Amos 8:1-8
1 This is what the Lord God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit.
2 And He said, “What do you see, Amos?”
And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me,
“The end has come for My people Israel.
I will not spare them any longer.
3 The songs of the palace will turn to wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God.
“The corpses will be many; in every place they will throw them out. Hush!”
4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land,
5 saying,
“When will the new moon be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the ephah smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with dishonest scales,
6 So as to buy the helpless for money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 Because of this will the land not quake,
And everyone who lives in it mourn?
Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
The Vision of Summer Fruits (1)
The fourth vision
The fourth vision is the vision of summer fruit. In it, it is emphasized that the time of judgment is drawing near upon the northern kingdom of Israel. (1) Amos sees “a basket of summer fruit.” (2) Next comes a question from the Lord: “What do you see, Amos?” (3) Amos answers, “A basket of summer fruit.” (4) Then the Lord says, “The end has come for My people Israel.” This exchange contains a Hebrew wordplay. “Summer fruit” is “qayis” in Hebrew. “End” is “qes” in Hebrew. Amos answered, “I see qayis,” and the Lord prophesied, “qes is coming upon the people of Israel.” In other words, this vision was meant to announce that an end would come to Israel through great calamity.
The decline of business ethics
In verses 4-8, the corruption of business ethics is pointed out. (1) Merchants, in pursuit of their own profits, are exploiting and oppressing their poor fellow countrymen. (2) For them, the festivals given by the Lord have become not a joy, but something they must endure. They long for the “new moon festival” and the “Sabbath” to pass, because once the festival is over, they can open the grain market and make a profit. (3) Furthermore, they use dishonest scales in order to sell the grain. With deceitful scales they measure out less grain, trying to gain as much money as possible. (4) Even human beings have become objects of trade. They buy the poor for a pair of sandals (a cheap price) and make them slaves. They also greedily try to sell even “the refuse of wheat” that could not be sold as regular wheat. (5) Therefore, the Lord swears by the pride of Jacob: “The pride of Jacob” refers to the name of God Himself, who brought forth Jacob and his descendants. That is, God is swearing by His own name: “I will never forget any of their deeds.” Here, the intensity of the judgment is portrayed using the image of the Nile’s abnormal flooding. The sins of the people of Israel have reached their limit, and the ground beneath their feet will shake violently like a riverbank in flood. If the Lord never forgets human sin, then no one can stand before the Lord’s judgment. But we have been forgiven of our sins through the atoning death of Jesus our Savior. Let us remember that blessedness and express our gratitude and devotion to the Lord.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, I thank You from my heart for loving me, who could never stand before You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.