PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos
William J. Deane [1853-1943] · 172,065 words · 195 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OP aLOUCESTER; AND BY TBE REV. JOSEPH S, EXELL, M.A. INTRODUCTIONS BY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERBURY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RAWLINSON,…
1,107 wordsSECTION 2The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 2
§ II. .AUTHOR. Amoe ie the third of the minor prophets. His name is usual1y taken to signify "Carrier," but is better interpreted "Heavy" or "Barden," in allusion to the grievous message which he had to deliver. Jewish com- mentators suggest that he was so called because he stammered or was slow of speech, as St. Paul…
1,191 wordsSECTION 3The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 3
Critios since Jerome have called Amos imperiuu ,ermcne, reasoning from his occasional use of homely images drawn from flock and herd and pastoral life, the matters with which his occupation was concerned (eh. ii. 13; iii. 4, 5, 8, 12; iv. 6-9; v. 11, 17; vi. 12; viii 8 ; ix. 5). And cer- tainly his s~le is not sublime …
1,082 wordsSECTION 4The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 4
§ VL ABBANGE:HENT OB' THE Boox m SECTIONS. The book ie best arranged in four parts. Part L (Ch. i., ii.) Approaching judgment: a prelude. § 1, ~Ch. i.-ii. 3.) Summons of the nations bordering on the Holy Land. § 2, Ch. ii. 4, 6.) Summons of Judah. § 3. Cb. ii. 6-16.) Summons and general denunciation of Israel. Pa…
823 wordsSECTION 5The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 5
nnd on tl11lt fe.oo which overlooks the Plain threw off his n.llegin.nce (1 Kings xi. 28, of Aero ou the north, e.nd that of Esdre.elon etc.), n.nd seized Dn.mnscus, which hnd been towards the south-elUlt. There is no special tributary to David (2 S11m. viii. 5). The excellency in Oarmel 11t the present day, history of…
1,977 wordsSECTION 6The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 6
from the sea. Ashkelon was situate be- had oommitted the sin (of rebellion), and I tween the two. "Askelon differs from the hung np theil' bodies on stakes all round other oelebmted oities of the Philist.ines, the city. Theoitizens who had done wrong being seated on the sea, while Ekron, e.nd wickedness I counted as e.…
985 wordsSECTION 7The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 7
flOfT'Upted 11'8 compaenon,; Le. did violence oonneotion with Hamel (2 Klngii 'Viii. 12) to bis nature.I feelings. Bo Ezek. xxviii. in concert with whom probably the Am: 17, "Thou ho.et corrupted thy wisdom," monitee acted (comp. 2 Kings xv. 16; Hos. perverted it from its proper end. The LXX. xiii. 16). Another render…
1,267 wordsSECTION 8The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 8
HOMILETICS. Ver. 1.-..4. ~ from the ali«pcotes. The Jewish nation is almost seven centuries· old. A wayward nonage had passed into a maturity incorrigibly perverse. .Alarmed by prophetic thunders, and riven by the lightning-bolts of judgment (eh. iv. 6-11), Israel clung to its iniquities in spite of all (eh. ii. 4; v…
569 wordsSECTION 9The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 9
and it is common elsewhere in Scripture (Isa. i. 1; Hab. ii. 2). 1. It was what "he saw." Of the way in which God revealed truth to inspired men we know nothing. It is above reaEon and outside revelation. It was not with the bodily eye, nor in tha natural sense, that tho vision was seen; but the revelation was adequate…
887 wordsSECTION 10The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 10
above n century (eh. ii. 4, G). The entire Hebrew people are also grouped together e.s forming the family of Israel which God redeemed from Egypt (eh. iii. 1). It is aa earthly kingdoms that destruction is denounced on both (eh. ii. 4, 6), but it is as one covenant people that they survive in a remnant, and aro rest…
864 wordsSECTION 11The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 11
14). The ple.ce out of which go forth salvation e.nd destruction. The place out of which the things that come a.re perfect after their kind. If they be blessings, there are no ot.here eo sweet; if curses, no others eo stem. Zion ie the bee.ting heart of the spiritual world, which eende forth pure or poisoned blood to e…
881 wordsSECTION 12The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 12
"life and breath and all things," but be glves to his saints the wicked, and all they have (1 Cor. iii. 21, 22; Epb. i. 22). He avenges the ill done even to the sinner, but he a\•enges more sternly, because he personally feels, the ill done to his people (Zech. ii. 8, 9). Their persons are more ~acred than those of oth…
854 wordsSECTION 13The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 13
