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In this chapter, I. God, by the prophet, proceeds in a like controversy with Moab as before with other nations, Am 2:1-3. II. He shows what quarrel he had with Judah, Am 2:4,5. III. He at length begins his charge against Israel, to which all that goes before is but an introduction. Observe, 1. The sins they are charged with—injustice, oppression, whoredom, Am 2:6-8. 2. The aggravations of those sins—the temporal and spiritual mercies God had bestowed upon them, for which they had made him such ungrateful returns, Am 2:9-12. 3. God's complaint of them for their sins (Am 2:13) and his threatenings of their ruin, and their utter inability to prevent it, Am 2:14-16.
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The Judgment of Moab and of Judah; The Judgment of Israel (790 BC)
繁體中文
摩押與猶大的審判；以色列的審判（主前790年）
¹ 耶和華如此說：摩押三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去她的刑罰；因為他將以東王的骸骨焚燒成灰。
² 我卻要降火在摩押，燒滅加略的宮殿；摩押必在鬨嚷呐喊吹角聲中死亡。
³ 我必剪除他中間的審判官，將他的一切首領和他一同殺戮。這是耶和華說的。
⁴ 耶和華如此說：猶大三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；因為他們藐視耶和華的訓誨，不遵守他的律例，他們列祖所隨從虛假的偶像使他們走迷了。
⁵ 我卻要降火在猶大，燒滅耶路撒冷的宮殿。
⁶ 耶和華如此說：以色列三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；因為他們為銀子賣了義人，為一雙鞋賣了窮人。
⁷ 他們見窮人頭上所蒙的灰塵也都垂涎，阻礙謙卑人的道路；父子同一個女子行淫，褻瀆我的聖名。
⁸ 他們在各壇旁鋪人所當的衣服，臥在其上，又在他們神的廟中喝受罰之人的酒。
這裏有：I. 摩押的審判，以色列鄰國中的又一個。他們受清算，必因三番四次的罪受罰，與前述那些一樣。如今，1. 摩押的第四次罪，正如前面上堂受審的那些一樣，是殘忍。所舉的例子與神的百姓無關，而是與他們自己一樣的外邦人有關：摩押王將以東王的骸骨焚燒成灰。我們看到以東人與摩押人之間有戰爭，其中摩押王在絕境和憤怒中，將自己的兒子獻為燔祭以求平息他的神明，2Ki 3:26-27。此後似乎是他或他的某個繼承人，為了報復以東人使他陷入那個絕境，在以東王身上得了便宜，將他活活抓住燒成灰燼，或先殺了他再焚燒屍體，或挖出他們已死之王的骸骨，特別是那個曾如此苦逼他的王，作為暴怒的標記將其燒成灰；也許他將那王的骨粉用來粉刷他宮殿的牆壁和天花板，好在看見那報復紀念物時自娛。Est vindicta bonum vita jucundius ipsa——報復比生命本身更甘甜。虐待人的身體是野蠻的，因我們自己也在身內；虐待屍體是無知的，不，是褻瀆的，因為我們信且盼望身體復活；而虐待王的屍體（其身位和名號本當特別受尊重和敬仰），乃是對王權的侮辱；活著時在他面前戰兢的人，竟踐踏一頭死獅，這是卑劣之靈的證據。2. 摩押因這罪當受的報應是：（1.）死亡的審判。那些殘忍待人者必被殘忍相待（Am 2:2）：摩押必死亡；摩押人必被戰爭的刀劍剪除，那刀在鬨嚷呐喊吹角聲中殺戮，這些情形使它更加可怕，正如獅子的吼叫加重了牠的撕裂。戰士在混亂的呐喊中爭戰，Isa 9:5。（2.）這是針對他們審判官的審判。那審判官曾下令將以東王的骸骨燒成灰：神說我必剪除他（Am 2:3）；他必知道有一位比他更高的審判者。王，即最高審判官，和一切下級審判官和首領，必一同被剪除。百姓有時雖因他們首領的罪而受苦，但首領自己必不能逃脫，Jer 48:47。摩押的審判到此為止。
II. 猶大也是以色列的近鄰，所以如今公義巡迴審判之時，它也不可越過；那國家已使自己與外邦人一樣並與他們混雜，所以這裏對他們的起訴也以與對其餘各國所用的相同形式進行：猶大三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；他們的罪與列國的罪一樣多，我們看到他們與列國被混為一談，同列一個品格之中，Jer 9:26，「至於埃及、猶大、以東，將他們混在一起；他們都一樣」；這裏的判決也是一樣（Am 2:5）：「我卻要降火在猶大」，雖然那是認識神的地，又要燒滅耶路撒冷的宮殿，雖然那是聖城，神從前在其中的宮殿裏被認識為避難所，Ps 48:3。但這裏控告猶大的罪與其餘的不同。其餘的國家因向人所行的傷害受清算，猶大卻因向神所行的褻瀆受清算，Am 2:4。1. 他們輕看祂的律例並堅持不順服：他們藐視耶和華的訓誨，彷彿它不值一顧，其中也沒有甚麼有價值的東西；他們如此行就是藐視了那立法者的智慧、公義和良善，以及祂的權柄和主權；當他們不遵守祂的律例，不以此為良心之事，對此毫不關心之時，他們實際上就是如此行了。2. 他們尊崇祂的競爭者，就是他們的偶像，這裏稱為他們列祖所隨從虛假的偶像，那些偶像使他們走迷了；因為偶像是虛假之師，Hab 2:18。那些被引誘陷入偶像崇拜錯誤的人，也隨之被引入許多別的錯誤之中——Uno dato absurdo mille sequuntur——一個荒謬引出千個。神是無限的永遠之靈；但當神的真理被偶像崇拜變為虛假，祂其他一切真理也同樣有被如此變更的危險；這樣他們的偶像使他們走迷了，神也公義地任憑他們陷入強烈的迷惑之中；他們的罪並不能因那是他們列祖所隨從的虛假而得著藉口，因為他們當以那些右手拿著虛假而滅亡的人為鑑戒，而不當以他們為榜樣。
