Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 8:12

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].

12. wander ] go tottering (comp. on Amo 4:8), with allusion to the uncertain gait of persons partly ( Amo 8:13) exhausted, and partly bewildered, not knowing where to find what they are in search of (cf. Lam 4:15).

from sea to sea ] i.e. from the Dead Sea, the S. limit of the kingdom of Israel (2Ki 14:25), to the Mediterranean, its western boundary.

and from the north even to the sun-rising ] returning thus to the point from which they started, and so completing the circuit of the land.

to seek the word of Jehovah ] The expression may be illustrated from 1Ki 22:5 (Jehoshaphat) “Inquire, I pray thee, first of the word of Jehovah,” Amo 8:7 “Is there not here besides a prophet of Jehovah that we might inquire of him?” (similarly 2Ki 3:11); from the phrase “the word of Jehovah is with ” such and such a prophet, 2Ki 3:12, Jer 27:18; and from the question put by Zedekiah in his anxiety to Jeremiah (Jer 37:17) “Is there a word from Jehovah?”

and shall not find it ] Cf. 1Sa 28:6 (of Saul); Eze 7:26.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

They shall wander – Literally, reel. The word is used of the reeling of drunkards, of the swaying to and fro of trees in the wind, of the quivering of the lips of one agitated, and then of the unsteady seeking of persons bewildered, looking for what they know not where to find. From sea to sea, from the sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, that is, from east to west, and from the north even to the sunrising, round again to the east, from where their search had begun, where light should be, and was not. It may be, that Amos refers to the description of the land by Moses, adapting it to the then separate condition of Ephraim, your south border shall be from the extremity of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea) eastward – and the goings out of it shall be at the sea, and for the western border ye shall have the great sea for a border. And this shall be your north border – and the border shall descend and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward Num 34:3-12. Amos does not mention the south, because there alone, where they might have found, where the true worship of God was, they did not seek. Had they sought God in Judah, instead of seeking to aggrandize themselves by its subdual, Tiglath-pileser would probably never have come against them. One expedition only in the seventeen years of his reign was directed westward , and that was at the petition of Ahaz.

The principle of Gods dealings, that, in certain conditions of a sinful people, He will withdraw His word, is instanced in Israel, not limited to it. God says to Ezekiel, I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, and thou shalt be dumb; and shalt not be to them a reprover, for it is a rebellious house Eze 3:26; and Ezekiel says, Destruction shall come upon destruction, and rumor shall be upon rumor, and they shall seek a vision from the prophet, and the law shall perish from the priest and counsel from the ancients Eze 7:26. : God turns away from them, and checks the grace of prophecy. For since they neglected His law, He on His side, stays the prophetic gift. And the word was precious in those days, there was no open vision, that is, God did not speak to them through the prophets; He breathed not upon them the Spirit through which they spake. He did not appear to them, but is silent and hidden. There was silence, enmity between God and man.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 12. They shall wander front sea to sea] From the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea or from west to east, and from north to south, to seek the word of the Lord; to find a prophet, or any person authorized by God to show them the end of their calamities. In this state they shall continue, because they have rejected Him who is the bread of life.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

They shall wander from sea to sea; search all places for a prophet or a preacher from the Syrian or Midland Sea to that of Tiberias, to the Dead Sea, and to the Red Sea.

From the north even to the east; that mountainous tract whither persecuted Elijah fled, and perhaps other prophets in like circumstances retired; proverbially, they shall search all corners for a prophet.

They shall run to and fro; shall diligently and speedily, on every report that a prophet is, on hearsays, in such or such a place, hasten thither, as Ahab in his search for Elijah, 1Ki 18:10.

To seek the word of the Lord; hoping to hear some good news of an end of their miseries from God by a prophet.

And shall not find it; they persecuted and slew such as foretold the beginning of this misery, and now it is come they shall neither hear the news nor see the hopes of an end. God did tell them it would be utter ruin, and no prophet of God can tell them any better news.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

12. they shall wander from sea toseathat is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from eastto west.

from . . . north . . . to . .. eastwhere we might expect “from north to south.”But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even thenwould think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem forreligious information. The circuit is traced as in Nu34:3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their “seekingthe word of the Lord” would not be from a sincere desire to obeyGod, but under the pressure of punishment.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And they shall wander from sea to sea,…. From the sea of Tiberias, or Galilee; or from the Dead sea, the lake Asphaltites; or from the Red sea, which was to the south of the land of Israel, to the great sea, which is to the west, as Aben Ezra: so the Targum,

