Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 4:4
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years:
4. Come to Beth-el, and transgress &c.] The words are meant of course ironically. Amos bids the people come to Beth-el, the principal and most splendid centre of their worship, and transgress, to Gilgal, another representative centre, and multiply transgression: their religious services, partly on account of the moral unfitness of the worshippers (Amo 2:6-9), partly on account of the unspiritual character of their worship, have no value in Jehovah’s eyes, they are but transgression, or, more exactly (see on Amo 1:3), rebellion.
Gilgal ] alluded to also in ch. Amo 5:5, Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11, as a seat of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah. It was the first camping-spot of the Israelites on the west of Jordan (Jos 4:19-20), and it is alluded to frequently as an important place (1Sa 7:16; 1Sa 11:14-15; 1Sa 15:12; 1Sa 15:21, 2Sa 19:15). That it lay in the Jordan valley, between the Jordan and Jericho, is evident from Jos 4:19; Jos 5:10; but the actual site of Gilgal was only recovered by Zschokke in 1865, at Tell Jiljl, 4 miles from the Jordan, and 1 mile from Era (Jericho) [152] . In Jos 5:9 the name is connected with glal, to roll away; but it means really a wheel (Isa 28:28), or circle, in particular, a circle of stones, or, as we might say, a cromlech, such as Jos 4:20 shews must have stood there in historical times. (In the Heb., the word has always the article, implying that the appellative sense, “the Circle,” was still felt).
[152] This is the ordinary view; but G. A. Smith ( The Book of the Twelve, p. 79: cf. p. 37) and Buhl ( Geogr. des alten Pal., 1896, p. 202 f.) think that the Gilgal of Am. and Hos. is the modern Juljl, on the E. of the plain in front of Ebal and Gerizim (cf. Deu 11:30).
every morning every three days ] Generally understood as an ironical exaggeration: bring your sacrifices every morning, instead of, as the practice was, once a year (1Sa 1:3; 1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:21); and your tithes every three days, instead of, as it may be inferred from Deu 14:28; Deu 26:12 was an ancient custom, every three years. Still the exaggeration thus implied would be somewhat extreme; and Wellhausen (who is followed by Nowack, Heb. Arch. ii. 258) adopts another rendering (which the Hebrew equally permits), viz. “ in the morning on the third day,” supposing it to have been the custom of the pilgrims to bring their sacrifices on the morning after their arrival at Beth-el, and to pay their tithes on the third day. The routine of sacrifice is punctiliously observed: but the moral and spiritual temper of which it should be the expression is absent.
The custom of paying tithes was not peculiar to the Hebrews, but prevailed widely in antiquity: the Greeks, for instance, often rendered a tithe to the gods, on spoil taken in war, on the annual crops, on profits made by commerce, &c. By religious minds it was regarded as an expression of gratitude to the Deity, for the good things sent by Him to man; but it was often exacted as a fixed impost, payable, for instance, by the inhabitants of a particular district, for the maintenance of a priesthood or sanctuary. In the oldest Hebrew legislation, the “Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 21-23), no mention is made of tithes; but in the Deuteronomic legislation (7th cent. b.c.) the payment of tithes upon vegetable produce appears as an established custom, which the legislator partly presupposes, and partly regulates (Deu 12:6; Deu 12:11; Deu 12:17; Deu 14:22-29; Deu 26:12). In Deut., in accordance with one of the fundamental aims of the book, payment at the central sanctuary (i.e. Jerusalem) is strongly insisted on: this passage shews that, at least in the Northern kingdom, it was customary to pay tithes at Beth-el. Probably, as Beth-el was an ancient sanctuary, this was a long-established practice there, the origin of which it seems to be the intention of Gen 28:22 to attribute to the vow of the patriarch, Jacob. See further, on Hebrew tithe, and especially on the discrepancies between the Deuteronomic and the priestly legislation on the subject, the writer’s Commentary on Deuteronomy, pp. 168 173.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 13. Here the people at large are addressed by the prophet, perhaps at some festal religious gathering.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Come to Beth-el and transgress – Having foretold their captivity, the prophet tries irony. But his irony is in bidding them go on to do, what they were doing earnestly, what they were set upon doing, and would not be withdrawn from. As Micaiah in irony, until adjured in the name of God, joined Ahabs court-priests, bidding, him go to Ramoth-Gilead 1Ki 22:15, where he was to perish; or Elijah said to the priests of Baal, Cry aloud, for he is a god 1Ki 18:27; or our Lord, Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers Mat 23:32; so Amos bids them do all they did, in their divided service of God, but tells them that to multiply all such service was to multiply transgression. Yet they were diligent in their way. Their offerings were daily, as at Jerusalem; the tithes of the third year for the poor was paid, as God had ordained Deu 14:28; Deu 26:12. They were punctual in these parts of the ritual, and thought much of their punctuality.
So well did they count themselves to stand with God, that there is no mention of sin offering or trespass offering. Their sacrifices were sacrifics of thanksgiving and free will offerings, as if out of exuberance of devotion, such as David said that Zion would offer, when God had been favorable and gracious unto her Psa 51:18-19. These things they did; they proclaimed and published them, like the hypocrites whom our Lord reproves, sounding a trumpet before them Mat 6:2 when they did alms; proclaiming these private offerings, as God bade proclaim the solemn assemblies. For so ye love. They did it, because they liked it, and it cost them nothing, for which they cared. It was more than most Christians will sacrifice, two fifteenths of their yearly income, if they gave the yearly tithes, which were to be shared with the poor also. But they would not sacrifice what God, above all, required, the fundamental breach of Gods law, on which their kingdom rested, the sin which Jeroboam made Israel to sin. They did what they liked; they were pleased with it, and they had that pleasure for their only reward, as it is of all which is not done for God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Amo 4:4-5
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression.
Ill-spent service
I. The scenes of this idolatry. Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression. Idolatry was flourishing in the seats of their most hallowed memories. Come, he says, to Bethel. Here, where everything spoke of Gods mercy, they were to transgress. At Bethel the founder of their race, fresh from his home in Haran, had builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord (Gen 12:8). Here, on his return from Egypt, he had received the promise that all the land on which he looked should be given to him and his seed for ever (Gen 13:1-18.). There was no spot in the land so rich in memories of Gods great goodness as Bethel, yet here they transgressed. Think of a man calling the Duke of Wellington a coward at Waterloo, or forgetting Nelson in Trafalgar Bay. Even this is a faint picture of the insults which Israel offered to God in the place of His richest mercy to the nation. At Gilgal too they multiplied transgressions. Hosea (Hos 9:15) even says all their wickedness is in Gilgal. It was the spot where Joshua, just installed as leader after the death of Moses, placed the twelve stones which they had taken out of Jordan (Jos 4:24). Strange and sad is the story of human sin! In Gilgal they were despising their Champion and Deliverer. The city had another memory which might have saved them. They kept their first passover in the land in Gilgal (Jos 5:10-12). Sin has a short memory. It tries hard to escape from the remembrance of Gods mercy, and can transgress without remorse in the places where heaven has multiplied blessings. Learn, if you would escape the misery of grieving God, to recall His mercies. Every step of lifes journey is rich in proofs of His mercy. Barrow says in one of his sermons, that as men choose the fairest places in great cities for monuments of national deliverance, so we should erect in our hearts lively representations of, and lasting memorials, unto the Divine bounty.
II. The spirit of their idolatry. For once they were whole-hearted in worship. They seem to have been prompt to do everything for their idols, though they refused to do anything for God. Sacrifices every day; tithes of their substance every three years; thank-offerings, even freewill offerings, were readily presented at Bethel and Gilgal. Nothing seems to have been too much for them to do. They withdrew from business and pleasure that they might offer their morning sacrifices, etc. To whom? To the idol calf of Bethel, which was soon to be carried–a curiosity of the plundered land–as a present to king Jareb (Hos 10:6). For God they would do nothing. Their whole strength and wealth were devoted to idols that were powerless to help them, and to priests who were blinding them to the doom which was near at hand. It is a true picture of many still. They will do nothing for God, they are ready to do anything for sin.
III. Reason for this determined transgression. This liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord. Their hearts were wrong, therefore they multiplied transgression. There was no call to think in this false worship. The idol priests sought to drown the voice of conscience and to silence any faithful reproof which might have led to reformation of life. Men came from their houses of ivory, which had been built up with oppression, from the palaces where robbery and violence were stored up, and there was no Baptist voice to cry as they entered into the idol temple, Bring forth fruits meet for repentance. The reason for the alacrity which men show in sin is written here: this liketh you. But let every man of reason consider! Are we children that like should rule? (J. Telford, B. A.)
Worship abounding with abounding sin
Crimes ran riot among the people at this period, and yet how religious they seemed to be!
