Amos 8:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What sort of disaster will it be? He states it will strike them like the Nile, overwhelming everything and inundating all of Samaria with mighty and relentless floods; it will sweep away all that lies in its path without mercy. Just as Sennacherib descended upon them with countless forces, akin to a torrent, flooding the land and conquering all, he returned to his own realm laden with a vast multitude of captives. Thus, should we disregard God, we will find ourselves confronted by forces that oppose us, experiencing a state of confusion and distress, as if we have been plundered and are compelled into servitude; these forces will surge against us like an unstoppable tide, drawing us toward despair and death. Yet, as it is written (Isaiah 43:2), "when you pass through the waters, I will be with you," so the rivers shall not overwhelm us, the depths shall not consume us, nor shall the tempest engulf us, provided we strive to please the Lord. At such times, we can bravely cast off the devil's deceptions, recognizing their triviality, and proclaim with joy, “the Lord is among us, for the living would not allow us to be devoured,” as well as “the flood has passed over our souls, the waters are unsteady” (Ps. 123:2, 4, 5). If, however, we find ourselves caught in the treacherous waters of the enemy's schemes, that is, the flood of our passions, we will conquer through Christ, traversing the torrent of his obstinacy as one would cross a stream.

Additionally, in the one hundred and ninth psalm, it is written, ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ (Ps. 109:4). The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews points out that ‘for when God made a promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself’ (Hebrews 6:13). Moreover, in the same prophetic text (chapter 4, v. 2), we read: ‘The Lord swore by His saints,’ or ‘by His saints, that behold, the days will come upon you, and they will take you in arms,’ among other expressions. Therefore, the God who once swore by His holy ones now swears regarding Jacob’s pride, so that if they do not heed His warnings, they might still believe Him when He takes an oath, similar to men who resort to oaths when their straightforward words are doubted. It is not surprising that God is referred to as swearing when He both rests with those who sleep and stirs with those who are awake, while being angered by those who accumulate wrath for themselves for the day of judgment (Rom. 2). He pledges that He will remember their deeds until the end, for God opposes the arrogant but grants grace to the humble (James 4:6), and He will keep track of all their actions leading up to the day of reckoning. Hence, the penitent beseech, ‘remember not our past iniquities’ (Ps. 78:8), particularly as the earth itself will react violently against the proud. The cry will not come from the foreigner or the settler, but from the inhabitants themselves, who will rise like a torrent, facing destruction, sinking like the river of Egypt. Therefore, the one who repents will ascend like a rising river, while the one who clings to sin will submerge like the river of Egypt, ultimately swallowed by the sea. This illustrates that the pride of Jacob, regarding which the Lord swears, will be engulfed by eternal punishment.