Amos 4

7. withholden . . . rain . . . three months to . . . harvest--the time when rain was most needed, and when usually "the latter rain" fell, namely, in spring, the latter half of February, and the whole of March and April ( Hosea 6:3 , Joel 2:23 ). The drought meant is that mentioned in 1 Kings 17:1 [GROTIUS].
rain upon one city . . . not . . . upon another--My rain that fell was only partial.

8. three cities wandered--that is, the inhabitants of three cities (compare Jeremiah 14:1-6 ). GROTIUS explains this verse and Amos 4:7 , "The rain fell on neighboring countries, but not on Israel, which marked the drought to be, not accidental, but the special judgment of God." The Israelites were obliged to leave their cities and homes to seek water at a distance [CALVIN].

9. blasting--the blighting influence of the east wind on the corn ( Genesis 41:6 ).
when . . . gardens . . . increased--In vain ye multiplied your gardens, &c., for I destroyed their produce. BOCHART supports Margin, "the multitude of your gardens."
palmer worm--A species of locust is here meant, hurtful to fruits of trees, not to herbage or corn. The same east wind which brought the drought, blasting, and mildew, brought also the locusts into Judea [BOCHART], ( Exodus 10:13 ).

10. pestilence after the manner of Egypt--such as I formerly sent on the Egyptians ( Exodus 9:3 Exodus 9:8 , &c. Exodus 12:29 , Deuteronomy 28:27 Deuteronomy 28:60 ). Compare the same phrase, Isaiah 10:24 .
have taken away your horses--literally, "accompanied with the captivity of your horses"; I have given up your young men to be slain, and their horses to be taken by the foe (compare 2 Kings 13:7 ).
stink of your camps--that is, of your slain men (compare Isaiah 34:3 , Joel 2:20 ).
to come up unto your nostrils--The Hebrew is more emphatic, "to come up, and that unto your nostrils."

11. some of you--some parts of your territory.
as God overthrew Sodom--( Deuteronomy 29:23 , Isaiah 13:19 , Jeremiah 49:18 , 50:40 , 2 Peter 2:6 , Jude 1:7 ). "God" is often repeated in Hebrew instead of "I." The earthquake here apparently alluded to is not that in the reign of Uzziah, which occurred "two years" later ( Amos 1:1 ). Traces of earthquakes and volcanic agency abound in Palestine. The allusion here is to some of the effects of these in previous times. Compare the prophecy, Deuteronomy 28:15-68 , with Amos 4:6-11 here.
as a firebrand plucked out of . . . burning--(Compare Isaiah 7:4 , Zechariah 3:2 ). The phrase is proverbial for a narrow escape from utter extinction. Though Israel revived as a nation under Jeroboam II, it was but for a time, and that after an almost utter destruction previously ( 2 Kings 14:26 ).

12. Therefore--as all chastisements have failed to make thee "return unto Me."
thus will I do unto thee--as I have threatened ( Amos 4:2 Amos 4:3 ).
prepare to meet thy God--God is about to inflict the last and worst judgment on thee, the extinction of thy nationality; consider then what preparation thou canst make for encountering Him as thy foe ( Jeremiah 46:14 , Luke 14:31 Luke 14:32 ). But as that would be madness to think of ( Isaiah 27:4 , Ezekiel 22:14 , Hebrews 10:31 ), see what can be done towards mitigating the severity of the coming judgment, by penitence ( Isaiah 27:5 , 1 Corinthians 11:31 ). This latter exhortation is followed up in Amos 5:4 Amos 5:6 Amos 5:8 Amos 5:14 Amos 5:15 .

13. The God whom Israel is to "prepare to meet" ( Amos 4:12 ) is here described in sublime terms.
wind--not as the Margin, "spirit." The God with whom thou hast to do is the Omnipotent Maker of things seen, such as the stupendous mountains, and of things too subtle to be seen, though of powerful agency, as the "wind."
declareth unto man . . . his thought--( Psalms 139:2 ). Ye think that your secret thoughts escape My cognizance, but I am the searcher of hearts.
maketh . . . morning darkness--( Amos 5:8 , 8:9 ). Both literally turning the sunshine into darkness, and figuratively turning the prosperity of the ungodly into sudden adversity ( Psalms 73:12 Psalms 73:18 Psalms 73:19 ; compare Jeremiah 13:16 ).
treadeth upon . . . high places--God treadeth down the proud of the earth. He subjects to Him all things however high they be ( Micah 1:3 ). Compare Deuteronomy 32:13 , 33:29 , where the same phrase is used of God's people, elevated by God above every other human height.