4 6<\/strong>. The second vision. The devouring fire.<\/p>\n called to contend by fire<\/em> ] Jehovah arraigns His people: and fire is the agent which he summons against them (cf. to dispute<\/em>, or litigate, with fire<\/em>, Isa 66:16<\/span>). For the idea of Jehovah’s contending<\/em> (in a forensic sense) with His people, comp. Isa 3:13<\/span>; Jer 2:9<\/span>; Hos 4:1<\/span>; Mic 6:2<\/span> (where the corresponding substantive is rendered controversy<\/em>); and for calleth<\/em>, comp. on Amo 7:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n and it devoured the great deep, and<\/em> would have devoured the portion<\/strong> ] The imagery is suggested, no doubt, by the conflagrations which, in the East, break out in field and forest during the dry season (Joe 1:19-20<\/span>), and spread with alarming rapidity (comp. Psa 83:14<\/span>, Isa 9:18<\/span>; and see Thomson, The Land and the Book<\/em>, ii. 291 293). So fierce was the flame thus kindled that it even dried up the ‘great deep’ (Gen 7:11<\/span>), the subterranean waters upon which the Hebrews imagined the earth to rest (Gen 1:7<\/span>; Exo 20:4<\/span>; Psa 24:2<\/span>), and whence they supposed all its springs and fountains to have their supply; when these were exhausted, “it seemed as if the solid framework of the land, described with very apt pathos as the Portion<\/em> (i.e. the portion<\/em> [Mic 2:3<\/span>, &c.] assigned by God to His people), would be the next to disappear” (G. A. Smith, p. 111). The judgement is thus a more severe one than that of the locusts.<\/p>\n God called to contend by fire – <\/B>that is, He called His people to maintain their cause with Him by fire, as He says, I will plead in judgment with him (Gog) with (that is, by) pestilence and blood Eze 38:22<\/span>; and, by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh Isa 66:16<\/span>; and, The Lord standeth up to plead and standeth to judge the people Isa 3:13<\/span>. Man, by rebellion, challenges Gods Omnipotence. He will have none of Him; he will find his own happiness for himself, apart from God and in defiance of Him and His laws; he plumes himself on his success, and accounts his strength or wealth or prosperity the test of the wisdom of his policy. God, sooner or later, accepts the challenge. He brings things to the issue, which man had chosen. He enters into judgment (Isa 3:14<\/span>, etc.) with him. If man escapes with impunity, then he had chosen well, in rejecting God and choosing his own ways. If not, what folly and misery was his short-sighted choice; short-lived in its gain; its loss, eternal! Fire stands as the symbol and summary of Gods most terrible judgments. It spares nothing, leaves nothing, not even the outward form of what it destroys. Here it is plainly a symbol, since it destroys the sea also, which shall be destroyed only by the fire of the Day of Judgment, when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up 2Pe 3:10<\/span>. The sea is called the great deep, only in the most solemn language, as the history of the creation or the flood, the Psalms and poetical books. Here it is used, in order to mark the extent of the desolation represented in the vision.<\/P> And did eat up a part – <\/B>Rather literally, The portion, that is, probably the definite portion foreappointed by God to captivity and desolation. This probably our English Version meant by a part. For although God calls Himself the Portion of Israel Deu 32:9<\/span>; Jer 10:16<\/span>; Zec 2:12<\/span>, and of those who are His (Psa 16:5<\/span>; Psa 73:26<\/span>, etc; Jer 10:16<\/span>), and reciprocally He calls the people the Lords portion Jer 12:10<\/span>, and the land, the portion Mic 2:4<\/span> of Gods people; yet the land is nowhere called absolutely the portion, nor was the country of the ten tribes specially the portion, given by God. Rather God exhibits in vision to the prophet, the ocean burned up, and the portion of Israel, upon which His judgments were first to fall. To this Amos points, as the portion. God knew the portion, which Tiglath-Pileser would destroy, and when he came and had carried captive the east and north of Israel, the pious in Israel would recognize the second, more desolating scourge, foretold by Amos; they would own that it was at the prayer of the prophet that it was stayed and went no further, and would await what remained.