When they finished eating the grass of the land, then I said, “Lord Yahweh, forgive, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
Yahweh relented concerning this. “It shall not be,” says Yahweh.
Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me and behold, the Lord Yahweh called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land. Then I said, “Lord Yahweh, stop, I beg you! How could Jacob stand? For he is small.”
Yahweh relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” says the Lord Yahweh.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 6 But we must supply this prophecy or vision to…
But we must supply this prophecy or vision to its proper time. I doubt not, and I think that I can gather this from certain considerations, that the Prophet here compares the time which had preceded the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, with the prosperous time which followed. For when Jeroboam the Second began to reign, the kingdom was laid waste, partly by hostile incursions, and partly by drought and heat, by inclement weather, or by pestilence. Since then the condition of the people, as sacred history relates, was most miserable, hence the Prophet says, that locusts had been shown to him, which devoured all the grass and standing corn: for he not only says, that locusts were formed, but also that they devoured the grass, so that nothing remained, When they had finished, he says, to eat the grass of the earth, then I said, Lord Jehovah, etc. Thus then the Prophet shows that sure tokens of God’s wrath had then already appeared, and that the people had in part been already afflicted, but yet that God had afterwards given them time for repentance.
Now by locusts I understand a moderate kind of punishment. We have seen elsewhere (Joel 1:4) that the country had been then nearly consumed by the locusts and the cankerworms, and the like pests. But in this place the Prophet metaphorically designates hostile invasions, which had not immediately laid waste the whole country but in some measure desolated it. This was indeed manifest to all, but few viewed it as the judgment of God, as also the Lord complains, that the perverse regard not the hand of the smiter, (Isaiah 10:3,4) Though then the Israelites saw their land consumed, they did not think that God was displeased with them; for ungodly men do not willingly examine themselves nor raise their eyes to heaven, when the Lord chastises them: for they would grow, as it were, stupid in their calamities rather than set before themselves the judgment of God, that they may be seriously led to repentance: this they naturally shun almost all. Hence the Prophet says that this was especially shown to him. The calamity then was known to all, and evident before the eyes of the people; but the Prophet alone, by a vision, understood that God in this manner punished the sins of the people: at the same time, the special object of the vision was, — to make the Israelites to know that the hand of God was withheld, as it were, in the middle of its work. They had seen the enemies coming, they had felt many evils; but they thought that the enemies retreated either through good fortune or some other means. They did not consider that God had spared them, which was the main thing. It was therefore shown to the prophet in a vision, that God spared his people, though he had resolved to destroy the whole land.
Read full note →
And the Prophet expressly declares, that God had been pacified through his intercession and prayer: hence appears very clearly what I have already referred to, that is, that the Prophet condemns the unbelieving for having perversely trifled with God; for they regarded the threatening which they had heard from the mouth of Amos and of others as jests. Whence was this? Because God had spared them. The Prophet shows how this took place; “The Lord,” he says, “had at first resolved to destroy you, but yet he waits for you, and therefore suspends his extreme vengeance, that by his kindness he may allure you to himself; and this has been done through my prayers: for though ye think me to be adverse to you, as I am constrained daily to threaten you, and as a heavenly herald to denounce war on you; I yet feel compassion for you, and wish you to be saved. There is, therefore, no reason for you to think that I am influenced by hatred or by cruelty, when I address you with so much severity: this I do necessarily on account of my office; but I am still concerned and solicitous for your safety; and of this the Lord is a witness, and the vision I now declare to you.” We now see that God’s servants had so ruled and moderated their feelings, that pity did not prevent them from being severe whenever their calling so required; and also, that this severity did not obliterate from their minds the feelings of compassion. Amos, as we have already seen, severely inveighed against the people, sharply reproved their vices, and daily summoned irreclaimable men to the tribune it of God: as he was so vehemently indignant on account at their vices, and as he so sharply threatened them, he might have appeared to have forgotten all compassion; but this place shows that he had not yet divested himself of pity, though he faithfully discharged his office, and was not diverted from his purpose, when he saw that he had to do with wicked and obstinate men. He was therefore severe, because God so commanded him; it was what his calling required; but at the same time he pitied the people.
Let then all teachers in the Church learn to put on these two feelings — to be vehemently indignant whenever they see the worship of God profaned, to burn with zeal for God, and to show that severity which appeared in all the Prophets, whenever due order decays, — and at the same time to sympathize with miserable men, whom they see rushing headlong into destruction, and to bewail their madness, and to interpose with God as much as is in them; in such a way, however that their compassion render them not slothful or indifferent, so as to be indulgent to the sins of men. Indeed, the temper of mind which I have mentioned ought to be possessed, so that they may go forth as suppliants before God, and implore pardon for miserable and wretched men: but when they come to the people, in their new character, that they may be severe and rigid, let them remember by whom they are sent and with what commands, let them know that they are the ministers of God, who is the judge of the world, and ought not therefore to spare the people: this then is to be attended to by us.
