“Therefore thus,
I will do to you!
O Israel!
I will do this
To you!
Prepare to meet
Your God!
O Israel!”
Amos has Yahweh issue one last solemn warning. Yahweh has tried many things to get the attention of these northern Israelites. However, he finally told them that they would meet the judgment of God himself. They had to prepare for their own death.
“To escape from your hand
Is impossible.
The ungodly,
Refusing to know you,
Were flogged
By the strength of your arm.
They were pursued
By unusual rains.
They were pursued
By hail.
They were pursued
By relentless storms.
They were utterly consumed
By fire.
Most incredible of all,
In water,
Which quenches all things,
The fire had still greater effect.
The universe defends the righteous.
At one time,
The flame was restrained.
Thus it might not consume the creatures
Sent against the ungodly.
But seeing this,
They might know
That they were being pursued
By the judgment of God.
At another time,
Even in the midst of water
It burned more intensely than fire.
Thus they destroyed the crops
Of the unrighteous land.”
It is impossible to escape from the hand of God (σὴν χεῖρα), so that the ungodly (ἀσεβεῖς) were flogged with his hands. God pursued them with unusual rains, hail, and storms. However, they were consumed by fire. The water was not able to put out the powerful fire (δύναμιν φλέγει). In fact, the righteous and the creatures against the ungodly were saved. The ungodly, however, were to learn that they were pursued by the judgment of God (Θεοῦ κρίσει). Even in the middle of water the fires destroyed the crops of the unrighteous.
“Because as servants of his kingdom,
You did not rule rightly.
You did not keep the law.
You did not walk
According to the purpose of God.
He will come upon you terribly.
He will come upon you swiftly.
Because severe judgment falls
On those in high places.
The lowliest may be pardoned in mercy.
But the mighty will be mightily tested.
The Lord of all
Will not stand in awe of any one.
He will not show deference to greatness.
Because he himself made
Both small and great.
He takes thought for all alike.
But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.”
Severe judgment will come upon those who are in high places that did not rule rightly. They did not keep the law (νόμον) or walk according to God’s purposes (κατὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπορεύθητε). God will come upon them terribly and swiftly. God might pardon the lowly with mercy, but the mighty are tested mightily. The Lord of all will not be awed by anyone. He does not show deference, whether they are small or great. He does a strict inquiry into all, especially the mighty ones.
“Not from the east or from the west,
Not from the wilderness comes lifting up.
It is God who executes judgment.
He puts down one.
He lifts up another.
In the hand of Yahweh,
There is a cup,
With foaming wine,
Well mixed.
He will pour a draught from it.
All the wicked of the earth
Shall drain it down to the dregs.”
Judgment does not come from the east, the west, the wilderness in the south, or the mountains in the north. Only God can execute judgment. He puts one down and lifts the other up. The cup of anger was important in the prophetic tradition. The wicked would drink from the wine cup with the specially mixed foaming wine. They would drink it all down until nothing was left, their judgment.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 