Bible Commentaries
Amos 5

Verse 8

Amos 5:8

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Amos 5:8-9

4. Portrayal of a Sovereign God (Amos 5:8-9)

In the midst of this denunciation of human perversity, Amos identified the God who controlled the workings of the physical universe and who surely, therefore, would overturn the injustice of men.

He who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion (cf. Job 9:9; Job 38:31 — the rising of Pleiades before daybreak signaled the return of spring while the rising of Orion after sunset heralded the onset of winter), He who controls the 24-hour cycle of day and night, turning blackness into dawn and day into night, He who controls the elements of nature, gathering by evaporation the waters of the sea and draining them out over… the land — this great Sovereign of the universe is also Israel’s covenant God. The Lord (Yahweh) is His name. And He would judge their covenant faithfulness.

This God whose dominion was unchallenged in heaven was also irresistible on earth. Nothing could withstand His destruction — not the mightiest stronghold or the most fortified city.

BKC

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Amo 5:8 the seven stars--literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (Job 9:9; Job 38:31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos mind. He names the stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring.

JFB

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AMOS 5:8-13 Otherwise the Lord who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion and rules the universe will pour out His wrath upon them for their lack of justice and righteousness

BBC

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Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. KJV

Job 9:9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south; NKJV

Job 9:9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. NIV

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Job 38:32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? KJV

Job 38:32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? NIV

Job 38:32 Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? NKJV

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