Now as to the word repent, as applied to God, let us know, as it has been elsewhere stated, that God changes not his purpose so as to retract what he has once determined. He indeed knew what he would do before he showed the vision to his Prophet Amos: but he accommodates himself to the measure of men’s understanding, when he mentions such changes. It was then the eternal purpose of God, to threaten the people, to show tokens of his displeasure, and yet to suspend for a time his vengeance, that their perverseness might be the more inexcusable. But in the meantime, as this was without advantage, he sets forth another thing — that he was already armed to execute his vengeance. God then does not relate what he had decreed, but what the Israelites deserved, and what punishment or reward was due to them. When, therefore, God begins to inflict punishment on sinners, it is as though he intended to execute fully his vengeance; he however forms a purpose in himself, but that is hid from us. As soon then as he lifts up his finger, we ought to regard it as owing to his mercy, that we are not instantly reduced to nothing; when it so happens, it is as though he changed his purpose, or as though he withheld his hand. This then ought to be borne in mind, when the prophet says, that God created locusts to devour all the grass, but that he suppliantly entreated God to put an end to this calamity. He then adds, that it repented God, not that there was any change of mind in God, but because God suddenly and beyond hope suspended the vengeance which was near at hand. It shall not then be
With regard to the clause, Be propitious, I pray; how will Jacob rise up, or who will raise up Jacob? it appears that the Prophet saw no other remedy, except the Lord, according to his infinite goodness, forgave the people, and hence he prays for pardon. In the meantime, he shows that he prayed for the Church, “Lord,” he says, “thy hand does not now pursue strangers, but an elect people, thy peculiar possession:” for by the name, Jacob, the Prophet extols the covenant which God made with Abraham and the Patriarchs; as though he said, “O God, wilt thou be inexorable towards the people whom thou hast chosen and adopted, of whom thou art the Father? Remember that they are neither Babylonians, nor Egyptians, nor Assyrians, but a royal priesthood, and thy holy and peculiar people.” And there is nothing that inclines God more to mercy than the recollection of his gratuitous covenant, as we have elsewhere seen.
He then says, that Jacob was small. He does not allege the worthiness of Jacob, or adduce any proof of excellency, but says that he was small; as though he said, “O Lord, thou drawest forth now thy power against miserable creatures, who are already enfeebled enough” for he calls him small, because he had been worn out by many calamities: and hence I said, that reference is here made to that miserable time, of which Scripture records, when it declares that the free as well as the captive were reduced to extreme distress, before Jeroboam the second began to reign. Then indeed God restored his people; but short was that favor; for immediately after the death of king Jeroboam, a sedition arose, which proved ruinous to the whole kingdom: his son Zachariah, as it is well known, was slain by Shallum, (2 Kings 15:8-10)
How then will Jacob rise up? Some take the verb יקום, ikum, in a transitive sense, “Who will raise him up?” but others think it to be a neuter verb, “How will Jacob rise up?” that is, by what means will Jacob rise up? as מי, mi, may be taken to mean, how, or by what means: How then will Jacob rise up? But this difference has little to do with the main point It is then enough to say, that the Prophet here speaks of the weakness of the people, that on this account God might be more ready to forgive them. It now follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–4 That is, stayed this plague at my prayer.
That is, stayed this plague at my prayer.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Amo 7:2 And it came to pass, [that] when…
Amo 7:2 And it came to pass, [that] when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small.
Ver. 2. When they had made an end of eating] Not the grain only, but the grass, to the very roots; besides a pestilent stench left behind them; when, I say, they had done their worst. Prayer is the best lever at a dead lift; as is to be seen, Jas 5:18; upon the prayer of Elias the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit, after three years and a half’s drought; when it might well have been thought that root, and fruits, and all had been dried up, and that prayer had come too late. But that is seldom seen; as all God’s people can say experimentally. But whatshall we think of Jamblicus, a heathen author, who hath such a commendation of prayer, which might well beseem an experienced Christian? He calleth it Rerum divinarum ducem et lucem, copulam qua homines cum Deo coniunguntur, the guide and light of Divine duties, the band whereby men are united to God (Lib. 5, cap. 27). Nay, he proceedeth and saith, that prayer is clavis instar, qua Dei penetralia aperiuntur, instead of a key, wherewith God’s cabinet is opened; and much more to the same purpose. All this the prophet knew full well, and therefore sets to work in good earnest; and, as when a cart is in a quagmire, if the horses feel it coming they will pull the harder till they have it out, So he.
Read full note →
Then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee] Sin, he knew, was their greatest enemy; the mother of all their misery. Of that therefore he prays for pardon, and then he knew all should be well; as when the sore is healed, the plaster falleth off. Of Christ it is said, that "He shall save his people from their sins," Mat 1:21, as the greatest of evils; and the Church in Hos 14:2, cries, "Take away all iniquity." Feri Domine, feri, saith Luther, nam a peccatis absolutus sum. Smite me as much as thou pleasest, now that thou hast forgiven my sins.
By whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small] Here is much in few. It is Jacob, thy confederate; and he is down upon all four: and he is but small, low, and little, and (as some render it) Quis stabit Iacobo? "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick," Joh 11:3. They that are thine by covenant are at a very great under; trodden on by the bulls of Bashan, as a poor shrub of the wilderness; so the Psalmist’s word imports, Psa 102:17. "Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished" (that knows not whether he had best help or not), or "as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not," Jer 14:9. Thus the prophets indeed prayed for their unkind countrymen; so did Paul, Athanasius, Luther. I have obtained of God, said he, that never while I live shall the Pope prevail against my country: when I am gone let those pray that can pray. And, indeed, he was no sooner gone but all Germany was on a flame: as when Austin’s head was laid, Hippo was soon surprised by the enemy; and when Pareus’s, Heidelberg.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6 Either visionally, the whole scheme represented both locusts, grass,…
Either visionally, the whole scheme represented both locusts, grass, herbs, and corn, and it represented the grass as almost all eaten up, and the locusts ready to fall upon the corn, and all that remained. Or else really, it was acted, and the grass was devoured. Though the former seems most likely, I leave it to every one’s judgment. Amos interceded by prayer for this people in this case; and he sueth for mercy, entreats for pardon, hereby justifying God’s proceedings; and though this people for whom he prays is insensible of their condition, yet the prophet is deeply affected with it, and deprecates the displeasure of God, and implores his mercy; to God belongs forgiveness, to them nothing but shame.
