For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.
Parallel Translations
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For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt.
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And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
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For the Lord, the GOD of hosts, is He that toucheth the land and it melteth, and all that dwell therein mourn; and it riseth up wholly like the River, and sinketh again, like the River of Egypt;
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Amos 9:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Amos 8:8 Won’t the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River; and it will be stirred up and sink again, like the River of Egypt.
- Psalms 46:6 The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice and the earth melted.
- Isaiah 64:1 Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.
- Micah 1:3-4 For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place, and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.
- Revelation 20:11 I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Psalms 32:6 For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
- Psalms 93:3-4 The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty.
- Psalms 144:5 Part your heavens, Yahweh, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
- Jeremiah 12:4 How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? Because of the wickedness of those who dwell therein, the animals and birds are consumed; because they said, “He won’t see our latter end.”
- Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells in it will waste away, with all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, yes, the fish of the sea also die.
- Nahum 1:6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
- Habakkuk 3:10 The mountains saw you, and were afraid. The storm of waters passed by. The deep roared and lifted up its hands on high.
- Matthew 7:27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
- Isaiah 8:7-8 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain The Prophet repeats here nearly the same words with…
The Prophet repeats here nearly the same words with those we explained yesterday: he used then the similitude of a flood, which he again mentions here. But as the first clause is capable of various explanations, I will refer to what others think, and then to what I deem 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 do often exalt the power of God in order to fill us with fear, and of this we shall see an instance in the next verse. Yet I doubt not but 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. Ascend then shall the land as a river. The ascent of the earth would be nothing else but 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 men, or to the use which men make of the earth. Sunk then shall it be as by the river of Egypt We have said that Egypt loses yearly its surface, when the Nile inundates it. But as the inundation of the river is given to the Egyptians for fertilizing the land and of 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. 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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Amo 9:5 And the Lord GOD of hosts [is]…
Amo 9:5 And the Lord GOD of hosts [is] he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt.
Ver. 5. And the Lord God of hosts is he, &c] Here the prophet proveth what he had said in the foregoing verses, by an argument drawn from the wonderful power of God, which profane persons are apt to question, that they may harden their hearts against his fear. Consider, saith he, first, that he is the Lord God of hosts, and (as the Rabbis well observe) he hath the upper and lower troops ready pressed, as his horse and foot, to march against his enemies. Next, that he toucheth the land, as it were, with his little finger, and it shall melt, like the fat of lambs before the fire; it shall crumble to crattle, moulder away, and be moved, because he is wroth, Psa 18:7 : and shall men be unmoved? shall they be more insensible than the senseless earth? The people of Antioch, though many of them gave their hands for Chrysostom’s banishment, yet, terrified by an earthquake (which wrought in them a heartquake, as it had done in the jailer, Act 16:25-30), they immediately sent for him again. But, thirdly, the tremendous power of God appears in this, that
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The land shall rise up wholly like a flood; and it shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt] God can float it and flood it at his pleasure, see Amo 8:8. Water is naturally above the earth as the garment above the body, saith David; and would (but for the power and providence of God) prove as the shirt made for the murdering of Agamemnon, where the head had no issue out. Let God be seen herein, and men’s hearts possessed with his holy fear; who can so easily pull up the sluices, let in the sea upon them, and bury them all in one universal grave of waters. "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?" Jer 5:22. This Aristotle admires, and David celebrates in his physics (as one calleth that 104th Psalm), Psa 104:6; Psa 104:9, and all men should improve, to frighten their consciences from provoking to anger so great a God.
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 The prophet having foretold such sad, universal desolations, miseries…
The prophet having foretold such sad, universal desolations, miseries beyond what this secure people could think possible, and such as the atheists among them censured, and derided as impossibilities, as Amo 9:10; now in this and the following verses to the 10th the prophet confirms his word, and the certainty of these future judgments.
The Lord; Adonai, the sovereign Lord.
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God; Jehovah, who speaks and doth, and need no more than will to work and accomplish; so he made, sustaineth, and disposeth of all.
Of hosts; all the creatures are his army, and do what he commands them to do against his enemies.
Is he that toucheth: a light touch of his hand, he needs not as man to take great pains to break and dissolve hard metals, a touch of his finger will do this.
