Amos 9

1 the altar. Probably the altar in “the king’s sanctuary” at Beth-el (vii. 13). Already had Jehovah smitten Jeroboam’s altar there (1 Kings xiii. 5); and He now appears, to demolish utterly the idol-temple and destroy its worshippers.

Smite the lintel of the door, etc. Rather, “Smite the capitals” (chapiters, R.V.), and the thresholds shall shake, and smite them upon the head of all of them," etc. Bring down the temple upon the heads of those who worship in it; cp. Judges xvi. 22-30.

2 hell. Heb., “Sheol”; the state or place of the dead. See note on Job xi. 8.

3 in the top of Carmel. Carmel was well adapted for concealment, not only on account of its woods and copses, but because of its numerous caves, of which there are four hundred in one part of the mountain. See note on i. 2.

5. He that 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.

the flood (river) of Egypt. The Nile: see note on viii. 8.

6. He that buildeth His stories, etc. Or, “He who buildeth in the heavens His upper-chambers, and His vault on the earth, He hath founded it.”

7 as children of the Ethiopians. By your sins you have forfeited your privileges as “sons of Israel,” and are become “sons of Cushites,” a race known of old for enmity to God: see Gen. x. 8, 9. Israel’s deliverance was nothing more than a migration like that of the Philistine or Syrians. Respecting “Caphtor” and “Kir,” see notes on Jer. xlvii. 4 and 2 Kings xvi. 9.

9 yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. Not one sinner shall escape, nor one faithful Israelite perish. This shall be fully evident at the last judgement.

11 the tabernacle of David that is fallen. “The fallen hut of David”; indicating the ruined state of David’s house, impoverished and decayed.

12 the remnant of Edom. The Edomites had been subjects, but were now, as ever, the bitterest enemies of Israel. Yet these, with other “heathen,” are to be blessed through Him who fills the throne of David. The Apostle James partially quotes this prophecy from the Septuagint (Acts xv. 15-17), expressly to show that the blessings of the covenant of mercy were to be extended to the Gentile world; and that thus the “kingdom of David” would be re-established in brighter, because spiritual glory.

13 the plowman shall overtake the reaper, etc. In consequence of the swiftly-ripening and abundant harvest: see Lev. xxvi. 5.

the mountains shall drop sweet wine. Vineyards were generally planted on terraces constructed upon the hillsides.

shall melt. Dissolving, as it were, into streams of milk and honey. Cp. with the whole verse Joel iii. 18.

14. I will bring again the captivity, etc. “The raising up of the fallen hut of David commenced with the coming of Christ and the founding of the Christian Church by the apostles; and the possession of Edom and all the other nations upon whom Jehovah reveals His name, took its rise in the reception of the Gentiles into the Kingdom of Heaven set up by Christ. The founding and building of this Kingdom continue through all the ages of the Christian Church, and will be completed when the fulness of the Gentiles shall one day enter into the Kingdom of God, and the still unbelieving Israel shall have been converted to Christ. The land which will flow with streams of Divine blessing is the domain of the Christian Church, or the earth so far as it has received the blessings of Christianity. The people which cultivates this land is the Christian Church, so far as it stands in living faith, and produces fruits of the Holy Spirit” (Keil).

NOTHING is known of the author of this Book. He is not to be confounded with the Obadiah mentioned in 1 Kings xviii. 3-16, who hid a hundred prophets in a cave and fed them. Another of the same name is mentioned in 2 Chron. xvii. 7, but there is no evidence to connect him with the prophecy.

The message of the Book is almost entirely one of judgement. And it is interesting to compare the judgements here announced upon Edom with those proclaimed by Isaiah (Isa. xxi. 11, 12), Ezekiel (Ezek. xxv. 12-14; xxxv.), Jeremiah (Jer. xlix. 7; Lam. iv. 21, 22). These judgements were inflicted because of the action of the Edomites in assisting the Babylonians against Jerusalem (verses 10-13). Their doom is an illustration of the eternal principle enunciated by our Lord Himself, “With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again” (cp. verse 15 with Luke vi. 38).

But for Zion the prophet’s vision is one of hope. “Upon mount Zion shall be deliverance” (17). And in his words “the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (22), we hear the far-off prelude of the triumph-song of heaven: “He shall reign for ever and ever”; “Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev. xi. 15; xix. 6).

I concerning Edom. Edom, or Idumea, was the territory of the descendants of Esau (see Gen. xxv. 30; xxxvi. 8), who drove out the Horites and took possession of Mount Seir, the mountainous tract south of the Dead Sea, between the valley of the Arabah (now El Ghor) and the eastern desert (see Deut. ii. 12). On its capital Sela (Petra), see 2 Kings xiv. 7; Jer. xlix. 16, and notes.

We have heard a rumour. The prophet speaks in the name of his countrymen.

an ambassador. Or, “messenger.” For “heathen,” read “nations.”

Arise ye. The address of the messenger to the peoples. “Let us rise up”; their response, addressed one to another.

5 cut off. i.e., utterly stripped; nothing is left. Robbers leave something behind; grapegatherers leave “gleanings”; but these destroyers leave nothing!

6 [the things of] Esau. The most carefully concealed treasures of the Edomites.

7. Have brought thee even to the border. Or, “Have sent thee to the frontier”: refusing to receive the messengers whom thou hast sent to ask for help.

and prevailed against thee. Taking the conqueror’s side; a retribution for Edom’s conduct towards Israel (11).

have laid a wound under thee. i.e., “have given thee a secret blow.” But many substitute “snare” for “wound”: see R.V.

7. There is none understanding in him. i.e., Edom had allowed himself to be befocled by the promises of his pretended friends.

10 thy brother Jacob. The word “brother” is inserted to aggravate the sin of the Edomites, to whom the Hebrews had been instructed to show peculiar kindness (Deut. xxiii. 7).

12 spoken proudly. i.e., in mockery.

14 the crossway. “The ravine,” or narrow pass.

15 the heathen. “The nations.”

16 as ye have drunk, etc. The heathen invaders had desecrated Mount Zion by impious revelry; and in retribution shall drink the cup of God’s wrath.

17 deliverance. Cp. Joel ii. 32.

18 the house of Jacob. . . . And the house of Joseph. Probably the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel (cp. Isa. xlvii. 3). Fulfilled in the days of John Hyrcanus (130 B.C.), by whom the Edomites were utterly subdued, being henceforth absorbed into the Jewish community.

19 they of the South. i.e., of the southern part of Palestine.

they of the plain. Or, of the “Shephelah”; “the lowland” (R.V.).

20 the captivity of this host, etc. Read, with R.V., “the captivity of this host of the children of Israel which are [among] the Canaanites [shall possess] even unto Zarephath.” The exiles of the Ten Tribes were very numerous; their deportation from their own land having been more complete than that of Judah. They are to spread northwards. On Zarephath, see note on 1 Kings xvii. 9.

Sepharad. Probably a district in the north of Asia Minor (Sayce).

21 saviours. Or, “deliverers.” All who deliver God’s people are “judges” of His enemies. But Isaiah points more distinctly to the Messiah in this twofold character: see Isa. lxiii. 1-5, and notes. The whole prediction figuratively represents the extension and triumph of the Church.