I. Abounding worship often implies abounding sin. This is the case when the worship is–
1. Selfish. Men crowd churches, and contribute to religious institutions purely with the idea of avoiding hell and getting to a happier world than this.
2. Formal. Abounding worship is no proof of abounding virtue and abounding godliness.
II. Abounding worship often springs from abounding sin, It may spring from–
1. A desire to conceal sin. Sin is an ugly thing; it is hideous to the eye of conscience. Hence efforts on all hands to conceal.
2. A desire to compensate for evils. Great brewers build churches and endow religious institutions in order to compensate in some measure for the enormous evil connected with their trade.
3. A desire to appear good. The more corrupt a man is, the stronger his desire to appear otherwise. Do not judge the character of a nation by the number of its churches, the multitude of its worshippers. ( Homilist.)
A sinful people resisting the chastisements of God
No sterner picture of an utterly rotten social state was ever drawn than this book gives of the luxury, licentiousness, and oppressiveness of the ruling classes. This passage deals with the religious declension underlying the moral filth, and sets forth the self-willed idolatry of the people (Amo 4:4-5); their obstinate resistance to Gods merciful chastisement (Amo 4:6-11); and the heavier impending judgment (Amo 4:12-13).
1. Indignant irony flashes in that permission or command to persevere in the calf worship. The seeming command is the strongest prohibition. The lessons of this burst of sarcasm are plain. The subtle influence of self creeps in even in worship, and makes it hollow, unreal, and powerless to bless the worshipper. Obedience is better than costly gifts. Men will lavish gifts far more freely in apparent religious service, which is but the worship of their reflected selves, than in true service of God. And the purity of willing offerings is marred when they are given in response to a loud call, or when given, are proclaimed with acclamations.
2. The blaze of indignation changes into wounded tenderness. Mark the sad cadence of the fivefold refrain. Yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the Lord. To Amos, famine, drought, blasting, locusts, pestilence, and probably earthquake, were messengers of God, and Amos was taught of God. If we looked deeper we should see more clearly. To the prophets eye the world is all aflame with a present God. Amos had another principle. God sent physical calamities because of moral delinquencies, and for moral and religious ends. These disasters were meant to bring Israel back to God, and were at once punishments and reformatory methods. Amoss lesson as to the purpose of trials is not antiquated. Amos also teaches the awful power which we have of resisting Gods efforts to draw us back. The true tragedy of the world is that God calls and we refuse.
3. Again the mood changes, and the issue of protracted resistance is prophesied (verses 12, 13). Long-delayed judgments are severe, in proportion as they are slow. The contact of Divine power with human rebellion can only end in one way, and that is too terrible for speech. The certainty of judgment is the basis of a call to repentance, which may avert it. The meeting referred to is not judgment after death, but the impending destruction of the northern kingdom. But Amoss prophetic call is not misapplied when directed to the final day of the Lord. The conditions of meeting the Judge, and being found of Him in peace, are that we should be without spot and blameless; and the conditions of being so spotless and uncensurable axe repentance and trust. Only we have Jesus as the brightness of the Fathers glory to trust in, and His all-sufficient work to trust to for pardon and purifying. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Israel often reproved
The Book of Amos is one of the simplest in the Bible. The gist of it is found in Amo 3:2. This is the prophets theme. It contains three distinct thoughts: the love of God for Israel; the fate in store for them; and the sins by which they had forfeited the one and merited the other. The rest of the book is largely a series of variations on this theme.
1. Come to Bethel, cries the prophet. The words are hortatory only in form, for Amos adds in the same breath, and transgress. It is not very clear why the prophet condemned the worship at Bethel. It is probable that Amos was thinking of the character of the worshippers. They certainly, if they had been only h all a bad as he describes them in the second chapter, would have been sadly unfit to appear before a holy God. Amos did not condemn sacrifices and offerings as such. They mean that the man who is impure in his life, or unjust to his neighbour, whatever else he may he or do, is yet in his sins: that if he continues such as he is no amount of zeal in the forms of religion will make him acceptable to God; that in fact the attempt to substitute anything for moral character is an insult to the Holy One of Israel.
2. Yet have ye not returned unto Me. There is a note of surprise and disappointment in the words by which the second thought is introduced. They indicate that the condition of Israel was not what was to be expected. The words following explain why a different state of things ought to have existed–because God had repeatedly afflicted them. Amos here clearly teaches that the calamities which he describes were sent upon Israel on account of their sins, and for the purpose of turning them to God. It would be interesting to know just what was his idea with reference to what we call misfortunes. Probably he saw some connection between the afflictions which befell Israel and their moral condition. We are not satisfied with the simple views of God and His relation to the world which once prevailed. We know that, though we cannot explain why, the guiltless as well as the guilty arc sometimes overtaken by misfortune. But Israel did not heed the lesson that God would have taught them.
3. Therefore thus will I do unto thee (verse 12). There is no picture of coming terror. Amos could at most but dimly outline what they were to expect. The summons, Prepare to meet thy God, is usually misunderstood. The words are not an appeal, but a challenge. Persistence in sin means nothing short of an encounter with the Almighty. We have dwelt upon the goodness of God so much that we have almost lost sight of His severity. There is, however, a severe side to His character. And can a man contend with his Maker? The fate of Israel is an illustration of the fatal consequences of persistent disobedience of God. (Hinckley G. Mitchell.)
Israel of ten reproved
This entire prophecy is one of denunciation. Only once or twice is there even hinted the possibility of better things, and only at the very close, like a gleam of sunset glory at the end of a day of gloom, is the full promise given of a restoration of Israel to goodness and to glory. The prophecies against the six enemies of the chosen people and against Judah, with which the book begins, are only preparatory to the full description of the sin of Israel and the punishment which is to come upon its people. Israel, so far as it is like the nations that know not God, is exposed to the same judgments as they.
I. The prophecy is addressed to those who abuse their privileges. Israel was the chosen people, having the oracles of God. They knew the spiritual being and holy character of Jehovah. They had entered into covenant with Him. They had been taught both how to worship Him and how to please Him in their lives. And yet they did not walk as children of the light. They sinned even in their worship. The shrines at Bethel and at Gilgal were the centres of a mingled idolatry and Jehovah-worship. Though they brought sacrifices every morning and tithed their increase or possessions every three days, though they offered not only unleavened bread, but the leavened also, though they encouraged one another to multiply their free-will offerings; however much they might increase their devotion to such religious forms as pleased them, all this was only the increase of their sin, according to the taunting exhortation of the prophet. Mere religiousness never will save a people or a person. External forms grow more rigid when the life has gone out of them, and so announce the loss. To worship the Lord and serve our own gods is the height of impiety. The calf-worship was worse than Baal-worship, because it was a mare conscious defiance of Jehovah. Israel was a prospered people. These days of Jeroboam
II. were at the very summit of its prosperity. The northern kingdom extended to the limits reached under Solomon. Damascus was taken; Moab was reconquered; Israel was powerful and rich. But Israel, instead of making of this richness a very garden of the Lord, suffered all the weeds to grow out of it which so easily find root in such a soil. The sins which mark prosperity are the sins of the prosperous classes. Those who were high in position and rich in possessions in Israel were indulgent toward themselves and oppressive toward the poor. Nations and men need to be warned in their prosperity. It is not easy to tell the truth to the rich and the high. It takes the sense of a prophetic mission to give one courage so to do. Let us beware! What prophet has a message for us like that of Amos the herdsman from Judah for court and priest and people of Israel? Prophets enough, but how many, alas, with no message from the Lord! Our ears are filled with the teachings of political economists contradicting and confounding one another. The air is strident with the harsh cries of the false prophets of materialism.
II. The prophecy is addressed to those who neglect the discipline of adversity. Israel had had its share of that. Jehovah could not vindicate His Fatherhood unless He corrected the faults of His children by reproof and punishment as well as by the encouragement of prosperity and the stimulus of opportunity. By a famine of food and a famine of water, by a failure of crops, by the scourge of pestilence, by general destruction brought upon them in many ways He had sought to rouse the thoughts of His people and to turn their attention to their evil ways. But it had all been to no purpose. Yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the Lord. When all the discipline which the wise father has been able to devise has failed, his heart is sad and disappointed. We have heard a great deal about probation in the pulpits of the past and in the theological discussions of the present. And yet the term and thought are often misused and distorted. We are not set out upon this earthly life that God may put us through its various experiences to see what is in us, as though He were an assayer to whom each human life was brought that He might determine its value and use by an application of the most efficient tests. We are Gods children in our Fathers house, and He is trying to educate and discipline us for our proper place and part in the home life as we come to our maturity. We must learn self-restraint and submission to others; we must grow into fuller sympathy with His ways and plans. All this is discipline, not probation. It is education, not testing. True, it does all test us, but in no peculiar sense. Everything tests us. Each command and each caress equally, by the response which it elicits, shows our quality and fibre. But you neither kiss your child nor send him on an errand to test him. But there comes a time, where all has been done that love and wisdom can devise, when the father says, and the mother sits by consenting through sorrow too deep for tears and moans, We have done all that we can for him. He abuses all his privileges and misuses all his opportunities. He profits nothing by the consequences of his evil doing or by the punishments we have inflicted. We are only making him worse by trying to help him. We have done all that we can do, yet he has not returned unto us. That is just the case with the mass of the people, both of Israel and of our time and nation.