The land; either the inhabitants, or rather the land itself in which they dwelt, the land of Canaan; or more likely the whole earth, how firm and hard soever it seem to be.
And it shall melt, as snow before the sun in its hottest influences, or as wax before a mighty fire. He who can do this, can do all that I have denounced against you, O Israel. The rest of the verse, see Amo 8:8.
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 And the Lord God of hosts is he that…
And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt,.... Which is another reason why it is impossible to escape the hands of a sin revenging God, because he is omnipotent as well as omniscient; he is the Lord of all the armies above and below; and if he but touch the land, any particular country, as the land of Israel, it shakes and trembles, and falls into a flow of water, or melts like wax; as when he toucheth the hills and mountains they smoke, being like fuel to fire; see Psa 104:32;
and all that dwell therein shall mourn; their houses destroyed, their substance consumed, and all that is near and dear to them swallowed up:
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and it shall rise up wholly like a flood, and shall be drowned as by the flood of Egypt; See Gill on Amo 8:8.
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 Toucheth - He needs not take great pains therein,…
Toucheth - He needs not take great pains therein, a touch of his finger will do this. Shall melt - As snow before the sun.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. The Lord God of hosts is he]…
Verse 5. The Lord God of hosts is he] So powerful is he that a touch of his hand shall melt or dissolve the land, and cause all its inhabitants to mourn. Here is still a reference to the earthquake. See Clarke on Am 8:8, where the same images are used.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Amo 9:5-6. And — Or, for, the Lord toucheth…
Amo 9:5-6. And — Or, for, the Lord toucheth the land, and it shall melt — The least token of God’s displeasure is sufficient to put the whole frame of nature out of order. See the margin. And when God’s hand is visibly stretched out against a people, they become altogether dispirited; the stoutest men lose their courage, their hearts failing them for fear, and out of a dreadful expectation of the miseries which are coming upon them. See the explanation of the next clause, Amo 8:8. He that buildeth his stories in the heavens — This is an awful description of God’s power, discovering itself in the works of the creation, particularly in his making several regions of the air as so many apartments which lead to the highest heavens, the seat of his glory. Archbishop Newcome renders it, He buildeth his upper chambers in the heavens; alluding to the circumstance of the chief and most ornamented apartments in the East being upper rooms. And hath founded his troop in the earth — Or, as the old English translation renders the clause, And hath laid the foundation of his globe of elements in the earth; the word rendered troop being taken to signify the collection of elements and other creatures, which furnish the earth, expressed by the word צבא, host, Gen 2:1. Many learned interpreters, however, render the word his storehouses, supposing that there is an allusion to repositories in the lower parts of houses, or to such as were sometimes dug in the fields. Thus Capellus: The heaven is, as it were, God’s place of dwelling, his principal apartment; the earth is that to him which the cellars are in a large house. He that calleth for the waters, &c. — See on chap. Amo 5:8. “The power and sure vengeance of the Deity,” says Bishop Newcome, “are very sublimely described in this and the four preceding verses.”
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Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And who is He who should do this? God,…
And who is He who should do this? God, at whose command are all creatures. This is the hope of His servants; from where Hezekiah begins his prayer, “Lord of hosts, God of Israel” Isa 37:16. This is the hopelessness of His enemies. “That toucheth the land” or “earth, and it shall melt,” rather, “hath melted.” His Will and its fulfillment are one. “He spake, and it was; He commanded and it stood fast” Psa 33:9. His Will is first, as the cause of what is done; in time they co-exist. He hath no need to put forth His strength; a touch, the slightest indication of His Will, sufficeth. If the solid earth, how much more its inhabitants! So the Psalmist says, “The pagan raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted” Psa 46:6. The hearts of men melt when they are afraid of His presence; human armies melt away, dispersed; the great globe itself shall dissolve into its ancient chaos at His Will.
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Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain A river. Septuagint, "the river of Egypt," chap. viii.…
A river. Septuagint, "the river of Egypt," chap. viii. 8., and v. 24. (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 As Amos had threatened that nowhere should the Israelites…
As Amos had threatened that nowhere should the Israelites be safe from the divine judgments, he here shows God's omnipotent ability to execute His threats. So in the case of the threat in Amo 8:8, God is here stated to be the first cause of the mourning of "all that dwell" in the land, and of its rising "like a flood, and of its being "drowned, as by the flood of Egypt."