III. 我們如今終於來到阿摩司論以色列所看見的話。責備和威嚇走了一圈之後，在此匯聚、在此落腳。他像對待其餘的國家一樣從他們開始：以色列三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；若這一切國家都必因他們的罪孽受罰，以色列豈能不受罰？這裏請看神要與他們清算的是甚麼罪。1. 顛倒是非。這是那受託執行審判之人——審判官和官長，以及一切相關之人的罪。他們視若無睹地為一塊銀子出賣義人和他在他們面前受審時的義訴；判決不是按案情的是非曲直，而是賄賂總是使天平傾斜，審判被拍賣給出價最高者。他們為一雙鞋出賣窮人的性命和生計，只要對自己有最小的利益可得；只要給他們一雙鞋，那不能給他們那麼多的一個窮人的案件就要被出賣，被交給毫無憐憫之人任意處置。他們寧可玩小賭注也不肯罷休。為了一塊餅這樣的人也會犯罪。請注意，那些為任何事而出賣良心的人，最終會為幾乎一文不值的東西而如此行；那些開始為銀子出賣公義的人，到頭來會卑鄙到為一雙鞋——一雙舊鞋——出賣它。2. 壓迫窮人，藉著損害他們來使自己得益：他們見窮人頭上所蒙的灰塵也都垂涎；他們以極度的貪婪吞滅窮人，將頭蒙灰塵在憂傷中的人——為父母居喪的窮孤兒——當作獵物；他們要將他們的產業弄到手才肯罷休；他們不將窮人的頭按在塵土中被人踐踏就不休。或，他們垂涎地上的灰塵，即金銀，白的和黃的塵土；他們迫切貪求它，藉著不義的勒索加在窮人的頭上。請注意，人藉著使別人貧窮來致富，這是神不會長久不免去刑罰的罪。這是阻礙謙卑人的道路，蓄意損害那些他們明知溫柔忍耐、會忍受傷害的人。他們侵犯他們的權利，破壞他們的計劃，妨礙有利於他們的司法程序，不容他們的義訴繼續下去；這就是阻礙他們的道路。請注意，人越忍耐地忍受所受的傷害，那些傷害他們的人的罪就越大，他們也就越有理由期待神為他們伸冤、為他們報仇。「我如聾子不聽，那時你必聽見。」3. 可憎的不潔，甚至是亂倫本身，在外邦人中也不提的，就是人收了他的繼母（1Co 5:1）、他父親的妾：父子同一個女子行淫，這是放縱混亂情慾最黑暗的一個例子；然而在前面壓迫和勒索的罪惡存在之處，這事也有發現；因為貞潔的律法很少能約束那些已掙斷公義的繩索、將其繩索從自己身上丟棄的人。這惡行對信仰及其告白是如此大的醜聞，以致那些犯這罪的人被看作是企圖藉此褻瀆神的聖名，使那名在外邦人中成為可憎的，彷彿祂容許那些自稱與祂有關係的人所放縱的惡行，又彷彿祂與他們完全一樣。4. 以勒索壓榨所得之物來宴樂，卻又假意敬拜他們的神，Am 2:8。他們在加增偶像崇拜於不義之上，又以為可用偶像崇拜來為不義贖罪。（1.）他們以從窮人手中不義榨取之物來作樂。他們安逸華麗地躺臥，舒展在人所當的衣服上，那些衣服按律法當日當夜當歸還，De 24:12-13。他們又喝受罰之人的酒，就是他們所罰以重款之人的酒，將以不義得來的消耗在放縱之中。（2.）他們以為可以藉著在他們各壇旁以壓迫所得之物設宴，在他們神的廟中喝這酒來贖罪——彷彿要使神成為他們罪惡的合夥人，藉著使祂成為那些罪惡之利潤的同享者——這敬拜對假神倒是足夠好的；但真神不能如此被嘲弄；祂已聲明祂恨惡為燔祭而行的搶奪，除了誠實得來的，別無能使祂喜悅地受敬拜。
英文原文
The Judgment of Moab and of Judah; The Judgment of Israel (790 BC)
¹ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
² But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
³ And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
⁴ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
⁵ But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
⁶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
⁷ That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
⁸ And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Here is, I. The judgment of Moab, another of the nations that bordered upon Israel. They are reckoned with and shall be punished for three transgressions and for four, as those before. Now, 1. Moab's fourth transgression, as theirs who were before set to the bar, was cruelty. The instance given refers not to the people of God, but to a heathen like themselves: The king of Moab burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime. We find there was war between the Edomites and the Moabites, in which the king of Moab, in distress and rage, offered his own son for a burnt-offering, to appease his deity, 2Ki 3:26,27. And it should seem that afterwards he, or some of his successors, in revenge upon the Edomites for bringing him to that extremity, having an advantage against the king of Edom, seized him alive and burnt him to ashes, or slew him and burnt his body, or dug up the bones of their dead king, of that particularly who had so straitened him, and, in token of his rage and fury, burnt them to lime. and perhaps made use of the powder of his bones for the white-washing of the walls and ceilings of his palace, that he might please himself with the sight of that monument of his revenge. Est vindicta bonum vita jucundius ipsa—Revenge is sweeter than life itself. It is barbarous to abuse human bodies, for we ourselves also are in the body; it is senseless to abuse dead bodies, nay, it is impious, for we believe and look for their resurrection; and to abuse the dead bodies of kings (whose persons and names ought to be in a particular manner respected and had in veneration) is an affront to majesty; it is an argument of a base spirit for those to trample upon a dead lion who, were he alive, would tremble before him. 2. Moab's doom for this transgression is, (1.) A judgment of death. Those that deal cruelly shall be cruelly dealt with (Am 2:2): Moab shall die; the Moabites shall be cut off with the sword of war, which kills with tumult, with shouting, and with sound of trumpet, circumstances that make it so much the more terrible, as the lion's roaring aggravates his tearing. Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, Isa 9:5. (2.) It is a judgment upon their judge, who had passed the sentence upon the bones of the king of Edom that they should be burnt to lime: I will cut him off, says God (Am 2:3); he shall know there is a judge that is higher than he. The king, the chief judge, and all the inferior judges and princes, shall be cut off together. If the people sometimes suffer for the sin of their princes, yet the princes themselves shall not escape, Jer 48:47. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
II. Judah also is a near neighbour to Israel, and therefore, now that justice is riding the circuit, that shall not be passed by; that nation has made itself like the heathen and mingled with them, and therefore the indictment here runs against them in the same form in which it had run against all the rest: For these transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; their sins are as many as the sins of other nations, and we find them huddled up with them in the same character, Jer 9:26, "As for Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, jumble them together; they are all alike;" the sentence here also is the same (Am 2:5): "I will send a fire upon Judah, though it is the land where God is known, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, though it is the holy city, and God has formerly been known in its palaces for a refuge," Ps 48:3. But the sin here charged upon Judah is different from all the rest. The other nations were reckoned with for injuries done to men, but Judah is reckoned with for indignities done to God, Am 2:4. 1. They put contempt upon his statutes and persisted in disobedience to them: They have despised the law of the Lord, as if it were not worth taking notice of, nor had any thing in it valuable; and herein they despised the wisdom, justice, and goodness, as well as the authority and sovereignty, of the Lawmaker; this they did, in effect, when they kept not his commandments, made no conscience of them, took no care about them. 2. They put honour upon his rivals, their idols, here called their lies which caused them to err; for an image is a teacher of lies, Hab 2:18. And those that are led away into the error of idolatry are by that led into a multitude of other errors, Uno dato absurdo mille sequuntur—One absurdity draws after it a thousand. God is an infinite eternal Spirit; but, when the truth of God is by idolatry changed into a lie, all his other truths are in danger of being so changed likewise; thus their idols caused them to err, and God justly gave them up to strong delusions; nor was it any excuse for their sin that they were lies after which their father walked, for they should rather have taken warning than taken pattern by those that perished with these lies in their right hand.