“from the sea to the west;”

that is, to the Mediterranean sea:

and from the north even to the east; proceeding from the south to the west, they shall turn from thence to the north, and so to the east, which describes the borders of the land of Canaan, Nu 34:3; and the sense is, that

they shall go to and fro; throughout the whole land, and all over it,

to seek the word of the Lord; not the written word, but the interpretation of it; doctrine from before the Lord, as the Targum; the preaching of the word, or ministers to instruct them in it; or the word of prophecy, and prophets to tell them when it would be better times, and how long their present distress should last:

and shall not find [it]; there should be no ministry, no preaching, no prophesying; as never since among the ten tribes, so it has been the case of the Jews, the two tribes, upon the rejection of the Messiah; the Gospel was taken from them; no tidings could they hear of the Messiah, though they ran to and fro to find him, it being told them Lo, here, and Lo, there; see Joh 7:34.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

But it may be here asked, Why does he say that they should be so famished as to run here and there, and wander from sea to sea, from the south even to the east, since this ought to be counted as one of God’s favors; for what more grievous thing can happen to us, than that the Lord should render us stupid and unconcerned? But when we are touched with some desire for sound doctrine, it evidently appears that there is some religion in us; we are not destitute of the Spirit of God, though destitute of the outward medium: and then comes what Christ says,

‘

Knock, and it shall be opened to you; seek, and ye shall find,’ (Mat 7:7)

Therefore this denunciation of the Prophet seems not, it is said, so severe and dreadful. But we must observe, that the Prophet does not speak here strictly of famine, as though he said, that the Israelites would feel the want of God’s word, that they would really look for it, that they would sincerely seek it, but that they would perceive by the punishment itself, that nothing is more to be dreaded than to be deprived of the spiritual food of the soul. An example of this is found in Esau: when he saw that he had lost his birth-right, he cried and howled. He did not do this either from a right feeling, or because he had returned to a sound mind; but he was urged on by despair only: and then he sent forth lamentations and howlings, as though he were a wild beast. An anxiety like this is what the Prophet describes here. We hence learn, that the reprobate, when they see themselves deprived of God’s favors, are not really moved, so that they repent, but only feel strong agonies, so that they torment themselves without any benefit, and do not turn themselves to God.

What then is this to seek? We must notice what he said before — that they shall wander from sea to sea, and then, that they shall run here and there. When the faithful perceive any token of God’s wrath, they immediately conclude and clearly see, that there is no remedy but to retake themselves directly to God: but the ungodly, what do they do? They disquiet themselves, and make a great noise. It is then this empty and false feeling of which the Prophet speaks. Now then the question is answered. But we must at the same time observe, what the best way is to recover the favor of God, when we are deprived of it; and it is this, — to consider our state, and to return to him under a due consciousness of God’s judgment, and to seek to be reconciled to him. Thus will he restore what he has taken away. But if our obstinacy be like that of the Israelites, God will deprive us of his benefits, and not only those which are necessary to support our present life, but also of the spiritual food of the soul: then in vain will our howlings rend the air, for he will not give us an upright spirit to return to him; but we shall in vain bite the bridle, we shall in vain torment ourselves: for he will not suffer us to come where we ought, that is, he will not lead us to true repentance nor to a genuine calling on him, but we shall pine away in our evils without any remedy.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(12) They shall wander from sea to sea . . .Stagger and reel from east to west to find one seer who knows the mind of the Lord: they shall not find one. The reference to the east here has an instructive parallel in Isa. 2:6, where the house of Jacob is enounced as being full of the east. Probably Delitzsch is right in interpreting the east there to mean Arabia as inclusive of the whole tract from the Sinaitic peninsula to the banks of the Euphrates. The north would mean Phnicia and Aram. From these districts the distracted superstitious Hebrew sought vain help in idolatrous forms of divination.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Amo 8:12. They shall wander from sea to sea, &c. From the west to the south. Houbigant.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Amo 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].

Ver. 12. And they shall wander from sea to sea ] Trouble themselves to no purpose, take pains (as Esau did for venison, but lost his labour), run to all coasts and quarters to seek the word of the Lord.