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Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5, 6. The people might think the prophet mad;…
5, 6. The people might think the prophet mad; hence he proceeds to disabuse their minds by informing them that it is Jehovah who makes the threats. Once more he depicts the divine majesty and omnipotence. The verses are similar in tone to Amo_4:13; Amo_5:8-9, and they serve the same purpose (see comments on those verses and Introduction, pp. 217ff.). They certainly add force to the preceding threats, and Harper is hardly justified in saying, “The proposed logical connection of this verse (5) with the preceding, ‘God is able to bring such punishment because he is the almighty one,’ is unnatural and far-fetched.”
The Lord Jehovah of hosts — Compare Amo_4:13.
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Toucheth the land — In a thunderstorm.
Melt — See on Mic_1:4; Nah_1:5.
Mourn — See on Amo_1:2. Amo_5:5 b describes an earthquake; see on Amo_8:8 b, of which it is an almost verbatim repetition.
Stories — R.V., “chambers”; literally, upper chambers; the dwelling place of Jehovah above the “firmament” (Psa_104:3; Psa_104:13).
Troop — Better, R.V., “vault.” The “firmament” of Gen_1:6, which, to the eye ignorant of the truths of astronomy, seems to rest as a huge cupola upon the earth (Job_26:11).
Calleth for the waters… poureth them out — See on Amo_5:8.
Jehovah — LXX. adds “of hosts” (compare Amo_4:13).
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 5. And the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he…
5. And the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, is he that toucheth the land, and it melteth, and all that dwell therein mourn] In a thunderstorm, a cyclone, or an earthquake, for instance, spreading devastation upon the earth, and causing terror among its inhabitants. Cf. Psa_104:32 (“he toucheth the mountains and they smoke”); Psa_46:6 (“He uttereth his voice [viz. in thunder], the earth melteth”); Nah_1:5; also Psa_97:4-5. The last clause as in Amo_8:8.
and it riseth up, all of it, as the Nile, and sinketh (again), as the Nile of Egypt] A hyperbolical description of an earthquake, repeated almost verbatim from Amo_8:8 b.
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5–6. Such a terrible announcement of judgement might seem to need confirmation: Amos therefore pauses, to describe, in two majestic verses, the power of the God who has been provoked, and who thus threatens His vengeance: all great movements in nature are due to Him (Amo_9:5); He sits on high and can control the elements (Amo_9:6).
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 (5, 6) Accumulate in grand imagery the majesty, power,…
(5, 6) Accumulate in grand imagery the majesty, power, and irresistible resources of the Lord, who has at length become their enemy. The very world itself melts, as Sinai did, at His touch.
The word “is” should be omitted in the rendering. The predicate “Jehovah (the Lord) is His name” (Amo_9:6) stands at the end of a series of attributive clauses.
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Like a flood . . .—The sentence should run thus: The whole of it rises like the Nile, and subsides (or sinks) like the Egyptian Nile. The future tenses should be replaced by presents. (Comp. Amo_8:8.)
Stories—i.e., upper rooms (comp. Psa_104:3). The word for “troop” is rightly rendered “arch,” or “vault,” from a root signifying to bind or compact together, the sky being regarded as a “firmament,” or solid extension, which rested on the earth as a foundation.
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 To confirm the threats just uttered, the prophet dwells…
To confirm the threats just uttered, the prophet dwells upon God"s omnipotence, of which he gives instances. He who will do this is the Lord God of hosts, There is no copula in the Hebrew here. (So Amo_4:13 Amo_5:8) This title, Jehovah Elohim Zebaoth, represents God not only as Ruler of the heavenly bodies, but as the Monarch of a multitude of heavenly spirits who execute his will, worship him in his abiding place, and are attendants and witnesses of his glory. (see note on Hag_1:2) Shall melt; saleuwn (Septuagint); comp. Psa_46:6 Psa_97:5; Nah_1:5. The expression denotes the destructive effects of the judgments of God. Shall mourn. The last clauses of the verse are a repetition of Amo_8:8, with some slight variation.
Vers. 5, 6.
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The image of the Deity in "great nature"s open eye.