III. The prophecy is addressed to those who have still an opportunity to return. The language of the prophet is stern and severe, and yet it is not an unrelenting severity, nor the sternness of a final sentence. There is this contrast between the threats against the Gentile nations and those spoken to Israel. Nothing is said of a relenting there, but here it is always implied or expressed. The threat against the chosen people is all the more severe by reason of its vagueness: Thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; as though could not bear to put into words the terrible things which He foresaw would become necessary. But the threat is relieved by the command which has in it both the elements of terror and of comfort: Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel! There could be no escape from that encounter. But there was yet time and opportunity for them to make the needed preparation for that meeting. It could not be a preparation to meet their doom which they were bidden to make. It could only be a making ready by penitence and amendment of their lives to meet their God without fear that they might receive His pardon and be restored to His favour. Indeed, the very announcement of a purpose to punish implies a possibility of averting the threatened wrath. The thunderbolts of God are to arouse the attention of the rebellious ones, and the flashes of His lightning show the path which leads to Him. Yes, one more opportunity is given to every one to whom either the threatening of the law or the invitation of the Gospel comes; to every one to whom at least it has a meaning. Law and grace are but the two hands of love. It behoves the men of the nineteenth century, whether they are in the enjoyment of proud prosperity or in the endurance of humbling discipline, to remember that the purpose of both is to draw or drive them back to God. (George M. Boynton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Come to Beth-el and transgress] Spoken ironically. Go on to worship your calves at Beth-el; and multiply your transgressions at Gilgal; the very place where I rolled away the reproach of your fathers, by admitting them there into my covenant by circumcision. A place that should have ever been sacred to me; but you have now desecrated it by enormous idolatries. Let your morning and evening sacrifices be offered still to your senseless gods; and continue to support your present vicious priesthood by the regular triennial tithes which should have been employed in my service; and,
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Come to Beth-el, the known place of the moscholatria, calf-worship: see Amo 3:14.
And transgress: this clears it to be an irony, either throwing them up to their obstinate way of sinning, giving them over as hopeless and incorrigible sinners, or deriding their trust and dependence on idols, to which they sacrificed at Beth-el: See what will be the issue hereof, how you shall succeed herein.
At Gilgal multiply transgression; Gilgal was a place also where much idolatry was acted: see Hos 4:15; 9:15; 12:11. Since you will not be warned, go on, try whether God likes your sacrifices there as well as you like them, and whether they will be a means to preserve from judgments, or sins hastening judgments on you.
Bring your sacrifices every morning: in the same irony God doth by Amos express his own displeasure, reprove their sin, and threaten it, though they imitate the instituted worship at Jerusalem, Exo 29:38,39; Num 28:3,4.
And your tithes after three years; God had, Deu 14:28, commanded every third year that all the tithe of that year should be brought, and laid up in a public storehouse; to this law, with the same irony, doth the prophet allude here.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. God gives them up to theirself-willed idolatry, that they may see how unable their idols are tosave them from their coming calamities. So Eze20:39.
Beth-el (Am3:14).
Gilgal (Hos 4:15;Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11).
sacrifices every morningascommanded in the law (Num 28:3;Num 28:4). They imitated theletter, while violating by calf-worship the spirit, of the Jerusalemtemple-worship.
after three yearseverythird year; literally, “after three (years of) days” (thatis, the fullest complement of days, or a year); “afterthree full years.” Compare Lev 25:20;Jdg 17:10, and “the days”for the years, Joe 1:2.So a month of days is used for a full month, wanting noday to complete it (Ge 29:14,Margin; Num 11:20; Num 11:21).The Israelites here also kept to the letter of the law in bringing inthe tithes of their increase every third year (Deu 14:28;Deu 26:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Come to Bethel and transgress,…. and what follows, are ironic and sarcastic speeches, not giving liberty to sin, but in this way reproving for it: Bethel was one of the places where the calves were placed and worshipped: and here they are bid to go thither, and go on with and continue in their idolatrous worship, by which they transgressed the law of God, and mark what would be the issue of it. The sense is the same with Ec 11:9; see Eze 20:29;
at Gilgal multiply transgression; that is, multiply acts of idolatry: Gilgal was a place where high places and altars were erected, and idols worshipped; as it had formerly been a place of religious worship of the true God, the ten tribes made use of it in the times of their apostasy for idolatrous worship; see Ho 4:15;
and bring your sacrifices every morning; and offer them to your idols, as you were wont formerly to offer them unto the true God, according to the law of Moses, Ex 29:38;
[and] your tithes after three years; the third year after the sabbatical year was the year of tithing; and after the tithe of the increase of the fruits of the earth, there was “maaser sheni”, the second tithe, the same with “maaser ani”, the poor’s tithe, which was given to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless; and the widow, to eat with them, De 14:22; and this they are sarcastically bid to observe in their idolatrous way. It is, in the Hebrew text, “after three days”; and so the Targum,
“your tithes in three days;”
days being put for years, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe. It may be rendered, “after three years of days” s; three complete years.
s “post tres [annos] dierum”, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After this threat directed against the voluptuous women of the capital, the prophecy turns again to all the people. In bitter irony, Amos tells them to go on with zeal in their idolatrous sacrifices, and to multiply their sin. But they will not keep back the divine judgment by so doing. Amo 4:4. “Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, multiply sinning; and offer your slain-offerings in the morning, your tithes every three days. Amo 4:5. And kindle praise-offerings of that which is leavened, and cry out freewill-offerings, proclaim it; for so ye love it, O sons of Israel, is the saying of the Lord, of Jehovah.” “Amos here describes how zealously the people of Israel went on pilgrimage to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Beersheba, those places of sacred associations; with what superabundant diligence they offered sacrifice and paid tithes; who they would rather do too much than too little, so that they even burnt upon the altar a portion of the leavened loaves of the praise-offering, which were only intended for the sacrificial meals, although none but unleavened bread was allowed to be offered; and lastly, how in their pure zeal for multiplying the works of piety, they so completely mistook their nature, as to summon by a public proclamation to the presentation of freewill-offerings, the very peculiarity of which consisted in the fact that they had no other prompting than the will of the offerer” (v. Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, ii. 2, p. 373). The irony of the summons to maintain their worship comes out very distinctly in the words , and sin, or fall away from God. is not a nominative absolute, “as for Gilgal,” but an accusative, and is to be repeated from the first clause. The absence of the copula before does not compel us to reject the Masoretic accentuation, and connect with , as Hitzig does, so as to obtain the unnatural thought, “sin ye towards Gilgal.” On Gilgal mentioned along with Bethel as a place of idolatrous worship (here and Amo 5:5, as in Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15, and Hos 12:12), see at Hos 4:15. Offer your slain-offerings labboqer , for the morning, i.e., every morning, like layyom in Jer 37:21. This is required by the parallel lishlosheth yamm , on the three of days, i.e., every three days. … does not refer to the morning sacrifice prescribed in the law (Num 28:3) – for that is always called olah , not zebach – but to slain sacrifices that were offered every morning, although the offering of z e bhachm every morning presupposes the presentation of the daily morning burnt-offering. What is said concerning the tithe rests upon the Mosaic law of the second tithe, which was to be brought every three years (Deu 14:28; Deu 26:12; compare my Bibl. Archol. 71, Anm. 7). The two clauses, however, are not to be understood as implying that the Israelites had offered slain sacrifices every morning, and tithe every three days. Amos is speaking hyperbolically, to depict the great zeal displayed in their worship; and the thought is simply this: “If ye would offer slain sacrifices every morning, and tithe every three days, ye would only thereby increase your apostasy from the living God.” The words, “kindle praise-offerings of that which is leavened,” have been misinterpreted in various ways. , an inf. absol. used instead of the imperative (see Ges. 131, 4, b). According to Lev 7:12-14, the praise-offering ( todah ) was to consist not only of unleavened cakes and pancakes with oil poured upon them, but also of cakes of leavened bread. The latter, however, were not to be placed upon the altar, but one of them was to be assigned to the priest who sprinkled the blood, and the rest to be eaten at the sacrificial meal. Amos now charges the people with having offered that which was leavened instead of unleavened cakes and pancakes, and with having burned it upon the altar, contrary to the express prohibition of the law in Lev 2:11. His words are not to be understood as signifying that, although outwardly the praise-offerings consisted of that which was unleavened, according to the command of the law, yet inwardly they were so base that they resembled unleavened cakes, inasmuch as whilst the material of the leaven was absent, the true nature of the leaven – namely, malice and wickedness – was there in all the greater quantity (Hengstenberg, Dissertations, vol. i. p. 143 translation). The meaning is rather this, that they were not content with burning upon the altar unleavened cakes made from the materials provided for the sacrifice, but that they burned some of the leavened loaves as well, in order to offer as much as possible to God. What follows answers to this: call out n e dabhoth , i.e., call out that men are to present freewill-offerings. The emphasis is laid upon , which is therefore still further strengthened by . Their calling out nedabhoth , i.e., their ordering freewill-offerings to be presented, was an exaggerated act of zeal, inasmuch as the sacrifices which ought to have been brought out of purely spontaneous impulse (cf. Lev 22:18.; Deu 12:6), were turned into a matter of moral compulsion, or rather of legal command. The words, “for so ye love it,” show how this zeal in the worship lay at the heart of the nation. It is also evident from the whole account, that the worship in the kingdom of the ten tribes was conducted generally according to the precepts of the Mosaic law.