Bible Commentaries
Amos 5

Verses 1-27

The third discourse was a description of Jehovah's judgment. This opened with a lamentation for the virgin of Israel, "The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise, she is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up." This lamentation the prophet followed with a sequence of explanations, each introduced by the formula, "Thus saith the Lord."

The first declared the coming decrease in population. Only a tithe of them would be spared.

The second recounted the history of God's past calls to the people. He had appealed to them to seek Him, and live. They had refused, hating the reprover in the gate, and abhorring him that spoke uprightly. The results had been that they oppressed the poor, and judgment was determined against them in consequence. Yqt another call came to them to hate the evil and love the good. The last announced the doom the people would suffer if they refused to answer the calls of God's patience, the whole procedwe of judgment being graphically summarized in the declaration, "I will pass through the midst of them.'

Finally, he pronounced the double woe. Two classes of the sinning people were addressed. First, those who desired "the day of the Lord," most evidently the hypocrites, according to the description. They were religionists who kept feasts, observed solemn assemblies, brought burnt meal, and peace offerings, sang songs and made melody with viols; but who, nevertheless, were living a life of sin. With tremendous force the prophet described God's attitude toward such, "I hate, I despise . . . I will take no delight . . . I will not accept . . . neither will I regard . . . I will not hear." Jehovah's call was for righteousness and judgment. "The day of the Lord" for the hypocrites would be a day of darkness and destruction.