as the leviathan, which is mentioned in Scripture. And we may learn from other parts of Scripture that “nachash” means not only a serpent, but also a whale or some animal living in the sea. In a word, God intimates that he would be armed everywhere whenever he resolves to punish his adversaries, and that in all elements means are ready by which he can destroy the wicked who seek to escape from his hand.

Now when he says, If they go into captivity among their enemies, I will there command the sword to slay them, some interpreters confine this part to that foolish flight when a certain number of the people sought to provide for their safety by going down into Egypt. Johanan followed them, and a few escaped (Jeremiah 43:2), but according to what Jeremiah had foretold when he said, Bend your necks to the king of Babylon, and the Lord will bless you; whoever will flee to Egypt shall perish. So it happened; they found this to be really true, though they had always refused to believe the prediction.

Jeremiah was drawn there against his own will; he had, however, pronounced a curse on all who thought that it would be an asylum to them. But the Lord permitted him to be drawn there, so that he might to his last breath pronounce the Woe which they had before heard from his mouth. But I hardly dare to restrict these expressions of the Prophet in this way; I therefore explain them generally, as meaning that exile, which is commonly said to be a civil death, would not be the end of evils for the Israelites and for the Jews. For even when they surrendered themselves to their enemies and suffered themselves to be led and drawn away wherever their enemies pleased, they could not even in this way preserve their life, because the Lord would command the sword to pursue them even when exiles. This, in my view, is the real meaning of the Prophet.

He at last adds, I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good. There is a contrast to be understood in this clause, for the Lord had promised to be a guardian to his people, according to what is said in Psalm 121:4:

Behold, he who guards Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers.

As hypocrites always lay hold of the promises of God without repentance and faith, without any religious feeling, and afterwards turn them to support their vain boasting, the Prophet therefore says here that the eye of God would be upon them. This would not be in his customary manner to protect them, as he had done from the beginning, but, on the contrary, to accumulate punishment on punishment.

It was as if he said, “As I have until now watched over the safety of this people, whom I have chosen for myself, so from now on I will most diligently watch, that I may omit no kind of punishment, until they are utterly destroyed.”

And this sentence deserves to be specially noted, for we are reminded that though the Lord does not indeed spare unbelievers, yet he observes us more closely. He will punish us more severely if he sees us to be obstinate and incurable to the very end.

Why so? Because we have come nearer to him, and he looks on us as his family, placed under his eyes—not that anything is hidden or concealed from him, but Scripture speaks in human terms.

While God, then, favors his people with a gracious look, he yet cannot endure hypocrites, for he minutely observes their vices so that he may punish them the more severely. This, then, is the substance of the whole.

The Prophet repeats here nearly the same words as those we explained yesterday: he then used the similitude of a flood, which he mentions here again. But as the first clause is capable of various explanations, I will refer to what others think, and then to what I consider the most correct view. This sentence, that the earth trembles when it is smitten by God, is usually regarded as a general declaration; and the Prophets often exalt the power of God in order to fill us with fear, and we will see an instance of this in the next verse. Yet I have no doubt that this is a special threatening. The Lord Jehovah, then, he says, will smite the land, and it will tremble.

Then follows the similitude of which we spoke yesterday: Mourn shall all who dwell in it; and then, It will altogether ascend as a river. Here he intimates that there would be a deluge, so that the face of the earth would not appear. The land will then ascend as a river.

The ascent of the earth would be nothing other than inundation, which would cover its surface. He afterwards adds, and it shall be sunk; that is, every convenience for dwelling. This is not to be understood strictly, as I have said, of the land, but is rather to be referred to people, or to the use which people make of the earth. Sunk then shall it be as by the river of Egypt. We have said that Egypt loses its surface yearly when the Nile inundates it. But just as the inundation of the river is given to the Egyptians for fertilizing the land and rendering its produce more abundant, so the Prophet here declares that the land would be like the sea, so that there would no longer be any habitation.

The Prophet now describes in general terms the power of God, so that he might more deeply impress his hearers, and that they might not heedlessly reject what he had previously threatened concerning their approaching ruin; for he had said, ‘Lo, God will smite the land, and it shall tremble.’ This was special.

Now, as people received those threats with deaf ears and thought that God, in a way, trifled with them, the Prophet added, by way of confirmation, a striking description of the power of God. It was as though he said, “You do hear what God denounces. Now, as he has clothed me with his own authority and commanded me to terrify you by setting your punishment before you, know that you have to do with God himself, whose majesty ought to make all of you, and all that you are, tremble. For what sort of Being is this God, whose word you regard with contempt?”

God is He who builds for Himself chambers in the heavens, who founds His jointings (some render it bundles) in the earth, who calls the waters of the sea, and pours them on the face of the earth; in a word, He is Jehovah, whose being is in Himself alone: and you exist only through His power, and whenever He pleases, He can withdraw His Spirit, and then must this whole world, of which you are but the smallest particles, vanish.

Since, then, He alone is God, and you have only a momentary strength, and since this great power of God—the evidences of which He provides you throughout the whole order of nature—is so conspicuous to you, how is it that you are so heedless? We now perceive why the Prophet exalts the power of God in such a striking manner.

First, in saying that God builds for Himself His ascendings (ascensiones) in the heavens, he alludes, no doubt, to the very structure of the heavens. For the element of air, we know, rises upwards because it is light; then the element of fire comes nearer to what heaven is; then follow the spheres. Since the whole world above the earth is, therefore, much more favorable to motion, this is why the Prophet says that God has His ascents in the heavens.