III. We now at length come to the words which Amos saw concerning Israel. The reproofs and threatenings having walked the round, here they centre, here they settle. He begins with them as with the rest: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; if all these nations must be punished for their iniquities, shall Israel go unpunished? Observe here what their sins were, for which God would reckon with them. 1. Perverting justice. This was the sin of those who were entrusted with the administration of justice, the judges and magistrates, and all parties concerned. They made nothing of selling a righteous man, and his righteous cause when it came to be tried before them, for a piece of silver; sentence was passed, not according to the merits of the cause, but the bribe always turned the scale, and judgment was set to sale by auction to the highest bidder. They would sell the life and livelihood of a poor man for a pair of shoes, for the least advantage to themselves that could be proposed to them; give them but a pair of shoes, and the cause of a poor man, who could not give them as much as that, should be betrayed, and left at the mercy of those that will have no mercy. They will rather play at small game that sit out. For a piece of bread such a man will transgress. Note, Those who will wrong their consciences for any thing will come at length to do it for next to nothing; those who begin to sell justice for silver will in time be so sordid as to see it for a pair of shoes, for a pair of old shoes. 2. Oppressing the poor, and seeking to benefit themselves by doing them a mischief: They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor; they swallow up the poor with the utmost greediness, and make a prey of those that are in sorrow with dust on their heads, poor orphans that are in mourning for their parents; they catch at them to get their estates into their hands; they never rest till they have got the heads of the poor in the dust, to be trodden on. Or, They pant after the dust of the earth, that is, silver and gold, white and yellow dust; they covet it earnestly, and levy it upon the head of the poor by their unjust exactions. Note, Men's seeking to enrich themselves by the impoverishing of others is a transgression which God will not long turn away the punishment of. This is turning aside the way of the meek, contriving to do injury to those who, they know, are mild and patient and will bear injury. They invade their rights, break their measures, and obstruct the course of justice in favour of them, not suffering them to go on with their righteous cause; this is turning aside their way. Note, The more patiently men bear injuries that are done them the greater is the sin of those that injure them, and the more occasion they have to expect that God will give them redress, and take vengeance for them. I, as a deaf man, heard not, and then thou wilt hear. 3. Abominable uncleanness, even incest itself, such as it not named among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father's wife (1Co 5:1), his father's concubine: A man and his father will go in unto the same young woman, as black an instance as any other of an unbounded promiscuous lust; and yet where the former iniquities of oppression and extortion are this also is found; for laws of modesty seldom hold those that have broken the bands of justice and cast away its cords from them. This wickedness is such a scandal to religion, and the profession of it, that those who are guilty of it are looked upon as designing thereby to profane God's holy name, and to render it odious among the heathen, as if he countenanced the villainies which those who pretend relation to him allow themselves in, and were altogether such a one as they. 4. Regaling themselves and yet pretending to honour their God with that which they had got by oppression and extortion, Am 2:8. They add idolatry to their injustice, and then think to atone for their injustice with their idolatry. (1.) They make merry with that which they have unjustly squeezed from the poor. They lay themselves down at ease, and in state, and stretch themselves upon clothes laid to pledge, which they ought to have restored the same night, according to the law, De 24:12,13. And they drink the wine of the condemned, of such as they have fined and laid heavy mulcts upon, spending that in sensuality which they have got by injustice. (2.) They think to make atonement for this by feasting on the gains of oppression before their altars, and drinking this wine in the house of their God, in the temples where they worshipped their calves, as if they would make God a partner in their crimes by making him a partner of the profits of them—service good enough for false gods; but the true God will not thus be mocked; he has declared that he hates robbery for burnt-offerings, and cannot be served acceptably but with that which is got honestly.