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Prophet here again pours contempt on the perverse confidence, in which the Israelites were become hardened. They thought, indeed, that their worship was fully approved by God, when they offered Sacrifices in Bethel and Gilgal. But the Prophet here shows, that the more sedulously they labored in performing sacred things, the more grievously they offended God, and the heavier judgment they gained for themselves. “What do you obtain by wearying yourselves, when ye so strictly offer sacrifices, and omit nothing that is prescribed in the law of God? Only this — that you provoke God’s wrath more and more.” But he condemns not the Israelites for thinking that they rendered a compensation, as hypocrites were wont to think, and were on this account often reproved by the Prophets; but he denounces their modes of worship as vicious and false, and abominable before God. The Prophets reprobated sacrifices for two reasons; — first, because hypocrites brought them before God as a compensation, that they might escape the punishment they deserved, as though they paid God what they owed. Thus at Jerusalem, in the very temple, they profaned the name of God; they offered sacrifices according to what the law prescribed, but disregarded the true and legitimate end; for they thought that God was pacified by the blood of beasts, by incense, and other external rites: it was therefore a preposterous abuse. Hence the Prophets often reproved them, inasmuch as they obtruded their sacrifices on God as a compensation, as though they were real expiations for cleansing away sins: this, as the Prophets declared, was extremely puerile and foolish. But, secondly, Amos now goes much farther; for he blames not here the Israelites for thinking that they discharged their duty to God by external rites, but denounces all their worship as degenerate and perverted, for they called on God in places where he had not commanded: God designed one altar only for his people, and there he wished sacrifices to be offered to him; but the Israelites at their own will had built altars at Bethel and Gilgal. Hence the Prophet declares that all their profane modes of worship were nothing but abominations, however much the Israelites confided in them as their safety.
This is the reason why he now says Go ye to Bethel. It is the language of indignation; God indeed speaks ironically, and at the same time manifests his high displeasure, as though he had said, that they were wholly intractable, and could not be restrained by any corrections, as we say in French, Fai du pis que to pouvras So also God speaks in Eze 20:39, ‘Go, sacrifice to your idols.’ When he saw the people running headlong with so much pertinacity into idolatry and superstitions, he said, “Go;” as though he intended to inflame their minds. It is indeed certain, that God does not stimulate sinners; but he thus manifests his extreme indignation. After having tried to restrain men, and seeing their ungovernable madness, he then says, “Go;” as though he said, “Ye are wholly irreclaimable; I effect nothing by my good advice; hear, then, the devil, who will lead you where you are inclined to go: Go then to Bethel, and there transgress; go to Gilgal, and transgress there again; heap sins on sins.”
But how did they transgress at Bethel? Even by worshipping God. We here see how little the pretense of good intention avails with God, which hypocrites ever bring forward. They imagine that, provided their purpose is to worship God, what they do cannot be disapproved: thus they wanton in their own inventions, and think that God obtains his due, so that he cannot complain. But the Prophet declares all their worship to be nothing else than abomination and execrable wickedness, though the Israelites, trusting in it, thought themselves safe. “Add, then, to transgress in Gilgal; and offer your sacrifices in the morning; be thus diligent, that nothing may be objected to you, as to the outward form.”
After three years, (26) that is, in the third year, “bring also your tenths”; for thus it was commanded, as we read in Deu 14:28. Though, then, the Israelites worshipped God apparently in the strictest manner, yet Amos declares that the whole was vain and of no worth, yea, abominable before God, and that the more they wearied themselves, the more they kindled the wrath of God against themselves. And to the same purpose is the next verse.
(26) Literally, “on the third of days,” לשלשת ימים : but days here are evidently for years. “I cannot doubt,” says Dr. Henderson, “but that the Prophet has in view the enactment recorded in Deu 14:28 ימים, days, mean here, as in Lev 25:29, the fullest complement of days, i.e., a year. ” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Amo. 4:4. Gilgal] The scene of idolatry. Multiply] Irony. Since you will not be reformed, go on, try whether God likes your sacrifices; eager as you are in worship, you will not prevent punishment. Your tithe and incense only increase guilt.
Amo. 4:5. Leaven] against the law (Lev. 2:11). Liketh] This is what you love.
HOMILETICS
UNGODLY LIFE AND FORMAL WORSHIP.Amo. 4:4-5
The prophet again turns to the people, and in bitter irony bids them pursue their course. The words describe the worship of Israel, and afford a specimen of address to desperate sinners.
I. The spirit in which they are uttered.
1. A spirit of irony. Come to Bethel, offer your sacrifices, and go on in your sin. It is sometimes right to cherish this spirit. Elijah to the prophets of Baal (1Ki. 18:27); Micaiah to the priests of Ahab (1Ki. 22:15); and Christ himself (Mat. 6:2) found it necessary. Scorns and taunts are the best answers for serious idolatry, says Bishop Hall. Holiness will bear us out, in disdainful scoffs and bitterness, against wilful superstition.
2. A spirit of reproof. Multiply your sacrifices, and what better will you be? What will they avail you in the day of adversity? When will you learn wisdom? You shall be ashamed of Bethel, your confidence.
II. The moral condition which they indicate. Their conduct was in direct opposition to Gods will. They thought great devotion would make up for ungodly life.
1. A self-righteous spirit. They boasted of their ritual, and proclaimed their zeal and offerings. So well did they count themselves to stand with God, that there is no mention of sin-offering or trespass-offering. They sought the praise of men, and not the approval of God. Their motives to goodness were derived from their fellow-creatures and not from their Maker. Like the scribes and Pharisees, they worshipped to be seen of men.
2. An infatuated mind. Go on; you are resolved to have your own way, whatever God and conscience say; and you may take it. Thus some darken their foolish minds, befool themselves, and are given up to strong delusions, to believe a lie.
3. An incorrigible life. Go on; neither judgment nor mercy has any influence upon you; take the consequences. They seemed judicially given up to sin. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. This is an awful condition, but only a type of that just sentence which will at last be passed against all transgressors. He that is unjust let him be unjust still, and he who is filthy let him be filthy still.
III. The character of the worship they describe. The most wicked do not entirely abandon Christian worship. Fashion and the force of habit constrain them. Israel kept up thank-offerings, but clung to their sins.
1. Corrupt worship. The worship of God was mixed with that of idols. The altar of God and the altar at Bethel had each their gifts. So now the adoration of self and graven images is combined with the worship of the sanctuary. Money, pleasure, and popularity rival God. Unworthy motives and glaring errors are cherished in his service. But God will not permit contamination. We must worship him in the beauty of holiness.
2. Formal worship. They were devout in sacrifices of thanksgiving and free-will offerings; zealous in their tithes, punctual in their ritual, and superabundant in their diligence. They were precise in their formalities, but insincere in their hearts. They kept the letter but violated the spirit. Mint and cummin were paid, but the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy, were neglected. Sacrifices to God are an insult when the heart is alienated and withheld. Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.
3. Will-worship. They did what God commanded, but in their own way, and at their own places. The preference for Bethel and Gilgal, for priests of the people instead of the sons of Levi, the setting up of the golden calves, and the use of leaven in their worship, made it mere will-worship, unacceptable and dishonouring to God. The end of true worship is to please God, but if we please ourselves we offend him. The command, therefore, to please themselves, as they will have it so, marks the utter rejection of the worshippers.
4. Sinful worship. All their work was transgression, and the repetition of their service was a multiplying of transgression: their worship only added more sin to their violence and frauds. Corrupt religion aggravates guilt; diligence in superstitious devotions ripens for destruction; and self-will in anti-scriptural forms leads to utter rejection of God. Though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I will not accept them.