By whom shall Jacob arise? how shall any of Jacob escape? or if thou, O God of Jacob, dost east him down, who will or can lift him up? he must needs perish if thou be still angry and show not pity. For he is small; weak in strength, few in number, not able to resist his enemies the Assyrians.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–6 And it came to pass, that when they had…
And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land,.... That is, the grasshoppers or locusts; when in the vision it seemed to the prophet that almost all the grass of the land was eaten up, and they were going to seize upon the corn, and other fruits of the earth: this signifies not Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judea, but Pul's invasion of the land of Israel, whose army seemed like these locusts; and spreading themselves over the land, threatened it with desolation, as these locusts seemed to have wholly consumed all the grass of the land; then the prophet said what follows:
then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee; the sins of the people, as the Targum, which were the cause of these locusts coming, or of the Assyrian army invading the land; and the prophet prays that God would avert this judgment, signified in this vision, or remove it, which is often in Scripture meant by the forgiveness of sin, Exo 32:31; this is the business of the prophets and ministers of the Lord, to intercede for a people when ruin is near; and happy is that people, when they have such to stand up in the breach for them. The argument the prophet uses is,
Read full note →
by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small; or "little" (a); like the first shooting up of the grass, after it has been own: or, as Noldius (b) renders it, "how otherwise should Jacob stand?" and so Kimchi, how should there be a standing for him? that is, unless God forgives his sin, and turns away his wrath, how shall he stand up under the weight of his sins, which must lie upon him, unless forgiven? and how shall he bear the wrath and indignation of God for them? and so if any sinner is not forgiven, how shall he stand before God to serve and worship him now? or at his tribunal with confidence hereafter? or sustain his wrath and displeasure to all eternity? see Psa 130:3; or, "who of" or "in Jacob shall stand" (c)? not one will be left; all must be cut off, if God forgive not; for all are sinners, there are none without sin: or, "who shall stand for Jacob?" (d) or intercede for him? it will be to no purpose, if God is inexorable: so the Targum,
"who will stand and ask "pardon" for their sins?''
or, "who will raise up Jacob?" (e) from that low condition in which he is, or likely to be in, if God forgive not, and does not avert the judgment threatened, to a high and glorious state of prosperity and happiness; for, if all are cut off, there will be none left to be instruments of such a work: "for he is small"; few in number, and greatly weakened by one calamity or another; and, if this should take place, would be fewer and weaker still. So the church of Christ, which is often signified by Jacob, is sometimes in a very low estate; the number of converts few; has but a little strength to bear afflictions, perform duty, and withstand enemies; it is a day of small things with it, with respect to light and knowledge, and the exercise of grace, especially faith; when some like the prophet are concerned for it, by whom it shall arise; the God of Jacob can cause it to arise, and can raise up instruments for such service, and make his ministers, and the ministry of the word and ordinances, means of increasing the number, stature, spiritual light, knowledge, grace, and strength of his people.
(a) "parvulus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "parvus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. (b) "quomodo (alias) surgeret Jacob?" Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 60. No. 1979. "quomodo consistet?" Liveleus; "quomodo surget Jacob?" Drusius. (c) "Quis staret, Jahacobo?" Junius & Tremellius; "quis remaneret Jacobo?" Piscator. (d) "Quis stabit pro Jacobo?" Mercerus. (e) "Quis suseitabit Jahacob?" V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–4 It came to pass - In the vision. By…
It came to pass - In the vision. By whom - How shall any of Jacob escape, if thou dost cast him down?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Verse 2. By whom shall Jacob arise?] The locusts,…
Verse 2. By whom shall Jacob arise?] The locusts, the symbols of the many enemies that had impoverished Jerusalem, having devoured much of the produce of the land, were proceeding, till, at the intercession of the prophet, they were removed. Then, seeing in the light of prophecy the nation in every sense brought low, he cries, "By whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small." Calmet justly remarks: "After the death of Jeroboam the second, the kingdom, so flourishing and powerful before, was reduced to such weakness that it was obliged to have recourse to strangers for support. Menahem applied to Pul, king of Assyria, whence arose the final misery of the state.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Amo 7:2-3. When they had made an end of…
Amo 7:2-3. When they had made an end of eating the grass — With us grasshoppers are not hurtful, but those in our text were locusts, as the word גבי, here used, is rendered, Isa 33:4: in which sense the word is understood by the Vulgate and Houbigant: see also Nab. 3:17. By whom shall Jacob arise? — Or, who shall raise up Jacob; for he is small? — If thou suffer these calamities to proceed to extremities, by what means shall the small remains of the riches and strength of the kingdom be rescued from utter destruction? The Lord repented for this, &c. — The prophet here informs us, that it was represented to him in his vision, that the Lord was pleased to hearken to his earnest supplication, and to promise that the threatened judgment should not proceed to an utter destruction of the whole kingdom. Those who suppose all this to be metaphorically expressed, understand this of Pul’s being induced by a sum of money to depart out of the land, as we read 2Ki 15:20 : but it may be understood of a threatened judgment of locusts and other insects, which was deprecated by the prophet’s prayers, and so not executed.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–5 The Lord repented for this - God is said…
