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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>A M O S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have,
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I. The general title of this prophecy
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:1">ver. 1</A>),
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with the general scope of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:2">ver. 2</A>.
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II. God's particular controversy with Syria
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:3-5">ver. 3-5</A>),
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with Palestine
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:6-8">ver. 6-8</A>),
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with Tyre
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:9">ver. 9, 10</A>),
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with Edom
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:11">ver. 11, 12</A>),
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and with Ammon
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:13-15">ver. 13-15</A>),
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for their cruelty to his people and the many injuries they had done
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them. This explains God's pleading with the nations,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:2">Joel iii. 2</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Am1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 790.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which
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he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and
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in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two
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years before the earthquake.
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2 And he said, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will roar from Zion, and utter his
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voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall
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mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The general character of this prophecy. It consists of <I>the words
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which the prophet saw.</I> Are words to be seen? Yes, God's words are;
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the apostles speak of the <I>word of life,</I> which they had not only
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<I>heard,</I> but <I>which they had seen with their eyes, which they
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had looked upon, and which their hands had handled</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+1:1">1 John i. 1</A>),
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such a real substantial thing is the word of God. The prophet saw these
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words, that is,
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1. They were revealed to him in a <I>vision,</I> as John is said to see
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<I>the voice</I> that spoke to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:12">Rev. i. 12</A>.
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2. That which was foretold by them was to him as certain as if he had
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seen it with his bodily eyes. It intimates how strong he was in that
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faith which is <I>the evidence of things not seen.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. The person by whom this prophecy was sent--<I>Amos, who was among
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the herdmen of Tekoa,</I> and was one of them. Some think he was a rich
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dealer in cattle; the word is used concerning the king of Moab
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+3:4">2 Kings iii. 4</A>,
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<I>He was a sheep-master</I>); it is probable that he got money by that
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business, and yet he must quit it, to follow God as a prophet. Others
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think he was a poor keeper of cattle, for we find
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+7:14,15"><I>ch.</I> vii. 14, 15</A>)
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that he was withal a <I>gatherer of wild figs,</I> a poor employment by
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which we may suppose he could but just get his bread, and that God took
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him, as he did David, from following the flock, and Elisha from
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following the plough. Many were trained up for great employments, in
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the quiet, innocent, contemplative business of shepherds. When God
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would send a prophet to reprove and warn his people, he employed a
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shepherd, a herdsman, to do it; for they had made themselves <I>as the
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horse and mule that have no understanding,</I> nay, worse than the
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<I>ox that knows his owner.</I> God sometimes <I>chooses the foolish
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things of the world to confound the wise,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+1:27">1 Cor. i. 27</A>.
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Note, Those whom God has endued with abilities for his service ought
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not to be despised nor laid aside for the meanness either of their
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origin or of their beginnings. Though Amos himself is not ashamed to
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own that he was a herdsman, yet others ought not to upbraid him with it
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nor think the worse of him for it.</P>
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<P>
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III. The persons concerned in the prophecy of this book; it is
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<I>concerning Israel,</I> the <I>ten tribes,</I> who were now ripened
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in sin and ripening apace for ruin. God has raised them up prophets
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among themselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+2:11"><I>ch.</I> ii. 11</A>),
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but they regarded them not; therefore God sends them one from Tekoa, in
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the land of Judah, that, coming from another country, he might be the
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more valued, and perhaps he was the rather sent out of his own country
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because there he was despised for his having been a herdsman. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+13:55-57">Matt. xiii. 55-57</A>.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The time when these prophecies were delivered.
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1. The book is dated, as laws used to be, by the reigns of the kings
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under whom the prophet prophesied. It was in the days of <I>Uzziah king
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of Judah,</I> when the affairs of that kingdom went very well, and of
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Jeroboam the second kind of Israel, when the affairs of that kingdom
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went pretty well; yet then they must both be told both of the sins they
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were guilty of and of the judgments that were coming upon them for
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those sins, that they might not with the present gleam of prosperity
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flatter themselves either into an opinion of their innocence or a
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confidence of their perpetual security.
