Amos 6:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They treat His warnings as trivial and, with misplaced confidence in their many allies, they scorn His mercy and support.

There is consequently no reason to doubt it: the Lord of all solemnly declared, "by Himself," as there is none greater upon whom to invoke an oath. What is the matter at hand? He abhors all that is reproachful in Jacob and will condemn his unhonored cities as they lack any who exemplify true righteousness. Surely, it would not displease God if there were at least a few individuals striving to please Him. Thus, through Jeremiah, He calls out: "Search the paths of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in its hills: if ye find a man that worketh judgement, and seeketh faith: and I will be merciful unto him, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 5:1). Because Jacob's towns were devoid of any good or God-fearing individuals, they face destruction, and their cities will fall alongside their inhabitants.

The necessity for saints is paramount because they preserve cities and protect nations from impending disaster; through the righteousness of their lives, they can temper the raging wrath of God, as if to deflect His furious judgments.

And He declared, “I will forsake the city along with all who inhabit it. It will come to pass that only ten individuals will remain in one house, and they will die, and a remnant shall survive, forced to carry out their own bones from the dwelling. The head of the household shall inquire, ‘Do you have any more?’ and the response shall be, ‘There are none,’ and he shall declare, ‘Be silent, not in the name of the Lord.’ Since He detests their towns and despises every act of Jacob's pride, it is evident that their cities will be lost along with their people.

What happens to those who have strayed from the truth is made clear: "I will reject any town I choose and destroy it with its people." Even if ten escape the sword of their foes and hide in various corners of their homes, they will still succumb to death, perhaps out of fear to emerge from their secluded hideaways. And should enemies be vanquished, some of their kin will come to collect the bones of the deceased. Who will gather the remains of the fallen?—surely, their own kin, for it is a heavy and distressing burden to touch the decayed bodies, and any who do so will be overwhelmed by the stench. Yet, they will feel compelled to honor the deceased with burial rites despite the grave unpleasantness of their task.

The inquirers will ask the guardian of the house if there are others hidden away, whether still alive or already perished and unnamed, to which he will respond, “There are none.” This underscores their total desolation. When the household heads hear the queries, they will be admonished not to invoke the name of the Lord. This warrants contemplation. Some suggest that those asking will silence the leaders of the house from swearing by the name of God, reflecting a lack of reverence among the Ephraimites toward God. While it is clear that the Ephraimites have drifted from divine love, it stands to reason that the calamities and discipline they faced would have imparted wisdom, inducing a measure of fear rather than further insolence against true reverence for God.

Additionally, why would the leaders of the household, when questioned about any concealed individuals, amplify their answer with an oath? The phrase "not for the sake of the name of the Lord" signifies a tendency among the Israelites to utilize the name of God in cursing or blasphemy, as the law laid a foundation for such grievances. As recorded in Leviticus, when two men quarreled, one blasphemed God and was stoned. Therefore, God instructed, "Whosoever shall curse his God shall receive sin: but he that nameth the name of the Lord shall die by death” (Leviticus 24:15-16). To invoke the name of the Lord is thus a subtle way of referring to blasphemy, which is expressed with gentler terms in the sacred texts.

Because it is common for people to make disparaging remarks against God in times of sorrow, it is said that if the head of a household, despite his dire circumstances, responds that there is no one remaining, he is advised to keep silent to avert reproach against God. This is indicative of the Divine corrections that are intended to stir them to a greater understanding of the consequences of their actions. The awareness of past punishments should remind them to exercise caution and prevent further offense to God through careless words when they had previously spoken without fear, adding to their words the arrogance of their ancestors. It is wiser for the righteous and prudent to pursue what is truly beneficial before facing divine reprimands and to divert themselves from vice while actively striving to fulfill what is truly pleasing to the Most Holy God.

