Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 1. The table of nations ch. 10
  This table shows that Yahweh created all peoples (cf. Deut. 32:8; Amos 9:7; Acts 17:26). As the genealogy in chapter 5, this one traces 10 main individuals, and the last one named had three sons."The table of nations is a hor...
• 6. Moses' call 3:1-4:18
  3:1-12 Horeb is another name for Sinai (v. 1). It probably indicates a range of mountains rather than a particular mountain peak. The writer called it "the mountain of God"because it was the place where God later gave the Mos...
• The eighth commandment 5:19
  Stealing means taking something that belongs to another person from him or her against that person's will. Theft violates property as adultery violates marriage and the family.Frequently what one steals is some material posse...
• 1. The possibility of restoration 30:1-10
  When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts purposing to obey Him again (vv. 1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to t...
• The Philistine oppression 13:1
  The translation "again did"in verse 1 implies that the Philistine oppression followed the Ammonite oppression chronologically. However the Hebrew idiom these words translate does not necessarily mean that. It can also mean, a...
• 1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11
  The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
• The oracle against Jerusalem ch. 22
  As in the first series of oracles, God's people occupy the fourth place in this second series, which points farther into the future, surrounded by the nations of the world. In the first series the Northern Kingdom was in view...
• Future blessings following imminent judgment 16:14-21
  The following three pericopes bracket assurance of imminent judgment for Judah with promises of distant blessing for Israel and the nations. This passage promises deliverance from the captivity for the Israelites. It appears ...
• The importance of Sabbath observance 17:19-27
  This section contains one of Jeremiah's sermons. Notice its introduction, proclamation of the law, promise of blessing for the obedient, and threat of judgment for the disobedient.17:19-20 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to stati...
• Prophecies about false prophets 23:9-40
  Having given a true prophecy about the future, Jeremiah proceeded to announce God's judgment on the false prophets who were misleading His people with false prophecies (cf. v. 1). This section consists of six different messag...
• The two baskets of figs ch. 24
  24:1 This prophetic message came to Jeremiah after Nebuchadnezzar had taken King Jehoiachin (Coniah, Jeconiah, cf. 22:24) and many of the other royal counselors, craftsmen, and smiths (or artisans) captive to Babylon in 597 B...
• B. The oracle against the Philistines ch. 47
  It is not possible to date this oracle exactly, but Jeremiah evidently gave it sometime during Josiah's reign (640-609 B.C.; v. 1).47:1 Jeremiah received a message from the Lord concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh conqu...
• C. The oracle against Moab ch. 48
  This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
• The hair 5:1-4
  Ezekiel was also to do something else during the time he was dramatizing the siege of Jerusalem with his model (ch. 4)."After Ezekiel represented the factof the siege (first sign [4:1-3]), the lengthof the siege (second sign ...
• 5. The need of personal righteousness for deliverance 14:12-23
  This prophecy continues the emphasis on judgment from the previous one and stresses the irrevocability of Jerusalem's destruction (cf. Jer. 7:16; 15:1-4).14:12-14 The Lord spoke to Ezekiel again. He revealed that Jerusalem's ...
• 6. A funeral dirge for Egypt 32:1-16
  32:1 This is the first of two messages that Ezekiel received from the Lord concerning Egypt in 585 B.C. Less than two months had passed since the exiles had learned of Jerusalem's fall, which had occurred several months earli...
• An exhortation to Israel's leaders 45:9-12
  Mention of the proper leadership of the Israelites in the Millennium led to an exhortation to Israel's leaders to practice justice and righteousness in the present and in the future.45:9 The Lord next commanded the leaders of...
• The end of the vision 12:4
  In conclusion the angel instructed Daniel to close the record of this revelation. In the ancient Near East, people wrote official documents and then, after making a copy for reference, deposited the original in a safe place. ...
• 2. Judgment on Israel 2:8-13
  In the section that follows, the relationship between Israel and Yahweh becomes even clearer. The mention of Baals and Israel's feasts makes this obvious. Hosea's relationship with Gomer recedes into the background.2:8 Israel...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• Title and Writer
  The title of the book comes from its writer. The prophet's name means "burden-bearer"or "load-carrier."Amos was a sheepherder (Heb. noqed; cf. 2 Kings 3:4) or sheep breeder, and he described himself as a herdsman (Heb. boqer;...
