Amos 1:3

I will not turn away the punishment thereof.

The purpose of Divine threatenings

The order of God’s threatenings seems to have been addressed to gain the hearing of the people. The punishment is first denounced upon their enemies, and that, for their sins, directly or indirectly against themselves, and God in them. Then, as to those enemies themselves, the order is not of place or time, but of their relations to God’s people. It begins with their most oppressive enemy, Syria; then Philistia, the old and ceaseless, although less powerful enemy; then Tyre, not an oppressor, as these, yet violating a relation which they had not, the bonds of a form or friendship and covenant; malicious also and hard hearted through covetousness. Then followed Edom, Ammon, Moab, who burst the bonds of blood also. Lastly, and nearest of all, it falls on Judah, who had the true worship of the true God among them, but despised it. Every infliction on those like ourselves finds an echo in our own consciences. Israel heard and readily believed God’s judgments upon others. It was not tempted to set itself against believing them. How then could it refuse to believe of itself what it believed of others like itself? “Change but the name, the tale is told of thee,” Horace says. The course of the prophecy convicted them, as the things written in Holy Scripture for our ensamples convict Christians. If they who sinned without law, perished without law, how much more should they who have sinned in the law be judged by the law? God’s judgments rolled, round like a thunder-cloud, passing from land to land, giving warning of their approach, at last to gather and centre on Israel itself, except it repent. In the visitations of others it was to read its own; and that the more, the nearer God was to them. Israel is placed last, because on it the destruction was to fall to the uttermost, and rest there. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)

God’s dealings with other nations

The prophet shows that God, as a Judge, would call all the neighbouring nations Co account. Had the prophet threatened the Israelites only, they might have thought that what they suffered was by chance, when they saw the like things happening to their neighbours. Thus all the authority of the prophet must have lost its power, except the Israelites were made to know that God is the Judge of all nations. Amos puts the Israelites in the same bundle with the Moabites, the Idumaeans, and other heathen nations; as though he had said, “God will not spare your neighbours; but think not that ye shall be exempt from His vengeance, when they shall be led to punishment: I now declare to you that God will be the Judge of you all together.” The design of Amos was--

1. To set before the eyes of the Israelites the punishment of others to awaken them, and also to induce them to examine themselves. He designed to lead them into a teachable frame of mind: for he knew them to be torpid in their indulgences, and also blinded by presumption, so that they could not be easily brought under the yoke.

2. He had this also in view, that God would punish the Syrians, because they cruelly raged against the Israelites, especially against Gilead and its inhabitants. As God, then would inflict so grievous a punishment on the Syrians, because they so cruelly treated the inhabitants of Gilead, what was to be expected by the Israelites themselves, who had been insolent towards God, who had isolated His worship, who had robbed Him of His honour, who had in their turn destroyed one another? For there was among them no equity, no humanity; they had forgotten all reason. (John Calvin.)

Divine cognisance of human sins

1. That the sins of all the peoples on the earth, whatever the peculiarities of their character or country, are under the cognisance of God. Seven countries are named here. Heaven’s omniscient eye detected the sill of each man of all the various men and nations. God’s knowledge of men’s sins should--

(1) Lead men to great circumspection in their daily life. They should sedulously avoid evil. They should devoutly pursue good;

(2) impress men with the wonderful patience of God. This patience implies the greatest power; and the greatest compassion;

(3) impress men with the certainty of a future retribution. (Homilist.)

Because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments.

Signs of cruelty

We be many ways guilty of cruelty.

1. If we exercise tyrannous cruelty, in inflicting punishments.

2. If we fight with or beat our neighbour, or maim his body. This is a breach of the sixth commandment.

3. If we procure any way the death of our neighbour, whether it be by sword, famine, poison, false accusation, or otherwise.

4. If we use any of God’s creatures hardly.

5. If because of our neighbours’ infirmities, we use him discourteously, and make him our laughingstock or taunting recreation.

6. If we injure a stranger.

7. If we molest any widow, or fatherless children.

8. If we wrong the poor. This we may do--

(1) If we lend money to the poor upon usury.

(2) If we pay not the poor labourer his hire.

(3) If we restore not the pledge of the poor.

(4) If we withdraw our corn from the poor. (Sebastian Benefield, D. D.)

The enormity of the sin of persecution

The sin of inflicting suffering.

I. Persecution is a most arrogant crime. The religious persecutor acts upon the assumption that his ideas of religion are absolutely true that his theological knowledge is the test by which all other opinions are to be tried; shows an arrogance before which servile spirits bow, but from which all thoughtful and noble men recoil with disgust and indignation But his arrogance is shadowy and harmless compared with the arrogance of him who enters the temple of human conscience and claims dominion over the moral workings of the soul. Yes, such arrogant men abound in all ages, and are by no means rare, even in this age and land of what is called civil and religious liberty.

II. Persecution is a most absurd crime. Far wiser is the fool who would legislate for the winds or the waves, and like Canute give commands to the billows, than he who attempts to legislate for human thoughts and moral convictions. And truth never seems to rise in greater power and majesty than under the hand of cruel persecution.

III. Persecution is a most cruel crime. What ruthless inhumanities are here charged against the various peoples mentioned. It has often been observed, that no anger is so savage as the anger which springs up between relations of blood. A brotherly hate is the chief of hates. No animosity burns with a more hellish heat than that connected with religion. (Homilist.)