Amos 1:7

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: BUT I WILL SEND A FIRE ON THE WALL OF GAZA - i:e., the flame of war (; , "The fire of thine enemies shall devour them"). For "but" translate and: so Gaza had done: and so accordingly will the Lord reward her. ON THE WALL OF GAZA, WHICH SHALL DEVOUR THE PALACES THEREOF. Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, "smiting the Philistines unto Gaza and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city" (). Sennacherib also smote it; then Pharaoh-necho (); then Alexander, after a two months' siege. Foretold also by...

Now follows a denunciation of punishment, — that _God would send a fire on the wall of Gaza, to devour its palaces. _And it hence appears that Gaza was a splendid town, and sumptuously built; and for this reason the Prophet speaks of its palaces. He shows, at the same time, that neither strength nor wealth would prevent God from executing the punishment which the Gazites deserved. He names also other cities of Palestine, even _Ascalon _and _Azdod, _or _Azotus, _and _Ecron. _These cities the Philistine then possessed. The Prophet then intimates, that wheresoever they might flee, there would be no safe place for them; for the Lord would expose as a prey to enemies, not only Gaza, but also all the other cities. We may conclude that Ascalon was the first city; for there was the royal residence, though Gaza was the capital of the whole nation; it might yet be that the pleasantness of its situ...

BUT - Literally, “and.” Thus had Gaza done, and thus would God do; “I will send a fire upon Gaza.” The sentence on Gaza stands out, probably in that it was first in power and in sin. It was the merchant-city of the five; the caravans parted from it or passed through it; and so this sale of the Jewish captives was ultimately effected through them. First in sin, first in punishment. Gaza was strong by nature and by art. “The access to it also,” Arrian notices , “lay through deep sand.” We do not hear of its being taken, except in the first times of Israel under the special protection of God Judges 1:1, Judges 1:18, or by great conquerors. All Philistia, probably, submitted to David; we hear of no special conquest of its towns...

EXPOSITION VERSE 1-CH. 2:16 PART I. APPROACHING JUDGMENT. VERSE 1-CH. 2:3 _§ 1. The nations bordering on the Holy Land are solemnly summoned to judgment._ AMOS 1:1, AMOS 1:2 Heading of the book, with short summary of its contents. AMOS 1:1 Heading. THE WORDS. So Jeremiah begins his prophecy (Jeremiah 1:1), and the writer of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 1:1). That the words am not thos

BUT I WILL SEND A FIRE ON THE WALL OF GAZA,.... An enemy that shall pull down and destroy the walls of it: this was fulfilled in the times of Uzziah, under whom Amos prophesied; and very likely in a very short time after this prophecy, who went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gaza, 2 Chronicles 26:6; or else in the times of Hezekiah, who smote the Philistines unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, 2 Kings 18:8; or however in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 25:20; as also in the times of Alexander the great, who, after he had taken Tyre, besieged Gaza, and after two months' siege took it, as Diodorus Siculus relates p; the wall being un

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. JUDGMENT ANNOUNCED AGAINST THE NATIONS, JUDAH, AND ISRAEL CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The introduction (Amos 1:1) _ 2. Damascus (Amos 1:3) 3. Philistia (Amos 1:6) 4. Tyre (Amos 1:9) 5. Edom (Amos 1:11) 6. Ammon (Amos 1:13) Amos 1:1. It has been pointed out that Amos does not say like so many of the other prophets, “the Word of the Lord which came un

PHILISTIA. Philistia was another name to strike terror. The country is well represented by Gaza (Amos 1:6), the southernmost and largest city of the Philistines (p. 28), an emporium of trade and the centre of the slave-traffic. A typical instance of brutality is found in the carrying away of a whole deportation to deliver it (or them) over to Edom The reference may be to some raid in which the Philistines procured slaves for the Edomites to sell again. But Edom may, as elsewhere, be a mistake for Aram, and the reference may be to some episode in Hazael's campaign (2 Kings 12:18; so Orelli). Three more Philistine cities (p. 28) are mentioned (Amos 1:7 f.) as representatives of Philistia: Ashdod, Gr. Azotus, a strong fortress-city 21 miles NN

WALL. Put by Figure of speech _Synecdoche_ (of Part), App-6, for the whole city....

THE PHILISTINES. The second denunciation is directed against the Philistines, the old and troublesome enemies of Israel, on the S.W. Four representative cities are mentioned; the sin with which they are taxed being that of trafficking in slaves with Edom....

_THREE TRANSGRESSIONS OF GAZA -- AMOS 1:6-8:_ God promised to punish Gaza for her transgressions. He said He would not change His mind about this punishment. He said, "I will not turn away the punishment thereof." Gaza was a leading city of the Philistines. They had dragged off God's people and sold them as slaves to the Edomites. In 2 Chronicles 28:18 we see an example of their carrying the people away. It was their desire to carry all the people away and sell them all. God promised to smite the Philistines for their cruelty. He promised to send fire to burn down their walls and palaces. In 2 Kings 18:8 we have a record of one time when God sent destruction upon Gaza. They were punished because of their cruelt