In similar fashion, Damascus had threshed Gilead with their instruments of war. "O thrice and four times happy were the men. And thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their threshing Gilead with sharp-pointed irons, - Youngs Literal Bible For thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Damascus, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have threshed Gilead with sledges of iron. .--This form of transgression, which occurs eight times in the prologue, is not an arithmetical, but a strongly idiomatic phrase, signifying "multiplied or repeated delinquencies" (Henderson). 4 So I will send fire against Hazael's house and it will consume the citadel fortresses of Ben-Hadad. The LORD was the one who gave His words to His prophet. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all., Isaiah 3:15 What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? declares the LordGodof hosts.Proverbs 21:1 The kings heart is a stream of water in the hand of theLord; he turns it wherever he will.Isaiah 17:13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.Psalm 126:1-6 A Song of Ascents. 1. If God is for us, who can be against us? Probably not the punishment in itself alone, but the attempt so to extirpate the people of God brought down this judgment on Damascus. He condemns forcibly removing populations from their homeland. Certainly Hadadezer stands cut conspicuously; the Damascenes are mentioned only subordinately. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. Theodoret supposes the horrible aggravation, that it was thus that the women with child were destroyed with their children, casting the aforesaid women, as into a sort of threshing-floor, they savagely threshed them out like ears of grain with saw-armed wheels.. The place called Beth-Eden refers to an Aramean state located on the Euphrates River south of Carchemish. The Barada (the cold) having joined the Fijeh, (the traditional Pharpar, a name which well designates its tumultuous course ), runs on the north of, and through the city, and then chiefly into the central of the three lakes, the Bahret-el-kibliyeh, (the south lake;) thence, it is supposed, but in part also directly, into the Bahret-esh-Shurkiyeh (the east lake ). Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. Throughout that whole beautiful tract, including 2 12 degrees of latitude, Hazael had carried on his war of extermination into every peaceful village and home, sparing neither the living nor the unborn. Future Assyrian campaigns will do just that in the 740s-720s BCE. They are a good reminder of what is required from us every day of our own lives. So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. instead of the traditional point of view because of our westernization of the good news. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. What was the significance of the horns of the altar (Amos 3:14)? The river, says William of Tyre, having abundant water, supplies orchards on both banks, thick-set with fruit-trees, and flows eastward by the city wall. Sin adds to sin, out of which it grows; it does not overshadow the former sins, it does not obliterate them, but increases the mass of guilt, which God punishes. What is the meaning of the symbolism in Amos? All rights reserved. , John 4:35 Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. It was the "metropolis" of Syria, Isaiah 7:8; and so Pliny calls it, "Damascus of Syria". Abijam was in league with the father of Benhadad 1 Kings 15:19. Lastly and nearest of all, it falls on Judah, who had the true worship of the true God among them, but despised it. As such, it attracted the Arameans who were one of the most frequent enemies of Israel. O And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 1 Kings 19:17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window). In this second volume on the Minor Prophets, Dr. Bailey discusses the books of Joel to Zephaniah. What Does It Mean That There Is No One Holy Like God? Geocoding And God saw that it was good., John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek theLord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.1 Corinthians 3:6-9 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Like the other names connected with Aram in the Old Testament, it is, in conformity with the common descent from Aram, Aramaic. Damascus (Syria, also called Aram) "threshed" Gilead. A man . 24:22) with stone or metal teeth embedded in the bottom side were dragged over the grain by these animals. Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Their commercial interests included the slave trade, even selling Judeans to Greeks far from their homeland (Joel 3:6). This handy resource allows the reader to quickly summarize or review all the pertinent details about any Old Testament book. After his death, his descendants reigned for ten generations, each receiving from his father the name (Hadad) together with the kingdom, like the Ptolemies of Egypt. because they have threshed Gilead. Isaiah 41:15 Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.Genesis 1:11-12 And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. And it was so. U Fire is used symbolically for Gods judgment, which would fall on the house of Hazael and the citadels of Ben-hadad. Proverb: Because of the three transgressions of and because of four, I will not cause (him/it) to return.. All rights reserved. More than a Bible handbook but less than a commentary, Nelson's New Illustrated Old Testament Survey provides a section by section breakdown of issues and topics dealt with in the Hebrew Scriptures. And since they had no root, they withered away. Salem Media Group. The expression one who holds the scepter is a figurative way of talking about someone who occupies a royal position. So in other places, where the like form of words occurs, the added number is one beyond, and mostly relates to something greater than all the rest. Here in Amos, we see that the people of Damascus rebelled against the LORD because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. Every infliction on those like ourselves finds an echo in our own consciences. 5 I will break the gate bars of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It is likely that the formula was used as a rhetorical device to emphasize the fact that the cities or nations committed crime after crime, thus deserving Gods judgment. This is what the LORD says: 'For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. He, having carried war against David, king of Judaea, and disputed with him in many battles, and that finally at the Euaphrates where he was defeated, had the character of a most eminent king for prowess and valor. The Arameans have crushed [the people of] Gilead with iron-spiked threshing sledges. As such, patience is a required virtue for a farmer. Many people were farmers or at least very familiar with farming. There Elisha announces the coming death of Ben-hadad but weeps over the future that Hazael will bring to Israel. And God saw that the light was good. And he said: The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers. Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.Deuteronomy 11:13-15 And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love theLordyour God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.Leviticus 19:23-25 When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. One cant speed up nature. Mail (will not be published) __('(required)'). Others believe the threshing is a metaphor for Israels defeat at the hands of Syria (cf. The death here spoken of, although more ghastly, was probably not more severe than many others; not nearly so severe as some which have been used by Christian Judicatures. Because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron - The instrument, Jerome relates here, was "a sort of wain, rolling on iron wheels beneath, set with teeth; so that it both threshed out the grain and bruised the straw and cut it in pieces, as food for the cattle, for lack of hay." A similar instrument, called by nearly . LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel, Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular, Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular, Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural, Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular, Gilead -- a region in Palestine, also the name of several Israelites, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural construct, Incised, incisive, a trench, gold, a threshing-sledge, determination, eager, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Prophets: Amos 1:3 Thus says Yahweh: For three transgressions (Amo. I will not turn away the punishment thereof. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am theLordyour God., 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.Leviticus 26:1-5 You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am theLordyour God. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! Cite this page: Editor: Stephen Smith. Immediately, it was bounded by the three lakes which receive the surplus of the waters which enrich it. Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim, so-called because they were craftsmen. : the drag (or board), under the same name rtz (properly something sharpened) which it has in Amos 1:3, in Isaiah 28:27, "For not with a sharp threshing-board is Nigella-seed [Tristram, N. H. B. p. 444] trodden out; nor is the wheel of a (threshing-) wagon turned about upon cummin," Job 41: . of "They have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron." Gilead was a part of Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan river. These are the men of Recah. Isaiah 8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. Joel 2:24 speaks of that abundance as a sign of God's blessing if the people repent: "The threshing floors will be filled with grain. Both instruments are alluded to in the O.T. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. The art and concealment of man in approaching a maiden is of a subtler kind than things in nature which leave no trace of themselves, the eagle in the air, the serpent on the rock, the ship in its pathway through the waves Proverbs 30:18-19. Extemplo Aeneae solvuntur frigore membra: Ingemit; et, duplicis tendens ad sidera palmas, Talia voce refert: O terque quaterque beatif, Queis ante ora patrum Trojae sub moenibus altis, "Struck with unusual fright, the Trojan chief. 3. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. , Deuteronomy 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.Hebrews 6:7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.Deuteronomy 22:9-11 You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.