The holier worship which he deigns to bless
Restores the lost, and binds the spirit broken,
And feeds the widow and the fatherless [Whittier].
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4
Amo. 4:4-5. What a sting is therethis liketh you! how it should pierce the conscience of every sinnerfor this liketh you, O ye children of Israel! Far indeed was everything like levity from the prophets mind in treating such a subject as the sinfulness of the people; far enough was he from making a mock of sin as fools do. It was holy sorrow that prompted the irony; it was with deep solemnity of soul that he wielded that cutting weaponand withal he could be touching and tender in expostulation [Stoughton].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(4) Bethel . . . Gilgal.In bitterly ironical words the prophet summons Israel to the calf-worship of Bethel, and to similar rites of bastard Jehovah-worship at Gilgal. These spots were full of sacred associations. The sarcastic force of the passage is lost in E.V. For three years read every three days. The law only required a tithe every third year (Deu. 26:12); but here the prophet is lashing the people with hyperbolical irony for their excessive generosity to the base priests and spurious sanctuaries.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
ISRAEL’S FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIVINE JUDGMENTS Amo 4:4-13.
With Amo 4:4, begins a new discourse, addressed to the people at large. The occasion was probably a religious gathering, when the people, by their zeal for the external requirements, accompanied by an utter disregard of the divine ethical demands, had revealed their utter misapprehension of the will of Jehovah. In an ironical vein Amos exhorts them to continue their heartless ceremonial worship, “for this pleaseth you,” implying at the same time that Jehovah takes no delight in it (Amo 4:4-5). Again and again he sought to make them understand his dissatisfaction with their conduct, and to bring them to their senses, but in vain (Amo 4:6-11). Hence he can do nothing but send a final blow, for which they must now prepare themselves (Amo 4:12-13).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4, 5. A mistaken zeal.
Beth-el See on Amo 3:14.
Gilgal The first camping ground of the Israelites west of the Jordan. Its very name (circle, that is, of stones cromlech) testifies to its sacred character. It is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament; and even after the ark had been removed to a more permanent location it continued to be a favorite sanctuary (1Sa 10:8; Hos 4:15, etc.). It is commonly identified with the modern Jiljul, four and one half miles from the Jordan, one and one half miles east-southeast of Jericho. Others identify the sanctuary mentioned by Amos and Hosea with Julejil, two and one half miles southeast of Nablus, near Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim (Deu 11:30), while some suggest a still different location (2Ki 4:38), the modern Jil-jiliyeh, about seven miles north of Beth-el, in a southwesterly direction from Shiloh.
Come The tone of voice would indicate whether Amos was in earnest or not; that he was not is proved by the next verb.
Transgress Their religious observances were of no value; they were an abomination, a transgression in the sight of Jehovah. Why? Not because the prophet or Jehovah was opposed to sacrifice and forms of worship as such (see on Hos 6:6), but because their coming and their sacrificing was of a character to arouse the divine wrath. This was due to the absence of the proper spirit in their worship, the inconsistency and corruption of their lives, the introduction of foreign heathenish practices into their worship (Amo 2:7-8), and the consequent disregard of Jehovah as the supreme God of Israel and his reduction to the level of the Baalim of Canaan.
At Gilgal The construction reproduced in R.V. is preferable: “(Come) to Gilgal and multiply transgressions.” For the reasons just suggested, the more zealous they were in their heartless worship, the farther they traveled to the sanctuaries, and the more numerous the places visited, the greater the indignation of Jehovah.
Sacrifices A general term for sacrifices and offerings, though the word used here is employed frequently in the restricted sense of animal sacrifice.
Tithes The tenth part of the income consecrated to the deity. The system of tithing was known among many nations of antiquity. The Hebrew laws on the subject are not very explicit, and it seems, that the details in the administration of the system were not always the same (Deu 12:6; Deu 12:11; Deu 12:17; Deu 14:22-29; Deu 26:12).
Every morning, after three years R.V., following more closely the Hebrew reads for the last, “every three days.” The reference is to the bringing of the annual sacrifice ( 1Sa 1:3 ; 1Sa 1:7; 1Sa 1:21), and to the triennial payment of tithes (Deu 14:28; Deu 26:12). The prophet exhorts the people ironically to increase their zeal; to bring sacrifice every morning, instead of once a year, and to pay tithes every three days, instead of every three years. Wellhausen suggests a different translation, which is permitted by the Hebrew, “in the morning on the third day.” He assumes that it was customary to offer sacrifice on the morning after arrival, and to pay the tithes on the third day; and he interprets the ironical exhortation as calling for the punctilious observance of the prescribed routine. This interpretation does not imply the exaggeration involved in the other, but its accuracy is doubtful because it is based upon an apparently unwarranted assumption.
Offer Margin, “offer by burning.” See on Hos 2:13, where the same word is translated “burn incense.”
Sacrifice of thanksgiving Offered in recognition of unmerited and unexpected blessings (Lev 7:12-13; Lev 7:15; Jer 17:26, etc.).
With leaven R.V., “of that which is leavened”; Targum, “from violence”; some translate “without leaven.” The translation of the R.V. is to be preferred. According to Lev 2:11; Exo 23:18, the use of leaven as a part of sacrifice was forbidden; on the other hand, Lev 7:13, would seem to permit its use, and the language of Amos implies that its use was regarded as an indication of special virtue, a conception that may be traced to the extreme zeal of the people, which would cause them to consider hard, unleavened bread too common for their God. Assuming this viewpoint of the people, the prophet exhorts them to do even more than the law requires.
Proclaim and publish Not in the sense of exhorting others to bring them, but of letting everyone know their piety and good works; they are urged to sound the trumpet before them (Mat 6:2).
Free [“freewill”] offerings The offerings brought out of a spontaneous impulse as an expression of irresistible love (Deu 12:6; Deu 12:17).
This liketh you Better, R.V., “this pleaseth you,” with the emphasis on you; Jehovah has no delight in their performances.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Oracle of Warning To All The Children Of Israel ( Amo 4:4-5 ).
Amos constantly attacks Israel on two major subjects, false worship and social injustice. In Amo 4:1-3 he has attacked social injustice. Now in Amo 4:4-5 he again attacks false worship and idolatry. He points out that the superficial and syncretistic worship at the main sanctuaries in Israel is not pleasing to YHWH, and that their very acts of worship were acts of transgression. For while outwardly YHWH was worshipped there it was more as the equivalent of a nature god, whilst His worship was confused with Baalism. Furthermore the sacrifices were offered by non-Levitical priests, a continuing symbol of Israel’s total disregard for the Law of YHWH in the teaching of their sanctuaries. Their worship was self-pleasing, rather than God pleasing. How much of this is true in different ways in the worship of many churches today.
Amo 4:4-5
“Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes every three days; and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of what is leavened, and proclaim freewill-offerings and publish them, for this pleases you, O you children of Israel, says the Lord YHWH.”
There is good reason for thinking that Amos proclaimed these words to the festal crowds who had come to Bethel (or Gilgal) for a regular feast, or alternatively to the crowds streaming out of Samaria to attend such feasts. The opening words in Amo 4:4 are probably a parody of the words of invitation issued by the priests at Bethel and Gilgal (note his emphasis on ‘come — and transgress’). Bethel (1Ki 12:28-29; 1Ki 12:32-33) and Gilgal (Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11) were two of the major sanctuaries in Israel, and the altar at Bethel and the other syncretistic high places had been roundly and continually denounced by YHWH (see 1Ki 13:2-5; 1Ki 13:32, and all references to ‘the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat’). Thus by coming to those altars at Bethel and Gilgal the people of Israel were bringing no satisfaction to YHWH. Rather it meant that they were multiplying their transgressions by worshipping the wrong thing, in the wrong way and with the wrong attitude. Even though they brought their sacrifices every morning and their tithes ‘every three days’ (i.e. on the third and sixth day), all were unacceptable because they were not offered in accordance with the covenant. They were self-pleasing. Furthermore their disregard for the law of Moses in offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving of what was leavened (see Exo 23:18; Lev 2:11; Lev 6:17; Lev 7:11-14), and in openly advertising their freewill offerings so as to gain for themselves religious admiration (compare Mat 6:5), were both examples of self-pleasing, and thus examples of what was unacceptable to ‘the Lord YHWH’.
‘For this pleases you.’ Right from its new beginning in the time of Jeroboam I worship at Bethel had been men-pleasing. YHWH’s requirements were ignored and the king and people did what satisfied them. Priests were appointed from amongst themselves and they thoroughly enjoyed their feasts and incorporated into them whatever practise they fancied if it would make the feast more enjoyable. The lessons that YHWH had sought to teach through the feasts were lost sight of. What mattered was that the feasts be popular, pleasing, and enjoyable.