God"s wrath "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness." And it is terrible as it is great. Impotent anger is ridiculous, but the wrath of Omnipotence overwhelms. Whatever, therefore, illustrates the power of God adds terror to his threat. And such is the effect of this passage. The stern purport of the previous commination is emphasized by the moving picture it presents of the Divine majesty and resistless might. Omnipotent resources will push forward to full accomplishment the purposes of Omniscience against doomed and abandoned Israel. We have here
I GOD"S NAME REVEALING HIS CHARACTER. This is the object of a name. It distingnishes the bearer from others, and this by expressing some leading characteristic.
1. The Lord. This is the word invariably substituted by the Jews for Jehovah in the reading of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a name of authority, and means "the supreme Lord." The Lord is over all. He is Governor and Judge in one. He does as it pleases him. He disposes of all matters, and settles all interests without appeal. He reckons with none, and none can call him to account.
2. Jehovah. This is a verb, third person, signifying "he is," and another form of the name "I am," by which God revealed himself to Moses. Its root idea is that of "underived existence;" then, as arising out of this, "independent action;" and then, as the corollary of both, "eternity and unchangeableness" (see Fairbairn). It is thus the proper name of God to man; self-existent himself, the Author of existence to all persons and things, and manifesting his existence to those capable of knowing it. Jehovah is the concrete and historical name of God. As revealed by it, he exists by his own energy, and makes to be all things that are. Absolute and undetermined, he determines absolutely all things outside himself. Unseen and invisible, he comes forth concretes himself, as it were in the works which his hands have made.
3. Jehovah of hosts. This title appears first in 1Sa_1:3, and, as has been remarked, "simultaneously with the foundation of the Jewish monarchy." It may mean Lord of (Israel"s) armies, (Psa_44:9) or of celestial beings, (Psa_148:2) or of the heavenly bodies, (Isa_40:26) or, more probably, of all three. In this wide sense we "see in the title a proclamation of the universal sovereignty of Jehovah, needed within the nation, lest that invisible sovereignty should be forgotten in the visible majesty of the king; and outside the nation, lest Jehovah should be supposed to be merely a national deity" (Kirkpatrick, on 1 Samuel). This is the God whose eye is for evil on Israel God supreme, God absolute, and God in special relation to the hosts of Israel who had forsaken him, to the heavenly bodies which they worshipped, and to the angel hosts, the ministers to do his will on those whom he would visit in wrath.
II GOD"S OPERATIONS REVEALING HIS WAY. What God does is a criterion of what he can do. His all-pervading activity will include in its sweep the accomplishment of the destiny again and again announced.
1. He occupies the sky. "Who buildeth his stories," etc. There were, according to a rabbinical theory, seven heavens, the seventh containing the throne of the Eternal, symbolized by Solomon"s throne of ivory and gold, the six steps leading up to which symbolized in turn the six celestial regions below the highest heaven. (1Ki_10:18-20) In terms of this mystic theory is the expression, "stories of the heaven." Heaven is conceived of as a giddy height, approached by aerial steps or stages, all of them the handiwork of God. He stands on the "cloud-capped towers." He dwells in the "airy palaces." He walks on the "fleece-like floors." He makes the different levels of the firmament steps between his throne and the earth below.
2. He metamorphoses the earth. (Ver. 5.) God"s word brought order out of chaos at first. "He spake, and it was done," etc. By the same word, turning order into chaos again, shall all things be dissolved. (2Pe_3:10, 2Pe_3:11) It is little for the word that makes and unmakes, that created and will dissolve the frame of nature, to move in earthquake upheaval the solid crust of earth till it mimicks the roll of the sea, or "Nile"s proud flood" in its rise and fall.
3. He distributes the waters of the sea. The sea is the most stupendous natural object. There is majesty in all its moods, and awe in its very presence. Hence in the mythology a god was allocated to it, brother to Zeus, the god of heaven and earth, and second only to him in power. And God"s "way is in the sea." He rules its waves. He regulates its myriad currents and restless tides. Its great throbbing pulse beats but at his will. He holds its waters in the hollow of his hand, and concentrates or disperses them as it pleases him. He is a God, then, "whose wrath is terrible." Every force of nature he not alone controls, but wields an instrument of his will. Amo_5:8 the same fact is plod as an inducement to seek his favour, which here appears as a reason to dread his wrath. As the same locomotive will drive the train before it or draw it after it at the engineer"s will, so the fact of the omnipresent energy of God is fitted alike to alarm and to attract, but in either case to bring the sinner to his feet.