<\/P><\/p>\n Verse 4<\/span>. The Lord God called to contend by fire<\/B><\/I>] Permitted war<\/I>, both civil<\/I> and foreign<\/I>, to harass the land, after the death of Jeroboam the second. These wars would have totally destroyed it, had not the prophet interceded.<\/P> <\/P> It devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.<\/B><\/I>] We are here to understand the partially destructive wars which afterwards took place; for the Lord causes all these things to pass before the eyes of Amos in the vision of prophecy; and intimates that, at the intercession of his prophets, total<\/I> ruin should be prevented.<\/P> <\/p>\n Thus hath the Lord God showed, <\/B>in vision or hieroglyphic:<\/I> see Amo 7:1<\/span>. <\/P> And, behold:<\/B> see Amo 7:1<\/span>. <\/P> Called to contend by fire; <\/B>declared he would judge as by fire: literally, say some, God would from heaven by fire punish. Others say metaphorically, by drought which should scorch up all fruits of the earth, and dry up fountains and rivers. Or else by very sore, wasting, and irresistible judgments, that like fire should consume all, hereby denoting the Assyrian rage. <\/P> It devoured; <\/B>eat up, i.e. visionally, or in the emblem. <\/P> The great deep; <\/B>not literally, but, as the other, Amo 7:2<\/span>, in hieroglyphic; so it appeared to Amos. <\/P> And did eat up a part of the land too; <\/B>it seemed to seize on the earth: now this in vision awakens the prophet, as before, to pray earnestly. <\/P> <\/p>\n 4. called to contend<\/B>that is,with Israel judicially (Job 9:3<\/span>;Isa 66:16<\/span>; Eze 38:22<\/span>).He ordered to come at His call the infliction of punishment by “fire”on Israel, that is, drought (compare Am4:6-11<\/span>), [MAURER].Rather, war<\/I> (Nu 21:28<\/span>),namely, Tiglath-pileser [GROTIUS].<\/P> devoured the . . . deep<\/B>thatis, a great part of Israel, whom he carried away. Waters<\/I> arethe symbol for many people<\/I> (Re17:15<\/span>). <\/P> did eat up a part<\/B>namely,all the land<\/I> (compare Am 4:7<\/span>)of Israel east of Jordan (1Ch 5:26<\/span>;Isa 9:1<\/span>). This was a worsejudgment than the previous one: the locusts ate up the grass: thefire not only affects the surface of the ground, but burns up thevery roots and reaches even to the deep.<\/P><\/p>\n Thus hath the Lord showed unto me<\/strong>,…. Another vision after this manner:<\/p>\n and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire<\/strong>; gave out that he would have a controversy with his people Israel, and proclaimed the time when he would try the cause with them, and that by fire: or he called his family, as Jarchi; that is, his angels, as Kimchi, to cause fire to descend upon Israel, as upon Sodom and Gomorrah; so other Rabbins Kimchi mentions: or, as he interprets it, the scorching heat of the sun, like fire that restrained the rain, dried up the plants, and lessened the waters of the river, and so brought on a general drought, and in consequence famine: or rather a foreign army, involving them in war, burning their cities and towns; see Am 1:4<\/span>;<\/p>\n and it devoured the great deep<\/strong>; it seemed, as if it did; as the fire from heaven, in Elijah’s time, licked up the water in the trench, 1Ki 18:38<\/span>; so this, coming at God’s command, seemed to dry up the whole ocean; by which may be meant the multitude of people, nations, and kingdoms, subdued by the Assyrians; see Re 17:15<\/span>;<\/p>\n and did eat up a part<\/strong>; a part of a field, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; of the king’s field, Am 7:1<\/span>; as Kimchi; showing, as he observes, that the reigning king was a bad king, and that this was for his sin: or rather a part of the land of Israel; and so refers, as is generally thought, to Tiglathpileser’s invasion of the land, who carried captive a part of it, 2Ki 15:29<\/span>.<\/p>\n The Devouring Fire. – Amo 7:4<\/span>. “Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to punish with fire; and it devoured the great flood, and devoured the portion.<\/em> Amo 7:5<\/span>. And I said, Lord Jehovah, leave off, I pray: how can Jacob stand? for it is small.