Will not the land quake for this, and all its dwellers mourn? All of it will swell like the Nile; it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt. Will not the land quake for thisThe phrase "Will not the land quake" uses the imagery of an earthquake to symbolize the profound impact of God's judgment. In Hebrew, the word for "quake" is "ra'ash," which conveys a sense of trembling or shaking. This is not merely a physical phenomenon but a spiritual and moral upheaval. The land quaking signifies the seriousness of Israel's sin and the inevitable divine response. Historically, earthquakes were seen as manifestations of divine displeasure, and here it underscores the certainty and severity of God's impending judgment. and all who dwell in it mourn?
The word "mourn" in Hebrew is "aval," which means to lament or grieve deeply. This mourning is not just a personal sorrow but a communal lamentation over the consequences of sin. In the context of Amos, the mourning is a response to the loss and devastation that will come upon the people due to their disobedience. It reflects a deep awareness of the broken relationship with God and the resulting judgment. The mourning of the inhabitants signifies a recognition of their spiritual state and the dire consequences of their actions. All of it will rise like the Nile
The imagery of the Nile rising is a powerful metaphor. The Nile River, known for its annual flooding, was a source of life and sustenance for Egypt. However, in this context, the rising of the Nile symbolizes an overwhelming and unstoppable force. The Hebrew word "alah" for "rise" suggests an ascent or increase, indicating that the judgment will be all-encompassing and inescapable. This metaphor would have been particularly vivid to the original audience, who understood the significance of the Nile's cycles. it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt
The phrase "surge and then subside" captures the cyclical nature of the Nile's flooding, which was both predictable and powerful. The Hebrew words "ga'ah" (surge) and "shaqa" (subside) describe the ebb and flow of the river, emphasizing the certainty and completeness of the judgment. Just as the Nile's flooding was a natural and expected event, so too is the coming judgment of God. This comparison to the Nile in Egypt serves as a reminder of God's control over nature and history, and His ability to use both as instruments of His will. Persons / Places / Events 1. AmosA prophet from the southern kingdom of Judah, called by God to deliver messages of judgment to the northern kingdom of Israel. 2. IsraelThe northern kingdom, which is the primary audience of Amos's prophecies, facing impending judgment due to their social injustices and idolatry. 3. The NileA major river in Egypt, known for its annual flooding, which is used metaphorically to describe the upheaval and judgment coming upon Israel. 4. The LandRefers to the land of Israel, which will experience a figurative "quaking" due to God's judgment. 5. MourningThe response of the people to the coming judgment, indicating sorrow and lamentation over the consequences of their actions. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty in JudgmentThe imagery of the land quaking and rising like the Nile emphasizes God's control over creation and His ability to use it as an instrument of judgment. Believers should recognize God's sovereignty and respond with reverence and obedience. The Consequences of SinThe mourning of the inhabitants highlights the inevitable consequences of sin. This serves as a warning to live righteously and seek God's forgiveness and guidance. The Certainty of God's WordJust as the Nile's flooding was a predictable event, so is the fulfillment of God's prophetic word. Believers can trust in the certainty of God's promises and warnings. Call to RepentanceThe impending judgment serves as a call to repentance. Believers should examine their lives, turn from sin, and seek God's mercy. Hope Amidst JudgmentWhile the passage speaks of judgment, it also implies the possibility of restoration. Believers can find hope in God's redemptive plan and His desire for reconciliation. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of the land quaking and rising like the Nile help us understand the seriousness of God's judgment? 2. In what ways can we see the consequences of sin in our own lives and communities, and how should we respond? 3. How does the certainty of God's word, as seen in Amos, encourage us to trust in His promises today? 4. What steps can we take to ensure that we are living in a way that honors God and avoids the judgment described in Amos? 5. How can we find hope and assurance in God's character, even when facing difficult circumstances or divine discipline? Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 24:19-20This passage also speaks of the earth shaking and reeling, similar to the imagery in Amos, indicating God's judgment. Exodus 7:19-21The Nile turning to blood during the plagues of Egypt serves as a backdrop for understanding the significance of the Nile's mention in Amos. Psalm 46:2-3Describes the earth giving way and mountains falling into the sea, echoing the theme of natural upheaval as a sign of divine intervention. Jeremiah 4:24-26Jeremiah describes the earth in chaos and desolation, similar to the imagery of Amos, as a result of God's judgment. People Amos, Dan, Ephah, JacobPlaces Bethel, Egypt, Nile RiverTopics Account, Cast, Drowned, Dweller, Dwelleth, Dwells, Egypt, Fear, Flood, Indeed, Mourn, Mourned, Nile, Overflowing, Quake, Rise, River, Shaking, Sink, Sorrow, Stirred, Subside, Sunk, Surge, Therein, Tossed, Tremble, Troubled, Wholly, Won't, Yea, YesDictionary of Bible Themes Amos 8:4-8 5512 scales and balances
8716 dishonesty, examples Amos 8:4-10 5541 society, negative Amos 8:4-14 8807 profanity Library Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThoughts Upon Worldly Riches. Sect. I.