III PHYSICAL CONVULSIONS THE COUNTERPARTS OF MORAL CONVULSION. Events in the two worlds happen according to similar if not identical laws. To a discriminating eye, the one set rises up in the likeness of the other, created so by God. "He daily buildeth his stories in the heavens when he raiseth up his saints from things below to heavenly places, presiding over them, ascending in them" (Pusey). "He toucheth the earth, and it melteth;" when he stretches out his hand in wrath on its inhabitants, and men"s hearts fail them for fear. "He calleth to the waters of the sea, and poureth them out over the earth," when he makes the wicked the rod of his anger to overrun and vex society. (Psa_93:3, Psa_93:4) Verily the God who makes the heavens his throne, the earth his footstool, the elements his playthings, and men and angels his ministers, is a Being in whose favour is life and whose power is terrible.
Vers. 5-10.
God as the Administrator of justice.
the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn," etc. These words present God to us as the Administrator of justice.
I THE DOES IT WITH THE GREATEST EASE. The administrators of justice in connection with human government have often to contend with difficulties that baffle and confound them. But the Almighty has no difficulty. "He toucheth the land, and it shall melt." By a mere touch he can punish a whole nation, nay, destroy the world. Whence come earthquakes and volcanoes? Here is their cause: "He toucheth the hills, and they smoke." Never can there be any miscarriage of justice with God. He bears it right home in every case. He has no difficulty about it. He toucheth the clouds, and they drown the world; he kindles the atmosphere and burns cities, etc.
II HE DOES IT WITH ALL THE POWERS OF NATURE AT HIS COMMAND. "It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth." His throne is on high, above all the forms and forces of the universe, and all are at his call. From those heights which he has built, those upper chambers of the universe, he can pour floods to drown a world, or rain fires which will consume the universe. Every force in nature he can make with ease an officer to execute his justice.
III HE DOES IT DISREGARDFUL OF MERE RELIGIOUS PROFESSION. "Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?" Jehovah here repels the idea which the Israelites were so prone to entertain, that because he had brought them out of Egypt and given them the land of Canaan, they were peculiarly the objects of his concern, and could never be subdued or destroyed. He now regarded and would treat them as the Cushites, or Ethiopians, who had been transplanted from their primal location in Arabia into the midst of the barbarous nations of Africa. The Almighty, in administering justice, is not influenced by the plea of profession. A corrupt Israelite to him was as bad as an Ethiopian, though he calls Abraham his father. "Think not to saythat ye have Abraham to your father." Conventional Christians are in the eyes of God as bad as infidels or heathen. He judgeth not as man judgeth, by the outward appearance; he looketh at the heart.
IV HE DOES IT WITH A THOROUGH DISCRIMINATION OF CHARACTER. "Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord." There were some good people amongst the Israelites, men of genuine goodness; the great Judge would not destroy them. "I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob .... I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve," etc. He would burn up the chaff, but save the wheat.
Evermore will the Almighty Judge recognize and tenderly guard the virtuous and the good, however humble their position in life. He will not destroy the righteous. D.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 The Lord God is He that toucheth the land,…
Amo_9:5-7
The Lord God is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt.
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God as the administrator of justice
I. He does it with the greatest ease. The Almighty has no difficulty. Never can there be any miscarriage of justice with God. He bears it right home in every case.
II. He does it with all the powers of nature at His command. His throne is on high, above all the forms and forces of the universe, and all are at His call.
III. He does it disregardful of mere religious profession. Jehovah here repels the idea which the Israelites were so prone to entertain, that because He had brought them out of Egypt and given them the land of Canaan they were peculiarly the objects of His regard, and could never be subdued or destroyed. He now regarded and would treat them as the Cushites, who had been transplanted from their primal location in Arabia into the midst of the barbarous nations of Africa. The Almighty, in administering justice, is not influenced by the plea of profession. A corrupt Israelite to Him was as bad as an Ethiopian, though he calls Abraham his father.
IV. He does it with a thorough discrimination of character. Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. There were some good people amongst the Israelites, men of genuine goodness; the Great Judge would not destroy them. I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, etc. He would burn up the chaff but save the wheat. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Amo_9:5.] God is omnipotent, able judgment. Toucheth] Dissolves the…
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Amo_9:5.] God is omnipotent, able judgment. Toucheth] Dissolves the stability of the earth (Psa_46:7; Psa_75:4).