God indeed stands in no need of the heavens or of the air as a habitation, for He is contained in no place, being One who cannot be contained. But it is said, for the sake of humankind, that God is above all heavens. He is then located on His own elevated throne.

But he says that He founds for Himself His jointing on the earth, for this part of the world is more solid, the element of earth being coarser and denser, and therefore firmer. So also the waters, though lighter than the earth, approach it nearest. God then builds in the heavens.

It is a mechanism that is in itself wonderful. When one raises his eyes to heaven and then looks on the earth, is he not compelled to stand amazed? The Prophet then exhibits here before our eyes the inconceivable power of God, so that we may be impressed by his words and know with whom we have to do when he denounces punishment.

He further says, Who calls the waters of the sea and pours them on the face of the earth. This change is in itself astonishing. God in a short time covers the whole heaven. There is a clear brightness; then, in a moment, clouds supervene, which darken the whole heaven, and thick waters are suspended over our heads.

Who could say that the whole sky could be so suddenly changed? God by His own command and bidding does all this alone. He calls, then, the waters of the sea and pours them down. Though rains, we know, are formed in large measure from vapors from the earth, yet we also know that these vapors arise from the sea, and that the sea chiefly supplies the dense abundance of moisture.

The Prophet then, by taking a part for the whole, includes here all the vapors by which rain is formed. He calls them the waters of the sea. God by His own power alone creates the rain by raising vapors from the waters, and then He causes them to descend on the whole face of the earth. Since, then, the Lord works so wonderfully throughout the whole order of nature, what do we think will take place when He puts forth the infinite power of His hand to destroy humankind, having resolved to execute the extreme judgment He has decreed?

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You have shown to us by evidences so remarkable that all things are under Your command, and that we, who live in this world through Your favor, are as nothing, for You could reduce us to nothing in a moment—O grant that, being conscious of Your power, we may reverently fear Your hand and be wholly devoted to Your glory. As You kindly offer Yourself to us as a Father, may we be drawn by this kindness and surrender ourselves wholly to You by a willing obedience, and never labor for anything throughout life but to glorify Your name, as You have redeemed us through Your only begotten Son, so that through Him we may also enjoy that eternal inheritance which is laid up for us in heaven. Amen.

The Prophet shows the Israelites here that their dignity would be no defense to them, as they expected. We have indeed seen in many places how foolish the boasting of that people was. Although they were more bound to God than other nations, they still heedlessly boasted that they were a holy nation, as if they indeed had something of their own; but as Paul says, they were nothing.

God had conferred unique benefits on them, but they were adorned with the plumes of another. Their glorying was then foolish and absurd, when they thought themselves to be worth more in the sight of God than other nations. But as this foolish conceit had blinded them, the Prophet says now, “Whom do you think yourselves to be?

Ye are to me as the children of the Ethiopians; I indeed once delivered you, not that I should be bound to you, but rather that I should have you bound to me, for you have been redeemed through my kindness.” Some think that the Israelites are compared to the Ethiopians, because they had not changed their skin, that is, their disposition; but this view I reject as strained.

For the Prophet speaks here more simply: namely, that their condition did not differ at all from that of ordinary people. “You excel, but you have nothing apart from me; if I take away from you what is mine, what will you then have remaining?” The emphasis is on the word to me, What are you to me?

For they certainly excelled among men, but before God they could bring nothing, since they had nothing of their own. Indeed, the more splendidly God adorned them, the more modestly and humbly they ought to have conducted themselves, since they were bound to him for so many of his favors.

But as they had forgotten their own condition, despised all the Prophets, and took pleasure in their vices, he says, Are ye not to me as the children of the Ethiopians, as foreign and the most alien nations? For what worthy of praise can I find in you? If then I look on you, what are you? I certainly see no reason to prefer you even to the most obscure nations.”

He afterwards adds, Have I not made to ascend, or brought, Israel from the land of Egypt? Here the Prophet reminds them of their origin. Although they had indeed proceeded from Abraham, who had been chosen by God four hundred years before their redemption, yet, if we consider how cruelly they were treated in Egypt, that tyrannical servitude must certainly appear to have been like the grave.

They then began to be a people and to attain some name when the Lord delivered them from Egypt. The Prophet’s language is the same as though he had said, “Look from where the Lord has brought you out, for you were like a dead carcass and of no account. For the Egyptians treated your fathers as the vilest slaves. God brought you from there; then you have no nobility or excellency of your own, but the beginning of your dignity has proceeded from the gratuitous kindness of God.

Yet you now think that you excel others because you have been redeemed. God has also redeemed the Philistines when they were the servants of the Cappadocians; and besides, he redeemed the Syrians when they were servants to other nations.”

Some take קיר, kir, to mean Cyrene, but as this is uncertain, I set it aside as doubtful. Whatever it was, there is no ground for dispute about the subject itself, for it is certain that the Israelites are here compared with the Philistines as well as with the Syrians, since all had been similarly redeemed by the Lord, and this favor was common to all of whom he speaks.

Since God then pitied other nations in former ages, it was certainly not unique to the race of Abraham that they had been freed by God, and by means of extraordinary miracles. “Even the Philistines will say the same, and the Syrians will say the same; but yet you say that they are profane nations.

Since it is so, you are now divested of all excellency—that is, there is nothing of your own in you that you should exalt yourselves above other nations.” This is the meaning.