The Lord repented for this - God is said to “repent, to have strong compassion upon” or “over” evil, which He has either inflicted Deu 32:36; 1Ch 21:15, or has said that He would inflict Exo 32:12; Joe 2:13; Jon 3:10; Jer 18:8, and which, upon repentance or prayer, He suspends or checks. Here, Amos does not intercede until after the judgment had been, in part, inflicted. He prayed, when in vision the locust “had made an end of eating the grass of the land,” and when “the fire had eaten up a part.” Nor, until Israel had suffered what these visions foretold, was he “small,” either in his own or in human sight, or in relation to his general condition. The “this” then, “of which God repented” and said, “it shall not be,” is that further undefined evil, which His first infliction threatened. Evil and decay do not die out, but destroy. Oppression does not weary itself out, but increases. Visitations of God are tokens of His displeasure, and, in the order of His justice, rest on the sinner. Pul and Tiglath-pileser, when they came with their armies on Israel, were instruments of God’s chastening. According to the ways of God’s justice, or of man’s ambition, the evil now begun, would have continued, but that God, at the prayer of the prophet, said, “Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further” Job 38:11.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 6 When. Septuagint, "If it shall eat up," &c. (Haydock)…
When. Septuagint, "If it shall eat up," &c. (Haydock) --- Little. After Jeroboam II, the kingdom fell to decay, when Manahem called in the Assyrians. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–4 by whom shall Jacob arise?--If Thou, O God, dost…
by whom shall Jacob arise?--If Thou, O God, dost not spare, how can Jacob maintain his ground, reduced as he is by repeated attacks of the Assyrians, and erelong about to be invaded by the Assyrian Pul (Kg2 15:19-20)? Compare Isa 51:19. The mention of "Jacob" is a plea that God should "remember for them His covenant" with their forefather, the patriarch (Psa 106:45).
he is small--reduced in numbers and in strength.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v4 4-6. The devouring fire — A second vision, presenting…
4-6. The devouring fire — A second vision, presenting essentially the same truth as the first.
Called to contend by fire — Called the fire to contend with it. Instead of the locusts Jehovah selected the fire as the agency through which to execute judgment. For representations of Jehovah as entering into judicial controversy with his people see Hos_4:1; Mic_6:2; Isa_3:13-15. The imagery was suggested probably by conflagrations or by excessive summer heat accompanied by drought (see on Joe_1:20).
Read full note →
The great deep — The deep subterranean waters upon which the earth was thought to rest, and which was thought to supply the water for springs and rivers (Gen_7:11; Psa_24:2, etc.). The fire or heat was so intense that the water dried up. The language is hyperbolical.
And did eat up — Better, R.V., “and would have eaten up.”
A part — R.V., “the land”; literally, the portion, the portion set apart for human habitation. The expression cannot be restricted to the land of Israel; it means the land as distinguished from the great deep. The land was about to be devoured, when the prophet interceded once more.
Cease — Not “forgive” (Amo_7:2). The provocation was too great; Amos felt that he did not dare ask for pardon; but perchance Jehovah might avert the final doom. And again Jehovah graciously granted the petition. The description is poetical but not allegorical. The imagery in the two visions was selected because plagues of locusts and disastrous conflagrations were familiar to the people.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2. The locusts had eaten up all the herb…
2. The locusts had eaten up all the herb of the land (Exo_10:12; Exo_10:15), when Amos intercedes on behalf of his people, urging its inability to recover itself, if the work of destruction should still continue. The term herb is not limited to grass, but denotes green herbage generally (with the exception of trees): see Gen_1:11; Gen_1:29[184].
[184] The Hebrew of והיה אם כלה is peculiar, and can scarcely be right. C. C. Torrey proposes a plausible emendation (Journ. of Bibl. Lit., 1894, p. 63): וַיְהִי הֻא מְכַלֶּה “and it came to pass, as they were making an end,” &c.
Read full note →
how (lit. as who) shall Jacob stand? for he is small] The resources of the nation are not sufficient to enable it to withstand the further progress of calamity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 (2) The grass of the land.—The same word is…
(2) The grass of the land.—The same word is used in the original in Gen_1:11, signifying herbs and vegetables. Amos saw the first wave of disaster in the destruction of the food of the people, and he interceded for respite and forgiveness. The cry takes the form, Who is Jacob that he should stand? (E.V., “by whom,” is incorrect) for he is small.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–5 The grass of the land. The term includes vegetables…
The grass of the land. The term includes vegetables of all sorts, the feed of man and beast. (Gen_1:11; see note on Zec_10:1) O Lord,..forgive. The prophet is not concerned to obtain the fulfilment of his prophecy; his heartfelt sympathy for his people yearns for their pardon, as he knows that punishment and restoration depend upon moral conditions. By whom shall Jacob arise? better, How shall Jacob stand? literally, as who? If he is thus weakened, as the vision portends, how shall he endure the stroke? Small; weakened by internal commotions and foreign attack. (2Ki_15:10-16, 2Ki_15:19)
The problem of stability.