<\/em> Amo 7:6<\/span>. Jehovah repented of this; this also shall not take place, said the Lord Jehovah.” <\/em> That the all-devouring fire represents a much severer judgment than that depicted under the figure of the locusts, is generally acknowledged, and needs no proof. But the more precise meaning of this judgment is open to dispute, and depends upon the explanation of the fourth verse. The object to is , and is to be taken as an infinitive, as in Isa 3:13<\/span>: He called to strive (i.e., to judge or punish) with fire. There is no necessity to supply ministros suos <\/em> here. The expression is a concise one, for “He called to the fire to punish with fire” (for the expression and the fact, compare Isa 66:16<\/span>). This fire devoured the great flood. T e hom rabbah <\/em> is used in Gen 7:11<\/span> and Isa 51:10<\/span>, etc., to denote the unfathomable ocean; and in Gen 1:2<\/span> t e hom <\/em> is the term applied to the immense flood which surrounded and covered the globe at the beginning of the creation. , as distinguished from , signifies an action in progress, or still incomplete (Hitzig). The meaning therefore is, “it also devoured (began to devour) ‘eth<\/em> – hacheleq <\/em>;” i.e., not the field, for a field does not form at all a fitting antithesis to the ocean; and still less “the land,” for cheleq <\/em> never bears this meaning; but the inheritance or portion, namely, that of Jehovah (Deu 32:9<\/span>), i.e., Israel. Consequently t e hom rabbah <\/em> cannot, of course, signify the ocean as such. For the idea of the fire falling upon the ocean, and consuming it, and then beginning to consume the land of Israel, by which the ocean was bounded (Hitzig), would be too monstrous; nor is it justified by the simple remark, that “it was as if the last great conflagration (2Pe 3:10<\/span>) had begun” (Schmieder). As the fire is to earthly fire, but the fire of the wrath of God, and therefore a figurative representation of the judgment of destruction; and as hacheleq <\/em> (the portion) is not the land of Israel, but according to Deuteronomy ( l.c.<\/em>) Israel, or the people of Jehovah; so t e hom rabbah <\/em> is not the ocean, but the heathen world, the great sea of nations, in their rebellion against the kingdom of God. The world of nature in a state of agitation is a frequent symbol in the Scriptures for the agitated heathen world (e.g., Psa 46:3<\/span>; Psa 93:3-4<\/span>). On the latter passage, Delitzsch has the following apt remark: “The stormy sea is a figurative representation of the whole heathen world, in its estrangement from God, and enmity against Him, or the human race outside the true church of God; and the rivers are figurative representations of the kingdoms of the world, e.g., the Nile of the Egyptian (Jer 46:7-8<\/span>), the Euphrates of the Assyrian (Isa 8:7-8<\/span>), or more precisely still, the arrow-swift Tigris of the Assyrian, and the winding Euphrates of the Babylonian (Isa 27:1<\/span>).” This symbolism lies at the foundation of the vision seen by the prophet. The world of nations, in its rebellion against Jehovah, the Lord and King of the world, appears as a great flood, like the chaos at the beginning of the creation, or the flood which poured out its waves upon the globe in the time of Noah. Upon this flood of nations does fire from the Lord fall down and consume them; and after consuming them, it begins to devour the inheritance of Jehovah, the nation of Israel also. The prophet then prays to the Lord to spare it, because Jacob would inevitably perish in this conflagration; and the Lord gives the promise that “this shall not take place,” so that Israel is plucked like a firebrand out of the fire (Amo 4:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n If we inquire now into the historical bearing of these two visions, so much is priori<\/em> clear, – namely, that both of them not only indicate judgments already past, but also refer to the future, since no fire had hitherto burned upon the surface of the globe, which had consumed the world of nations and threatened to annihilate Israel. If therefore there is an element of truth in the explanation given by Grotius to the first vision, “After the fields had been shorn by Benhadad (2Ki 13:3<\/span>), and after the damage which was then sustained, the condition of Israel began to flourish once more during the reign of Jeroboam the son of Joash, as we see from 2Ki 14:15<\/span>,” according to which the locusts would refer to the invasion on the part of the Assyrians in the time of Pul; this application is much too limited, neither exhausting the contents of the first vision, nor suiting in the smallest degree the figure of the fire. The “mowing of the king” (Amo 7:1<\/span>) denotes rather all the judgments which the Lord had hitherto poured out upon Israel, embracing everything that the prophet mentions in