It should be noted that there were in Israel altars at which acceptable offerings could be made to YHWH as Elijah himself had made clear (1Ki 18:30; 1Ki 19:10). Scripture nowhere teaches that there was only one place where sacrifices could be offered (Deuteronomy 12 is grossly misinterpreted to suit a theory). What it teaches was that there was one Central Sanctuary at which the tribes should gather three times a year, and other altars set up where YHWH had revealed His Name (Exo 20:24; Jos 8:30-31) served by levitical priests, where legitimate sacrifices could be offered. Thus Mount Carmel was clearly one of the places at which YHWH had revealed His Name (1Ki 18:30). But these altars were constantly subject to rejection by the syncretistic Yahwism in Israel because they were in opposition to the altars at Bethel, Dan, Gilgal, etc. which had been set up on man made principles, and claimed to be ‘central sanctuaries’ of a kind..
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Amo 4:4. Come to Beth-el This and the following verses are spoken ironically. See Hos 4:15; Hos 12:11. “Signalize your zeal and your diligence in those things which the Lord abhorreth most.” Instead of, after three years, Houbigant reads with the Vulgate, in three days; which perhaps were those prescribed for the payment of their tithes.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It should seem that in the midst of all their transgressions they still carried on a shew of religion. Like their idolatrous neighbours around, they would not be totally void of some form of worship, and therefore set up the appearance of it in Bethel. Some have thought, that they had not only openly established idol worship there, but that the whole nation was guilty of it, But we know that in the grossest moments of idolatry, in the days of the kings of Israel, the Lord had seven thousand in Israel who did not bow the knee to the image of Baal. 1Ki 19:18 ; Rom 11:3-4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Amo 4:4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years:
Ver. 4. Come to Bethel and transgress ] Do so, if you think it good; and since you are so set upon it, go on, despair, die and be damned: That which will perish, let it perish, quoniam vobis stat sententia, since you are resolved, and there is no removing of you, take your own course, at your own peril. Here then we have a most bitter sarcasm, wherein God, in seeming to command sin, showeth his utmost dislike of it; for he is not a God that loveth wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him, Psa 5:4 . See the like ironic expressions, Jer 7:21 Eze 20:39 Ecc 11:9 Num 22:20 Isa 29:1 ; Isa 8:9 ; Isa 47:12 Jdg 10:14 1Ki 18:27 . Bethel-Place of Transgression
At Gilgal multiply transgressions
And bring your sacrifices every morning
And your tithes after three years
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Amos
SMITTEN IN VAIN
Amo 4:4 – Amo 4:13
The reign of Jeroboam II. was one of brilliant military success and of profound moral degradation. Amos was a simple, hardy shepherd from the southern wilds of Judah, and his prophecies are redolent of his early life, both in their homely imagery and in the wholesome indignation and contempt for the silken-robed vice of Israel. No sterner picture of an utterly rotten social state was ever drawn than this book gives of the luxury, licentiousness, and oppressiveness of the ruling classes. This passage deals rather with the religious declension underlying the moral filth, and sets forth the self-willed idolatry of the people Amo 4:4 – Amo 4:5, their obstinate resistance to God’s merciful chastisement Amo 4:6 – Amo 4:11, and the heavier impending judgment Amo 4:12 – Amo 4:13.
I. Indignant irony flashes in that permission or command to persevere in the calf worship.
The lessons of this burst of sarcasm are plain. The subtle influence of self creeps in even in worship, and makes it hollow, unreal, and powerless to bless the worshipper. Obedience is better than costly gifts. The beginning and end of all worship, which is not at same time ‘transgression’ is the submission of tastes, will, and the whole self. Again, men will lavish gifts far more freely in apparent religious service, which is but the worship of their reflected selves, than in true service of God. Again, the purity of willing offerings is marred when they are given in response to a loud call, or, when given, are proclaimed with acclamations. Let us not suppose that all the brunt of Amos’s indignation fell only on these old devotees. The principles involved in it have a sharp edge, turned to a great deal which is allowed and fostered among ourselves.
II. The blaze of indignation changes in the second part of the passage into wounded tenderness, as the Prophet speaks in the name of God, and recounts the dreary monotony of failure attending all God’s loving attempts to arrest Israel’s departure by the mercy of judgment.
Mark the sad cadence of the fivefold refrain, ‘Ye have not returned unto Me, saith the Lord.’ The ‘unto’ implies reaching the object to which we turn, and is not the less forcible but more usual word found in this phrase, which simply means ‘towards’ and indicates direction, without saying anything as to how far the return has gone. So there may have been partial moments of bethinking themselves, when the chastisement was on Israel; but there had been no thorough ‘turning,’ which had landed them at the side of God. Many a man turns towards God, who, for lack of resolved perseverance, never so turns as to get to God. The repeated complaint of the inefficacy of chastisements has in it a tone of sorrow and of wonder which does not belong only to the Prophet. If we remember who it was who was ‘grieved at the blindness of their heart,’ and who ‘wondered at their unbelief’ we shall not fear to recognise here the attribution of the same emotions to the heart of God.
To Amos, famine, drought, blasting, locusts, pestilence, and probably earthquake, were five messengers of God, and Amos was taught by God. If we looked deeper, we should see more clearly. The true view of the relation of all material things and events to God is this which the herdsman of Tekoa proclaimed. These messengers were not ‘miracles,’ but they were God’s messengers all the same. Behind all phenomena stands a personal will, and they are nearer the secret of the universe who see God working in it all, than they who see all forces except the One which is the only true force. ‘I give cleanness of teeth. I have withholden the rain. I have smitten. I have sent the pestilence. I have overthrown some of you.’ To the Prophet’s eye the world is all aflame with a present God. Let no scientific views, important and illuminating as these may be, hide from us the deeper truth, which lies beyond their region. The child who says ‘God,’ has got nearer the centre than the scientist who says ‘Force.’
But Amos had another principle, that God sent physical calamities because of moral delinquencies and for moral and religious ends. These disasters were meant to bring Israel back to God, and were at once punishments and reformatory methods. No doubt the connection between sin and material evils was closer under the Old Testament than now. But if we may not argue as Amos did, in reference to such calamities as drought, and failures of harvests, and the like, as these affect communities, we may, at all events, affirm that, in the case of the individual, he is a wise man who regards all outward evil as having a possible bearing on his bettering spiritually. ‘If a drought comes, learn to look to your irrigation, and don’t cut down your forests so wantonly,’ say the wise men nowadays; ‘if pestilence breaks out, see to your drainage.’ By all means. These things, too, are God’s commandments, and we have no right to interpret the consequences of infraction of physical laws as being meant to punish nations for their breach of moral and religious ones. If we were prophets, we might, but not else. But still, is God so poor that He can have but one purpose in a providence? Every sorrow, of whatever sort, is meant to produce all the good effects which it naturally tends to produce; and since every experience of pain and loss and grief naturally tends to wean us from earth, and to drive us to find in God what earth can never yield, all our sorrows are His messengers to draw us back to Him. Amos’ lesson as to the purpose of trials is not antiquated.
But he has still another to teach us; namely, the awful power which we have of resisting God’s efforts to draw us back. ‘Our wills are ours, we know not how,’ but alas! it is too often not ‘to make them Thine.’ This is the true tragedy of the world that God calls, and we do refuse, even as it is the deepest mystery of sinful manhood that God calls and we can refuse. What infinite pathos and grieved love, thrown back upon itself, is in that refrain, ‘Ye have not returned unto Me!’ How its recurrence speaks of the long-suffering which multiplied means as others failed, and of the divine charity, which ‘suffered long, was not soon angry, and hoped all things!’ How vividly it gives the impression of the obstinacy that to all effort opposed insensibility, and clung the more closely and insanely to the idolatry which was its crime and its ruin! The very same temper is deep in us all. Israel holds up the mirror in which we may see ourselves. If blows do not break iron, they harden it. A wasted sorrow-that is, a sorrow which does not drive us to God-leaves us less impressible than it found us.
III. Again the mood changes, and the issue of protracted resistance is prophesied Amo 4:12 – Amo 4:13.
‘Therefore’ sums up the instances of refusal to be warned, and presents them as the cause of the coming evil. The higher the dam is piled, the deeper the water that is gathered behind it, and the surer and more destructive the flood when it bursts. Long-delayed judgments are severe in proportion as they are slow. Note the awful vagueness of threatening in that emphatic ‘thus,’ as if the Prophet had the event before his eyes. There is no need to specify, for there can be but one result from such obstinacy. The ‘terror of the Lord’ is more moving by reason of the dimness which wraps it. The contact of divine power with human rebellion can only end in one way, and that is too terrible for speech. Conscience can translate ‘thus.’ The thunder-cloud is all the more dreadful for the vagueness of its outline, where its livid hues melt into formless black. What bolts lurk in its gloom?