Read full note →
The prayer of faith is free. The believing soul has the privilege of reasoning with God, and embraces it. It asks what it wills, and as it wills, and for whom it wills. There is room for originality in it, and scope for inventive resource; yet little risk of impropriety. The Spirit safeguards that in an effective "unction." Then grace is one thing ever, and there is a ground plan of supplication which is practically the same with all the faithful. It has centrifugal energy, flowing from the individual outwards. Its rivers wind and wander and discharge themselves ultimately on the desolate places of ungodly lives; but they run first by the homes of the household of faith. And then it has a spiritual stream. It blesses temporal interests too, but leaves its fertilizing ooze most richly on the things of the religious life. Of the prophet"s prayer here all this is characteristic, it reveals to us
I JACOB"S ACTUALITY. "Small." There is a natural Israel and a spiritual Israel also, the one at once the type and the germ of the other. The Christian Church is not distinct from, but a continuation and expansion of, the Jewish; and both together are the one visible Church of God. To this, an already existing community, many were added at Pentecost. (Act_2:47) In the congregation of Israel to which the sweet psalmist sang (Psa_22:22) Paul sees the one Church of God; (Heb_2:12) and with Stephen (Act_7:38) the wandering host of the tribes (Exo_16:2) was nothing else than the "Church in the wilderness." This Church, continuous from the beginning, and one in all ages, is the "good olive tree", (Rom_11:17-24) whose Jewish "branches" excised, and again to be "grafted in," are meantime displaced by the ingrafted Gentile shoots, which partake "of the root and fatness of the olive tree." In Amos"s time it was a little flock, whose preservation was matter to him of anxiety and prayer.
1. He is small in comparison with Esau. The heathen around outnumbered Israel overwhelmingly. Left to itself in the struggle among them for existence, it would inevitably have been swallowed up. So with the spiritual Israel. Satan has had in his kingdom a majority of the race for so far. Faith gate is a strait one, Purity way is a narrow one, (Mat_7:13, Mat_7:14) and the saints who enter the one and follow the other are a little flock. (Luk_12:32) And no wonder. Unbelief is natural, living after the flesh is congenial, (Exo_23:2) and an overwhelming preference for both is a foregone conclusion. Hence, not only has the Church been smaller than the world, but within the Church itself the wheat has apparently been less than the tares. Relatively to Esau, Jacob is, and has been, small indeed.
2. He is small in comparison with what he might have been. Smallness is sometimes a misfortune, but it was Israel"s fault. It was a result of persistent national sin, drawing down the destroying judgments of Heaven. Their ranks had been thinned by war, or pestilence, or famine in just and necessary retribution for their incorrigible unfaithfulness. So the small number of the saints is the sin of all concerned. It means opportunities neglected, ordinances abused, and a Holy Spirit resisted. None of the agencies of a heavenly culture have been withheld. (Isa_5:1 Isa_5:4) Every unbeliever is such in despite of influences that ought to have brought him to faith. (Act_7:51) Every spiritual weakling is one who has debilitated himself. (Heb_5:12 1Co_3:1-3) Moreover, as workers for God the saints are not guiltless, for which of them has exercised his full influence for good? The difference between what the Church is and what she might have been is the measure of her delinquency before God. When the sun shines and the showers fall, something subjective is wrong with the crop that stunts.
3. He is small in comparison with what he will yet be. Israel is not yet full grown. The Gentiles are Abraham"s seed, (Gal_3:7) and their in-bringing is the increase of spiritual Israel. That increase is to attain world wide proportions yet. The Church"s limits shall be the ends of the earth, (Psa_72:8) and its constituents the heathen nations. (Psa_2:8 Psa_72:11) It shall be a centre to which all the peoples shall gravitate. (Isa_2:2) It shall be a light illuminating and incorporating in its own radiance the entire globe. (Heb_2:14) It is only a stone as yet, but it will be a mountain one day, and fill the whole earth. (Dan_2:35, Dan_2:44) In the faith of such a destiny the Church may well find strength to avail her, even in the day of small things.
II JACOB"S IDEAL. "Stand." It is assumed here that he ought to stand; that standing is his appropriate and normal position. And so it is. In the ideal and purpose and promise, and as the handiwork of God, he is not to fall. He is:
1. To stand against destruction. Israel was not to perish. Low she might fall, small she might become, contemptible she might long remain; but in all, and through all, and after all, she was to live. The spiritual Israel has a perpetuity of existence also. The individual Christian shall never perish". (Joh_10:28) The grace that is in him is a Divine thing, and indestructible. (Gal_2:20) His life is a living Christ within, and he is immortal while Christ lives. This involves that the Church God"s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. If even a member cannot perish, much less the whole body. Redeemed by his Son, and dowered in permanence with his Spirit, the Church stands, let what may fall. (Dan_2:44) A structure of God"s building, on a foundation of God"s laying, according to a plan of God"s devising, it stands impregnable on its rock, (Mat_16:18) and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Its immovable stability is a question of Divine will and resource. There is the unchangeable purpose, the unconquerable power, the inviolable promise. The house is impregnable over which these three mount triple guard. (Joh_10:28) In the soil of God"s plan, in the rock cleft of his might, in the showers and sunshine of his pledge, the fair Church flower can neither fall nor fade, but must bloom while the ages run.