Amo 4:6-10<\/span>. The locusts are a figurative representation of the judgments that still await the covenant nation, and will destroy it even to a small remnant, which will be saved through the prayers of the righteous. The vision of the fire has a similar scope, embracing all the past and all the future; but this also indicates the judgments that fall upon the heathen world, and will only receive its ultimate fulfilment in the destruction of everything that is ungodly upon the face of the earth, when the Lord comes in fire to strive with all flesh (Isa 66:15-16<\/span>), and to burn up the earth and all that is therein, on the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men (2Pe 3:7<\/span>, 2Pe 3:10-13<\/span>). The removal of the two judgments, however, by Jehovah in consequence of the intercession of the prophet, shows that these judgments are not intended to effect the utter annihilation of the nation of God, but simply its refinement and the rooting out of the sinners from the midst of it, and that, in consequence of the sparing mercy of God, a holy remnant of the nation of God will be left. The next two visions refer simply to the judgment which awaits the kingdom of the ten tribes in the immediate future.<\/p>\n The Prophet shows that God had not once only spared the people, but that when he was again prepared for vengeance, he still willingly deferred it, that, if possible, the people might willingly recover themselves: but as all were unhealable, this forbearance of God produced no fruit. Now as to the words of the Prophet, we see that a heavier punishment is designated by the similitude of fire, than by what he said before when he spoke of locusts. We stated that by locusts is to be understood ordinarily a moderate punishment, one not so dreadful at first sight. For though the want and famine introduced by locusts, when they consume all kinds of fruit, are most grievous evils; yet fire sometimes strikes people with much greater dread. Hence the Prophet shows by mentioning fire, that God had become very indignant, having seen that the people had hardened themselves and could not be reformed by common and usual remedies. The Lord’s usual mode of proceeding, as he declares everywhere in Scriptures is this: At first he tries to find whether men are capable of being healed, and applies not the most grievous punishment, but such as may be endured; but when he perceives in sinners hardness and obstinacy, he doubles and trebles the punishment, yea, as he says by Moses, he increases his judgments sevenfold (Deu 28:25<\/span>.) Such then was the manner which Amos now records; for God at first created the locusts, and then he kindled a fire, which consumed the great deep, and devoured their possession. <\/p>\n The point, denoting a participial form in the word here used, shows that they are mistaken who render יוצר, iutsar, creation, of which we have spoken before; for the point here corresponds with that in יוצר, iutsar, (49). In both places the Lord shows himself to be the author of punishment, which is wont to be ascribed to chance; for men imagine that evils proceed from something else rather than from God. Hence it was necessary for this to be distinctly expressed, as the Prophet does also, when he says that locusts had been created by God, and that fire had been kindled by him. <\/p>\n God then called to contend by fire. It was not without a design that the Prophet uses the verb רוב, rub, which yet expositors have not duly weighed. For he indirectly condemns the hardness of the people, inasmuch as the Lord had already not only chastised the vices of the people, but had also contended with men depraved and obstinate: as when no justice can be obtained, a litigation becomes necessary; so the Prophet says here, that God was coming prepared with fire, to contend with the stubbornness of the people. The great deep, he says, was consumed by this fire. Hence what I have already said becomes more evident, — that a more dreadful punishment is here described than in the first vision. The locusts devoured the grass only but the fire penetrates into the utmost deep; it consumes and destroys not only the surface of the earth, but burns up the very roots, yea, it descends to the center and consumes the whole earth. They who render חלק, chelak, a part, do not sufficiently attend to the design of the Prophet, for he concludes that the surface of the earth had been laid waste, because the very gulfs had not escaped the burning. And when the fire reaches to the very bowels of the earth, how could their possession stand, which was also exposed to the heat of the sun? We see how the earth is burnt up by heat, when the sun is scorching at Midsummer. We now perceive the Prophet’s design. <\/p>\n (49) The Masoretic point, called Holem, is referred to, which, being put above the ו after the first radical letter, or in absence of the ו, denotes a participle. — Ed. <\/p>\n (4) Fire.