Matthew Henry Commentary Amos 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Amos 8
Matthew Henry Commentary
Amos 8
"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. And the songs of the temple shall be wailings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah: the dead bodies shall be many: in every place shall they cast them forth with silence." — Amos 8:1-3 (ASV)
Amos saw a basket of summer fruit gathered, and ready to be eaten, which signified that the people were ripe for destruction and that the year of God's patience was drawing to a close. Such summer fruits will not keep until winter but must be used at once.
Yet these judgments shall not draw from them any acknowledgment, either of God's righteousness or their own unrighteousness. Sinners put off repentance from day to day because they think the Lord thus delays His judgments.
"Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit; that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat? Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? yea, it shall rise up wholly like the River; and it shall be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day. And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day." — Amos 8:4-10 (ASV)
The rich and powerful of the land were the most guilty of oppression, as well as the foremost in idolatry. They were weary of the restraints of the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and wished them over, because no common work could be done during them. This is the character of many who are called Christians. The Sabbath day and Sabbath work are a burden to carnal hearts.
It will either be profaned or be considered a dull day. But can we spend our time better than in communion with God? When employed in religious services, they were thinking of their markets. They were weary of holy duties because their worldly business stood still during that time. Those are strangers to God, and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than Sabbath days, who would rather be selling grain than worshipping God.
They have no regard for humanity: those who have lost the savor of piety will not long keep the sense of common honesty. They cheat those they deal with. They take advantage of their neighbor's ignorance or necessity in trade that deeply affects the laboring poor. If we could witness the fraud and covetousness which, in so many forms, make trading an abomination to the Lord, we should not wonder to see many dealers reluctant in the service of God. But whoever thus despises the poor reproaches his Maker; in God's sight, rich and poor meet together.
Riches that are acquired by the ruin of the poor will bring ruin on those who acquire them. God will remember their sin against them. This reveals the state of such unjust, unmerciful men to be truly miserable—miserable forever. There will be terror and desolation everywhere. It will come upon them when they least expect it.
Thus uncertain are all our creature-comforts and enjoyments, even life itself; in the midst of life we are in death. What will be the wailing on the bitter day that follows sinful and sensual pleasures!
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, As thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, As the way of Beer-sheba liveth; they shall fall, and never rise up again." — Amos 8:11-14 (ASV)
Here was a sign of God's highest displeasure. At any time, and especially in a time of trouble, a famine of the word of God is the heaviest judgment. To many this is no affliction, yet some will feel it very much, and will travel far to hear a good sermon; they feel the loss of the mercies others foolishly sin away.
But when God visits a backsliding church, their own plans and efforts to find out a way of salvation will be of no use to them. And even the most sincere and zealous would perish for lack of the water of life, which Christ alone can grant.
Let us value our advantages, seek to profit by them, and fear sinning them away.
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