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2. It is dated by a particular event to which is prophecy had a
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reference; it was <I>two years before the earthquake,</I> that
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earthquake which is mentioned to have been <I>in the days of Uzziah</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+14:5">Zech. xiv. 5</A>),
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which put the nation into a dreadful fright, for it is there said, They
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<I>fled before it.</I> But how could they flee from it? Some conjecture
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that this earthquake was at the time of Isaiah's vision, when the
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<I>posts of the door were moved,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:4">Isa. vi. 4</A>.
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The tradition of the Jews is that it happened just at the time when
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Uzziah presumptuously invaded the priest's office and went in to burn
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incense,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+26:16">2 Chron. xxvi. 16</A>.
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Josephus mentions this earthquake, <I>Antiq.</I> 9.225, and says, "By
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it half of a mountain was removed and carried to a plain four furlongs
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off; and it spoiled the king's gardens." God by this prophet gave
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warning of it <I>two years</I> before, that God by it would shake down
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their houses,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+3:15"><I>ch.</I> iii. 15</A>.</P>
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<P>
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V. The introduction to these prophecies, containing the general scope
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of them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>The Lord will roar from Zion.</I> His threatenings by his prophets,
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and the executions of those threatenings in his providence, will be as
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terrible as the roaring of a lion is to the shepherds and their flocks.
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Amos here speaks the same language with his contemporaries, Hosea
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+11:10"><I>ch.</I> xi. 10</A>)
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and Joel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:16"><I>ch.</I> iii. 16</A>.
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The lion roars before he tears; God gives warning before he strikes.
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Observe,
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1. Whence this warning comes--<I>from Zion</I> and Jerusalem, from the
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oracles of God there delivered; for <I>by them is they servant
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warned,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:11">Ps. xix. 11</A>.
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Our God, whose special residence is there, will issue out warrants,
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<I>given at that court,</I> as it were, for the executing of judgments
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on the land. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+25:30">Jer. xxv. 30</A>.
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In Zion was the mercy-seat; thence the Lord roars, intimating that
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God's acts of justice are consistent with mercy, allayed and mitigated
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by mercy, nay, as they are warnings, they are really acts of mercy. We
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are chastened, that we may be not be condemned.
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2. What effect the warning has: <I>The habitations of the shepherds
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mourn,</I> either because they fear the roaring lion or because they
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feel what is signified by that comparison, the consequences of a
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<I>great drought</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+4:7"><I>ch.</I> iv. 7</A>),
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which made <I>the top of Carmel</I> (of the most fruitful fields) to
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<I>wither</I> and become a desert,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+1:12-17">Joel i. 12-17</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Am1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Am1_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Threatenings of Judgment.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 790.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; For three transgressions of Damascus,
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and for four, I will not turn away <I>the punishment</I> thereof;
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because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of
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iron:
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4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall
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devour the palaces of Benhadad.
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5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the
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inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the
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sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go
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into captivity unto Kir, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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6 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; For three transgressions of Gaza, and
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for four, I will not turn away <I>the punishment</I> thereof; because
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they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver <I>them</I>
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up to Edom:
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7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall
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devour the palaces thereof:
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8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that
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holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand
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against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,
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saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
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9 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and
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for four, I will not turn away <I>the punishment</I> thereof; because
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they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not
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the brotherly covenant:
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10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall
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devour the palaces thereof.
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11 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; For three transgressions of Edom, and
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for four, I will not turn away <I>the punishment</I> thereof; because
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he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all
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pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath
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for ever:
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12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the
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palaces of Bozrah.
