John Calvin Commentary Amos 9:15

"And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith Jehovah thy God." — Amos 9:15 (ASV)

The Prophet further mentions here quiet dwellings in the land, for it was not enough for the people to be restored to their country unless they lived there in safety and quietness; for they might soon afterwards have been removed again. It would have been better for them to languish in exile than to be restored as if merely to toy with them, and in a short time to be conquered again by their enemies and led away into another country. Therefore, the Prophet says that the people, when restored, would be in a state of tranquility.

And he uses a most suitable comparison when he says, I will plant them in their own land, nor shall they be pulled up any more: for how can we have a settled place to dwell in, unless the Lord places us somewhere? We are indeed, as it were, fleeting beings on the earth, and we may at any moment be tossed here and there like chaff.

We therefore have no settled dwelling, except to the extent that we are planted by the hand of God, or as far as God assigns to us a secure habitation and is pleased to let us rest in quietness. This is what the Prophet means by saying, I will plant them in their own land, nor shall they any more be pulled up. How so?

“Because,” he says, “I have given them the land.” He had indeed given it to them before, but He allowed them to be uprooted when they had defiled the land. But now God declares that His grace would outweigh the sins of the people, as if He said, “However unworthy the people are who dwell in this land, my gift will yet be effectual: for I will not regard what they deserve at my hands, but as I have given them this land, they shall obtain it.” We now understand the Prophet's meaning.

Now, if we look at what happened afterwards, it may appear that this prophecy has never been fulfilled. The Jews indeed returned to their own country, but it was only a small number. Besides, they were so far from ruling over neighboring nations that, on the contrary, they became tributaries to them. Furthermore, the limits of their rule were always narrow, even when they were able to shake off the yoke.

In what sense then has God promised what we have just explained? We see this when we come to Christ, for it will then be evident that nothing has been foretold in vain. Though the Jews may not have ruled in outward appearance, the kingdom of God was then spread among all nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun; and then, as we have said in other places, the Jews reigned.

Furthermore, what is said here of the abundance of grain and wine must be explained with reference to the nature of Christ’s kingdom. Since, then, the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, it is enough for us that it abounds in spiritual blessings; and the Jews, whom God reserved for Himself as a remnant, were satisfied with this spiritual abundance.

If anyone objects, saying that the Prophet does not speak here allegorically, the answer is readily available: it is a way of speaking found everywhere in Scripture that a happy state is portrayed, as it were, before our eyes by presenting the comforts of the present life and earthly blessings. This may especially be observed in the Prophets, for they accommodated their style, as we have already stated, to the understanding of a simple and weak people.

But as this subject has been discussed elsewhere in greater detail, I only touch on it now briefly. Now follows the Prophecy of Obadiah, who is commonly called Abdiah.

End of the Commentaries on Amos.

Commentary on Obadiah

Introduction

Calvin’s Preface

To

Obadiah

This Prophecy does not consist of many oracles or many sermons, as other prophecies do. Instead, it only proclaims to the Idumeans their near destruction and then promises restoration to the chosen people of God. But it threatens the Idumeans for the sake of offering solace to the chosen people, for it was a grievous and difficult trial for the children of Jacob, a chosen people, to see the descendants of Esau—who had been rejected by God—flourishing in both wealth and power.

Therefore, since the children of Israel were miserable in comparison with their kinsmen, God's adoption might have seemed worthless. This was largely the reason why the Israelites preferred the lot of others. When such a thing is observed by us, our sorrow is enhanced, and our weariness is increased. Consequently, when the Israelites saw the Idumeans living comfortably and safely, enjoying every abundance, while they themselves were exposed as prey to their enemies and constantly expecting new disasters, it was inevitable that their faith would have utterly failed, or at least become greatly weakened.

For this reason, the Prophet here shows that though the Idumeans now lived happily, they would shortly be destroyed because they were hated by God. He shows that this would happen, as we shall see from the contents of this Book, for the sake of the chosen people.

So now we perceive the Prophet's purpose: as adversity might have weakened the Israelites, and even utterly broken them down, the Prophet here offers comfort and supports their dejected spirits, for the Lord would soon look upon them and take appropriate vengeance on their enemies.

And the reason why this prophecy is directed against the Idumeans only is this: as we know, they raged more cruelly than any others against the Israelites. For it is not said without cause in Psalm 137:7:

Remember the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, Make bare, make bare even to the very foundations.

Now, at what time Obadiah prophesied is not clear, except that it is probable that this prophecy was announced when the Idumeans rose up against the Israelites and distressed them with many hostilities. For those who think that Obadiah lived before the time of Isaiah seem to be mistaken.

It appears that Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:7–22) and this Prophet used the same thoughts and nearly the same words, as we shall see later. The Holy Spirit could, no doubt, have expressed the same things in different words; but He was pleased to join these two testimonies together so that they might gain more credibility.

I do not know whether Obadiah and Jeremiah were contemporaries, and on this subject, we need not spend much effort. It is enough for us to know that this prophecy was added to other prophecies so that the Israelites might feel assured that though their kinsmen the Idumeans might prosper for a time, yet they could not escape the hand of God, but would shortly be compelled to give an account of their cruelty, since they had, without cause, fiercely raged against the distressed and afflicted people of God.

Now, our Prophet shows at the end that God would become the avenger of this cruelty, which the Idumeans had committed; for though He disciplined His own people, He did not forget His freely given covenant. Let us now come to the words.