Amos 2

Amos 2:1-16 . CHARGES AGAINST MOAB, JUDAH, AND LASTLY ISRAEL, THE CHIEF SUBJECT OF AMOS' PROPHECIES.

1. burned . . . bones of . . . king of Edom into lime--When Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom, combined against Mesha king of Moab, the latter failing in battle to break through to the king of Edom, took the oldest son of the latter and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall ( 2 Kings 3:27 ) [MICHAELIS]. Thus, "king of Edom" is taken as the heir to the throne of Edom. But "his son" is rather the king of Moab's own son, whom the father offered to Molech [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 9.3]. Thus the reference here in Amos is not to that fact, but to the revenge which probably the king of Moab took on the king of Edom, when the forces of Israel and Judah had retired after their successful campaign against Moab, leaving Edom without allies. The Hebrew tradition is that Moab in revenge tore from their grave and burned the bones of the king of Edom, the ally of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat, who was already buried. Probably the "burning of the bones" means, "he burned the king of Edom alive, reducing his very bones to lime" [MAURER].

2. Kirioth--the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab ( Isaiah 15:1 ). The form is plural here, as including both the acropolis and town itself (see Jeremiah 48:24 Jeremiah 48:41 , Margin).
die with tumult--that is, amid the tumult of battle ( Hosea 10:14 ).

3. the judge--the chief magistrate, the supreme source of justice. "King" not being used, it seems likely a change of government had before this time substituted for kings, supreme judges.

4. From foreign kingdoms he passes to Judah and Israel, lest it should be said, he was strenuous in denouncing sins abroad, but connived at those of his own nation. Judah's guilt differs from that of all the others, in that it was directly against God, not merely against man. Also because Judah's sin was wilful and wittingly against light and knowledge.
law--the Mosaic code in general.
commandments--or statutes, the ceremonies and civil laws.
their lies--their lying idols ( Psalms 40:4 , Jeremiah 16:19 ), from which they drew false hopes. The order is to be observed. The Jews first cast off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting them with a righteous retribution ( Romans 1:25 Romans 1:26 Romans 1:28 , 2 Thessalonians 2:11 2 Thessalonians 2:12 ). The pretext of a good intention is hereby refuted: the "lies" that mislead them are "their (own) lies" [CALVIN].
after . . . which their fathers . . . walked--We are not to follow the fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone. It was an aggravation of the Jews' sin that it was not confined to preceding generations; the sins of the sons rivalled those of their fathers ( Matthew 23:32 , Acts 7:51 ) [CALVIN].

5. a fire--Nebuchadnezzar.

6. Israel--the ten tribes, the main subject of Amos' prophecies.
sold the righteous--Israel's judges for a bribe are induced to condemn in judgment him who has a righteous cause; in violation of Deuteronomy 16:19 .
the poor for a pair of shoes--literally, "sandals" of wood, secured on the foot by leather straps; less valuable than shoes. Compare the same phrase, for "the most paltry bribe," Amos 8:6 , Ezekiel 13:19 , Joel 3:3 . They were not driven by poverty to such a sin; beginning with suffering themselves to be tempted by a large bribe, they at last are so reckless of all shame as to prostitute justice for the merest trifle. Amos convicts them of injustice, incestuous unchastity, and oppression first, as these were so notorious that they could not deny them, before he proceeds to reprove their contempt of God, which they would have denied on the ground that they worshipped God in the form of the calves.