Amos 8:1-2 Thus has the Lord GOD showed to me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.… : — The nation, God's chosen, is doomed. This is the import of the vision. The rest of the chapter is devoted to justification of this decree and description of its execution. 1. God is just. No man ever felt this truth more deeply than Amos. He betrays its hold upon him by the way in which he constructs his prophecies. He could not endure that they should have the slightest excuse for charging God with injustice. They, however, were not concerned about God s justice, though they might pretend to question it. To them, therefore, his habit of speech must have been extremely annoying. He was like a bad conscience. No wonder that they wanted to get rid of him. The passage before us contains an excellent illustration of the point in question. He shows that the question is not, How could God destroy Israel? but, How could He prevent their destruction? A community of self-seekers is an impossibility. 2. The greater part of this passage is predictive. This is not the most essential part of prophecy. A prediction is a picture of the future. Amos saw the kingdom of Israel over thrown by the Assyrians. Probably he did not expect his conventional details would ever be fulfilled. His claim to inspiration is sufficiently vindicated by the fact that the kingdom of Israel was actually overthrown, and the people carried into captivity by a power which, when Amos prophesied, seemed on the verge of extinction. (Hinckly G. Mitchell.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.WEB: Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. |
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