Amos 4:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Indeed, I commanded through Moses that you shall not create for yourselves “gods of gold and gods of silver” (Exodus 20:23), and you are to worship the Lord only, for “Him only shall you serve” (Deuteronomy 6:13). Yet you, by mocking My commandments, have chosen to bow before the works of your own hands, unperturbed by the emptiness of the calf when the architect of deceit proclaimed, “Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (1 Kings 12:28). The gravest sin, however, was committed in Gilgal. This town lies beyond the Jordan River and was notorious for its tendency to turn away from righteousness. Concerning it, the Lord declared, “All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there they are hated because of the wickedness of their deeds” (Hosea 9:15). As the Preacher affirms, “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21). He embraces those who strive for uprightness but rejects those who stray from the path meant for them. You shall bring forth in the morning your labors, as part of your tithes. The law is transgressed from the outside, and the call to confess goes forth: “Declare how the children of Israel have cherished these practices," says the Lord. It is indeed a dreadful and wicked act to arrogantly usurp the glory of God and to honor idols that rightfully belong to Him alone. Those who engage in such actions diminish the divine and exalted nature from its rightful position, placing it alongside unclean spirits. Thus, Israel is found culpable of such grave transgressions. The Lord, in one instance, commanded through Moses that two lambs be sacrificed daily at the holy tabernacle, one in the morning and one in the evening (Exodus 29:38-39), signifying the constancy and continuity of the church's spiritual fragrance. Additionally, He decreed, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before Me” (Exodus 23:17, Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16), designating these periods for the offering of tithes, first fruits from the fields, and gifts of thanksgiving, for it is written, “You shall not appear before Me empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16). Yet, despite these righteous ordinances established by Moses, they turned towards idol glorification, offering morning sacrifices at their altars and submitting their tithes in their shrines. He identified the designated times for these tithes as the three days in the year when all males were to present themselves before the face of God. The wickedness of the Israelites extended further; they crafted laws external to God’s commandments, upholding the customs of foreign nations while disregarding the divine law. They presented sacrifices at appointed times in the temples of idols, observing their pagan festivals with utmost devotion. The Lord laments: they have taken what is meant for My glorification and turned My temple into an idol shrine, following the traditions of their ancestors and presenting tithes as offerings. They requested a confession, indicating a vow or promise, as confessions are voluntary gifts according to the law that each brings to God willingly. Then He calls out to the priests, “Proclaim and testify that the children of Israel have loved these practices,” that they not only dared to do so but have embraced these seditious acts, actively despising divine matters. It is imperative to be unwavering in one’s commitment before God, as it holds significant weight to avoid wavering and straying. The Savior Himself testified that “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). It is profoundly challenging to redirect what is set apart for God’s glory toward other matters, thus bestowing honor that is His alone upon anything else, for such honor is inherently divine and should belong to Him alone.

Declare it, for this is what the children of Israel have cherished, says the Lord God. I will give you a sense of thirst in all your cities and a lack of sustenance in all places, but you have turned not to Me, says the Lord.

Let us first establish the historical context. Your captivity, distressed Israel, is imminent; the Assyrian army is advancing: do whatever you wish—sin, indulge in idolatry shamelessly, and your sufferings will serve as a reflection of My justice. “Go,” He instructs, “to Bethel,” the site where the golden calf has been erected, and behave immorally toward God. Go to Gilgal, the place of idolatrous practices, which, as Hosea noted, is filled with wickedness (Hos. 9:15), and again he said, “They have sacrificed to calves in Gilgal in vain” (Hos. 12:11). When you reach Gilgal, increase your offenses. Everything done there has been an affront to God, whom you preferred over idols. And from the morning onward, you offer sacrifices incessantly, so that there may be no pause in your iniquities, and you bring your tithes on the third day. The Levitical law stipulates that certain sacrifices should not be kept until the next day, and others should not remain until the third day; if they are left beyond that, they become unclean. Therefore, the implication is this: offer daily impure sacrifices and defiled offerings, and present leavened sacrifices for thanksgiving, which, according to the Mosaic law, are not fit for presentation to God. Instead of ‘praise,’ Aquila renders it as Εὐχαριστίαν, which translates to ‘thanksgiving’ known in Hebrew as ‘thoda.’ Proclaim voluntary offerings, as the Jews refer to them as ‘nadaboth,’ meaning offerings of goodwill. Such a voluntary offering is an expression of joy, which in Latin we may call ‘erulum’ (feast). Having done this, broadcast your wickedness to all so that it is evident not only that you have committed these acts, but that you have also made them known. However, I express this as a command to fulfill your desires because you have chosen this path, O children of Israel, says the Lord God. Therefore, I have given you a sense of hunger, as the LXX translates to indicate a significant want; as Aquila and Symmachus translate it, depicting clean teeth signifies great emptiness. I have caused a lack of food not just in one town, but throughout all your cities, and not merely in one place, but across all regions. And even though I have not done this to punish you, but to encourage your repentance, you have still not turned back to Me, says the Lord.

Now we shall consider the insights of the LXX translators and provide a brief explanation of the allegorical meanings present in each phrase, for a comprehensive discussion of both texts would be too vast to encompass here. You have approached Bethel—symbolizing the house of God, or the church—and have sinned against the Lord, transgressing His commands. But at Gilgal, which signifies a turning or rolling, you have multiplied your wrongdoings, presuming to fathom the sacred Scriptures and have sunk into the depths of your pride. You have also presented your morning sacrifices and your gifts on the third day, transforming yourselves into a false light, restricting your understanding to merely one dimension of the scriptures while neglecting to inscribe its threefold meanings upon your hearts. The Scriptures are to be comprehended literally first, allowing all directives to carry moral weight, then allegorically, in a spiritual sense, and finally in relation to future glory. Yet you, ignoring the first and second meanings, construct illegitimate spiritual edifices without foundations, simply placing a roof over the walls. The heretics described herein are not satisfied merely with such extreme impiety; they have distanced themselves from the church, reciting the law of God externally, and attempting to merge declarations of faith with their contrived doctrines borne from corrupted hearts, or offering leaven, of which the gospel warns, “Beware of the leaven,” representing the teachings of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6). They do this not out of ignorance, but out of a deliberate inclination toward evil. Thus, the Lord warns them with impending judgment, saying, “I will give you a splintering of the teeth.” Indeed, as pointed out by Ezekiel, those who consume sour grapes shall have sore teeth, as they misappropriate the Scriptures, consuming them unripe and devoid of their inherent sweetness, losing the strength in their teeth, rendering them unable to process solid food for the well-being of their whole body. This sense of disquiet and absence of bread will occur throughout all your towns and regions, leaving you yearning for the Word of God and the heavenly bread (John 6) underscored in the Psalms: “the bread of angels fed man” (Ps. 77:25). All of this I have conducted, not from the malice of a ruthless and inflexible judge, as heretics falsely assert, but in order that you might turn back to Me, as it is recorded, “I have stricken your children in vain; they did not heed correction” (Jeremiah 2:30).