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God's Remonstrance with Israel (790 BC)
繁體中文
神與以色列的辯論（主前790年）
⁹ 然而我從他們面前除滅了亞摩利人。他雖高大如香柏樹，堅固如橡樹；我卻上毀他的果子，下絕他的根本。
¹⁰ 我也將你們從埃及地領上來，在曠野引導你們四十年，使你們得亞摩利人之地為業。
¹¹ 我從你們子弟中興起先知，又從你們少年人中興起拿細耳人。以色列人哪，不是這樣嗎？這是耶和華說的。
¹² 你們卻給拿細耳人酒喝，囑咐先知說：不要說預言。
¹³ 看哪，在你們身上，我好像滿載禾捆的車被壓。
¹⁴ 快跑的不能逃脫；有力的不能用力；剛勇的也不能自救。
¹⁵ 拿弓的不能站立；腿快的不能逃脫；騎馬的也不能自救。
¹⁶ 到那日，勇士中最有膽量的必赤身逃跑。這是耶和華說的。
這裏，I. 神使祂的百姓以色列想起祂為他們所行的大事，就是使他們得著迦南地為業——那地的大部分如今這十個支派正享受著，Am 2:9-10。請注意，我們需要常被提醒我們所領受的憐憫，那些憐憫正是我們所犯之罪最沉重的加重因素。神慷慨賜予，不以我們的卑微和不配、以及祂的恩賜與我們的功勞之間的不相稱來責備我們；但祂公義地以我們的忘恩負義和對祂恩惠的惡報來責備我們，將祂為我們所行的事告訴我們，要使我們為未照所受的恩惠報答而羞愧。「兒子啊，記念；以色列啊，記念，1. 神將你從為奴之家帶出來，從埃及地救拔了你，在那裏你若不是如此，就早已在奴役中滅亡。」2. 祂引導你四十年經過荒涼之地，在曠野中養活你，在那裏你若不是如此，就早已因饑餓而滅亡。賜給我們祖先的憐憫，就是賜給我們的憐憫，因為他們若被剪除，我們也就不存在了。3. 祂為他們在迦南開路，藉著一連串僅次於救贖他們出埃外的奇事來剿滅當地的居民：我從他們面前除滅了亞摩利人，這裏代表一切當滅之國。請注意擋在他們路上的仇敵的威勢，這一點被提到，好使神在征服他們的事上更得尊崇。他們身材高大（他雖高大如香柏樹），以色列百姓與他們相比如同灌木；他們又力量強大，不僅高，而且結實：他堅固如橡樹。他們的國在列國中卓越，凌駕一切鄰邦。它的支持和防禦看來固若金湯；它如雄偉的香柏樹般華美，如堅實的橡樹般穩固；然而當神在那裏有葡萄樹要栽種之時（Ps 80:8-9），這亞摩利人不僅被砍下，更被連根拔起：我上毀他的果子，下絕他的根本，於是亞摩利人不再成國，也不再被提及。神是如此看重以色列。祂為他們將人交出、為他們的生命將百姓交出，Isa 43:4。那麼那些如此輕看祂的人是何等忘恩負義！4. 祂使他們得亞摩利人之地為業，不僅將它交在他們手中，使他們憑征服權——jure belli——成為主人，更給他們更好的憑據，使它因應許而成為他們的。
II. 祂又以他們作為聖潔國民所享的屬靈特權和益處來責備他們，Am 2:11。他們有為靈魂的幫助，這些幫助教導他們如何善用屬世的享受，因此更為寶貴。誠然十個支派沒有神的聖殿、祭壇和祭司職分，這是他們自己的過失使然，他們理當被完全留在黑暗中；但神未嘗不為自己留下見證，也未嘗不給他們引路的。1. 他們有先知，作敬虔有力的教師，受神默示，奉差遣向他們宣告神的心意，向他們顯明甚麼討神喜悅、甚麼不討神喜悅，責備他們的過失並警告他們的危險，在他們的艱難中指引、在他們的患難中安慰他們。神興起先知，激勵他們作那工並在其中使用他們。祂從他們子弟中興起他們，從他們自己中間，正如摩西和基督是從他們弟兄中間興起來的，De 18:15。這是加給他們國家和家族的尊榮，使他們有自己的兒女作神的使者，是說他們自己語言的人，不是從別國差來的陌生人——那些人可能被他們懷疑對他們和他們的地有偏見——而是他們知道是對他們懷好意的人。請注意，忠心的傳道人是任何百姓極大的福氣，是神使他們如此興起的，所以他們理當被算為他們所出家族的尊榮。2. 他們有拿細耳人作敬虔的明亮榜樣：我從你們少年人中興起拿細耳人，就是那些以許願將自己獻給神和祂的事奉、並因此而捨棄許多合理感官享樂（如喝酒和吃葡萄）的人。他們的少年人中有正值享受今生樂趣最佳年華的，卻自願加以限制；這些人神以祂恩典的能力興起，作祂恩典的記念碑，為祂的榮耀，又作祂在那墮落時代的不敬虔之事上的見證。請注意，一個地方有傑出的好基督徒，與有傑出的好傳道人一樣，同為極大的福氣；因為他們不僅有規則，也有榜樣。我們當承認，當神在一個百姓中間興起大批有盼望的少年人之時，當祂使他們的少年人作拿細耳人、敬虔、有良心、向感官的享樂死之時，這對那百姓是吉兆；這樣的拿細耳人比雪潔白，比奶純淨；他們實在是文雅的少年人，因為他們的琢磨如藍寶石，Lam 4:7。那些有這樣的人、這樣的少年人在他們中間的，在其中既有指引又有鼓勵去過敬虔生活，他日若不善用，必受追討。這裏以色列不僅因興起在他們中間的先知受清算，也因拿細耳人受清算。關於這事的真實性，祂向他們自己呼籲：「以色列人哪，不是這樣嗎？你們能否認嗎？你們自己豈不感覺到因興起在你們中間的先知和拿細耳人而得的益處嗎？」請注意，罪人自己的良心將為神作見證，證明祂在恩典的途徑上沒有虧待他們，所以他們若滅亡，是因為他們在善用那些途徑上虧待了自己。猶大人自己必在神和祂的葡萄園之間審判，祂為它豈能做得更多嗎，Isa 5:3-4。
