Amos 8
Vision of basket of summer fruit verse 1- 3
Thus has the Lord GOD showed unto me
and BEHOLD a basket of summer fruit
AND HE said
Amos – what see you?
AND I said
A basket of summer fruit
THEN said the LORD unto me – The end is come upon MY people of Israel
I will not again pass by them any more
AND the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day
says the Lord GOD
there shall be many dead bodies in every place
they shall cast them forth with silence
Condemnation of LORD for treatment of poor verse 4- 6
Hear this – O you that swallow up the needy
even to make the poor of the land to fall – SAYING
When will the new moon be gone – that we may sell corn?
AND the Sabbath that we may set forth wheat
making the ephah small – and the shekel great
and falsifying the balances by deceit?
That we may buy the poor for silver – and the needy for a pair of shoes
yea- and sell the refuse of the wheat?
Wicked deeds affect even nature verse 7- 8
The LORD has sworn by the excellency of Jacob
Surely I will never forget any of their works
Shall not the land tremble for this
and every one mourn that dwells therein?
And it shall rise up wholly as a flood
and it shall be cast out and drowned – as by the flood of Egypt
Judgment day is coming verse 9- 10
And it shall come to pass in that day – says the Lord GOD
that I will cause the sun to go down at noon
and I will darken the earth in the clear day
and I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation
and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins
and baldness upon every head
and I will make it as the mourning of an only son
and the end thereof as a bitter day
Time of famine of hearing word of the LORD verse 11- 13
BEHOLD – the days come – says the Lord GOD
that I will send a famine in the land
NOT a famine of bread – NOR a thirst for water
BUT of hearing the words of the LORD
AND they shall wander from sea to sea
and from the north even to the east
they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD
and shall not find it
IN THAT DAY shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst
False gods will be no more verse 14
They that swear by the sin of Samaria – and say – Your god – O Dan – lives
and The manner of Beer-sheba liveth
even they shall fall – and never rise up again
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuseof the wheat? (4651 “refuse” [mappal] means flakes, what falls off, waste, sweepings of grain, or chaff.)
DEVOTION: Rich people who have no standard or morals do everything in their power to cheat those who are poor. Here we find that they would like to buy poor people for a little silver. They would like to purchase those who are needy for the price of a pair of shoes. They have no regard for those who are suffering in their society. They just don’t care.
They would like to take all the chaff that is supposed to be thrown into the air and fly away when they are harvesting the grain. It is worthless but when you sell by the pound it gives more money to those farmers that don’t care about anyone but themselves.
God loves the poor and judges those who mistreat them. The ones who swallow up the needy are condemned by the LORD. HE wants those who are HIS servants to be givers not takers. Our responsibility is to help those who are poor and needy not to just drive away and say that the government should take care of them. There are people who are genuinely poor. There are also people who will take advantage of the system.
As believers we are to help those who are poor and needy by not enabling them but helping them find a way to earn a living. Many that live at the city missions of our cities can work. They just need an opportunity. If they are willing to work and can work we should give them a fair wage for their work.
If we are in business we can help them with products. Farmers used to allow people to gleam their fields after the machines had harvested the product. This should still happen. Lawyers have taken advantage of this practice to cause it to stop in some places. Many times I have had fresh fruits and vegetables left at our door while the children were growing up. This can still happen.
CHALLENGE: Help where you can those who have less than you do without taking advantage of them.
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: 7 The LORD has sworn by the excellencyof Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. (1347 “excellency” [ga’own] means pride, pomp, arrogancy, unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem, height, or loftiness.)
DEVOTION: Do we want the LORD to remember all the sins we have committed in our lifetime? Do we want to remember all of our sins? The problem is that the enemy reminds us of our past sins, so that, we think that we can never really serve the LORD because we have been so bad.
God doesn’t work that way. HE is stating that HE will never forget our wicked acts if we never ask HIM to forgive us. The children of Israel were not asking for forgiveness but thought they were OK with God because of their fake worship of HIM. They worshipped false gods and thought that the LORD wouldn’t mind if they gave HIM a little attention.
HE is a forgiving God. HE sent HIS Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross so that HE could forgive us. Christ died as our substitute if we follow the LORD. HE is willing to forgive those who are willing to recognize HIM for who HE is and honor HIM.
First, there has to be repentance of our sins. Second, with a regular time of self – examination to see how we are doing from HIS perspective. If there is sin HE will forgive if we confess them. HE will forgive and our fellowship with HIM is restored.
Our salvation is sure if we made a genuine commitment to HIM and not just a prayer that meant nothing to use a day later.
We need to daily walk with HIM to serve HIM properly. If we are not willing to forgive others then HE states that HE cannot forgive us.
CHALLENGE: We have ask for forgiveness for our sins and then be a forgiving people because we serve a forgiving God.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord GOD, that I will causethe sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day (935 “cause” [bow’] means to lead in, to carry in, cause to come in, bring to pass, bring to justice, or bring about.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is in control of nature. There is no “mother nature” as the world likes to refer to someone who is in control of nature. We see commercials on Television with a woman with animals all around her and she seems to command them into actions. It is false.
The LORD created our world in six twenty-four hour periods and then rested. HE never sat down but continues to hold every breath that we take in HIS hand. HE knows what is happening in our world because HE hears creation groaning for a time when HIS Son Jesus Christ will come and reign. There will be a new heaven and new earth in the future.
Before this happens there is going to be a time period of darkness on this earth. It is a time of judgment for the majority rejecting Jesus Christ. It will be a time of purification of those who are genuine believers during a seven year period called the Tribulation. There are minor tribulations happening all the time.
Israel is going to go through one because of their sin in the near future in Amos’ time. God uses tribulation to help change the perspective of those who think they are in control of their lives. They find out that the LORD is the one who is really in control.
CHALLENGE: To many people think that they are in control when in reality only the LORD is genuinely in control of what is going on in this world. HE allows man to think he is in control to his own judgment.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 11- 13 Behold, the days come, says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirstfor water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. (6772 “thirst” [tsama] means a state of extreme dehydration, dryness, or parched.
DEVOTION: Amos is dealing with the sins of Israel. The people couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to end so they could sell things for high prices. They were weighing their products with false balances. They were buying the poor for silver. They were buying the needy for a pair of shoes.
The LORD said that the land was going to mourn and tremble before HIS judgment because of these actions. The sun was going to be darkened. They were not going to celebrate their feast anymore. Their songs were going to be sad. Their clothing was going to be full of holes.
The worst thing that could happen was that they were going to look for a word from the LORD and there would be none. Here we find that the land of Israel was going to have a famine. In a famine there is usually no water and no food. What is repeated in these three verses is that there is a state of extreme dehydration in the land. It was dehydration for the word of God. People are looking for the living water that Christ talked about to the woman at the well. This living water is only available through the gift of God. The people in the land of Israel were going to search for some living water and find none. The time had passed for the living water to be presented to the people. They were going to be parched. They were going to be dry. They were going to be without any comfort.
The time is coming when we will no longer be able to share the truth concerning the living water that Christ provided through HIS death on the cross. Are we going to share the Word while there is still time? Are the people around us parched? Are they without comfort from the Word of the LORD?
CHALLENGE: Are you hungry for the Word of God? If not, start asking the LORD to give you a hunger. If so, ask the LORD to instruct you daily.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
- Chastity (Purity in living)
- Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
- Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
- Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
- Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
- Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
- Frugality (wise use of resources)
- Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
- Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
- Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
- Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
- Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
- Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
- Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
- Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Temple verse 3
Songs verse 3, 10
New moon verse 5
Sabbath verse 5
Feasts verse 10
Hearing of the Words of the LORD verse 11
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 11, 12
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 1, 3, 9, 11
GOD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3, 9, 11
Lord GOD verse 1, 3, 9, 11
LORD – Jehovah verse 2, 7, 11, 12
God’s people – Israel verse 2
Never forgets works verse 7
Judgment verse 9- 14
Words of the LORD verse 11
Word of the LORD verse 12
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Floods of Egypt verse 8
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Swallow up the needy verse 4, 6
Make poor fail verse 4, 6
Want Sabbath gone verse 5
Falsifying the balances by deceit verse 5
Buy poor for silver verse 6
Buy needy for a pair of shoes verse 6
Sell refuse of the wheat verse 6
Sin of Samaria verse 14
False god in Dan verse 14
Manner of Beersheba verse 14
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Hear verse 4, 11
Seek the word of the LORD verse 12
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Amos verse 2
Israel verse 2
Jacob verse 7
Samaria verse 14
Dan verse 14
Beersheba verse 14
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In that day verse 13
QUOTES
8:7The Lord indicated his determined stand against the greedy merchants by putting himself under oath. Earlier he swore by his holiness (4:2) and by himself (6:8). Now he put himself under oath by “the Pride of Jacob.” One swears by something precious or unalterable (cf. the full oath formula in Ps 137:5). “The Pride of Jacob” may refer to the city of Samaria here as it does in 6:8. Samaria was Israel’s most prized possession. But the Lord was about to destroy it, so he could not swear by it, unless the expression is broadened to refer to the land generally as Israel’s promised inheritance (Ps 47:4; Isa 58:14). The oath could be ironic and refer to Israel’s unalterable pride. Some argue that since elsewhere the Lord swears by himself or one of his attributes (Gen 22:16; Pss 89:35, 49; 95:11; Jer 44:26), that is likely the intent here (cf. Gen 49:24; 1 Sam 15:29). Whereas Israel’s pride was in themselves and their own accomplishments, it should have been in the Lord, the Pride of Jacob (cf. 8:14) (Smith, B. K., & Page, F. S. (1995). Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (Vol. 19B, p. 147). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
7–8In the oath formula, the “Pride of Jacob” (v.7) is best understood as an appellation for God (cf. 4:2; 6:8; cf. also Hos 5:5; 7:10). “Glory” is used as a surrogate for God in Jeremiah 2:11. It is the pride of Jacob—i.e., the Lord, Jacob’s glory—that guarantees this oath. The judgment to follow (v.8) would surely come because God does not allow his glory to be sullied. Verse 8 describes the convulsions the land would suffer. The striking metaphor of an earthquake represents the calamity Amos has referred to throughout the book. (McComiskey, T. E. (1986). Amos. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, p. 325). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
8:7–8. The Lord, however, had sworn by Himself (see comments on 4:2; 6:8; unlike its use in 6:8, the Pride of Jacob occurs here as a title for God; cf. 1 Sam. 15:29). God swore that He would never forget any of the evil things they had done. Because of their heartless greed and dishonesty, because of these covenant violations, their Warrior-God would advance against them and the land would tremble under His steps. The quaking tremors would be so violent that the whole land would rise … and then sink like the annual swelling and receding of the Nile … the river of Egypt. The shattered ruins of farms and buildings would cause all who lived in the wake of His path to weep and to mourn. (Sunukjian, D. R. (1985). Amos. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1448). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
How the end is coming (vv. Amos 8:7–14). The prophet used four pictures to describe the terror of the coming judgment. The first was that of an earthquake (v. 8) with the land heaving like the rising waters of the Nile River. (The Nile rose about twenty-five feet during its annual flooding stage.) Even the land would shudder because of the people’s sins. Earlier Amos referred to an earthquake (1:1), but we aren’t sure whether it was the fulfillment of this prophecy.
God would also visit them with darkness (Amos 8:9), perhaps an eclipse. (There was one in 763 b.c.) The Day of the Lord will be a day of darkness (Isa. 13:9–10; Joel 2:30–31). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be concerned (p. 69). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor.)
THE opening verses (1–3) contain the fourth vision, and its application. It will be noticed that, with the exception of the last of these object-lessons, all are of such a character as would readily come before the mind of a young man who had been reared in a rural district, and was familiar with agricultural life. Locusts are the dreaded plague of the Eastern farmer. Often too Amos may have helped combat a brush or forest fire, threatening destruction to crops and herds alike. The use of the plumb-line would be quite familiar to him, as stone walls were used almost exclusively both in dwellings and enclosures under special cultivation. And the subject of this fourth vision would be as familiar as the rest.
The Lord showed him a basket of summer-fruit; that is, overripe fruit, which could no longer be preserved. In reply to His inquiry, “Amos, what seest thou?” the prophet answers, “A basket of summer-fruit.” Then comes the explanation of the simple symbol. Israel had become like a decaying fruit. The end was near—the time of being cast away. No longer would grace be extended to those who had rejected it so repeatedly. The temple songs would be changed to woeful cries of anguish and despair, while the dead bodies of the despisers of God’s message would fill the cities, and be cast out in silence.
Accompanying this declaration that the end had come, we have a solemn summing-up of the sin of the people. They swallowed up the needy in their covetousness, making the poor of the land to fail, as in the last days of James 5:1–6, where the word is, “Ye have heaped treasure together in (not for) the last days!”
This same covetous spirit made the appointed feasts and the sabbaths a burden. Outwardly they observed them, but they longed for the close of the day to come, that they might buy and sell, and get gain.
For this the Lord sware, saying, “Surely I will never forget any of their works.” All were under His holy eye. All were noted in His book. All should be faced at His judgment-seat! If the eye of an unsaved sinner rests on this page, oh, let me press upon you this statement in all its solemnity. You may forget your own works, so great may be the number of your sins; but God has declared He will ever remember them. And if He thus remembers, you must be banished from His presence forever. But of all who now judge themselves and own their guilt, trusting the One who died to save, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Jer. 31:34; Heb. 10:17). Are your sins then, remembered or forgotten, dear reader?
For Israel’s sins the land had to tremble, and its people were to be carried away as by the overflowing river of Egypt, when the sun should go down at noon, and the earth be darkened in the clear day. It is a poetic figure for utter desolation; the result of their grasping selfishness, their heartless misconduct toward the poor, and God’s displeasure upon their ways. Bitter would be the mourning in that day, when, alas, repentance would come too late to avert the threatened calamity, which was to be as the mourning for an only son, and the end be a day of woe (vers. 4–10). (Ironside, H. A. (1909). Notes on the Minor Prophets. (pp. 178–180). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
Ver. 7. The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, &c.] Not by the ark, as R. Japhet; nor by the temple, as Kimchi; but by himself; which sense Kimchi also mentions, and Aben Ezra; the God of Jacob and his glory, the most excellent of all Jacob’s enjoyments, and of whom he had reason to boast and glory; see ch. 6:8: surely I will never forget any of their works; their wicked works, especially those now mentioned; God forgets when he forgives them, or suffers them to go unpunished; but though he had done so long, he would do so no more; on which they might depend, since he had not only said it, but swore to it. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 515). London: Mathews and Leigh.)