tench. How many wars, how much bloodshed and desolation and misery, are directly traceable to "the strong man glorying in his strength" I ' II. THE CRIME. Gilead, meaning the whole land given to the two tribes and a ha!( is here put by metonymy for the inhabitants. The horrible and atrocious outrages on the people …
1,201 wordsSECTION 14The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 14
Vers. 6-8.-The woe against Philistia. Gaza was one of the capitals of Philistia, and is put for the country as a whole. Its wealth and strength and special activity against Israel fitted it to be the representative of all the other capitals which are afterwards (ver. 8) enumerated as sharing its punishment. The outrage…
674 wordsSECTION 15The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 15
that like will be the punishment of like. It reappears in the gospel dictum, "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Not only will sin be punished, it will all be punished, and punished fully. When God's last word has been spoken, the criminal shall be even as his victim, and be God's enemy besi…
944 wordsSECTION 16The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 16
Vers. 11, 12.-The woe against Edorr,. We have here an inspired description cif an ideal hate. It is loaded with every quality, and emphasized by every circumstance, and stained by every act, which could conspire to establish for it a.n "unbeaten record " in the emulation of evil passions. • I. IT RESTS ON A BROTHER…
672 wordsSECTION 17The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 17
V. IT JS INSATIABLE, "His anger endures for ever." The persistence of Edom's hate was matter of contemporary notoriety (Ezek. xxxv. 5), and it WIIS precisely what one might expect. Th~re is an !nfinity that )lelongs t-0 tbe human ~oul, and which imparts itself to all its affections. Love 1s not exhausted by indulgence,…
1,123 wordsSECTION 18The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 18
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-.Amos the herdsman. There must be some special reason why this prophet puts upon record the employments in which he spent his earlier years, and from which he was called to assume the office of the Lord's messenger to Israel. On the barren hills to the south of Bethlehem, where …
1,197 wordsSECTION 19The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 19
If. NATTONAL RETRIBUTION IS NOT AVERTED BY UNION AND CONFEDERACY. The five cities or the Philistines were leagued together ; each supported the other, and every one fornished a contingent to the national armies. Union is strength. But the united strength of the Philistines could not avail them in the day of the Lord…
938 wordsSECTION 20The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 20
Vere. 13-15.-Greed of territory. The history of the Ammonites is full of indications of their natural qualities and of their conduct towards Israel. They were an unprincipled and cruel people, and were continually at war with their neighbours. Their settlement on the eastoftheJordan brought them into constant conflict …
597 wordsSECTION 21The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 21
greater than it bad before, or would ever have again. Amos, however, as a true "seer," saw under the surface of society. He was not to be diverted from sins and woes at home by dashing enterprises abroad. He knew that the poor were oppressed, that other classes were sinking into luxurious effeminacy, that the worshi…
890 wordsSECTION 22The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 22
the chirp of the grasshopper in the meadow, and now the patter of the rain as it falls after the king's mowings. In harvest-time, as we walk with Amos, we aee the laden cart pressed down with the weight of the sheaves, and hear the thud of the flail as it falls on the threshing-floor, and watch the corn beaten out flun…
827 wordsSECTION 23The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 23
abhorrent to the Divine nature. 8. That these sins expose to suffering not only the actual offenders, but others also. The first and second of these truths we will not here notice; but to the third we must now give a moment's attention. In all the passages to which we have referred at the head of this sketch punishment…
1,165 wordsSECTION 24The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 24
EXPOSITION. OHAPTEB II." that he punishes wrongs inflicted even on heathen nations. But as in the onse of the Vere. 1-3.-Jndgment on Moab, other nations, Amos reproves only crimes Ver. 1.-J[oab. The prophet now de- committed against Israel or Judah, so the nounces the other nation connected by ties present outrage …
532 wordsSECTION 25The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 25