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13 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; For three transgressions of the
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children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away <I>the
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punishment</I> thereof; because they have ripped up the women with
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child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
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14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall
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devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle,
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with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
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15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes
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together, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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What the Lord says here may be explained by what he says
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+12:14">Jer. xii. 14</A>,
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<I>Thus said the Lord, against all my evil neighbours that touch the
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inheritance of my people Israel, Behold, I will pluck them out.</I>
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Damascus was a near neighbour to Israel on the north, Tyre and Gaza on
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the west, Edom on the south, Ammon and (in the next chapter) Moab on
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the east; and all of them had been, one time, one way, or other,
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<I>pricking briers and grieving thorns</I> to Israel, evil neighbours
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to them; and, because God espouses his people's cause, he there calls
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them <I>his evil neighbours,</I> and here comes forth to reckon with
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them. The method is taken in dealing with each of them is, in part, the
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same, and therefore we put them together, and yet in each there is
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something peculiar.</P>
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<P>
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I. Let us see what is repeated, both by way of charge and by way of
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sentence, concerning them all. The controversy God has with each of
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them is prefaced with, <I>Thus said the Lord,</I> Jehovah the God of
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Israel. Though those nations will not worship him as their God, yet
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they shall be made to know that they are accountable to him as their
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Judge. The God of Israel is <I>the God of the whole earth,</I> and has
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something to say to them that shall make them tremble. Against them the
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Lord <I>roars out of Zion.</I> And before God, by the prophet,
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threatens Israel and Judah, he denounces judgments against those
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nations whom he made use of as scourges to them for their being so,
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which might serve for a check to their pride and insolence and a relief
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to his people under their dejections; for hereby they might see that
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God had not quitted his interest in them, and therefore might hope they
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had not lost their interest in him. Now as to all these nations here
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arraigned,</P>
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<P>
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1. The indictment drawn up against them all is thus far the same,
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(1.) That they are charged in general with <I>three transgressions, and
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with four,</I> that is, with many transgressions (as by one or two we
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mean <I>a few,</I> so by three or four we mean many, as in Latin a man
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that is very happy is said to be <I>terque quarterque beatus--three and
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four times happy</I>); or <I>with three and four,</I> that is, with
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seven transgressions, a number of perfection, intimating that they have
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<I>filled up the measure of their iniquities,</I> and are ripe for
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ruin; or <I>with three</I> (that is, a variety of sins) <I>and with a
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fourth</I> especially, which is specified concerning each of them,
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though the other three are not, as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+30:15,18,21,29">Prov. xxx. 15, 18, 21, 29</A>,
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where we read of <I>three things, yea, four,</I> generally one seems to
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be more especially intended.
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(2.) That the particular sin which is fastened upon as the fourth, and
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which alone is specified, is the sin of persecution: it is some
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mischief or other done to the people of God that is particularly
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charged upon every one of them, for persecution is the measure-filling
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sin of any people, and it is this sin that will be particularly
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reckoned for--<I>I was hungry, and you gave me no meat;</I> much more
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if it may be said, <I>I was hungry, and you took my meat from
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me.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. The judgment given against them all is thus far the same,
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(1.) That, their sin having risen to such a height, <I>God will not
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turn away the punishment thereof.</I> Though he has granted them a long
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reprieve, and has often <I>turned away their punishment,</I> yet now he
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will turn it away no longer, but justice shall take its course. "<I>I
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will not revoke it</I> (so some read it); I will not recall <I>the
|
|
voice</I> which has <I>gone forth</I> from Zion to Jerusalem
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
|
|
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speaking death and terror to the sinful nations." It is an irrevocable
|
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sentence. God has spoken it, and he will not <I>call it back.</I>
|
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Note, Though God bear long, he will not bear always, with those that
|
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provoke him; and, when the decree brings forth, it will bring up.
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(2.) That God will <I>kindle a fire</I> among them; this is said
|
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concerning all these <I>evil neighbours,</I>
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:4,7,10,12,14"><I>v.</I> 4, 7, 10, 12, 14</A>.
|
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God will <I>send a fire</I> into their cities. When fires are kindled
|
|
that lay cities, towns, and houses in ashes, whether designedly or
|
|
casually, God must be acknowledged in it; they are of his sending. Sin
|
|
stirs up the fire of his jealousy, and that kindles other fires.</P>
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<P>
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II. Let us see what is mentioned, both by way of charge and by way of
|
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sentence, that is peculiar to each of them, that every one may take his
|
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portion.</P>
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<P>
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1. Concerning Damascus, the head-city of Syria, a kingdom that was
|
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often vexatious to Israel.