<\/strong>The poetical description of a yet more terrible calamity. God announces His intention of judging, i.e.,<\/em> punishing by fire (the word in E.V., contend, is to be understood in this sense). For a portion read the portion.<\/em> The image is that of a prairie fire, that should eat up the later grass spared by the locusts. The consuming of the great deep is a strong hyperbole, and can scarcely refer to the heathen world, as Keil maintains. The meaning rather appears to be that not only the solitary remnant of pasture, but the deepest springs of moisture, will be scorched up in the blaze. The same word for deep (tehm<\/em>) is used in Gen. 1:2<\/span>; Gen. 7:11<\/span>; Gen. 8:2<\/span>. (Comp. the Assyrian tihamtu.<\/em>)<\/p>\n 4-6<\/strong>. <\/strong> The devouring fire <\/em> A second vision, presenting essentially the same truth as the first. <\/p>\n Called to contend by fire <\/strong> Called the fire to contend with it. Instead of the locusts Jehovah selected the fire as the agency through which to execute judgment. For representations of Jehovah as entering into judicial controversy with his people see Hos 4:1<\/span>; Mic 6:2<\/span>; Isa 3:13-15<\/span>. The imagery was suggested probably by conflagrations or by excessive summer heat accompanied by drought (see on Joe 1:20<\/span>). <\/p>\n The great deep <\/strong> The deep subterranean waters upon which the earth was thought to rest, and which was thought to supply the water for springs and rivers (Gen 7:11<\/span>; Psa 24:2<\/span>, etc.). The fire or heat was so intense that the water dried up. The language is hyperbolical. <\/p>\n And did eat up <\/strong> Better, R.V., “and would have eaten up.” <\/p>\n A part <\/strong> R.V., “the land”; literally, the portion, <\/em> the portion set apart for human habitation. The expression cannot be restricted to the land of Israel; it means the land as distinguished from the great deep. The land was about to be devoured, when the prophet interceded once more. <\/p>\n Cease <\/strong> Not “forgive” (Amo 7:2<\/span>). The provocation was too great; Amos felt that he did not dare ask for pardon; but perchance Jehovah might avert the final doom. And again Jehovah graciously granted the petition. The description is poetical but not allegorical. The imagery in the two visions was selected because plagues of locusts and disastrous conflagrations were familiar to the people.<\/p>\n The Second Vision – The Consuming Fire ( Amo 7:4-6<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n We must remember that this was a vision not something that actually happened. It commenced with a fire from YHWH which ‘devoured the great deep’. As we have seen fire was regularly a picture of YHWH’s judgments in the initial judgments (Amo 1:4<\/span>; Amo 1:7<\/span>; Amo 1:10<\/span>; Amo 1:12<\/span>; Amo 1:14<\/span>; Amo 2:2<\/span>; Amo 2:5<\/span>, compare also Amo 5:6<\/span>), but so awesome was it that it here that it dried up the ‘the great deep (tehom)’. To the Canaanites the sea itself contained divinity as they worshipped Yam (sea). Thus as had happened with the Egyptian gods in the plagues of Egypt (Exo 12:12<\/span>), the gods of Canaan, in which Israel took such delight, were being annihilated. There may, however, be a case for seeing the great deep here as indicating the nations which had sought to swamp Israel, which as we know from chapters 1-2 were to suffer the fire of YHWH (compare how Egypt could be seen in terms of the Nile, and Mesopotamia in terms of the Tigris and the Euphrates (Isa 27:1<\/span>; Eze 29:3<\/span> and compare Psa 46:3<\/span>; Psa 93:3-4<\/span>). It is not, however, until the New Testament that such an idea becomes explicit (Rev 13:1<\/span>). Having accomplished its work in the great deep the consuming fire was about to move from sea to land and devour up the whole of the land. It was evident that so all-consuming was the fire that nothing could stand before it. All would be swallowed up. It was fire of a kind that was totally outside Amos’s experience, even though he would probably have experienced relatively large scale local fires before in the dry hot climate around Tekoa. But he had never before seen one that dried up the sea, not even the Dead Sea.