• Historical Background
  These were times of political stability, material prosperity, and geographical expansion for both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms (cf. 1:6; 6:2, 13; 2 Kings 14:23-29; 2 Chron. 26:1-15). Jeroboam II and Uzziah were two ...
• Theology
  Amos stressed the sovereignty of Yahweh over history. He controls the movements of peoples (9:7) and the order of nature (4:13; 5:8). The prophet also affirmed the ability of people to submit to or reject the Lord's authority...
• Outline
  I. Prologue 1:1-2A. Introduction 1:1B. Theme 1:2II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3-6:14A. Oracles against nations 1:3-2:51. An oracle against Aram 1:3-52. An oracle against Philistia 1:6-83. An oracle against Phoe...
• II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3--6:14
  The Book of Amos consists of words (oracles, 1:3-6:14) and visions (chs. 7-9), though these sections also contain short sub-sections of other types of material....
• 1. An oracle against Aram 1:3-5
  1:3 The expression "for three transgressions [Heb. pesha'im, rebellions, i.e., against the universal Sovereign; cf. Gen. 9:5-17] and for four"is one of Amos' trademarks (cf. vv. 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6). It means for numerous...
• The complete devastation of Samaria 6:8-14
  6:8 The prophet announced further that the sovereign Yahweh of hosts, even He, had sworn by Himself (cf. 4:2; 8:7). He loathed the pride of Jacob. "Jacob"refers to the Northern Kingdom (cf. 3:13), and "the pride of Jacob"is p...
• III. Visions that Amos saw chs. 7--9
  Amos next recorded five visions that he received from the Lord that described the results of the coming judgment of Israel, plus one historical incident (7:10-17). Throughout this section of the book two phrases stand out: "s...
• 1. The swarming locusts 7:1-3
  7:1 Sovereign Yahweh showed Amos a mass of locusts swarming in the springtime after the first harvest and before the second. The Lord was forming this swarm of locusts. The very first crops harvested in the spring went to fee...
• 3. The plumb line 7:7-9
  7:7 Amos saw a third vision. The Lord was standing beside a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. A plumb line was a string with a weight on the end. People used it, and still use it, to determine if a vertical structu...
• 1. The basket of summer fruit ch. 8
  The vision with which this chapter opens (vv. 1-3) gave rise to several prophetic oracles that follow and expound it (vv. 4-6, 7-10, 11-14)....
• The vision proper 8:1-3
  8:1-2 The sovereign Lord showed Amos a basket of summer fruit. Amos saw what God enabled him to see. The Lord asked him what he saw (cf., 7:8), and the prophet replied that he saw a basket of ripe summer fruit (Heb. qayis). N...
• The sins of the people 8:4-6
  Non-visionary material followed the third vision (7:7-9), and non-visionary material follows the fourth vision (8:1-3).8:4 Amos called those who oppressed the needy and tried to exterminate them to hear him (cf. 5:11). Israel...
• The wailing of the sufferers 8:7-10
  The following two passages (vv. 7-10 and 11-14) describe more fully the two results of God's judgment mentioned earlier, namely, wailing and silence (cf. v. 3).8:7 For the third time in this book Amos said that Yahweh took an...
• The silence of Yahweh 8:11-14
  The few remaining Israelites would be silent as they disposed of the corpses of their fellows (v. 3), but God would also be silent in that day of judgment.8:11 As part of His judgment, God would withhold His words from His pe...
• Yahweh's inescapable punishment 9:1-4
  9:1 In the final vision that Amos recorded, he saw Yahweh standing beside an altar. The altar at Bethel is probably in view since Bethel was the worship site in view in most of this book and since Amos' encounter with Amaziah...
• The God who would punish 9:5-6
  These verses describe the great God who would judge the Israelites. The section closes, "Yahweh is His name"(v. 6). What precedes that clause is a revelation of His person (name).9:5 The judge is sovereign Yahweh who controls...
• The justice of His punishment 9:7-10
  9:7 Rhetorically Yahweh asked if Israel was not just like other nations. It was in the sense that it was only one nation among many in the world that lived under His sovereign authority. The Ethiopians (Cushites) were a remot...