And shall not find it ] And why? they despised it when it was in their power; they rejected the counsel of God against themselves, with those lawyers, Luk 7:30 . He would have gathered them, but they would not be gathered; he would have purged them, but they would not be purged, Eze 24:13-14 , they are therefore miserable by their own election; as Saul was, who slighted Samuel while he was alive, and would have been fully glad of his counsel when he was dead. He that would not once worship God in Samuel worships at length Samuel in Satan; and no marvel. Satan was now become his refuge, and preacheth his funeral; his Urim now was darkness, his prophet a ghost: O woeful condition! But what should a parent do when the child loathes and spills his victuals? snatch it from him, and lay it out of his reach. Samaria felt this more severe famine, when carried captive especially; so did Jerusalem, after Malachi, whose prophecy the Jews fitly call Chathimath Chazon, the sealing up of vision. Bath Chol, or the echo from heaven, they had now and then after this time, Mat 3:17 Joh 12:28 ; they had also the writings of Moses and the prophets interpreted after a sort by the Scribes and Pharisees, whom (while they sat close in Moses’ chair, and kept it warm) men were bound to hear, Mat 23:2-3 , which because Dives did not, he suffered hunger and thirst in hell for ever, Luk 16:24 . And had he been granted the liberty of hearing again upon earth but one more sermon, how far would not he gladly have gone for it! and how, as for life, would he have listened to it! But this could not possibly be, for out of hell there is no redemption, Psa 49:8-9 , and when the night of death once comes men can work no more. Night is a time not of doing work, but of receiving wages; up therefore and be doing, while it is yet day, Joh 12:35-36 . “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,” Isa 55:6 , seek him seasonably, seek him seriously: “Then shall ye seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart,” Jer 29:13 . That was a dismal doom that our Saviour passed upon those stiffnecked Jews and uncircumcised in hearts and ears (as St Stephen rightly styles them, Act 7:51 ), that were as good at resisting the Holy Ghost as ever their fathers had been before them. “Ye shall seek me, and yet shall die in your sins: whither I go ye cannot come,” Joh 8:21 . Ye shall wander up and down for meat, making a noise like a hungry dog, and grudge that ye be not satisfied, Psa 59:14-15 . Do not the miserable Jews do so all the world over to this day, expecting their Messiah? quem tantis ululatibus exposcunt, throwing open their windows to behold him, and praying for the rebuilding of their temple, thus (Buxtorf. Synag. Jud. cap. 13), Templum tuum brevi, valde cito, valde cito, in diebus nostris citissime, nunc aedifica templum tuum brevi: Merciful God, great God, bountiful God, beautiful God, sweet God, mighty God, thou God of the Jews, now build thy temple, do it shortly, suddenly, quickly, very quickly, very quickly, very quickly, even in our days now, this day before the next, &c. Ah, poor creatures! they would not, when time was, know in that their day the things which belonged to their peace; therefore to this day they are hid from their eyes, and wrath is come upon them to the utmost, Luk 19:42 . Alterius perditio tun sit caudio, Let their harms be our warning, not to stand out the day of grace, not to surfeit of the word, lest we suffer a famine of it; not to retain the snuffs of our sins, lest they dim our candlestick; a removal whereof, except we repent, may be as certainly foreseen and foretold as if visions and letters were sent us from heaven, as once to Ephesus telling them so, Rev 2:5 . And indeed it hath been the opinion, and is still the fear of some not unconsiderable divines, that Antichrist, before his abolition, shall once again overflow the whole face of the West, and suppress the whole Protestant Churches. Now if ever this come to pass (as justly we may fear it will), what may we thank but our detestable lukewarmness and loathing of the heavenly manna, our not receiving the love of the truth, that we might be saved? for which cause, if God shall send us strong delusions, even the efficacy of error, that we should believe a lie, 2Th 2:10-11 , that being infatuated we should be seduced, and being seduced be damned, as Austin glosseth that text, whom can we blame for it?

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

wander. Hebrew go tottering, or staggering.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

shall run: Pro 14:6, Dan 12:4, Mat 11:25-27, Mat 12:30, Mat 24:23-26, Rom 9:31-33, Rom 11:7-10, 2Ti 3:6, 2Ti 3:7

Reciprocal: 1Sa 3:1 – the word 2Sa 15:20 – go up and down Pro 29:18 – there Isa 30:20 – yet shall Jer 5:1 – Run ye Lam 2:9 – her prophets Eze 3:26 – and shalt Eze 7:26 – but Hos 9:4 – their bread Mat 25:10 – they Act 16:6 – forbidden

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Amo 8:12. They will realize when it is too late what they have done, and will seek frantically to find some of the true teachers. However, it will be in vain because of the famine just predicted in which no spiritual food will be available.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Amo 8:12-13. And they shall wander from sea to sea From the sea of Tiberias to the great sea, from one border of the country to another. And from the north even to the east The prophet omits naming the south, because the idolaters, to whom he directs his discourse, would choose to inquire anywhere rather than of the true prophets of the Lord, who dwelt in the tribe of Judah, which was situated to the south of the ten tribes. They shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord To inquire if there be any prophet, any prophecy, any message from God, any divine direction what course to take in their distress any encouragement to expect deliverance from their calamities, and happier times. In that day shall the fair virgins, &c. They who are in the bloom of their youth and in the strength of their age, shall faint, and be dispirited like those that want necessary refreshment.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the {h} word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].

(h) By which he shows that they will not only perish in body, but also in soul for lack of God’s word, which is the food of it.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The Israelites would grope all over the land for some word from Yahweh, a word of explanation, forgiveness, or hope, but they would not be able to find one. Even beautiful virgins and strong young men would faint from lack of spiritual refreshment. These types of individuals would have the greatest strength and could look the hardest and longest, but even they would find nothing. Their deaths would also mean the cutting back of the nation since they could not provide children.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)