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|
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(1.) The peculiar sin of Damascus was using the Gileadites barbarously:
|
|
<I>They threshed Gilead with threshing-instruments of iron</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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|
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which may be understood literally of their putting to the torture, or
|
|
to cruel deaths, the inhabitants of Gilead whom they got into their
|
|
hands, as David put the Ammonites under <I>saws and harrows</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+12:31">2 Sam. xii. 31</A>.
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|
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We read with what inhumanity Hazael king of Syria prosecuted his wars
|
|
with Israel
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+8:12">2 Kings viii. 12</A>);
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he <I>dashed their children,</I> and <I>ripped up their women with
|
|
child;</I> and see what desolations he made in their land,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+10:32,33">2 Kings x. 32, 33</A>.
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Or it may be taken figuratively, for his laying the country waste, and
|
|
this very similitude is used in the history of it.
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:7">2 Kings xiii. 7</A>,
|
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|
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He <I>destroyed them, and made them like the dust by threshing.</I>
|
|
Note, Men often do that unjustly and wickedly, and shall be severely
|
|
reckoned with for it, which yet God just permits them to do. The church
|
|
is called <I>God's threshing, and the corn of his floor</I>
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+21:10">Isa. xxi. 10</A>);
|
|
|
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but if men make it their threshing, and the chaff of their floor, they
|
|
shall be sure to hear of it.
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(2.) The peculiar punishment of Damascus is
|
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|
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[1.] That the fire which shall be sent shall fasten upon the court in
|
|
the first place, not on the chief city, nor the country towns, but on
|
|
<I>the house of Hazael,</I> which he built; and <I>it shall devour the
|
|
palaces of Ben-hadad,</I> the royal palaces inhabited by the kings of
|
|
Syria, many of whom were of that name. Note, Even royal palaces are no
|
|
defence against the judgments of God, though ever so richly furnished,
|
|
though ever so strongly fortified.
|
|
|
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[2.] That the enemy shall force his way into the city
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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|
|
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<I>I will break the bar of Damascus,</I> and then the gate flies open.
|
|
Or it may be understood figuratively: all that which is depended upon
|
|
as the strength and safety of that great city shall fail, and prove
|
|
insufficient. When God's judgments come with commission it is in vain
|
|
to think of <I>turning them out.</I>
|
|
|
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[3.] That the people shall be destroyed with the sword: <I>I will cut
|
|
off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven,</I> the <I>valley of
|
|
idolatry,</I> for the gods of the Syrians were <I>gods of the
|
|
valleys</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+20:23">1 Kings xx. 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
were worshipped in valleys; as the idols of Israel were worshipped on
|
|
<I>the hills; him also that holdeth the sceptre</I> of power, some
|
|
petty king or other that used to boast of the sceptre he held from
|
|
Beth-Eden, the <I>house of pleasure.</I> Both those that were given to
|
|
idolatry and those that were given to sensuality should be cut off
|
|
together.