For the Lord has sworn by Himself, says the Lord God of Hosts, I will disdain every reproach from Jacob, and I will despise his towns, and shall bring ruin upon the city and all its citizens. It will occur that even if ten men remain in one house, they shall all die. His family shall gather their dead and attempt to remove their bones, asking those at the forefront of the house, Do you have any more? The response will be, No. And the other will say, Be silent, and do not invoke the name of the Lord. The prophetic message illustrates this: they recline on ivory couches, feast on lambs from the flock and calves from the rich herds, playing their instruments and drinking from bowls, caring little for the plight of the broken descendants of Joseph. The Lord now threatens: Because of their actions, they shall be moved to the front of those who are taken captive. This signifies that punishment is imminent, and the prophecy pertains to distant times; My words foretell what is forthcoming, that they will lead the exiled, referring to the rulers and the strong, addressed earlier as ‘Hear this word, you complacent women of Samaria’ (Amos 4:1). And again, ‘Woe to you who are wealthy in Zion and secure on the mountain of Samaria, you notable ones, you leaders of nations, who gorge yourselves in the house of Israel’ (Amos 6:1). Those who are foremost in wealth will be the first to bear the burden of captivity, as stated in Ezekiel, ‘Begin from My sanctuary’ (Ezekiel 9:6)—not from the saints, as many think, but from the destruction of the temple, which was sacred. ‘For the strong shall suffer anguish,’ and whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). ‘And it shall come to pass,’ he says, “that the assembly of those who indulge shall be destroyed”—those who were united only in their enjoyment of pleasures, gathering for feasts and communal meals; they will all face the same demise, so those who shared in indulgence will receive equivalent punishment. The LXX adds, ‘the sound of the horse of Ephraim shall cease,’ a phrase not present in the Hebrew and mentioned here for future allegorical interpretation. ‘The Lord swore by Himself,’ or as the Hebrew phrase indicates, “by His essence,” as noted in Isaiah: ‘Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates’ (Isaiah 1:14)—not implying that God has a soul, but referring to human attributes. It is not unusual to address Him this way, as He is attributed with other human-like members: feet, hands, womb, and so forth. For those who argue that Christ lacked a human soul, asserting that God occupied the human form instead, they should recognize that this demonstrates the validity of the soul in Christ, just as the members of His body are real. But regarding God the Father, the terms related to His head, feet, and other aspects do not denote physical parts but signify God's actions; similarly, the soul does not refer to His essence but denotes His deepest thoughts and intentions expressing His will. Thus, ‘the Lord God of Hosts,’ also known as ‘Sabaoth’ (translated by the LXX as ‘forces’), swore He detested the pride of Jacob and rejected his dwellings. Here Jacob may refer to either the ten tribes or the entire house of Israel. He will turn against the city and its people—be it Samaria, Jerusalem, or both. This pertains to the time of our Lord and Savior, after whose coming and suffering God rejected all pride and insults from Jacob, for He was known to be the son of a carpenter (Matthew 13), a Samaritan, and thought to have a demon (John 8); thus, Jerusalem and its people were left to the Roman armies. The fury of God against them is so intense that even if ten men remain, they too will die, and a family member or neighbor will burn the bodies to retrieve the bones, as the death toll will be overwhelming. As the relative grows weary of lifting the corpses, he will inquire if any more remain, to which the reply will be, 'It is finished; I have none left to give you for burial.’ Before he affirms he has none, the person outside will know the truth and instruct him, ‘Silence, and do not invoke the name of the Lord.’ This statement reveals their unwillingness to confess God's name, even in dire situations, illustrating how far Israel has strayed from the dignity of invoking God's name, as it is unworthy of them even to mention it in an oath. Having established the historical interpretation, let us now explore the allegorical meaning. Those in leadership among the heretics, who consumed My people's sustenance for their pleasures and were indifferent to the plight of Joseph, will be the first to face divine retribution, and Ephraim shall no longer hear the sound of the horse, understood scripturally in two ways: as a symbol of arrogance and power, or as a representation of unchecked desire. Regarding wickedness and their fellowship, it is stated, ‘these ride on chariots, and these on horses’ (Psalms 19:8), while, ‘the horse is a vain hope for salvation’ (Psalms 32:17). Israeli kings are warned against multiplying horses (Deuteronomy 17:16), and in the book of Job (Job 39), the voice of the horse is compared to a trumpet's sound. Furthermore, Zechariah’s prophecy echoes this truth confirmed in the Gospels (Matthew 21:5; John 12:15), declaring, ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon a donkey’ (Zechariah 9:9-10). Here, the horse connotes debauchery, as Jeremiah illustrated when he remarked, ‘every man is like a horse in heat’ (Jeremiah 5:8). The coming of Christ and God's wrath will obliterate the might of such horses. The Lord Himself swears (as He cannot swear by anything higher - Hebrews 6:13) that He detests all heretical reprobates and despises all their towns. Everything they profess is offensive and deserving of God's disdain. He will bring about the ruin of the city and its councils alongside their inhabitants, affecting both the populace and the teachers; even if ten men remain (as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, where judgment would not fall had ten righteous souls existed - Genesis 18), they too will face the death that leads to eternal separation from God, concerning which Ezekiel states, ‘The soul that sins shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:4). Their bones will be interred by their kin, as prescribed, ‘let the dead bury their dead’ (Luke 9:60). However, he who remains outside, not entering into the depths of death, but rather removing them, instructs the one who burns the dead, reduces them to ashes, and crushes the bones to remain silent, not to desecrate the sacred name of God with lips bereft of life. For God rebukes the sinner, ‘How can you declare My righteousness and take My covenant upon your lips?’ (Psalm 49:16). Therefore, we must ensure that we are not like the dead burying the dead; rather, we must be alive and revive the spiritually dead. If we fail in this calling, the command ‘Be silent’ pertains to us, as we prove unworthy of invoking God's name.