later (2 Kings viii. 20). The sacrilegiollS tices. From this error the Israelites wen, act was meant to redound to the disgrace of never weaned till their return from the Israel. penal Captivity. Ver. 2.-Eirioth; ciUes, a.nd so taken as Ver. 5.-The destruction of Jerusalem by an appellative by the Septuagint transla- …
938 wordsSECTION 26The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 26
and his father will go in =to the same nonn has a prominent position, and is con- maid j LXX., Elu,..-opelio,,.,-o ..-pb, 'r¾/11 aln-¾,v tinnally repeated, t.o contrast God's faith- ..-a,Bla-1<7111. The Vulgate, which omits "the fulness ana the people's 11I1the.nkfulness. se.me," is oloser to the Hebrew, Et filiu., The…
945 wordsSECTION 27The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 27
signally favoured by God, separate from meaning," I will press you with the full force otber nations, and bound to be a holy of war, as a loaded wain preases the earth over people? Taking the genernl import of the which it passes." The sense of the English p!lSsage and the signification of the word Version is that G…
896 wordsSECTION 28The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 28
horrible BaCrifice of the King of Edom'e son by the King of Moab, and the subsequent burning of the King of Edom's bones by the Moabites, were both expressions of this wild and savage resentment. Moab's hatred of Edom was hatred of her as Israel's ally, and therefore at bottom was hatred of Israel itself. So the ungodl…
849 wordsSECTION 29The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 29
the sin that is empha.sized. The law written on their heart (Rom, ii. 14, 15)-i.e. speaking in rea.son, conscience, and human feeling-was specially the law of duty to their ~ello~-oreatures; a~d _it ie_ for their sin in _this matter specially that God brings them mto Judgmenl. It 1s its blindness, and not its darkne…
844 wordsSECTION 30The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 30
outdone. And then, ns was natura.l, all the nationa.l troubles, including the crownina ono of captivity in Babylon, were brought on them by this and its resultant RinA, and were designed to be at once its punishment and cure. How near the practice lay to the sources of national corruption and calamity this passage show…
923 wordsSECTION 31The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 31
III. AN IDOL AN HEREDITARY LIB. "After which their fathers walked." Reason suggests and history shows that the idols of the fathers are the Idols of the children, 1. All practices tffid to beoo1116 hereditary. Children are imitative. They do what they see done. An act repeated becomes a habit, and the habit leading to…
863 wordsSECTION 32The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 32
him." It was natural, therefore, that a worldly act should assume an ungodly cha.- meter where opportunity 11rose. 3. It was devilish. " Who pant after the dost of the earth on the head of the poor." It rejoiced in all the incidental evils which oppreHsion of the poor involved. When those it impoverished were levell…
868 wordsSECTION 33The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 33
alkr-oenturies. He me.kes it the fulcrum on which to rest the lever of resistloea motive. His Law, in its moral (Exod. xx. 2), judicial (Deut. xxiv. 18-22; xv. 16), and cerernonie.l aspects (Dcut. xvi. 12), is bespoken a ready and glad obedience in the wc,rd, "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land o…
838 wordsSECTION 34The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 34
It all? Had things ocourred In the normal way? Had gratitude waited on blessing in due proportion, and improvement followed privilege? Thie verse is the disappoint- ing anewer. Israel's response to God's appeal, BR contained in bis gracious dealings, was not the gratitude and fealty due, but unaccountable and aggravate…
843 wordsSECTION 35The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 35
MERCIES. All that God had done was a motive to obedience and Rn argument against ~in. But all the Brrows of influenoe fell pointless and broken from their hearts of stone. The more Dil"ine mercies multiplied, tbe more did abominable wiokednea• increase. Sin, under such unlikely circumstances, argues special inveteracy,…
980 wordsSECTION 36The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 36
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-3.-Moab's brutality avenged. It is natural for the mind to lay hold upon and to retain in memory some one out of many characteristics of a nation, some one out of many incidents of a war. The one thing that is remembered is representative of many things that are forgotten. So is it…