2. To stand against temptation. Israel was separate and to be pure. The Divine ideal was set before her not to mingle with the nations, nor serve their gods, nor learn their ways. (Num_23:9 Deu_6:14 Deu_18:9) So with the Church as a whole, and individual members in particular. Temptation in some degree is inevitable. While within is the iron of a corrupt nature, and outside the loadstone of a corrupt surrounding, there will be the drawing toward sin. But while God is stronger than the devil, and his grace stronger than sin, there shall not be a lapsing into wickedness. The word of acceptance is peace-bringing. The change by regeneration is radical. The measure of grace conferred is sufficient. (2Co_12:9) Therefore Israel, harnessed in armour of proof, shall defy the devil"s darts, and stand in the evil day. (Eph_6:13) The bride of Christ will abide in loyal love, and be to eye and heart at last his "undefiled," with no spot in her. (Son_6:9 Son_4:7) She may grow languid almost to slothfulness, but even in her sleep her "heart waketh". (Son_5:2-6) Her love may at times burn low, (Mat_24:12) but the fire remains alight, and glows at the slightest breath from heaven. In the end she is presented to Christ a glorious Church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. (Eph_5:27)
3. To stand against misfortune. From this there is no earthly immunity. (Job_5:7) God"s Israel will get a share, and a large share, of the shocks of calamity. There will even be special evils to which their character will expose them alone of men. But over against this stand the Divine helps which also are theirs alone. God is for them. They are the objects of a special providence. The Divine favour their shield and buckler is armour of proof. The darts of evil are turned aside, and fall pointless and broken to the ground. Nay, the evil, having been endured and survived, may be utilized. God constitutes it the appropriate and effective means of a heavenly culture. (Heb_12:11 2Co_4:17) It destroys nothing, not even a hair of their head; and it prunes the tree into richer and choicer fruit bearing. It even increases future glory, adding the piquancy of contrast to its otherwise perfect bliss.
III JACOB"S ATTAINMENT OF HIS IDEAL A CARE OF GOD. God concerns himself about all that concerns his people. The prophet assumes that one way or other Jacob is bound to be upheld, and that God in the last appeal will see it done. As to this ideal:
God loves it. It is set up by his own hand, and characterized by his own excellences, and it must be a thing after his own heart. All the graces that are acceptable with God shine in the saints, and the interests dear to his heart are those with which they are inseparably identified. Righteous himself, he loveth righteousness; unchangeable, he loveth steadfastness; and the things his heart loves his hand will guard.
God appoints it. Salvation from first to last is of his devising. He decides that salvation shall be, and what, and how. It is the purpose of his adorable grace, and therefore something along the lines of which he may be expected to work. He has predestinated the individual "to be conformed to the image of his Son," and the Church to "come to a perfect man." And we may safely reckon that his measures will work in these directions; helping the individual, that he is "changed into the same imago from glory to glory;" and blessing the Church, that she gathers up and exemplifies in her many-sidedness the graces of Christ"s faultless character. The Divine forceful action propels things in the direction of the Divine gracious appointment.
God has already committed himself to it. To Israel his word of promise was pledged, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." To us it is pledged with greater emphasis still, "They shall never perish;" "Whom he justified, them he also glorified," etc. None shall pluck the Christian out of Christ"s hand, nor shall the gates of hell prevail against his Church. The circle of the promises towers a wall of fire around the saints. The result is pledged to them; so are the means. The inheritance is reserved for them, and they for the inheritance. (1Pe_1:4, 1Pe_1:5) Their faith will keep them, and God will keep their faith. (1Pe_1:5) Then God had already begun to help. Israel had been upheld in many an evil. And there is continuity in the operations of God. He does not abandon a work once begun, nor allow after disaster to neutralize accomplished good. He had done something for Israel; he has done something for us. Then he will do more, and he will do all. Having bestowed his grace, he swears by the gift that the circle of our good will he made complete. A part already of the work of God, invulnerable in his armour, and immortal in his life, they have "a strong consolation," surely, "who have fled for refuge," etc.
IV THE WHOLE MATTER A FITTING SUBJECT OF PRAYER. The prophet comes between God and Israel as an intercessor. In his act we see that:
Prayer is a universal means of grace. "Men ought always to pray;" "In everything by prayer and supplication," etc. There is no blessing, temporal or spiritual, that is not the gift of God. There is no way of securing the least of these but by seeking it in prayer. The heart must throb continuously if the blood would be driven through the body; the breath must be regularly drawn if this blood would he purified and oxidized. So prayer, the throb of the new heart, the breath of the new creature, must go on if the new life is to be maintained. The interruption of it means the suspension of the most essential vital function. There is nothing we can count on getting without it. (Eze_36:37 Jam_4:2) There is nothing legitimate we may despair of getting by it. (Joh_14:13) In prayer the soul puts forth its tentacles round about, and lays hold of good on every side.
Prayer is a universal instinct of grace. All vital functions go on without an act of the will or the exercise of attention. And so with prayer in the new-created soul. It does not require a specific injunction. It does not wait on an effort of the will. It goes up as naturally as the hunger cry of the young raven. The new man breathes, the new heart pulsates, the opened lips speak, and the action in each case is prayer. "Behold, he prayeth," is an infallible token of a converted man.
Prayer is expansive like grace. Sin is selfish. Seeking salvation, the sinner prays for himself only. He is conscious of need, but as yet knows nothing of supply. Only when he gets spiritual blessing himself does he know how valuable it would be to others, and begin to desire it for them. Selfishness gives way with sin. Philanthropy grows with the love of God. And prayer answers to and expresses the change. The prayer circle widens as personal religion deepens. Its instinct is catholic. It goes out to the Church of the Firstborn. It seeks the coming of the kingdom. We pray for Israel when we are Israelites indeed. Request for the household of faith is God"s will, the Church"s weal, and the spontaneous offering of the gracious soul.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 2. Intercessory prayer.
In the language which the prophet employed in his appeal to God, he copied that of the great leader and lawgiver of his nation; and he was probably encouraged by remembering that Moses had not pleaded for Israel in vain.