HE that seriously considers the Constitution of the Christian Religion, observing the Excellency of its Doctrines, the Clearness of its Precepts, the Severity of its Threatnings, together with the Faithfulness of its Promises, and the Certainty of its Principles to trust to; such a one may justly be astonished, and admire what should be the reason that they who profess this not only the most excellent, but only true Religion in the World, should notwithstanding be generally as wicked, debauched and …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life Jesus Raises the Widow's Son.
(at Nain in Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 11-17. ^c 11 And it came to pass soon afterwards [many ancient authorities read on the next day], that he went into a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. [We find that Jesus had been thronged with multitudes pretty continuously since the choosing of his twelve apostles. Nain lies on the northern slope of the mountain, which the Crusaders called Little Hermon, between twenty and twenty-five miles south of Capernaum, and about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Scriptural Predictions of an Apostasy.
Who has not wondered, as they read of the Savior's and the apostles' warnings of "false teachers," grievous wolves, delusive powers, and deceptive lights, what it all could mean? These things certainly are not without meaning. Jesus says, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day A Serious Persuasive to Such a Method of Spending Our Days as is Represented in the Former Chapter.
1, 2. Christians fix their views too low, and indulge too indolent a disposition, which makes it more necessary to urge such a life as that under consideration.--3. It is therefore enforced, from its being apparently reasonable, considering ourselves as the creatures of God, and as redeemed by the blond of Christ.--4. From its evident tendency to conduce to our comfort in life.--5. From the influence it will have to promote our usefulness to others.--6. From its efficacy to make afflictions lighter.--7. …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul The Evening Light
This chapter is an article written by the author many years after she had received light on the unity of the church. It will acquaint the reader with what is meant by the expression "evening light." "At evening time it shall be light." "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light" (Zechariah 14:6,7). The expression …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision D. Parable of the Lost Son. ^C Luke XV. 11-32. ^c 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons [These two sons represent the professedly religious (the elder) and the openly irreligious (the younger). They have special reference to the two parties found in the first two verses of this chapter --the Pharisees, the publicans and sinners]: 12 and the younger of them [the more childish and easily deceived] said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Figurative Language of Scripture.
1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa. 84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation Concerning Christian Liberty
Christian faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation; while he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—Concerning Christian Liberty The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments This Doctrine Confirmed by Proofs from Scripture.
1. Some imagine that God elects or reprobates according to a foreknowledge of merit. Others make it a charge against God that he elects some and passes by others. Both refuted, 1. By invincible arguments; 2. By the testimony of Augustine. 2. Who are elected, when, in whom, to what, for what reason. 3. The reason is the good pleasure of God, which so reigns in election that no works, either past or future, are taken into consideration. This proved by notable declarations of one Savior and passages …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Of the Incapacity of an Unregenerate Person for Relishing the Enjoyments of the Heavenly World.
John iii. 3. John iii. 3. --Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. IN order to demonstrate the necessity of regeneration, of which I would fain convince not only your understandings, but your consciences, I am now proving to you, that without it, it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God; and how weighty a consideration that is I am afterwards to represent. That it is thus impossible, the words in the text do indeed sufficiently prove: but for the further illustration …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration Links Amos 8:8 NIVAmos 8:8 NLTAmos 8:8 ESVAmos 8:8 NASBAmos 8:8 KJV
Amos 8:8 Commentaries
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