III. 祂控告他們濫用所享的恩典途徑，並反對神賜下那些途徑的旨意，Am 2:12。他們不但不在光中行走，反而背叛那光，盡力要熄滅它，免得它照在他們臉上，使他們知罪。1. 他們盡力敗壞好人，使他們偏離虔誠的認真和生活的嚴謹：你們給拿細耳人酒喝，違背他們的願，使他們既然在那一點上破了願，就不能在任何別的方面假裝遵守了。他們中間有的人他們是用詫異或誘惑使之就範，用許多諂媚的話使他們屈服；另有的人他們是用強迫和恐嚇，若比鄰舍更嚴謹就加以嘲弄和威脅；藉著引誘他們喝酒，他們毀了他們作拿細耳人的身分。請注意，撒但和他的爪牙非常忙碌要敗壞那些向天看的少年人的心；許多我們以為會作拿細耳人的，因著被引誘喝酒——被引入對嬉笑、享樂和酒伴的喜愛——而被征服了。大批看來有希望成為傑出信仰告白的少年人，因酒犯錯，永遠敗亡了。地獄的經紀人在敗壞一個拿細耳人的事上是何等得意！2. 他們盡力使好傳道人緘默，使他們閉口：「你們囑咐先知說：不要說預言」，若他們說預言就威脅他們（Am 7:12），彷彿神的使者理當聽從你們的命令，非得你們允許不可傳達他們的信息；這樣你們不僅徒然領受了神興起那些先知所賜的恩典，更是對先知奉其名說話的神加了所能想像的最大侮辱。請注意，那些不能容忍忠心講道的人有許多要交帳的，那些壓制講道的人要交帳的更多。
IV. 祂抱怨他們因罪惡對祂所造成的傷害（Am 2:13）：「我在你們身上被壓，因你們我被困住，不能再忍，所以我要從我的對頭手中得舒展，Isa 1:24。我在你們身下、在你們罪惡的重擔下被壓，如同滿載禾捆的車被壓一般，那是在收割的歡樂中還能再裝的車。」請注意，偉大的神抱怨罪惡——尤其是祂口稱百姓的罪——以之為加在祂身上的重擔。祂因那世代厭煩（Ps 95:10），因他們淫亂的心哀傷（Eze 6:9）；這個考量若不能使罪人的悔改非常深刻，就必使他的毀滅非常慘重。那位托住世界、從不抱怨被世界壓在其重量之下的偉大之神——祂不疲乏，也不困倦——卻抱怨以色列的罪惡，不，也抱怨他們虛偽的敬拜，說祂擔當煩倦，Isa 1:14。難怪受造之物在重擔下歎息（Ro 8:22），當創造主說我在他們身下被壓之時。
V. 祂以無可避免的毀滅來威脅他們。所以有人讀Am 2:13為：「看哪，我必壓窄你們的地方，如同滿載禾捆的車壓窄一般；他們必被審判壓住，直到在他們以下沉沒，並如一輛超載的車那樣發聲。」那些不服從話語的責備——既不能被那話語、也不能被周圍人的為人所挽回——的人，必沉沒在神審判的重擔之下。神若日日以祂的恩惠裝載我們，我們卻不顧這個以我們的罪惡裝載祂，我們怎能期待別的，只期待祂以祂的審判裝載我們呢？Am 2:14-16這裏威脅說，當神出來與這惹動祂的百姓相爭之時，他們將不能在祂面前站立、不能逃脫、也不能與祂抗衡；因為當神審判之時，祂必得勝。祂的忍耐雖已耗盡，祂的大能卻未耗盡，罪人必付代價而知。當亞述大軍來以刀劍和擄掠使那地荒涼之時，無人能逃脫，各人必在共同的荒涼中有分。1. 想要逃離那帶著使一切荒涼之使命而來的仇敵，乃是枉然：快跑的不能逃脫；那些以僥倖脫險和順利撤退著稱的人，如今必發現他們的伎倆失效了；他們無時間逃，或找不到路可走，或沒有力量和精神去嘗試；他們智窮計盡，於是逃跑也就到了盡頭。他們是否如亞撒黑快跑如野鹿？（2Sa 2:18）然而他卻更快地奔向自己的毀滅：腿快的不能逃脫，Am 2:15。或他們是否說（如Isa 30:16的那些人）「我們要騎馬奔走，我們要騎快馬」？然而他們必被追上：騎馬的也不能從追趕者手中自救*。馬是靠不住的，不能救人。2. 想要抗戰到底也是枉然。神與他們交戰；他們豈比祂更強嗎？有任何軍力敢說能與全能者匹敵嗎？沒有：有力的不能用力。那有力量習慣的人，在需要之時卻不能發揮。而剛勇的，本該保護和拯救別人的，卻不能自救——不能救自己的靈魂（原文如此），不能保全性命。所以強壯的不要因他的力量誇口，也不要信靠它，卻要在他神耶和華裏面剛強，因為在祂裏有永遠的力量。身體的力量失效，戰爭的武器也照樣失效。手臂和軍裝都成為不足：拿弓的不能站立，雖然他站在遠處，卻必逃走，不信靠自己的弓能救他。手臂無論多麼有力，軍裝無論多麼齊全，當精神崩潰之時都無濟於事（Am 2:16）：勇士中最有膽量的，那慣於正視危險而不驚慌的，到那日必赤身逃跑，不僅丟棄了攻擊和防禦的武器而被繳械，更被搶去了他原想帶走的財寶，他必以為能以自己的性命為掠物就算僥倖了。如此，當神願意之時，祂奪去地上眾民的頭目的心，使那些慣於以自己的勇氣和在戰場上的膽大作為誇口的人，在無路的曠野中徘徊潛伏，Job 12:24。
英文原文
God's Remonstrance with Israel (790 BC)
⁹ Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
¹⁰ Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹ And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.
