Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Amos 4:6-11
YHWH Five Times Expresses His Concern That In Spite of His Judgments Israel Have Not Returned To Him (Amos 4:6).
Having made clear His indictment of the women and men of Israel, both because of social injustice and because of false religious practises, YHWH now five times expresses His concern that this is evidence that Israel have not heeded His judgments in the past and returned to Him. In spite of all they have continued on in their own way. Thus they are ignoring the warnings of Leviticus 26:21; Leviticus 26:23; Leviticus 26:27 that if they did not respond to His judgments with repentance worse judgments would come upon them which would eventually result in exile. Notice His stress throughout on His continual attempts in the past to bring them to repentance, to persuade them to ‘turn to Him'. Up to now that had been the purpose of His judgments, but they had not succeeded in their purpose. That is why He has now come to the verge of bringing the final judgment on them mentioned by Leviticus, although still offering a glimmer of hope (Amos 5:4; Amos 5:14). The verbs are mainly imperfects or perfects with waw consecutive and we could therefore in our minds add ‘continually' to each one.
It is open to question whether Amos saw these judgments as past judgments (Israel had certainly experienced such judgments in the past) or as judgments coming in the near future (Hebrew tenses, unlike those in Greek and English, were not specific as to time). In fact he possibly had both in mind.
Five judgments are mentioned and five is the number of covenant. Thus the five judgments are to be seen as related to their responsibility under the covenant. Indeed all five are judgments which are clearly in view, among many others, in Leviticus 26:14; Deuteronomy 28-29. The five judgments are:
1) Famine (Leviticus 26:26; compare 2 Samuel 21:1; 1 Kings 18:2; 2 Kings 4:32; 2 Kings 8:1).
2) Drought (Leviticus 26:19; Deuteronomy 11:17; Deuteronomy 28:23; compare 1 Kings 8:35; 1 Kings 17:1; 1 Kings 17:7; 1 Kings 18:2).
3) Plant disease and insect infestation (Deuteronomy 28:22; Deuteronomy 28:42; 1 Kings 8:37).
4) Pestilence (Leviticus 26:25; Deuteronomy 28:21; compare 2 Samuel 24:15) and the slaying of men with the sword (Leviticus 26:25; Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:22).
5) The Overthrowing Of Their Cities (Leviticus 26:31; Deuteronomy 29:23; and often experienced in Kings).
We can compare these ‘plagues' coming on Israel with the ten plagues of Egypt which failed to soften Pharaoh's heart, even though they did soften the hearts of many of his subjects. Here the plagues had failed to soften Israel's hearts. Israel could thus be equated with Pharaoh for hardness of heart.
“And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places; yet have you not returned to me, says YHWH.”
The idea of ‘wanting bread' reflects Leviticus 26:26. The idea of ‘cleanness of teeth' occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, but is a vivid picture, and the idea behind it undoubtedly does. Both express the idea of lack of food resulting from famine and drought (compare 2 Samuel 21:1; 1Ki 18:2; 2 Kings 4:32; 2 Kings 8:1). Famine was in fact a fairly common occurrence in Canaan in its mild form, but it was when it occurred year after year that it caused real hardship. However, all these famines, both light and severe, failed to cause Israel to turn to YHWH. They should have recognised that the lack of rain was the chastisement of YHWH, and have ‘returned to Him', but instead they had probably blamed Baal (the Canaanite god of rain and storm) and sought to him. For the idea of ‘returning to YHWH' see Deuteronomy 1:45; Deuteronomy 30:2; Deuteronomy 30:8; 1 Samuel 7:3.
‘Says YHWH.' Neum YHWH, ‘oracle of YHWH', indicating the giving by YHWH of a powerful prophetic word.
“And I also have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest, and I caused it to rain on one city, and caused it not to rain on another city, one piece was rained on, and the piece on which it did not rain withered. So two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water, and were not satisfied. Yet have you not returned unto me, says YHWH.”
The thought of YHWH withholding rain is made clear in Deuteronomy 11:17; 1Ki 8:35; 1 Kings 17:1. But see also the more indirect references in Leviticus 26:19; Deuteronomy 28:23. The implication is that the falling of rain is dependent on YHWH (compare Matthew 5:45). It was a direct and deliberate ‘making redundant' of Baal who was supposed to be the god of storm and rain. Rain withheld before the barley and wheat harvests (when there were yet three months to harvest) could have a dreadful effect on the harvest. Random and spasmodic rain was nearly as bad, certainly for those who did not receive it, for their crops and fruit would eventually wither. Lack of rain could also hit the city water supplies, especially in the mountain cities where the reliance was often on cistern water collected when it rained. The city fortunate enough to have had rain would be approached by those which had not. They would, however, often be in no position to give them as much water as they wanted. And yet even this shortage of rain and water did not cause them to return to YHWH. Oracle of YHWH.
“I have smitten you with blasting and mildew. The multitude of your gardens and your vineyards and your fig-trees and your olive-trees has the palmer-worm devoured. Yet have you not returned to me, says YHWH.”
For ‘blasting and mildew' compare Deuteronomy 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37. For the palmer-worm compare Joel 1:4; Joel 2:25. Which ‘worm' was in the end being identified we cannot be certain as species of insects were not strictly differentiated (even though Amos was an expert on sycamore-mulberry trees), but the point was that the ravages of insects among their fruitful tress was also to be seen as the work of YHWH. Note the implication that in the final analysis YHWH controls all the ravages of nature. Their vineyards were their main source of joy and pleasure, their fig trees their source of sustenance, while their olive trees provided their main export potential. But all had at times been affected, making life continually dull and hard (contrast Deuteronomy 8:8 which presents the opposite picture which would have been their lot in the land that YHWH had given them if only they had been obedient). So God's judgments were in the earth (see Isaiah 26:9), but none of these things had caused them to return to YHWH. When God's judgments fail to turn men to God, then their hearts are hard indeed.
“I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt, your young men have I slain with the sword, and I have carried away your horses, and I have made the stench of your camp to come up even into your nostrils. Yet have you not returned to me, says YHWH.”
Up to this point the judgments had only smitten men indirectly, but like the plagues in Egypt they had now begun to strike harder. Pestilence (Leviticus 26:25; Deuteronomy 28:21; compare 2 Samuel 24:15) regularly resulting from poor food, disease ridden water, and bad sanitation, directly affected the bodies of men, while death by the sword (Leviticus 26:25; Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:22) inflicted on the finest of their young men who were the very bastion of the kingdom, was irreversible. Added to this was the removal of their war horses and the stench of death and disease in their war camp, especially as men suffered and died from their injuries, and the picture is one of total defeat, all resulting from the fact that YHWH, the God of Hosts and Battle, had no longer been with them. Thus they had no longer been successful in war. And yet they had still failed to return to YHWH.
“I have overthrown cities among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning. Yet have you not returned to me, says YHWH.”
The final consequence of the defeat of their armies and the death of their finest young men had been that their cities had been overthrown in a similar way to Sodom and Gomorrah (compare Deuteronomy 29:23 and see Genesis 19). And yet it had not been the end, for in His goodness YHWH had delivered them like a piece of flammable wood snatched from the flames (which would have had no chance had it not been so). Up to this point He had always intervened on their behalf. And yet still they had not returned to Him. There could therefore only be one final result. They would have to meet God's final judgment on them.