|
|
|
|
[4.] That the body of the nation shall be carried off. The <I>people
|
|
shall go into captivity unto Kir,</I> which was in the country of the
|
|
Medes. We find this fulfilled
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+16:9">2 Kings xvi. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
about fifty years after this, when <I>the king of Assyria went up
|
|
against Damascus,</I> and <I>took it, and carried the people of it
|
|
captive to Kir, and slew Rezin,</I> at the instigation of Ahaz king of
|
|
Judah.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Concerning Gaza, a city of the Philistines, and now the metropolis
|
|
of that country.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The peculiar sin of the Philistines was <I>carrying away captive
|
|
the whole captivity,</I> either of Israel or Judah, which some think
|
|
refers to that inroad made upon Jehoram when they took away <I>all the
|
|
king's sons</I> and <I>all his substance</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+21:17">2 Chron. xxi. 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
or, perhaps, it refers to their seizing those that fled to them for
|
|
shelter when Sennacherib invaded Judah, and <I>selling them to the
|
|
Grecians</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joe+3:4-6">Joel iii. 4-6</A>),
|
|
|
|
or (as here) to the Edomites, who were always sworn enemies to the
|
|
people of God. They spared none, but carried off all they could lay
|
|
their hands on, designing, if possible, to <I>cut off the name of
|
|
Israel,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+83:4-7">Ps. lxxxiii. 4-7</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The peculiar punishment of the Philistines is that the fire which
|
|
God will send shall devour the palaces of Gaza, and that the
|
|
<I>inhabitants</I> of the other cities of the Philistines, Ashdod (or
|
|
Azotus), Ashkelon, and Ekron, shall all be <I>cut off,</I> and God will
|
|
make as thorough work with them in their ruin as they would have made
|
|
with God's people when they carried away the whole captivity; for even
|
|
the <I>remnant</I> of them <I>shall perish,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, God will make a full end of those that think to make a full end
|
|
of his church and people.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. Concerning Tyre, that famous city of wealth and strength, that was
|
|
itself a kingdom,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The peculiar sin of Tyre is <I>delivering up the whole captivity
|
|
to Edom,</I> that is, selling to the Edomites those of Israel that fled
|
|
to them for shelter, or in any way fell into their hands; not caring
|
|
what hardships they put upon them, so that they could but make gain of
|
|
them to themselves. Herein they forgot the <I>brotherly covenant,</I>
|
|
the league that was between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+5:12">1 Kings v. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
which was intimate that Hiram called Solomon his <I>brother,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+9:13">1 Kings ix. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is a great aggravation of enmity and malice when it is the
|
|
violation of friendship and of a <I>brotherly covenant.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Here is nothing peculiar in the punishment of Tyrus but that
|
|
<I>the palaces thereof</I> shall be <I>devoured,</I> which was done
|
|
when Nebuchadnezzar took it after thirteen years' siege. Their
|
|
merchants were all princes, and their private houses were as palaces;
|
|
but the fire shall make no more of them than of cottages.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. Concerning Edom, the posterity of Esau.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Their peculiar sin was an unmerciful, unwearied, pursuit of the
|
|
people of God, and their taking all advantages against them to do them
|
|
a mischief,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
He did <I>pursue his brother with the sword,</I> not only of old, when
|
|
the king of Edom took up arms to oppose the children of Israel's
|
|
passage <I>through his border</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+20:18">Num. xx. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
but ever since upon all occasions; they had not strength and courage
|
|
enough to face them in the field of battle, but, whenever any other
|
|
enemy had put Judah or Israel to flight, then the Edomites set in with
|
|
the pursuers, fell upon the rear, slew those that were half dead
|
|
already, and (as is usual with cowards when they have an enemy at an
|
|
advantage) they did <I>cast off all pity.</I> Those that are least
|
|
courageous are commonly most cruel. Edom was so; his malice
|
|
<I>destroyed his compassion</I> (so the word is); he stripped himself
|
|
of the tenderness of a man, and put on the fierceness of a beast of
|
|
prey; and, as such a one, he did tear, his <I>anger did tear
|
|
perpetually.</I> His cruelty was insatiable, and he never knew when he
|
|
had sucked enough of the blood of Israel, but, like the horse-leech,
|
|
still cried, <I>Give, give.</I> Nay, he <I>kept his wrath for ever;</I>
|
|
when he wanted objects of his wrath, and opportunity to show it, yet he
|
|
kept it in reserve (it <I>rested in his bosom</I>), he rolled it under
|
|
his tongue as a sweet morsel, and had it ready to spit in the face of
|
|
Israel upon the next occasion. Cursed be such cruel wrath, and anger so
|
|
fierce, so outrageous, which makes men like the devil, who
|
|
<I>continually seeks to devour,</I> and unlike to God, who <I>keeps not
|
|
his anger for ever.</I> Edom's malice was unnatural, for thus he
|
|
pursued his brother, whom he ought to have protected: it was
|
|
hereditary, as if it had been entailed upon the family ever since Esau
|
|
hated Jacob, and time itself could not wear it out, no, nor the
|
|
brotherly conduct of Israel towards them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+2:4">Deut. ii. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the express law given to Israel
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+23:7">Deut. xxiii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Here is nothing peculiar in their punishment; but
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
a <I>fire</I> shall be <I>sent to devour their palaces.</I> Note, The
|
|
fire of our anger against our brethren kindles the fire of God's anger
|
|
against us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. Concerning the Ammonites,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+1:13-15"><I>v.</I> 13-15</A>.