<\/p>\n Amos therefore called on YHWH to ‘stop’ before the land had been fully devoured, again on the grounds of Israel’s puniness. He did not cry for forgiveness because YHWH’s previous reaction had demonstrated that forgiveness was not possible, only mercy. And again God had compassion on His people and spared them.<\/p>\n Amo 7:4<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘Thus the Lord YHWH showed me, and, behold, the Lord YHWH called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the inheritance.’<\/p>\n What YHWH now showed Amos was the Lord YHWH contending by fire (or we could repoint, using the same consonants, as ‘a rain of fire’) and initially devouring ‘the great deep’. In Isa 51:10<\/span> ‘the great deep’ is the equivalent of ‘the depths of the sea’, and thus here the awesome vision in mind is that of the sea being dried up with the intensity of the consuming fire. We need not go into detail because this was all in a vision and visions are not necessarily intended to be taken literally. Alternatively we might see the great deep as representing surrounding peoples on whom YHWH had already threatened fire (Amo 1:4<\/span>; Amo 1:7<\/span>; Amo 1:10<\/span>; Amo 1:12<\/span>; Amo 1:14<\/span>; Amo 2:2<\/span>; Amo 2:5<\/span>; Amo 5:6<\/span>; compare also Psa 46:3<\/span>; Psa 93:3-4<\/span>) with Israel and Judah in the midst of them now about to experience the same.<\/p>\n Then the fire advanced on the inheritance (cheleq) of Israel and would have eaten it up. We have only to imagine the intensity of a fire that dries up the sea, especially as, to the Israelites, the sea was an enemy to be feared. This was not an example of a normal fire caused by the dryness of the vegetation and the heat of the sun. It was a supernatural visitation. And the idea was of the whole land being consumed with everything in it. The drying up of the great deep (tehom) would indicate among other things the defeat of the Canaanite god Yam (at Ugarit ‘prince sea (yam)’). The raining of fire would indicate that Baal (the Canaanite of storm and lightning) had been superseded.<\/p>\n We may compare with this picture of a consuming fire the words of Deu 32:22<\/span> which were the result of His people having moved Him to jealousy by their behaviour, ‘for a fire is kindled in My anger, and burns to the depths of Sheol, and devours the earth with her increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains’. Note that the ‘foundations of the mountains’ were regularly seen as in the depths of the sea (Psa 46:2<\/span>; Jon 2:6<\/span>). Here therefore Moses’ words are seen as being literally fulfilled. It is the ‘fiery heat’ of Deu 28:22<\/span>, but multiplied and extended. There may well here be an indication that YHWH was (theoretically) considering bringing about the final conflagration.<\/p>\n Amo 7:5<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘Then said I, “O Lord YHWH, cease, I beseech you. How will Jacob stand, for he is small?” ’<\/p>\n This time a horrified Amos called on ‘the Lord YHWH’ and begged Him to ‘cease’. He could not bear what he was seeing. And although he had now recognised as a result of YHWH’s previous reply that forgiveness was not available, he once more drew attention to the puniness of ‘Jacob’. How could such a great Lord totally destroy what was so puny?<\/p>\n Amo 7:6<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘YHWH repented concerning this. “This also shall not be, says the Lord YHWH.” ’<\/p>\n Again YHWH ‘repented’ and declared that what he had shown Amos would not in fact now happen as a result of his intercession. Perhaps also in the light of Gen 18:23-33<\/span> it was intended to indicate that there were sufficient righteous people in Israel and Judah for YHWH to spare the world from total destruction. However that may be the visions underline the fact that YHWH was not now about to destroy His people completely. That did not, however, mean that they would escape punishment.