I THE PROMPTING TO INTERCESSORY PRAYER. Why should one man plead with God on another"s behalf? It is evident that there is in human nature not only a principle of self-love, but also a principle of sympathy and benevolence. Amos interceded for the nation from which he sprang, in which he was interested, and which was endeared to him by sacred associations. He was well aware of his countrymen"s offences, and of God"s just displeasure with them. He knew and had foretold that retribution should befall them. Yet he entreated mercy a withholding of judgment, a little respite at the least. He identified himself with the sinful, and sought forbearance.
II THE GROUND OF CONFIDENCE IN INTERCESSORY PRAYER. Amos could not ask for the withholding of punishment on the ground that punishment was undeserved; for he confessed that the people"s sin had merited chastening. His reliance was not upon justice, but upon mercy. It was forgiveness he besought; and forgiveness presumes disobedience on the part of the subject and offence taken on the part of the ruler. In pleading for our fellow men, as in pleading for ourselves, we have to rely upon the pity and loving kindness of our God.
III THE PLEA BY WHICH INTERCESSORY PRAYER IS URGED. "Who is Jacob?" is the language of the prophet. "Who is Jacob, that he should stand, that he should endure, if such a visitation befall him? He is feeble and impoverished." Thus, whilst the main reliance of him who intercedes must ever be upon the character and promises of the Eternal, he will naturally bring before God as well known to the Omniscient the weakness and helplessness of those whose interest he would promote. God is not as man. Men sometimes are found willing to favour the great, though they are indifferent to the woes of the obscure; whilst with God need, poverty, and helplessness are a commendation to compassion and assistance.
IV THE SUCCESSFUL ISSUE OF INTERCESSORY PRAYER. The entreaty of the prophet was not in vain. The calamity whether we understand it literally, as a plague of locusts, or figuratively, as the invasion by Pul was averted and withdrawn. This is but one of many instances in Old and New Testament Scripture in which God represents himself as willing to listen to the pleading of the pious on behalf of their sinful fellow men. It is one office of the Church of Christ to plead perpetually for mankind, uttering the plaintive and effectual intercession, "Spare them, good Lord! T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v2 By whom shall Jacob arise?
Amo_7:2
By whom shall Jacob arise?
Read full note →
The duty of Christians towards the Jews
These words were used as a plea for Israel before God, and proved successful.
1. Jacob is fallen. And great was his fall. He stood higher than any other on the face of the earth. He was nearer to God than any other people were. Jacob, among the nations of the earth, was to God what Joseph was to his father among his brethren: the chiefest blessings invariably fell to his lot. To whom pertaineth the adoption. The Jews as a nation were adopted by God into His family. And a dear son was Ephraim to God for a long-period. Alas, that we are now compelled to say of this once exalted people, Thou art fallen! Many a downfall did Jacob experience because of his iniquity. He descended into the land of Egypt. God raised him thence with a stretched-out arm and great judgments. He again fell into Babylon, and once more did God graciously lift him out, and place him upon his feet; but of all his falls, this, the last, is the deepest and the heaviest. Hitherto he had but fallen backwards, as it were. This time he fell prostrate on his face. In all his former falls he had contrived to keep his hold of many promises, blessings, privileges. On this occasion he lost his grasp of all,--he is without a king, and without a prince, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. He descended lower than did any nation, so that all look down now upon the Jew.
2. Jacob is unable to arise. Every movement he makes sinks him lower in the mire. Does he renounce the Talmud? It is but to embrace infidelity. No one has fallen among such cruel thieves as Jacob, and it is hard to pass by him continually, as the priest and Levite are said to have done. Extend a helping hand to Jacob.
3. Jacob is worth raising. True, Jacob has received a great fall, but the pit into which he descended is not bottomless. The grace of God is deeper than the fall of the Jew. The Christian Church has long acted towards the Jew as if it thought he was not fit to be raised. Our hearts appear to have been more tender to all than to the poor Jew. But Jacob is not so foul as that the blood of the Cross cannot cleanse him.
4. Jacob is to be raised. What a multitude of things there are that are worth raising, but of whose restitution we have no certainty. It may be questionable whether Jacob will again be restored to his own country, but there is not the shadow of a doubt as to his being raised into the Divine favour. It is by the instrumentality of the Gentiles that Jacobs restoration is to be accomplished. One great reason for extending the Gospel to us was that we might reach it to others, and to the Jew first.
5. There is a large reward for raising Jacob. Once the Jews are brought to believe, the lever that is to move the whole world will have been obtained. The Jew is a wanderer in every land; he is found under the burning sun of Hindoostan, and among the eternal snows of Siberia; he can speak every tongue, so that, without any educational preparation, he is ready to preach the Gospel of Christ unto all the nations of the earth. (David Roberts, D. D.)
Help for Jacob
The chosen people are in trouble and distress. They have forsaken the living God, and He is punishing their apostasy. But the prophet of the Lord, and the few faithful among his brethren deeply deplore the national sin, and earnestly invoke the Divine mercy. They will not rest, they cannot hold their peace till God pardon the iniquity of His people, and restore to them the tokens of His loving-kindness. At such a time how natural and significant the language of Amos. Often in the Church of Christ are there not seasons of declension, lukewarmness, discouragement, inefficiency, fightings without, and fears within, bitter partisanship, and uncharitable controversy, when all hands are feeble, and all hearts arc faint? And thus afflicted, what need we so much to know as our spiritual poverty and feebleness, and what so much to learn as the sufficiency of our Divine resources?