|
|
|
|
(1.) See how violently the fire of their anger turned against the
|
|
people of God; they not only triumphed in their calamities (as we find,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:2,6">Ezek. xxv. 2, 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
but they did themselves use them barbarously; they <I>ripped up the
|
|
women with child of Gilead,</I> a piece of cruelty the very mention of
|
|
which strikes a horror upon one's mind; one would think it is not
|
|
possible that any of the human race should be so inhuman. Hazael was
|
|
guilty of it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+8:12">2 Kings viii. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
It was done not only in a brutish rage, which falls without
|
|
consideration upon all that comes before it, but with a devilish design
|
|
to extirpate the race of Israel by killing not only all that were born,
|
|
but all that were to be born, worse than Egyptian cruelty. It was
|
|
<I>that they might enlarge their border,</I> that they might make the
|
|
land of Gilead their own, and there might be none to lay claim to it or
|
|
given them any disturbance in the possession of it. We find
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:1">Jer. xlix. 1</A>)
|
|
|
|
that the Ammonites inherited <I>Gad</I> (that is, Gilead) under
|
|
pretence that Israel had no sons, no heirs. We know how heavy the doom
|
|
of those was, and how heinous their crime, who said, <I>This is the
|
|
heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours</I> by
|
|
occupancy. See what cruelty covetousness is the cause of, and what
|
|
horrid practices those are often put upon that are greedy to <I>enlarge
|
|
their own border.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) See how violently the fire of God's anger burned against them;
|
|
shall not God <I>visit for these things</I> done to any of mankind,
|
|
especially when they are done to his own people? <I>Shall not his soul
|
|
be avenged on such a nation as this?</I> No doubt, it shall. The fire
|
|
shall be kindled <I>with shouting in the day of battle,</I> that is,
|
|
war shall kindle the fire; it shall be a fire accompanied with the
|
|
sword, or a roaring fire, which shall make a noise like that of
|
|
soldiers ready to engage, and it shall be as a <I>tempest</I> in the
|
|
<I>day of the whirlwind,</I> which comes swiftly, furiously, and bears
|
|
down all before it. Or this tempest and whirlwind shall be as bellows
|
|
to the fire, to make it burn the stronger, and spread the further. It
|
|
is particularly threatened that <I>their king and his princes shall go
|
|
together into captivity,</I> carried away by the king of Babylon, not
|
|
long after Judah was. See what changes God's providence often makes
|
|
with men, or rather their own sin; kings become captives, and princes
|
|
prisoners. <I>Milchom shall go into captivity;</I> some understand it
|
|
of the god of the Ammonites, whom they called <I>Moloch--a king. He,
|
|
and his princes,</I> and his priests that attended him, shall to
|
|
<I>into captivity;</I> their idol shall be so far from protecting them
|
|
that it shall itself go into captivity with them. Note, Those who by
|
|
violence and fraud seek to enlarge their own border will justly be
|
|
expelled and excluded their own border; nor is it strange if those who
|
|
make no conscience of invading the rights of others be able to make no
|
|
resistance against those who invade theirs.</P>
|
|
|
|
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