The certainty of judgment is the basis of a call to repentance, which may avert it. The meeting with God for which Israel is besought to prepare, was, of course, not judgment after death, but the impending destruction of the Northern Kingdom. But Amos’s prophetic call is not misapplied when directed to that final day of the Lord. Common-sense teaches preparation for a certain future, and Amos’s trumpet-note is deepened and re-echoed by Jesus: ‘Be ye ready also, for . . . the Son of man cometh.’ Note, too, that Israel’s peculiar relation to God is the very ground of the certainty of its punishment, and of the appeal for repentance. Just because He is ‘thy God,’ will He assuredly come to judge, and you may assuredly prepare, by repentance, to meet Him. The conditions of meeting the Judge, and being ‘found of Him in peace,’ are that we should be ‘without spot, and blameless’; and the conditions of being so spotless and uncensurable are, what they were in Amos’s day, repentance and trust. Only we have Jesus as the brightness of the Father’s glory to trust in, and His all-sufficient work to trust to, for pardon and purifying.
The magnificent proclamation of the name of the Lord which closes the passage, is meant as at once a guarantee of His judgment and an enforcement of the call to be ready to meet Him. He in creation forms the solid, changeless mountains and the viewless, passing wind. The most stable and the most mobile are His work. He reads men’s hearts, and can tell them their thoughts afar off. He is the Author of all changes, both in the physical and the moral world, bringing the daily wonder of sunrise and the nightly shroud of darkness, and with like alternation blending joy and sorrow in men’s lives. He treads ‘on the high places of the earth,’ making all created elevations the path of His feet, and crushing down whatever exalts itself. Thus, in creation almighty, in knowledge omniscient, in providence changing all things and Himself the same, subjugating all, and levelling a path for His purposes across every opposition, He manifests His name, as the living, eternal Jehovah, the God of the Covenant, and therefore of judgment on its breakers, and as the Commander and God of the embattled forces of the universe. Is this a God whose coming to judge is to be lightly dealt with? Is not this a God whom it is wise for us to be ready to meet?
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Amo 4:4-5
4Enter Bethel and transgress;
In Gilgal multiply transgression!
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.
5Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,
And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known.
For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,
Declares the Lord GOD.
Amo 4:4 enter This (BDB 97, KB 112) is a Qal IMPERATIVE. Amo 4:4-5 have a series of IMPERATIVES (3 Qal IMPERATIVES; 3 Hiphil IMPERATIVES).
Bethel. . .Gilgal These were early cultic centers (Bethel, Gen 12:8; Gen 28:10-22 and Gilgal, Joshua 4). They were popular worship sites in the eighth century B.C. (cf. Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11). Amo 4:4-5 are highly sarcastic (cf. Amo 5:5-6).
It is possible that YHWH’s sarcastic statements in Amo 4:4-5 were due to
1. Israel’s love of formal worship rituals, but evil lifestyles
2. their condemnation by the prophets when God chose Jerusalem as the central sanctuary (e.g., Deu 12:5; Deu 12:11; Deu 12:13-14; Deu 12:18; Deu 12:26; Deu 14:23-25; Deu 16:2; Deu 16:6-7; Deu 16:16).
In context option #1 is best.
It is difficult to be certain which Gilgal is referenced here. There are possibly four different Gilgals (i.e., circle of stones; see The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 2, pp. 1022-23). Hard Sayings of the Bible asserts that this site is close to Bethel (Anchor Dictionary #2), not the one mentioned in Joshua 4 (p. 330).
Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days There are three theories about this verse: (1) it shows their excessive religiosity; (2) it shows the normal worship practices of the pilgrims as they attend these shrines (i.e., arrived one day, offer a sacrifice the second, and the tithe on the third day, cf. REB); or (3) the tithes refers to the third year tithe for local poor (i.e., another allusion to the Mosaic covenant, cf. Deu 14:28; Deu 26:12, days would then be a reference to years). See Special Topic: Tithe in the Mosaic Legislation .
Amo 4:5 a thank offering also from that which is leavened There are two theories concerning this phrase: (1) leaven was forbidden and, therefore, shows their perversion (cf. Exo 23:18; Exo 34:15; Lev 2:11; Lev 6:17) or (2) it should be understood as bread offering (cf. NRSV, TEV), which was not required, but showed extra devotion. Lev 7:13 allows leaven in a fellowship sacrifice. It is not always a metaphor of evil. See Special Topic: Leaven .
proclaim. . .make them known The VERBS are a Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 894, KB 1128) and a Hiphil IMPERATIVE (BDB 1033, KB 1570). Their worship activities were an ostentatious public display of religiosity (cf. Mat 6:2).
For so you love to do, you sons of Israel Multiplied, eloquent ritual had become the essence of their faith, not social justice based on their personal faith in YHWH. They wanted to flaunt their religiosity before each other! A faith cut off from daily life!
Declares the Lord GOD See note at Amo 3:1.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Come to Beth-el, &c. Here we have Divine irony, as though it meant “Fill up the measure of your iniquity”. Compare Mat 23:32.
transgress . . . transgression. Hebrew pasha’. App-44.
Beth-el . . . Gilgal. Compare Amo 3:14; Amo 5:5. Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11.
after three years. The ref is to the Pentateuch (Num 28:3. Deu 14:28), App-92; not to “days”, or to modern “Mohammedan pilgrimages”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Beth-el
Cf. 1Ki 12:25-33. Any altar at Beth-el, after the establishment of Jehovah’s worship at Jerusalem was of necessity divisive and schismatic. Deu 12:4-14. Cf.; Joh 4:21-24; Mat 18:20; Heb 13:10-14.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Come: A bitter irony and sarcasm, addressed to the idolatrous Israelites. Amo 3:14, Ecc 11:9, Eze 20:39, Joe 3:9-12, Mat 23:32, Mat 26:45, Mar 14:41
at Gilgal: Amo 5:5, Hos 4:15, Hos 9:15, Hos 12:11
and bring: Num 28:3, Num 28:4
and your: Deu 14:28, Deu 14:29, Deu 26:12
three years: Heb. three years of days
Reciprocal: Gen 14:20 – tithes Jos 4:19 – Gilgal 1Ki 18:27 – Elijah 2Ki 2:23 – Bethel 2Ki 23:4 – Bethel 1Ch 16:40 – To offer 2Ch 6:26 – there is no rain 2Ch 18:14 – Go ye up Isa 29:1 – add Isa 50:11 – walk Eze 23:19 – multiplied Hos 9:4 – neither Amo 5:22 – peace offerings
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Amo 4:4. Bethel was one of the cities where an idol god was erected (1Ki 12:29) by the first king of Israel, and Gilgal was the place where the first king of Judah committed his serious offence (1 Samuel 10 : S; 13: 8-10). Both parts of the people of the Jewish nation had been guilty of much transgression. Come to Bethel, etc., sounds as if the Lord was bidding the people to continue in their sin. We know that is not the case, hut it has the force of saying, “You have gone so far in your corrupt practices that you will not change them now until you are given the deserved chastisement.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Amo 4:4-5. Come to Beth-el The known place of the calf-worship; and transgress A strong irony, giving them over as incorrigible: like that of Eze 20:39, Go ye, serve every man his idols. At Gilgal multiply transgression This place also, as well as Beth-el, was the scene of idolatry, as appears from the cotemporary Prophet Hosea. And bring your sacrifices every morning According to the law of the daily burnt- offering, Num 28:4, which they observed in the worship of the golden calves. The prophet continues in the same strain of irony to reprove their idolatry, though in it they imitated the instituted worship at Jerusalem. And your tithes after three years God had commanded, Deu 14:28, that every third year all the tithe of that year should be brought and laid up in a public storehouse, upon which account the third year is called the year of tithing. And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven Or, with leavened bread, as the law prescribes, Lev 7:13. And proclaim the free-offerings Or freewill- offerings, as the word is translated in other places. For this liketh you, &c. Vulgate, sic enim voluistis, for such is your will, or so it pleases you to act. Your hearts are so set upon your idolatrous worship, that it is in vain to use any arguments to dissuade you from it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Amo 4:4-13. Israels Denseness.What is the real cause of conduct that merits such punishment? At the root of all the evil is a sham religion, a religion which in its mere formality and gross corruption has degenerated into a blasphemous hypocrisy. Come to Bethel! says the prophet (Amo 4:4). And do what? Why, simply rebel (against Yahweh)! It is useless to multiply religious observances and to invent new rites, to sacrifice every morning instead of once a year, to pay tithes every three days instead of every three years, and to invent new rites such as that of burning cakes of leavened bread (Amo 4:5) as a thank-offering. The futility of such sins has been demonstrated again and again (Amo 4:6-11). By way of warning and punishment, Yahweh had sent various calamities. He had sent hunger (cleanness of teeth) and famine (Amo 4:6). He had withheld the rain-showers, which are welcomed in March and April; and had thus threatened the harvest, which falls a few months later, in May and June (Amo 4:7). When this happened (Amo 4:7), the fields would become parched (frequentative tenses), and people, lacking even water sufficient to quench their thirst, would stagger from various cities (two or three cities; an indefinite number) to some other city, seeking water in vain. He had sent blasting and mildew to devastate gardens and vineyards, and the locust (lit. the shearer) to devour the fig-trees and olive-trees. He had sent a pestilence (Amo 4:10). This is described as after the manner of Egypt, i.e. of the Egyptian kind, or by the way of Egypt, i.e. a pestilence which spread from Egypt. We learn from inscriptions that such pestilences visited Western Asia in 765 and 759 B.C. He smote the young men with the best of their horses (see below). He brought destruction like that of Sodom and Gomorrah (Amo 4:11). In spite of all such visitations, Israel refused to turn from its evil ways and return to Yahweh. Therefore (Amo 4:12) He is about to take further measures, and the prophet warns the people to prepare to face its God. In Amo 4:13 is added a short hymn or doxology which is perhaps a late insertion. The Almighty Creator declares to men His thought (lit. meditation), He who maketh dawn and darkness SO LXX).
