Amos 8

8. the land . . . rise up wholly as a flood--The land will, as it were, be wholly turned into a flooding river (a flood being the image of overwhelming calamity, Daniel 9:26 ).
cast out and drowned, &c.--swept away and overwhelmed, as the land adjoining the Nile is by it, when flooding ( Amos 9:5 ). The Nile rises generally twenty feet. The waters then "cast out" mire and dirt ( Isaiah 57:20 ).

9. "Darkness" made to rise "at noon" is the emblem of great calamities ( Jeremiah 15:9 , Ezekiel 32:7-10 ).

10. baldness--a sign of mourning ( Isaiah 15:2 , Jeremiah 48:37 , Ezekiel 7:18 ).
I will make it as . . . mourning of an only son--"it," that is, "the earth" ( Amos 8:9 ). I will reduce the land to such a state that there shall be the same occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an only son ( Jeremiah 6:26 , Zechariah 12:10 ).

11. famine of . . . hearing the words of the Lord--a just retribution on those who now will not hear the Lord's prophets, nay even try to drive them away, as Amaziah did ( Amos 7:12 ); they shall look in vain, in their distress, for divine counsel, such as the prophets now offer ( Ezekiel 7:26 , Micah 3:7 ). Compare as to the Jews' rejection of Messiah, and their consequent rejection by Him ( Matthew 21:43 ); and their desire for Messiah too late ( Luke 17:22 , John 7:34 , 8:21 ). So, the prodigal when he had sojourned awhile in the "far-off country, began to be in want" in the "mighty famine" which arose ( Luke 15:14 ; compare 1 Samuel 3:1 , 7:2 ). It is remarkable that the Jews' religion is almost the only one that could be abolished against the will of the people themselves, on account of its being dependent on a particular place, namely, the temple. When that was destroyed, the Mosaic ritual, which could not exist without it, necessarily ceased. Providence designed it, that, as the law gave way to the Gospel, so all men should perceive it was so, in spite of the Jews' obstinate rejection of the Gospel.

12. they shall wander from sea to sea--that is, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west.
from . . . north . . . to . . . east--where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southward, that is, to Jerusalem for religious information. The circuit is traced as in Numbers 34:3 , &c., except that the south is omitted. Their "seeking the word of the Lord" would not be from a sincere desire to obey God, but under the pressure of punishment.

13. faint for thirst--namely, thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of all other comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm ( Isaiah 40:30 Isaiah 40:31 )!

14. swear by the sin of Samaria--namely, the calves ( Deuteronomy 9:21 , Hosea 4:15 ). "Swear by" means to worship ( Psalms 63:11 ).
The manner--that is, as "the way" is used ( Psalms 139:24 , Acts 9:2 ), the mode of worship.
Thy god, O Dan--the other golden calf at Dan ( 1 Kings 22:26-30 ).
liveth . . . liveth--rather, "May thy god . . . live . . . may the manner . . . live." Or, "As (surely as) thy god, O Dan, liveth." This is their formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah liveth!"