589 wordsSECTION 37The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 37
a:·1.,,bole were insensible of their privileges, and neglected and abused them; indeed, they are charg0d with having despised them. The smTounding and heathen nations were not guilty of this heinous offence. Great is the sin of those who have the Word of God, but who treat it with neglect and disdain. II. THE TRANS…
752 wordsSECTION 38The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 38
were deecendante of the father of the faithful and the friend of God. Upon these special privilegee the prophet here dwelle and expatiates, with a view to bring home to the offendere the magnitude of their sin. J. A NATION SHOULD TBA.OE THE HAND OF GOD IN THE DELIVERAN0ES Wl\OU0HT ON ITS BEHALF. Israel was establish…
894 wordsSECTION 39The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 39
Vera. 14-16.---Judgment lnevitable. In the preceding verses there is observable an accumulation of human transgression and iniquity. And in these closing verses of the chapter the reader is equally struck with the rhetorical accumulation of figures intended to convey a deep impression of the inevitableness of retributi…
1,212 wordsSECTION 40The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 40
CHAPTER Ill Judah being only indirectly warned that she may expect a similar fate unless she Ver. 1-oh. vi. 14.-Part II. THBEE turns in time. I brought up from the land ADDRESSES PARTICULARIZING THE SINS OF of Egypt. This is mentioned as the crown- ISRAEL AND ANNOUNCING IMMINENT J cDG· ing act of God's favonr (eh. ii…
368 wordsSECTION 41The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 41
ticulllrly the ooming judgment, Amos, by a oalamity, malum pama,. As states have no series of little parables or comparisons, fnture, all temporal oslamlties in their oase establishes hie right to prophesy, and inti- may rightly be regarded as the punishment ' of sin. Thus the ruin impending on Isre.el mRtes theneoe…
948 wordsSECTION 42The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 42
message upon the flat roofs of the palaces, chastisement is inevitable, and that only that it may be heard fo.r and near (comp. the smallest remnant, the most worthlesa 2 Bo.m. xvi. 22; Mo.U. x. 27). Keil thinks among the inhabitants, e.nd they with much tho.t not all the inhabitants of the town are difficulty, can …
1,006 wordsSECTION 43The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 43
matical, Ka.,.,,,avn .,-ij, <t>u11-ijr ,ral 111 liaµ,a<T1tf, sidered the holiest part of the altar (see "The children of hrnel who dwell in Exod. xxvii. 2; xxix. 12: Lev. xvi. 18). &mMin in the presence of the tribe and in The instruments of idolatry or impure wor- Damascus." ship should shnro the destruotion of the…
855 wordsSECTION 44The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 44
III. JUDOMENT Is' mEVITABLE WHERE MERCY HAS BEEN RECEIVED IN VAIN. "There- fore will I visit," etc. (ver. 2). Mercy extended is made here the ground of judgment denounced, Each gift bestowed in the past is a count in the present indictment. I. lt is inevitable as punishment. Sin by God's professing people is specially …
886 wordsSECTION 45The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 45
destroy men unwe.med, nor we.rn them but through his e.ccre·Uted messengers, 'l'he history of his judgment.s illustrates this. Through Noah he revee.led the coming deluge, through Lot the destruction of Sodom, through Joseph the fa.mine in Egypt, through Moses the Egyplian ple.gues, through Jonah the sentence on Nineve…
871 wordsSECTION 46The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 46
I\ third of the population of the earth. If out of the number of these were taken the aotual Ohristians, the true believers in Christ, the saintly company would a.ssume smaller dimensions still. This state of matters will no doubt be reversed before the dispensntion ends. Christ "in all things shall have the pre-eminen…
960 wordsSECTION 47The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 47
Ver. 8.-0ommunion and concord inseparable. "Do two walk together unless they have 8,,"l'eed?" The special reference of this general question is not apparent. But the scope of the context suggests two points on either or both of which it would throw light. The one is the prophet's claim to be speaking the truth, the …
832 wordsSECTION 48The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 48
desire his fellowship, and adopt the course that will best consist with its enjoyment. 2. They must have arranged it. "Unless they have agreed," Spiritual relations are not accidental relations, nor such as men may drift ioto unconsciously. There are understood objects to be intelligently adopted. There are explicit te…
664 wordsSECTION 49The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 49