<\/p>\n Amo 7:4<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>The Lord God called to contend by fire<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> In many places of Scripture war is denoted by fire. <\/em>We observed, that after the death of Jeroboam the kingdom of Israel was laid waste by civil, and perhaps by foreign wars; for we are not well acquainted with the history of that time. The fire <\/em>here spoken of was to have dried up the sea, and consumed a great part of the earth, figuratively speaking, had it not been for the prophet, who interposes, and arrests the effect, Amo 7:5-6<\/span>. The wars here mentioned were to destroy every thing so far as they were kindled and spread; but the Lord set bounds to his anger. Houbigant reads, The Lord God called the fire to avenge his cause.<\/em> <\/p>\n The subject in these verses is the same, but the figure is changed. Under the image of fire, and so tremendous as to devour the great deep, the ruin of the people is set forth. But, here as before, the intercession of the Prophet prevents it. There is somewhat particularly striking in all this: and the repeated prayer and success of the Prophet cannot fail, I should hope, to lead our hearts to Jesus. As the judgment was typical, so was the intercession. For it was not Moses, as Moses, standing in the gap; not Aaron, as Aaron, putting on incense, and making an atonement for the people; not Amos, as Amos, so crying for Jacob’s arising; that came up before the Lord: because all these themselves were sinners, who alike needed One to intercede for them. And who then could they all represent, but Jesus, who in his sacrifice, was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and in his intercession, the High Priest forever, sworn into his office by Jehovah himself, after the order of Melchisedec? See all those scriptures. Deu 9:24-29<\/span> ; Num 16:46-48<\/span> ; Rev 13:8<\/span> ; Psa 110:4<\/span> .<\/p>\n Amo 7:4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.<\/p>\n Ver. 4. And, behold, the Lord God<\/strong> ] Whose asterisk, or starry note, this “behold” is, saith Tarnovius, stirring up to attention. Another compareth it to a hand in the margin of a book, pointing to some notable thing. Another, to the sounding of a trumpet before some proclamation; or to the ringing of a bell before the sermon of some famous preacher. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Lord God called to contend by fire<\/strong> ] That is, by parching heat and drought, causing dearth, as Joe 1:19<\/span> . For which purpose God called his angels, those ministering spirits, that execute his judgments upon the wicked (as they did once upon Sodom), to contend for him (a metaphor from civil courts), to plead for him by fire, to destroy the perverse Israelites by fire and brimstone, Isa 66:16 Eze 38:22<\/span> , as they had done Sodom and Gomorrah (so some interpret it according to the letter); or by the woe of war, compared to fire, Isa 26:11<\/span> , as being a misery which all words (however wide) want compass to express; or, by immoderate heat and drought, as before; so great, that <\/p>\n <\/p>\n it devoured the great deep<\/strong> ] as that fire of the Lord in Elijah’s time licked up the water that was in the trench, 1Ki 18:38<\/span> . See Isa 51:10<\/span> . <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And did eat up a part<\/strong> ] Or, it devoured also the field: not only the waters in and under the earth, that serve to make it fruitful, but a part of the earth itself; which was altogether above and against the common course of nature. Some render it, and did eat up that part, or that field, sc.<\/em> that mentioned Amo 7:1<\/span> , the king’s field; that as the king had chiefly offended, so he should be principally punished. Others interpret it by Amo 4:7<\/span> , “One piece was rained upon, and the piece whereon it rained not withered.”<\/p>\n NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Amo 7:4-6<\/p>\n 4Thus the Lord GOD showed me, and behold, the Lord GOD was calling to contend with them by fire, and it consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land.<\/p>\n 5Then I said,<\/p>\n Lord GOD, please stop!<\/p>\n How can Jacob stand, for he is small?<\/p>\n 6The LORD changed His mind about this.<\/p>\n This too shall not be, said the Lord GOD.<\/p>\n Amo 7:4<\/p>\n NASBcontend<\/p>\n NKJVconflict<\/p>\n NRSV<\/p>\n (footnote)a judgment<\/p>\n TEVpreparing to punish<\/p>\n NJBsummoning<\/p>\n This term (BDB 936) in this context refers to a legal case against Israel (i.e. a divorce case, e.g., Hos 4:1; Hos 12:2; Mic 6:1-2).