¹² But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
¹³ Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
¹⁴ Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
¹⁵ Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
¹⁶ And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.
Here, I. God puts his people Israel in mind of the great things he has done for them, in putting them into possession of the land of Canaan, the greatest part of which these ten tribes now enjoyed, Am 2:9,10. Note, We need often to be reminded of the mercies we have received, which are the heaviest aggravations of the sins we have committed. God gives liberally, and upbraids us not with our meanness and unworthiness, and the disproportion between his gifts and our merits; but he justly upbraids us with our ingratitude, and ill requital of his favours, and tells us what he has done for us, to shame us for not rendering again according to the benefit done to us. "Son, remember; Israel, remember, 1. That God brought thee out of a house of bondage, rescued thee out of the land of Egypt, where thou wouldst otherwise have perished in slavery." 2. That he led thee forty years through a desert land, and fed thee in a wilderness, where thou wouldst otherwise have perished with hunger. Mercies to our ancestors were mercies to us, for, if they had been cut off, we should not have been. 3. That he made room for them in Canaan, by extirpating the natives by a series of wonders little inferior to those by which they were redeemed out of Egypt: I destroyed the Amorite before them, here put for all the devoted nations. Observe the magnificence of the enemies that stood in their way, which is taken notice of, that God may be the more magnified in the subduing of them. They were of great stature (whose height was like the height of the cedars) and the people of Israel were as shrubs to them; and they were also of great strength, not only tall, but well-set: He was strong as the oaks. Their kingdom was eminent among the nations, and over-topped all its neighbours. The supports and defences of it seemed impregnable; it was as fine as the stately cedar; it was as firm as the sturdy oak; yet, when God had a vine to plant there (Ps 80:8,9), this Amorite was not only cut down, but plucked up: I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath, so that the Amorites were no more a nation, nor ever read of any more. Thus highly did God value Israel. He gave men for them and people for their life, Isa 43:4. How ungrateful then were those who put such contempt upon him! 4. That he made them possess the land of the Amorite, not only put it into their hands, so that they became masters of it jure belli—by right of conquest, but gave them a better title to it, so that it became theirs by promise.
II. He likewise upbraids them with the spiritual privileges and advantages they enjoyed as a holy nation, Am 2:11. They had helps for their souls, which taught them how to make good use of their temporal enjoyments and were therefore more valuable. It is true the ten tribes had not God's temple, altar, and priesthood, and it was their own fault that they deserted them, and for that they might justly have been left in utter darkness; but God left not himself without witness, nor them without guides to show them the way. 1. They had prophets that were powerful instructors in piety, divinely inspired, and commissioned to make known the mind of God to them, to show them what is pleasing to God and what displeasing, to reprove them for their faults and warn them of their dangers, to direct them in their difficulties and comfort them in their troubles. God raised them up prophets, animated them for that work and employed them in it. He raised them up of their sons, from among themselves, as Moses and Christ were raised up from among their brethren, De 18:15. It was an honour put upon their nation, and upon their families, that they had children of their own to be God's messengers to them, of their own language, not strangers sent from another country, whom they might suspect to be prejudiced against them and their land, but those who, they knew, wished well to them. Note, Faithful ministers are great blessings to any people, and it is God that raises them up to be so, that they may justly be reckoned an honour to the families they are of. 2. They had Nazarites that were bright examples of piety: I raised up of your young men for Nazarites, men that bound themselves by a vow to God and his service, and, in pursuance of that, denied themselves many of the lawful delights of sense, as drinking wine and eating grapes. There were some of their young men that were in their prime for the enjoyment of the pleasures of this life and yet voluntarily abridged themselves of them; these God raised up by the power of his grace, to be monuments of his grace, to his glory, and to be his witnesses against the impieties of that degenerate age. Note, It is as great a blessing to any place to have eminent good Christians in it as to have eminent good ministers in it; for so they have examples to their rules. We must acknowledge that it bodes well to any people when God raises up numbers of hopeful young people among them, when he makes their young men Nazarites, devout, and conscientious, and mortified to the pleasures of sense; and those that are such Nazarites are purer than snow, whiter than milk; they are indeed the polite young men, for their polishing is of sapphires, Lam 4:7. Those that have such men, such young men, among them, have therein such an advantage, both for direction and encouragement, to be religious, as they will be called to an account for another day if they do not improve. Israel is here reckoned with, not only for the prophets, but for the Nazarites, raised up among them. Concerning the truth of this, he appeals to themselves: "Is it not even thus, O you children of Israel? Can you deny it? Have not you yourselves been sensible of the advantage you had by the prophets and Nazarites raised up among you?" Note, Sinners' own consciences will be witnesses for God that he has not been wanting to them in the means of grace, so that, if they perish, it is because they have been wanting to themselves in not improving those means. The men of Judah shall themselves judge between God and his vineyard, whether he could have done more for it, Isa 5:3,4.