Amo 4:4. We may translate, And bring your sacrifices in the morning, your tithes on the third day.
Amo 4:5. and offer . . . leavened: better, and burn (cf mg.) some leavened bread as a thank-offering. Usually the leavened bread was not burned. Marti thinks that there had grown up the practice of throwing cakes of leavened bread into the flames as a thank-offering.
Amo 4:7 c. Translate, with Marti, One field would be rained upon, and the field which I did not rain upon (reading amtir) would be dried up.
Amo 4:9. the multitude . . . devoured: translate, I laid waste (reading hehrabti), your gardens and vineyards; and your fig-trees and your olive-trees the locust devoured.
Amo 4:10. and have carried away your horses: MT has (cf. mg.), together with the captivity (or captives) of your horses. But the word for captivity or captives (shbh) is never used of animals. I would suggest bh for shbh: the best (beauty) of your horses.
Amo 4:11. I have overthrown some among you: better, I have brought an overthrow among you. The word is always used in reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
4:4 Come to {d} Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three {e} years:
(d) He speaks this in contempt of those who resorted to those places, thinking that their great devotion and good intention was sufficient to have bound God to them.
(e) Read De 14:28 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Religious hypocrisy 4:4-5
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Ironically the Lord told these sinful Israelites to go to Bethel but to transgress, not to worship. Such a call parodied the summons of Israel’s priests to come to the sanctuary to worship (cf. Psa 95:6; Psa 96:8-9; Psa 100:2-4). Bethel was the most popular religious site in the Northern Kingdom, but the Lord looked at what the people did there as transgressing His law rather than worshipping Him. Gilgal, another worship center, was evidently the Gilgal where the Israelites had entered the Promised Land and had erected memorial stones (Jos 4:20-24). Other references to it indicate that it was a place that pilgrims visited and where they sacrificed in Amos’ day (cf. Amo 5:5; Hos 4:15; Hos 9:15; Hos 12:11). At Gilgal (from Heb. galal, to roll) God had rolled away the reproach of Egypt from His people (cf. Jos 5:9), but now they were bringing reproach on themselves again by their idolatry at Gilgal.
God hyperbolically and ironically urged the people to bring their sacrifices every morning and their tithes every three days (rather than every three years as the Law required, cf. Deu 14:28-29). Even if they sacrificed every morning and tithed every three days they would only be rebelling against God. The people were careful to worship regularly, but it was a ritual contrary to God’s will.
"It’s as though a pastor today said to his congregation, ’Sure, go ahead and attend church, but by attending, you’re only sinning more. . . . Your heart isn’t serious about knowing God or doing His will. Since it’s all just playacting.’" [Note: Wiersbe, p. 353.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE FALSE PEACE OF RITUAL
Amo 4:4-6
THE next four groups of oracles- Amo 4:4-13; Amo 5:1-27; Amo 5:6.-treat of many different details, and each of them has its own emphasis; but all are alike in this, that they vehemently attack the national worship and the sense of political security which it has engendered. Let us at once make clear that this worship is the worship of Jehovah. It is true that it is mixed with idolatry, but, except possibly in one obscure verse Amo 5:26, Amos does not concern himself with the idols. What he strikes at, what he would sweep away, is his peoples form of devotion to their own God. The cult of the national God, at the national sanctuaries, in the national interest and by the whole body of the people, who practice it with a zeal unparalleled by their forefathers-this is what Amos condemns. And he does so absolutely. He has nothing but scorn for the temples and the feasts. The assiduity of attendance, the liberality of gifts, the employment of wealth and art and patriotism in worship-he tells his generation that God loathes it all. Like Jeremiah, he even seems to imply that God never instituted in Israel any sacrifice or offering. {Amo 5:25} It is all this which gives these oracles their interest for us; and that interest is not merely historical.
It is indeed historical to begin with. When we find, not idolatry, but all religious ceremonial-temples, public worship, tithes, sacrifice, the praise of God by music, in Fact every material form in which mart has ever been wont to express his devotion to God-scorned and condemned with the same uncompromising passion as idolatry itself, we receive a needed lesson in the history of religion. For when one is asked, What is the distinguishing characteristic of heathenism? one is always ready to say, Idolatry, which is not true. The distinguishing characteristic of heathenism is the stress which it lays upon ceremonial. To the pagan religions, both of the ancient and of the modern world, rites were the indispensable element in religion. The gifts of the gods, the abundance of fruits, the security of the state, depended upon the full and accurate performance of ritual. In Greek literature we have innumerable illustrations of this: the “Iliad” itself starts from a gods anger, roused by an insult to his priest, whose prayers for vengeance he hears because sacrifices have been assiduously offered to him. And so too with the systems of paganism from which the faith of Israel, though at first it had so much in common with them, broke away to its supreme religious distinction. The Semites laid the stress of their obedience to the gods upon traditional ceremonies; and no sin was held so heinous by them as the neglect or infringement of a religious rite. By the side of it offences against ones fellowmen or ones own character were deemed mere misdemeanors. In the day of Amos this pagan superstition thoroughly penetrated the religion of Jehovah, and so absorbed the attention of men, that without the indignant and complete repudiation of it prophecy could not have started on her task of identifying morality with religion, and of teaching men more spiritual views of God. But even when we are thus aware of ceremonialism as the characteristic quality of the pagan religions, we have not measured the full reason of that uncompromising attack on it, which is the chief feature of this part of the permanent canon of our religion. For idolatries die everywhere; but everywhere a superstitious ritualism survives. It continues with philosophies that have ceased to believe in the gods who enforced it. Upon ethical movements which have gained their freedom by breaking away from it, in the course of time it makes up, and lays its paralyzing weight. With offers of help it flatters religions the most spiritual in theory and intention. The Pharisees, them whom few parties had at first purer ideals of morality, tithed mint, anise, and cumin, to the neglect of the essence of the Law; and even sound Christians, who have assimilated the Gospel of St. John, find it hard and sometimes impossible to believe in salvation apart from their own sacraments, or outside their own denominational forms. Now this is because ritual is a thing which appeals both to the baser and to the nobler instincts of man. To the baser it offers itself as a mechanical atonement for sin, and a substitute for all moral and intellectual effort in connection with faith; to the nobler it insists on a mans need in religion of order and routine, of sacrament and picture. Plainly then the words of Amos have significance for more than the immediate problems of his day. And if it seem to some that Amos goes too far with his cry to sweep away all ceremonial, let them remember, besides the crisis of his times, that the temper he exposes and seeks to dissipate is a rank and obdurate error of the human heart. Our Lord, who recognized the place of ritual in worship, who said, “Thus it behoveth us to fulfill all righteousness,” which righteousness in the dialect of His day was not the moral law, but mans due of rite, sacrifice, tithe, and alms, said also, “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” There is an irreducible minimum of rite and routine in worship; there is an invaluable loyalty to traditional habits; there are holy and spiritual uses in symbol and sacrament. But these are all dispensable; and because they are all constantly abused, the voice of the prophet is ever needed which tells us that God will have none of them; but let justice roll on like water, and righteousness like an unfailing stream.
For the superstition that ritual is the indispensable bond between God and man, Amos substitutes two other aspects of religion. They are history as Gods discipline of man: and civic justice as mans duty to God. The first of them he contrasts with religious ceremonialism in Amo 4:4-13, and the second in chapter 5; while in chapter 6 he assaults once more the false political peace which the ceremonialism engenders.