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Amo_9:6. Stories] Lit. steps, perhaps in allusion to Solomon’s throne (1Ki_10:18-19). Troop] Lit. a band dividing the waters above from those beneath the heavens (cf. Gen_7:11). Others, all the elements and living creatures, called the host (Gen_2:1). God has bound the waters by perpetual decrees, and all creatures are subject to his control (Psa_103:20-21).
GOD’S POWER A GUARANTEE OP HIS TRUTH.—Amo_9:5-6
These words confirm the threat in the preceding verses; describe the nature and the works of God; and present him in majesty and might, able and determined to administer justice.
I. He created the universe. “He that buildeth his stories in the heaven.”
1. He made the heavens. He arranged them in their place and fixed them in their distance. The clouds, the aërial heavens, are balanced by his hand (Job_37:16). He suspends, condenses, and pours out their contents at his pleasure. The starry heavens derive their glory from him. The heaven of heavens is the palace of the Great King. Like a stately building, God has reared (artistically and beautifully put in order, arranged, Heb_11:3) the celestial spheres in stories one above another; the lowest, like steps, leads to the highest, the material to the spiritual, earth to heaven. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things,” &c.
2. He founded the earth. He drew the plan and prepared the place, provided the materials and laid the foundation. “Thou hast also founded the earth,” given it order, beginning, and firmness. The “troop in the earth,” all the elements of nature and all the creatures of the world, are linked together as bands of men (2Sa_2:25), or yoked in submission to his will (Isa_58:6). “When I call unto them they stand up together.”
II. He governs the universe. He sits above earth and heaven, ruling all creatures and directing all agencies. Men only see law in the evaporation of water from the sea, the electric agency which binds it in the cloud, and in the current of air which wafts it to the land. But God creates rain and disperses it over the earth. “He calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth.” He creates the earthquake and the flood. Fire and frost, thunder and lightning, promptly obey his command. “He sendeth out his word and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.”
III. He can destroy the universe. “The Lord God of Hosts, is he that toucheth the land.”
1. The ability with which he executes his word. Threats are formidable according to the power of him that threatens. We laugh at impotence and fear omnipotence. The power which reared the world is irresistible. How hopeless the case of those who have the powers of all creation against them! “Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.”
2. The ease with which he executes his word. He only touches the land and it melts; the lightness of the effort indicating the might of the power. The blast of God’s breath melts the mightiest armies like wax before the fire (Psa_68:1-2). The highest and most solid parts of the earth feel his glance. “He toucheth the hills, and they smoke.” He merely breathes, and men perish (Job_4:9). Sinai trembled; and should we be more insensible than material creation? With one touch the earth would reel before him, or return to chaos. “He uttered his voice; the earth melted.”
3. The method in which he executes his word. He turns the land into a sea by rain or inundations; drowns it like the deluge of Noah or “the flood of Egypt.” Think of the disaster in Chili in 1868. God, enthroned above, “calleth for the waters of the sea.” They rise at his bid. “He pours them out upon the face of the earth,” and “all that dwell therein shall mourn.” The prophet wonders why men do not fear God, whose power is displayed in heaven, earth, and sea, and with a word of his mouth can melt the wicked like snow before the sun. “Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence?” &c. (Jer_5:22).
“How dare they, then, offend, when God shall see;
That must alone both judge and jury be?” [T. Randolf]
CREATION THE MIRROR AND THE MIND OF GOD
Men forget with whom they have to do and against whom they sin. The prophet therefore sets forth the majesty and power of God, who was able to do whatever he uttered against them. Sinners should fear to offend him, and speedily make their peace with him.
I. Creation reveals the nature of God. Every act of God is a manifestation of God; an egress of his nature. Power is seen in the creation and upholding of the universe in all its wonderful changes and combinations; wisdom, in its design and beauty, the adaptation of means to ends; benevolence, in its arrangements and enjoyments. Everywhere we have signs of the existence of a Being of intelligence and goodness. The heavens “declare his glory,” and the earth affirms his “eternal power and Godhead.” How strange to be unmindful of “goodness beyond thought, and power Divine!” Why not discern him,
“Who plann’d, and built, and still upholds a world
So clothed with beauty, for rebellious man?”