• The restoration of the Davidic kingdom 9:11-12
  The rest of the book is quite different from what has preceded because of its positive message. As is true of other eighth-century prophets to Israel and Judah, Amos included hope in his prophecy (cf. Isa. 40-66; Hos. 1:10-2:...
• The blessings of the restored kingdom 9:13-15
  9:13 In contrast to the images of judgment that Amos had painted throughout this book, days were coming when these terrible conditions would be reversed. The land would become so productive that farmers planting seed for the ...
• 1. Israel's sins 6:9-12
  6:9 Micah announced that Yahweh would call to the city of Jerusalem; He would declare something important to the people of that town, Micah's audience of Judeans. They would be wise to hear Him and to fear Him because of who ...
• II. A promise of future glory for the temple 2:1-9
  2:1 The Lord revealed another message to Haggai almost one month later, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month (Tishri, modern October 17) of the same year, 520 B.C. This was the last day of the feast of Tabernacles (Bo...
• Israel's national conversion 12:10-14
  The focus now changes from physical to spiritual deliverance (cf. Deut. 30:1-10).12:10 The Lord also promised to pour out on the Davidic rulers and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, representing all the Israelites, a spirit of re...
• Their condition 5:3-10 (cf. Luke 6:20-26)
  This pericope describes the character of the kingdom's subjects and their rewards in the kingdom.236"Looked at as a whole . . . the Beatitudes become a moral sketch of the type of person who is ready to possess, or rule over,...
• 5. The second coming of the King 24:23-31 (cf. Mark 13:21-27; Luke 21:25-28)
  Jesus proceeded to explain to His disciples that His coming would terminate the Great Tribulation.24:23-24 "Then"means "at that time,"namely at the end of the Great Tribulation (v. 2). Jesus warned the disciples about people ...
• The death of Jesus 27:45-50 (cf. Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46; John 19:28-30)
  27:45 That "land"(Gr. ge) was abnormally dark from noon until 3:00 p.m. Matthew's use of geprobably indicates Israel. Darkness in Scripture often represents judgment and or tragedy (cf. Exod. 10:21-22; Amos 8:9-10). Matthew's...
• 5. The Second Coming of the Son of Man 13:24-27 (cf. Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28)
  These verses do not describe the destruction of Jerusalem but the Tribulation at the end of the present age and the Second Coming that will follow it. The Second Coming is the climax of the Olivet Discourse.32013:24-25 In con...
• The death of Jesus 15:33-41 (cf. Matt. 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30)
  Mark's account of Jesus' death included five climactic events: the darkness, two of Jesus' cries, the tearing of the temple veil, and the Roman centurion's confession. All of these events happened during the last three of the...
• 2. The need for faithful perseverance 21:10-19 (cf. Matt. 24:7-10; Mark 13:8-13)
  21:10-11 Luke's interruption of Jesus' teaching suggests a break of some kind in His thought. It seems clear from what follows, in verse 11 especially, that Jesus now broadened His perspective from the wars that would precede...
• Peter's message to Cornelius 10:34-43
  Peter's sermon on this occasion is the first sermon in Acts addressed to a Gentile audience (cf. 14:15-17; 17:22-31). It is quite similar to the ones Peter preached in 2:14-40 and 3:11-26 except that this one has more informa...
• James' testimony 15:13-21
  15:13-14 James was Jesus' half brother, the writer of the Epistle of James, and the leading figure in the Jerusalem church (12:17; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12).612"Simeon"was Peter's older Jewish name. James' use of it would have emph...
• 6. The sixth seal 6:12-17
  The scene now shifts back to earth."The entire passage in every clause utilizes well known prophetic anticipations of the day of the Lord, and by his use of these images John identifies the day for his readers. One may check ...
• 2. The salvation of the great multitude 7:9-17
  There are a number of contrasts between the 144,000 and this great multitude. The number of the first group is not only smaller but definite whereas the number of the second group is larger and indefinite. People from the 12 ...
• The first trumpet 8:7
  The scene shifts again, this time from heaven to earth. This first trumpet blast signaled the beginning of a judgment that involved hail, fire (lightning?), and blood (bloodshed? cf. Exod. 9:23-26; Ezek. 38:22). This judgment...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Ripe For Gathering
  Thus hath the Lord God showed 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 ...