13. faint for thirst—namely, thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of all other comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm (Isaiah 40:30; Isaiah 40:31)! read more
The silence of Yahweh 8:11-14The few remaining Israelites would be silent as they disposed of the corpses of their fellows (Amos 8:3), but God would also be silent in that day of judgment. read more
The Israelites would grope all over the land for some word from Yahweh, a word of explanation, forgiveness, or hope, but they would not be able to find one. Even beautiful virgins and strong young men would faint from lack of spiritual refreshment. These types of individuals would have the greatest strength and could look the hardest and longest, but even they would find nothing. Their deaths would also mean the cutting back of the nation since they could not provide children. read more
The Vision of the Ripe Fruit, followed by a Fifth Address1-3. The vision. 4-14. The address, denouncing dishonest traders (Amos 8:4-6), threatening earthquakes, eclipse, mourning, a painful sense of abandonment by God, an utter destruction of the superstitious (Amos 8:7-14).1-3. Notwithstanding the interference of Amaziah, the prophet finishes the recital of his visions.1, 2. Another play on words—qayits is the word for ripe fruit, and qçts for end. We might represent it by, ’A basket of ripe... read more
(12) They shall wander from sea to sea . . .—Stagger and reel from east to west to find one seer who knows the mind of the Lord: they shall not find one. The reference to the east here has an instructive parallel in Isaiah 2:6, where the house of Jacob is enounced as being “full of the east.” Probably Delitzsch is right in interpreting the east there to mean Arabia as inclusive of the whole tract from the Sinaitic peninsula to the banks of the Euphrates. The north would mean Phœnicia and Aram.... read more
(13) Faint.—That fair virgins and strong brave youths should faint by reason of their raging thirst suggests that the less vigorous would suffer even more keenly. It is sad when old men stumble into the darkness of unbelief amid the shining of the noon-day sun, seeing that they can remember the brightness of their morning, but there is always hope that their child-like spirit may return to them, and that at the evening time it may be light; but if fair virgins and strong youths are covered with... read more
1. EARTHQUAKE, ECLIPSE, AND FAMINEAmos 8:4-14"Hear this, ye who trample the needy, and would put an end to the lowly of the land, saying, When will the New-Moon be over, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may open corn (by making small the measure, but large the weight, and falsifying the fraudulent balances; buying the wretched for silver, and the, needy for a pair of shoes!), and that we may sell as grain the refuse of the corn!" The parenthesis puzzles, but is not impossible:... read more
CHAPTER 8 The Fourth Vision: The Basket With Summer Fruit 1. The vision (Amos 8:1-3 ) 2. Israel ripe for judgment (Amos 8:4-10 ) 3. The coming days of famine (Amos 8:11-14 ) Amos 8:1-3 . In his fourth vision the prophet beholds a basket of summer fruit. The Hebrew shows that it was a basket filled with ripe fruit. The ripe fruit is a symbol that Israel was ripe for the harvest of judgment. The message of the Lord to the prophet is, “The end is come upon My people Israel; I will not again... read more
8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the {h} word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].(h) By which he shows that they will not only perish in body, but also in soul for lack of God’s word, which is the food of it. read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Amos 8:12
12. they shall wander from sea to sea—that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west. from . . . north . . . to . . . east—where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in :-, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not be from a sincere desire to obey... read more