Amos 8:14

They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again. THEY THAT SWEAR BY THE SIN OF SAMARIA - namely, the calves, made in imitation of the golden calf made by Aaron at the people's request, and afterward burnt, stamped upon, and ground small as dust, and east into the brook out of the mount, by Moses (; ). "Swear by" means to worship (, "Every one that sweareth by Him shall glory"). THY GOD, O DAN, LIVETH - the other golden calf at Dan (). LIVETH ... LIVETH - rather, 'May thy god. O Dan,...

He afterwards mentions the reason why the Lord would inflict such punishments on his people; it was, because they had prostituted themselves to wicked superstitions; _They swear, _he says, _by the sin of Samaria; they say, Live does thy God, Dan; Live does the way of Beersheba _Some understand “sin” here metaphorically, (as it is taken also in many other places,) as meaning sin-offerings, which are called by the Hebrews אשמות, _ashimut_, and by the Latins _piacula _ — expiations: but this exposition is too refined. The Prophet then speaks only of the idols of Israelites: and they are called wickedness or sin, because superstitious men, we know, delight in their own devices. He therefore calls an idol sin by way of reproach, though they gave it the honorable name of a god. _They swear, _he says, _in _or _by the sin of Samaria _He calls it the sin of Samaria, for thence arose all their cor...

11-14 Here was a token of God's highest displeasure. At any time, and most in a time of trouble, a famine of the word of God is the heaviest judgment. To many this is no affliction, yet some will feel it very much, and will travel far to hear a good sermon; they feel the loss of the mercies others foolishly sin away. But when God visits a backsliding church, their own plans and endeavours to find out a way of salvation, will stand them in no stead. And the most amiable and zealous would perish, for want of the water of life, which Christ only can bestow. Let us value our advantages, seek to profit by them, and fear sinning them away....

Verse Amos 8:14. _BY THE SIN OF SAMARIA_] _Baal_, who was worshipped here. _THY GOD, O DAN_] The golden calf, or ox, the representative of the Egyptian god Apis, or Osiris. _THE MANNER OF BEER-SHEBA_] The worship, or object of worship. Another of the golden calves which Jeroboam had set up there. The word דרך _derech, way_, is here taken for the _object_ and _mode_ of worship; see Acts 19:9, where _way_ is taken for the _creed_ and _form_ of Divine worship as practiced by the followers of Christ, and by which they were distinguished from the Jews. See also Acts 9:2....

WHO SWEAR - Literally, “the swearing,” they who habitually swear. He assigns, at the end, the ground of all this misery, the forsaking of God. God had commanded that all appeals by oath should be made to Himself, who alone governs the world, to whom alone His creatures owe obedience, who alone revenges. “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve Him and swear by His Name” Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20. On the other hand Joshua warned them, “Neither make mention of the name of their gods nor cause to swear by them nor serve them” Joshua 23:7. But these “sware by the sin of Samaria,” probably “the calf at Bethel,” which was near Samaria and the center of their idolatry, from wh

EXPOSITION AMOS 8:1 § 5. _In the fourth vision, the basket of summer fruit, the Lord shows that the people is ripe for judgment. _Explaining this revelation, Amos denounces the oppression and greed of the chieftains (verses 4-10), and warns them that those who despise the Word of God shall some day suffer from a famine of the Word (verses 11-14). AMOS 8:1 A BASKET OF SUMMER FRUIT; Septuagint, ἄγγος ἰξευτοῦ_, _"a fowler's vessel;" Vulgate, _uncinus pomorum, _which Jerome explains," Sicut uncino rami arborum detrahuntur ad poma carpenda, ita ego proximum captivitatis tempus attraxi." The word _chelub _is taken to mean "a basket of wickerwork;" it is used for "a cage" in...

THEY THAT SWEAR BY THE SIN OF SAMARIA,.... The calf at Bethel, which was near Samaria, and which the Samaritans worshipped; and was set up by their kings, and the worship of it encouraged by their example, and which is called the calf of Samaria, Hosea 8:5; the making of it was the effect of sin, and the occasion of leading into it, and ought to have been had in detestation and abhorrence, as sin should; and yet by this the Israelites swore, as they had used to do by the living God; so setting up this idol on an equality with him: AND SAY, THY GOD, O DAN, LIVETH; the other calf, which was set up in Dan; and to this they gave the epithet of the bring God, which only belonged to the God of Israel: AND THE MANNER OF BEERSHEBA LIVETH; or, "the way of Beersheba" r; the long journey or pilgrimage of those at Beersheba; who chose to go to Dan, rather than Bethel, to

CHAPTER 8 The Fourth Vision: The Basket With Summer Fruit _ 1. The vision (Amos 8:1) _ 2. Israel ripe for judgment (Amos 8:4) 3. The coming days of famine (Amos 8:11) Amos 8:1. In his fourth vision the prophet beholds a basket of summer fruit. The Hebrew shows that it was a basket filled with ripe fruit. The ripe fruit is a symbol that Israel was ripe for the harvest of judgment. The message of the Lord to the prophet is, “The end is come upon My people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.” The songs would be changed into howling lamentations and many should be slain....

DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEME OF AMOS 3. This section, which re-echoes Amos 2:6, has been regarded as a conglomeration of rather loosely-connected fragments (_cf._ G. A. Smith). The prophet addresses himself to those who persecute and destroy the needy and humble (Amos 8:4), the ruthless and godless rich who regard holy days and Sabbaths as tiresome interruptions of business and as troublesome reproaches to their guilty conscience (Amos 8:5), who traffic in the lives of the poor (see Amos 2:6) and tamper with the very staff of life (Amos 8:6). Such men and such deeds Yahweh will never forget or forgiv

SIN.. guilt., trespass. Hebrew asham. App-44. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Cause), App-6, for the idol itself. DAN... BEER-SHEBA. The two places where the calves were set up (1 Kings 12:26). MANNER. mode [of worship]; Acts 9:2. So used in Acts 16:17; Acts 18:25; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 24:14. THEY: i.e. the two calves, or "they that swear"....