I. Jacob is small.
1. In numbers.
2. In substance.
3. In influence.
4. In religious knowledge.
5. In fruitfulness and efficiency.
II. By whom shall Jacob arise? His helplessness conceded, who shall help him? Shall the civil ruler? Or the wealthy patron? Or by the popular orator? Or by the speculative theorist? Or by the partisan controversial st? Or by the sensational enthusiast? Nay, Jehovah-Jesus is our strength and salvation. The cause is His, and with Him is the residue of the Spirit. Year not for the future of the Church. God shall help her, and that right early. To the full extent of her necessity His plenipotence is hers. (J. Cross, D. D.)
The true Helper of the Church
This was an appeal to the heart of God at a time when the judgments of heaven were bringing the chosen people to ruin. This is a question which might well have been asked in every age which the Church has yet seen. Her numbers have always been small in comparison with the ranks of the wicked. The Church, to this day, is but a drop in the ocean. And she is weak as well as small. When we look abroad over the world we behold a race of men dead in trespasses and sins, given over to the dominion of the selfish passions, chained down in ignominious servitude to the world; whom no motives can conquer, no means reclaim. To form such beings into materials for building up the Church, they must be made to undergo a thorough and wonderful transformation. Who shall accomplish this mighty change? The transformation must not only be begun, it must be continued and perfected. After men are set out on the heavenly course, they still have to contend with their original corruptions, and with a world full of objects fitted to inflame them. All these corruptions and temptations stand in the way of the growth of the Church. And the Church as a body has to contend with a world in arms. Every natural man is a foe. The whole bent of the natural heart in every age and country, in every family and individual, is against it. Leave man to himself for a single generation, and with all the means of civilisation and grace, the Church would become extinct. Our strength is wholly incompetent to preserve the Church a single hour, to add one to the number of her sons, to produce a single impression on a single heart. If no other helper is found we must sit down in tears, and give up all for lost. The Church is Gods interest. This interest God has not committed to men; it is His own, His only portion. He has taken it into His own hands. The great end which He purposes to Himself in all His works is to bring out to view the riches of His nature, that creatures may see and acknowledge Him as He is, and for ever enjoy Him. It is the natural course of unbelief to put Him out of view. God is resolved to be acknowledged as the sole author and finisher of the whole. For this reason He studiously constructs the dispensations of His grace in a way to convince His people that it is not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit that the Church is enlarged. Then our hope is only in God. Let all other dependencies be given up; the Church must rise by God alone. This is our consolation in the darkest times. (E. D. Griffin, D. D.)
How to have a revival
1. The first step is humiliation.
2. The second step is reformation.
3. The third step lies in the direction of religious duty. The path of duty must be again frequented. The cross must once more be carried. Duty must become, what it once was, the paramount consideration.
4. The spirit of prayer must be sought and exercised till the blessing comes. (Homiletic Monthly.)
Jacob crippled
I. A sad confession. Jacob is small. If none but those who have been redeemed from a low life of flesh-love to a higher one of holiness may be classed under this term to-day, then is Jacob small.
1. Numerically.
2. In worldly esteem.
3. In material resources.
4. In political power.
And alas! Jacob is small spiritually, in personal power. Faith, hope, and charity are small, so is our self-denial. All this diminutiveness comes as the result of being prostrate, down, low. For Jacob to be prostrate is a great reproach indeed. Jacob is, in too many cases, a self-made cripple.
(1) Unbelief has crippled him.
(2) So has sectarianism.
(3) So has inactivity.
(4) So has a stinting selfishness.
(5) So have internal bickerings.
(6) So has a dreary spirit of timidity.
(7) And ceremonialism stunts Jacob.
(8) Restrictionalism has almost strangled Jacob.
II. An anxious inquiry. By whom, etc. That he ought to arise is generally admitted.
1. Not by monarchs smile.
2. Not by decrees of State.
3. Not by the addition of a few more men of means.
4. Not by a larger supply of education and literature.
5. Not by increasing the number of our sanctuaries.
What is needed is heavens force and life. By My Spirit. The Holy Ghost is Jacobs blessed Strength, Guardian, and Helper.
(1) By convincing men of their own personal sin, and showing the Churchs real worth, the Spirit prepares the way for Jacobs growth.
(2) By the Divine Spirit regenerating men, and adding them to the Church. The healthier torte a Church has, the stronger will her offspring be.
(3) By the richer adornment of Christian men with the sweet graces of a higher life, so that their rare moral beauty may arrest, and even charm the enemy without the gate. How can we aid this lifting? This dignity is not the privilege of officers only. Every member of the rank and file counts for one. Manifold are the ways in which this end may be reached. Make commercial life brighter and sounder, and home life sweeter. Let life be readier spent and lost in others need. Let the sense of stewardship for God be more than a sentiment. (E. D. Green.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v3 (See Scofield "Zec 8:14").
repented
(See Scofield "Zec 8:14").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 The writer is telling the reader that something surprising…
Look
The writer is telling the reader that something surprising is about to happen. Your language may have a way of doing this.
Read full note →
the Lord Yahweh called on fire to judge
"the Lord Yahweh used burning fire to punish the people"
how will Jacob survive? For he is so small.
Here "Jacob" represents his descendants the Israelites. See how you translated this in Amos 7:2. AT: "how will the Israelites survive? We are so small and weak!" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
Lord Yahweh
judge
earth
devour
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–4 7:2 Israel is so small: The population base of…
7:2 Israel is so small: The population base of the kingdom was not large enough to survive such radical depletion.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.