Amos 8:14, commentary and pictures

Swearing by the sin of Samaria and by the gods of Dan and Beer-sheba is trusting in idolatrous worship, even Baal or sun-worship in Jeroboam's golden calves, and those who cling to it shall fall under judgment and never rise again. The chapter stands as a prophecy of the last days, pointing forward to the downfall of apostasy and to a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, with signs in the sun, moon, and stars marking the nearness of Christ's coming after the long persecution ending in 1798. Those signs were fulfilled when the sun was darkened at midday on May 19, 1780, when the full moon the next night gave no light and afterward appeared as blood, and when the stars fell on November 30, 1833, showing He is near, even at the door. The famine is not a lack of Bibles in the home, but that after mercy closes and probation ends for those who put off responding, no prophet or preacher is left to expound the word, so the wicked, faint with thirst, wander from sea to sea seeking it in calamity and do not find it. Falling and never rising again is spoken in a temporal sense whose principle reaches beyond that class to all the wicked, including those fixed under a demon spirit and professed followers of God who forsake His law to exalt Sunday as a sign of sun-worship.

Sin of Samaria Exposed

Swearing by the guilt of Samaria and declaring alive the god of Dan and the way of Beer-sheba is putting trust in idolatrous worship. The worship centered at Dan is the great sin of Samaria by which its people swear. That sin of Samaria is Baal, or sun-worship, and the god of Dan is the golden calves set up by Jeroboam.

To seek Samaria, Dan, and Beer-sheba was to seek idols rather than God. That seeking brought material loss together with spiritual famine. Israel wrongly took outward prosperity as proof that they were God's favorites, when they were called to conform their lives to His will.

The idolatry is condemned and its punishment declared that its followers shall fall and never rise again. The declaration belongs to a prophecy that forewarns judgment on oppression. In that judgment the trampled will be avenged and woe will come upon their oppressors in social upheaval.

Famine of Hearing Foretold

Amos 8:1-14 is a prophecy of signs in the sun, moon, and stars marking the nearness of Christ's coming and the end of the world, to appear immediately after the long tribulation of persecution ending in 1798. The sun was to be darkened and the moon was not to give her light and the stars were to fall from heaven. Those signs were fulfilled when the sun was darkened at midday on May 19, 1780 and became black as sackcloth of hair, when the full moon the following night gave no light in a darkness that could be felt and when next seen had the appearance of blood, and when the stars fell on November 30, 1833. When all these come to pass He is near, even at the door, as surely as summer is near when trees put forth leaves, and the generation that sees all these signs shall not pass till all things including Christ's coming be fulfilled.

The chapter portrays last-day conditions and points forward to the downfall of apostasy and to a last-days famine of hearing the words of the Lord. The famine is not a lack of Bibles, for people may have Bibles in every home, but that no prophet or preacher will be available to expound the word. It comes after the door of mercy has closed and probation has ended for those who heard the truth but put off responding, after the watchmen have left Zion's walls, when sinners have no further opportunity or deliverance and the wicked will be struck by the seven last plagues.

After rejecting God's word, the wicked will wander from sea to sea searching for it in calamity but will not find it. The young fainting from thirst will wander to find it when it is too late, lamenting neglected opportunities to learn it. This is the dreadful end in which those who cling to false worship fall and never rise again. The chapter's prophecies stand within a message that God will save His people.

Falling Never to Rise

To fall and never rise again is spoken of a temporal state, and the principle reaches beyond the class named to all the wicked. The people of Nineveh therefore never rise again in that sense, even though they rise in judgment against the wicked generation of Jesus' time.

Those who become fixed under the control of a demon spirit stumble and fall, never to rise again. The same falling belongs to professed followers of God who have forsaken His law and exalt Sunday as a sign of sun-worship while claiming it is of the Lord. The sin of Samaria is Baal, or sun-worship, and the god of Dan is Jeroboam's golden calves, and those who swear by that idolatry and trust in the worship of Dan and Beer-sheba shall fall and never rise again. When they afterward seek the words of the Lord during the famine of hearing them, they shall not find them, for God will cut off the remembrance of Baal and those who swear by false gods.

The young faint from thirst in that terrible famine for hearing the Word of the Lord, wandering from sea to sea to find it when it is too late, and falling never to rise again. This follows God's woe upon those at ease in Zion who stretch themselves indifferently upon their couches while their children drift to destruction. Present neglect in caring for children ends in their final loss.