<\/p>\n by fire Fire is often used as a symbol of judgment (e.g., Amo 2:5). In this agricultural context the fire may refer to the scorching heat of the sun or the plants being defoliated by the locusts. If so, the great deep may be a reference to available water (i.e., springs, rivers, rain, etc., cf. Amo 1:2; Amo 4:6-8).<\/p>\n SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE <\/p>\n the great deep This refers to the underground water source of rivers (cf. Gen 1:2; Gen 7:11; Gen 49:15; Psa 36:6; Isa 51:10). This is a mythological term from the earliest known Mesopotamian nations, Sumer and Babylon, but in the OT it has been totally stripped of its mythological connotation.<\/p>\n In this context it refers to God’s allowing foreign invaders to destroy Israel.<\/p>\n Amo 7:5 please stop This (BDB 292, KB 292) is another Qal IMPERATIVE. However, notice this time the prophet did not appeal for forgiveness, but for the cessation of judgment. YHWH is merciful, but there is an end to His patience (cf. Amo 7:8; Amo 8:1).<\/p>\n Amo 7:6 See note at Amo 7:3.<\/p>\n called, &c. = was calling for fire, to contend [with Israel]. <\/p>\n did eat up a part. would have eaten up the land. <\/p>\n a part. Hebrew. hahelek, with ‘eth = the very portion [of the earth given to Israel). Compare Mic 2:4. <\/p>\n showed: Amo 7:1, Amo 7:7, Rev 4:1 <\/p>\n called: This is supposed to denote the invasion of Tiglathpileser, which threatened entire destruction. Amo 1:4, Amo 1:7, Amo 4:11, Amo 5:6, Exo 9:23, Exo 9:24, Lev 10:2, Num 16:35, Isa 27:4, Isa 66:15, Isa 66:16, Jer 4:4, Jer 21:12, Joe 2:30, Mic 1:4, Nah 1:6, Heb 1:7 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 2Ki 8:10 – the Lord Job 1:16 – there came Psa 148:8 – Fire Isa 9:18 – wickedness Jer 24:1 – Lord Jer 27:2 – saith the Lord Joe 1:19 – the fire Amo 8:1 – General Hag 1:11 – I called Act 11:5 – and it Rev 8:8 – burning<\/p>\n Amo 7:4. But the people were not truly penitent and did not make the proper reformation even though the Lord had relieved their distress. Then He brought a more severe chastisement upon the land. This time it was in the form of fire that dried up the great deep which means the water supply in the veins of the earth,<\/p>\n Amo 7:4-6. The Lord God called to contend by fire, &c. This represented a sorer judgment than the former, and, in the opinion of some expositors, denoted the invasion of Tiglath-pileser, who carried a great part of Israel away captive, 2Ki 15:29, and so was properly represented by a raging fire, which consumed the sea by turning it into vapours, and then devoured a great part of the land. Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee, &c. Here the prophet observes, that upon this judgment being represented to him in his vision, he made supplication to God as he had done before, and that God hearkened to him in this instance also, and promised that this judgment should not be executed, or should have a stop put to it.<\/p>\n Amo 7:4-6. The Vision of Fire.Another time the prophet saw a fire-phenomenon. Yahweh (Amo 7:4) called down a fire to punish (or judge). This devoured the great deep (Gen 1:6 f.*), whence came the rivers and fountains, and would have devoured the tilled land, when the prophet interceded (Amo 7:5) and Yahweh relented (Amo 7:6). <\/p>\n 7:4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, {d} and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.<\/p>\n (d) Meaning, that God’s indignation was inflamed against the stubbornness of this people.<\/p>\n 2. The devouring fire 7:4-6<\/span><\/p>\n Sovereign Yahweh also showed Amos a vision of a great fire that was burning up everything. Like a great drought it consumed all the water and all the farmland (or people) in Israel (cf. Amo 1:9-10). What he saw may have been a scorching heat wave that resulted in a drought.<\/p>\n The "great deep" is a phrase that refers to subterranean waters that feed springs (cf. Gen 1:2; Gen 7:11; Gen 8:2; Gen 49:25; Deu 8:7; Eze 31:4). So intense was the fire that Amos saw that it dried up even these underground water reservoirs. Great heat with consequent drought was another of the punishments that the Lord warned of for covenant unfaithfulness (Deu 28:22).<\/p>\n Thus hath the Lord GOD showed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 4 6. The second vision. The devouring fire. called to contend by fire ] Jehovah arraigns His people: and fire is the agent which he … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 7:4”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"