Amos 4:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

As the disciple of our Lord noted, Elijah, a man akin to us, prayed, and there was no rain for three years and six months (James 5:17). During that time, there was a dreadful famine in Samaria, where a donkey's head was sold for exorbitant prices (2 Kings 6:25). Likewise, in the days of Jeremiah the prophet, the Sovereign God withheld the rain, leading Him to proclaim the lack of it, stating that Judah mourned, her gates were desolated, and the cries of Jerusalem ascended. Their leaders sent lesser officials to the cisterns but found no water (Jeremiah 14:2, etc.). Thus, due to Israel's profound wickedness, God restrained the rain and allowed the inhabitants of their cities to endure famine and distress. As I have mentioned, their suffering was not merely physical but spiritual as well. The nourishment for the earthly body comes from the fruits of the land and sensual water; however, the soul is sustained by divine and heavenly words. The spiritual stream that quenches the soul is the God-inspired Scriptures that unveil the mystery of Christ. Just as teeth become less effective at biting when splintered, the heart of man, plagued by lethargy and weakness, struggles to attain spiritual understanding or to contemplate the profound truths. Consequently, the heart of Israel grew hardened, leading to their ignorance of the mystery of Christ. This is why they yearned for spiritual sustenance and ran dry of water, lacking the nourishing Word that descended from heaven to provide life to the world (John 6:33), the one who refreshes souls through the grace of the Spirit, as they lack a living source—the Son of God the Father—drawing comfort from the law and the prophets. As the prophet Isaiah stated, He commanded the clouds not to allow rain to fall upon them (Isaiah 5:6).

Not only have I caused hunger in all your cities and a shortage of food in your lands, but when there were still three months to the harvest, I also withheld the much-needed rain for Palestine, particularly essential as the wheat begins to form. This period points to the spring at the end of April, leading into May, June, and July, until the very harvest of bread. The Septuagint translates ‘harvest’ in their customary way as ‘the gathering of the grapes,’ but this interpretation cannot hold true across the eastern regions. Typically, we do not witness rain falling at the close of June or throughout July, especially in Judah. Thus, the books of Kings recount the rains that fell, at Samuel’s prayer, during the summer and harvest, regarded as a wonder. Therefore, it wouldn’t be fitting to threaten drought in July, the month in which no rains are expected. Instead, I withheld rain so that they would experience not just a lack of bread but also thirst. In our current regions, nearly all water is stored in cisterns, and when divine wrath withholds rain, thirst becomes a more perilous foe than hunger. The Scripture recounts (1 Kings 17) how, during the days of Elijah the prophet, drought lasted three years and six months. To ensure they understand that such events do not occur purely from natural laws, or the motions of heavenly bodies, I specify that I will pour rain upon one city while withholding it from another. Consequently, two or three cities may come to rely on one city, yet they will not be satiated. This is not simply an act of punishment but a means of correction, as they would still not return to Me, says the Lord. The Lord also denies heretics the spiritual nourishment of divine wisdom, withholding the rain three months before the harvest or the gathering of grapes, so they might miss the fruits from the mystery of the Holy Trinity. As the sun makes its annual journey back to its original point over twelve months—each comprising thirty days—and as the moon, referred to as ‘jare’ in Hebrew and drawing its name from Greek, reflects light according to the seasons, so the Church, illuminated by the true Sun, includes the full complement of the twelve apostles. This reflects the significance of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve stones lifted from the Jordan’s riverbed as a lasting memorial, set at the place of the second circumcision. The Lord pours rain upon one city, the City of True Confession, the Church, while abstaining from another comprised of heretical factions. The Church flourishes under continual rain, while the latter suffers from persistent drought, causing the thirsty to seek out the City of the Lord, from which flows an abundant spring that nourishes the fertile lands (Joel 3:18). This spring is what Jeremiah alludes to: ‘They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water’ (Jeremiah 2:13). This spring, emerging from a singular Source, flows in a threefold unity, as the Psalmist expresses the yearning of the heart: ‘As the deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for You, O God’ (Ps. 41:2). When two or three cities strive to reach the city rich with the waters of hope, faith, and love, they will still find their thirst unquenched, approaching divine grace not by desire, but through necessity.

I will allow rain to fall upon one city while denying it to another, ensuring that the land does not completely wither but is intermittently refreshed. Consequently, there will be such a lack of water that multiple cities will converge upon the city that has it, seeking to quench their thirst yet failing to find sustenance. Nonetheless, despite all these afflictions, you remain unhealed, even after experiencing renewed trials. As the healer of souls, I have employed various methods of correction, subjecting you to numerous ailments, then to stigma, and then to craftsmen. But you have not turned away from your wickedness. Following this, you faced devastation from locusts, which destroy everything enjoyable in vineyards, olive groves, and various gardens; yet even this did not lead you to recognize the One who sends these tribulations. To this, God further reveals that those who fled from the Assyrian king, hurrying towards Egypt, fell by the sword of Assyria, being scorched by divine wrath; still, they refused to comprehend the lessons within these events. Therefore, He declares: