John Gill Commentary Amos 2

Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Moab
Or the Moabites, who descended from the eldest son of Lot, by one of his daughters; and, though related, were great enemies to the Israelites; they sent for Balaam to curse them when on their borders, and greatly oppressed them in the times of the judges: and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof ;
(See Gill on Amos 1:3). Idolatry, as well as the sin next charged, must be one of these four transgressions: the idols of Moab were Chemosh and Baalpeor; of the former (See Gill on Jeremiah 48:7); and of the latter (See Gill on Hosea 9:10);

because he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime ;
either like "to lime", or "for lime"; he burnt them thoroughly, till they came to powder as small and as white as lime, and used them instead of it to plaster the walls of his palace, by way of contempt, as the Targum; and so Jarchi and Kimchi: this is thought probable by Quinquarboreus^F13, for which he is blamed by Sanctius, who observes, there is no foundation for it in Scripture; and that the ashes of the bones of one man would not be sufficient to plaster a wall; and, besides, could never be brought to such a consistence as to be fit for such a purpose; yet, if it only means bare burning them, so as that they became like lime, as the colour of it, it could not be thought so very barbarous and inhuman, since it was the usage of some nations, especially the Romans, to burn their dead: no doubt something shocking is intended, and which usage to the dead is resented by the Lord. Sir Paul Rycaut^F14

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: Scholia in Targum in loc.
• F14: relates a piece of barbarity similar to this, that the city of Philadelphia was built with the bones of the besieged, by the prince that took it by storm. Kimchi thinks, as other interpreters also do, that it refers to the history in (2 Kings 3:27) ; where the king of Moab is said to offer his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead for a burnt offering; which he understands, not of the king of Moab's son, but of the king of Edom's son, here called a king, because he was to have succeeded his father in the kingdom; but it seems rather to be the king of Moab's own son that he offered; nor is it likely that the king of Edom's son was in his lands; for he would have broke through into the king of Edom, but could not; and then did this rash action; not in wrath and fury, but in a religious way. The prophet here refers to some fact, notorious in those times, the truth of which is not to be questioned, though we have no other account of it in Scripture; very probably it was the same king of Moab that did it, and the same king of Edom that was so used, mentioned in the above history; the king of Moab being enraged at him for joining with the kings of Israel and Judah against him, who afterwards falling into his hands, he used him in this barbarous manner; or very likely being possessed of his country after his death, or however of his grave, he took him out of it, and burnt his bones to lime, in revenge of what he had done to him. This was a very cruel action thus to use a human body, and this not the body of a private person, but of a king; and was an act of impiety, as well as of inhumanity, to take the bones of the dead out of his grave, and burn them; and which though done to a Heathen prince. God, who is the Creator of all, and Governor of the whole world, and whose vicegerents princes are, resented; and therefore threatened the Moabites with utter destruction for it. The Present State of the Greek Church, c. 2.

But I will send a fire upon Moab
Either on the whole country, or on some particular city so called, as in all the other prophecies; and there was a city called Moab, now Areopolis, (See Gill on Jeremiah 48:4); though it may be put for the whole country, into which an enemy should be sent to destroy it, even Nebuchadnezzar.

and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth ;
a principal city in the land of Moab; according to Kimchi, it was the royal city, and therefore mention is made of the palaces of it, here being the palace of the king and his princes; see (Jeremiah 48:24) ; though the word may be rendered cities, as it is by the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and so the Targum, ``and shall consume the palaces of the fortified place;'' and so may signify all the cities of Moab, and their palaces: or however may be put for them.

and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, [and] with the sound of
the trumpet :
that is, the Moabites shall die, not in their beds, and in peace, but in war, amidst the howlings of the wounded, the shouts of soldiers, the clashing of arms, and the sound of trumpets,

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof
Either from the midst of Moab, the country in general; or from Kerioth in particular, so Kimchi; meaningtheir principal governor, their king, as Aben Ezra; for kings sometimes have acted as judges, took the bench,and sat and administered justice to their subjects: and I will stay all the princes thereof withhim, saith the Lord ;
the king, and the princes of the blood, and his nobles; so that there should be none to succeed him, or toprotect and defend the people; the destruction should be an entire one, and inevitable, for the mouth of theLord had spoken it. This was fulfilled at the same time as the prophecy against the children of Ammon byNebuchadnezzar, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem ^F15 , which is next threatened.

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: Joseph. Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 7. Vid. Judith i. 12.

Thus says the Lord, for three transgressions of Judah With whom Benjamin must be joined; for the two tribes are meant as distinct from the ten tribes, under the name of Israel, following. The prophet proceeds from the Heathens round about to the people of God themselves, for the ill usage of whom chiefly the above nations are threatened with ruin, lest they should promise themselves impunity in sin; though, if they rightly considered things, they could not expect it; since, if the Heathens, ignorant of the will of God, and his law, were punished for their sins, then much more those who knew it, and did it not, (Luke 12:47); and he begins with Judah, partly because he was of that tribe, lest he should be charged with flattery and partiality, and partly because of the order of his prophecy, which being chiefly concerned with Israel, it was proper that what he had to say to Judah should be delivered first:

and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof ; the prophet retains the same form as in his prophecies against the Heathen nations; his own people, and God's professing people, being guilty of numerous transgressions, as well as they, and more aggravated than theirs; (See Gill on Amos 1:3);

because they have despised the law of the Lord ; a law so holy, just, and good, and so righteous, as no other nation has; and yet was not only not observed, but contemned: other nations sinned against the light of nature, and are not charged with breaches of the law of God, which was not given them; but these people had it, yet lightly esteemed it; counted it as a strange thing; walked not according to it, but cast it away from them; which was a great affront to the sovereignty of God, and a trampling upon his legislative power and authority:

and have not kept his commandments ; or "statutes" ^F16 ; the ordinances of the ceremonial law, which he appointed them to observe for the honour of his name, as parts of his worship; and to lead them into the designs of his grace and salvation by the Messiah:

and their lies caused them to err ; either, their idols, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; which are lying vanities, and deceive, and by which they were made to err from the pure worship of the living and true God to superstition and idolatry; or the words of the false prophets, as Kimchi; the false doctrines their taught, contrary to the word of God, directing them to seek for life by their own works; and promising them peace, when destruction was at hand; and daubing with untempered mortar; and as no lie is of the truth, but against it, so one untruth leads on to another:

after the which their fathers have walked ; after which lies, idols, and errors, as in Ur of the Chaldees, in Egypt, in the wilderness, and even in later times: this was no excuse to them that they followed the way of their ancestors, but rather an aggravation of their guilt, that they imitated them, took no warning by them; but filled up the measure of their iniquities, and showed themselves to be a seed of evildoers, a generation of wicked men, the sons of rebellious parents.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (wyqx) "statuta ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius

But I will send a fire upon Judah An enemy, Nebuchadnezzar, who should burn, waste, and destroy, all that were in his way: and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem; the chief city of Judah, the royal city, where stood the temple, the palace of the most High, and the palaces of the king and his nobles; these were burnt with fire when it was taken by the Chaldean army, about two hundred years after this prophecy, (Jeremiah 52:13) .