II. Creation reveals the mind of God. It has been called Adam’s library. The prophet read the mind of God in the Book of Nature, and discovered laws for the guidance of man.
1. The works of God subserve the purpose of God. God is not merely present in “laws,” “phenomena,” or “second causes.” He does not govern the world by proxy, like ancient monarchs ruling their empires. All things are made to subserve the design for which they were created, never cease to obey his will and reflect his power and goodness. The earth trembles, the floods rise, and calamities happen to fulfil the ends of his administration.
2. The works of God reprove the indifference of man. Israel had despised the word of God, and are directed to the ways of God, to rouse attention to his will. Sensible evidence should affect us. God teaches us by signs in heaven above and earth beneath. We should be stirred up to praise him (Pro_16:4), warned of the danger of offending him, and led to fear him. If he can alter the course of nature, and turn established laws into scourges for sin, we should not rebel against him. “Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them and not build them up.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Amo_9:5-6. \\
1. God’s name.
2. God’s works—Creation and providence.
3. God’s judgments—Earthquakes and floods.
4. God’s design. “All that dwell therein shall mourn.”
God not seen in his works. I. Great indifference exists. Men see, but do not observe. Like Hamlet’s ghost, they have “no speculation in their eyes.” Hence they know nothing of the grandeurs by which they are surrounded, and never rise from Nature up to Nature’s God. II. Defective knowledge abounds. God is seen by many in his wisdom and power, acknowledged to be the Creator and Governor of the world, but not as a God of truth and justice, rewarding virtue and punishing sin. Divine perfections cannot be separated. Power is linked with holiness, and justice with truth. The Creator is the Moral Governor of the universe. To think of him at a distance, or judge of his purpose by one attribute of his being, is unreasonable. We cannot shun his presence. We only escape his anger by forsaking sin which causes it. “Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.”
Lessons.
1. God a Being of infinite perfection.
2. All things are under his control.
3. Nothing can hinder the accomplishment of his purpose.
4. It is ruinous to rebel against such a Being of almighty power and majesty.
5. It is blessed to have him for our Saviour and Friend.
“Take heed: for God holds vengeance in His hand
To hurl upon their heads that break His law.” [Shakespeare.]
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 9
Amo_9:5-6. Creation. How close does it bring the Creator to us, to regard him, not so much as having made the world, as still engaged in making it; i.e. by supplying the life on which its laws, and thus its being and incidents, depend. “Depend upon it (says an eloquent preacher) it is not the want of greater miracles, but of the soul to perceive such as are allowed us still, that makes us push all the sanctities into the far spaces we cannot reach. The devout feel that wherever God’s hand is there is miracle; and it is simply an undevoutness which imagines that only where miracle is, there can be the real hand of God” [Grindon].
Much of the glory of God in creation is hid by a train of second causes, through which few look to the first [Howe].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 all of it will rise up like the River,…
all of it will rise up like the River, and sink again like the river of Egypt
Here "the River" and "river of Egypt" both refer to the Nile river. Yahweh causing the land to shake violently is compared to the waters of the Nile river rising and sinking. (See: Simile)
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he who builds his steps in the heavens
These are probably the steps that ancient people imagined led up to God's palace in the heavens. However, some modern versions wish to read a different Hebrew word meaning "palace" or "rooms." Here "his steps" probably is a metonym for God's palace. (See: Metonymy)
has established his vault over the earth
Here "vault" refers to the sky which biblical writers described as being a dome over the earth. AT: "he sets the sky over the earth" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
He calls for the waters of the sea ... on the surface of the earth
This represents God causing the sea water to fall on the earth as rain. See how you translated this in Amos 5:8. AT: "He takes the waters of the sea and makes them rain down on the surface of the earth" (See: Metaphor)
Yahweh is his name
By declaring his name, Yahweh is declaring his power and authority to do these things. See how you translated this in Amos 5:8.
translationWords
lord
Yahweh of hosts
mourn
Nile River
heaven
face
earth
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 9:5-6 Amos uses a third hymn fragment (also 4:13;…
9:5-6 Amos uses a third hymn fragment (also 4:13; 5:8-9) to remind Israel that God’s domain is universal.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.