Ver. 6.-Calamity one of the works of God. It is not sin, but suffering, that is here meant. We are to regard temporal calamities as the warning voice of Gc,d, a manifes- tation of his character, and a. corrective expression of his displeasure. God maintain■ his controversy with Israel. The verses before contain languag…
1,118 wordsSECTION 50The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 50
Ver. 7.-The hounds that bay before they Ute. The prophet speaks here ae if he were announcing axiomatic truth. And it is nothing less. It might be argued from reason; it is historic fact; and it is a prominent Scripture doctrine. I. JunGMENT NEVER COMES WITHOUT WARNING. The Deluge, the destruction of Sodom, the plagu…
1,099 wordsSECTION 51The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 51
Vers. 9-12.-The prophet gets Ms heavy commission. It is Jehovah that speaks. He addresses the prophets (Keil), or the heathen (Lange), or the heathen through the prophets. The passage is a summons to the nations to appear as witnesses of Israel's flagrant sin, and her dreadful punishment. '!'here are many articles i…
499 wordsSECTION 52The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 52
the bee.ping up of the sin of their unrighteous getting, whilst in heaping up sin they were necessarily treasuring up wrath (Rom. ii. 6). II. THE WITNESSES SUMMONED. "Assemble upon the mountains," etc. A. reference to t-ho topography of Samaria brings out the graphic fitness of the language here. The city was built …
903 wordsSECTION 53The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 53
■ensue.li~t, the bes0ttcd clrnnke.rd, what is e11.0h but a human wreck P The kernel or life is ,,-asted, and only a husk remains. No wallflower of good can ever grow to cover these ,necks of time. Vers. 13-15.-The'residtu qf Israil's woe. Those who had been called to witness the sin of Israel are now summoned to hear …
804 wordsSECTION 54The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 54
used the idol-worship set up by Jeroboam was a plagiarism from the worship of Jehovah, 1. Man cannot create in religion, but he r:an adapt. He can form no idea of spiritual things ape.rt from Divine revelation (1 Cor. ii. 9). At the same time, God's revelation of spiritual things is too pure for his taste. The result i…
1,016 wordsSECTION 55The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 55
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1, 2.-Sin against light and love. This language of reproach and threatening was addressed to _Israel ai:id _J ud~h. ~e~ ~11 w_ho oc~upy a parallel position of privilege, and who are gmlty of s1m1lar 1nsens1b1hty, rngrat1tude, and !lpostasy, are subject to the condemnation and the …
869 wordsSECTION 56The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 56
Ver. 6.- Warning notes. There is something in this interrogatory style that arrests the attention and excites inquiry. Combined as it is with bold figures of speech, it gives both vivacity and impressiveness to the prophecies of the herdsman of Tekoa.h. I. THE PRESENCE OF CALAMITY. The phrase," evil in a cit-y," is ce…
593 wordsSECTION 57The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 57
MINDS OF ms BERV AN"Ts THE PROPHETS. The mode of this communication is concealed from us; it may have been but partially understood even by the prophets themselves. There is nothing unreasonable in the fellowship of mind between the Creator and created spirit.a. The human consci0usness is above 1111 vehicles surely …
757 wordsSECTION 58The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 58
Departure from Jehovah we.s the re.dical offence of Israel. Beside the great alter set up at Bethel by Jeroboam, where the golden calves were worshipped, there seem to have been other sacred places, which were polluted by idol-service and idol-sacrifice. Heathenism was seen to encroach upon the territory consecrated…
819 wordsSECTION 59The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 59
V,-rs. 4--6.-Retribution. "Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?" etc. These verses suggest certain remarks on retribution. I. RETRIBUTION SPRINGS OUT OF THE NATURE OF THINGS. 'l'he lion roars in the forest for prey; the young lion cries in his den from an instinct of nature. They are hungry, and th…
841 wordsSECTION 60The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 60
II. THAT THE RIGHT REOEPTION OF THIB BPEOIAL REVELATION NEOE88ITATEB PREACH- ING, "'!.'he lion bath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" The idea. is that the men who he.ve rightly taken the truth into them can no more conceal it than men can avoid terror at the roar of the lion. …
869 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.