III. He charges them with the abuse of the means of grace they enjoyed, and the opposition they gave to God's designs in affording them those means, Am 2:12. They were so far from walking in the light that they rebelled against it, and did what they could to extinguish it, that it might not shine in their faces, to their conviction. 1. They did what they could to debauch good people, to draw them off from their seriousness in devotion and their strictness in conversation: You gave the Nazarites wine to drink, contrary to their vow, that, having broken it in that instance, they might not pretend to keep it in any other. Some they surprised, or allured into it, and with their much fair speech caused them to yield; others they forced and frightened into it, reproached and threatened them if they were more precise than their neighbours; and, by drawing them in to drink wine, they spoiled them for Nazarites. Note, Satan and his agents are very busy to corrupt the minds of young people that look heavenward; and many that we thought would have been Nazarites they have overcome by giving them wine to drink, by drawing them in to the love of mirth and pleasure, and drinking company. Multitudes of young men that bade fair for eminent professors of religion have erred through wine, and been undone for ever. And how do the factors for hell triumph in the debauching of a Nazarite! 2. They did what they could to silence good ministers, and to stop their mouths: "You commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not, and threatened them if they did prophesy (Am 7:12), as if God's messengers were bound to observe your orders, and might not deliver their errand unless you gave them leave, and so you not only received the grace of God, in raising up those prophets, in vain, but put the highest affront imaginable upon that God in whose name the prophets spoke." Note, Those have a great deal to answer for that cannot bear faithful preaching, and those much more that suppress it.
IV. He complains of the wrong they did him by their sins (Am 2:13): "I am pressed under you, I am straitened by you, and can no longer bear it, and therefore I will ease myself of my adversaries, Isa 1:24. I am pressed under you and the load of your sins as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves, is loaded with corn, in the midst of the joy of harvest, as long as any will lie on." Note, The great God complains of sin, especially the sins of his professing people, as a burden to him. He is grieved with this generation (Ps 95:10), is broken with their whorish heart (Eze 6:9), a consideration which, if it make not the sinner's repentance very deep, will make his ruin very great. The great God that upholds the world, and never complains that his is pressed under the weight of it (he fainteth not, neither is weary), yet complains of the sins of Israel, yea, and of their hypocritical services too, that he is weary of bearing them, Isa 1:14. No wonder the creature groans being burdened (Ro 8:22), when the Creator says, I am pressed under them.
V. He threatens them with unavoidable ruin. And so some read, Am 2:13, "Behold I will press, or straiten, your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses; they shall be loaded with judgments till they shall sink under them, and shall make a noise, as a cart overloaded does." Those that will not submit to the convictions of the word, that will neither be won by that nor by the conversation of those about them, shall be made to sink under the weight of God's judgments. If God load us daily with his benefits, and we, notwithstanding that, load him with our sins, how can we expect any other than that he should load us with his judgments? And it is here threatened in the Am 2:14-16 that, when God comes forth to contend with this provoking people, they shall not be able to stand before him, to flee from him, nor to make their part good with him; for when God judges he will overcome. Though his patience be tired out, his power is not, and so the sinner shall find, to his cost. When the Assyrian army comes to lay the country waste by sword and captivity none shall escape, but every one shall have his share in the common desolation. 1. It will be in vain to think of fleeing from the enemy that comes armed with a commission to make all desolate: The flight shall perish from the swift; those that have been famed for happy escapes and happy retreats shall now find their arts fail them; they shall have no time to flee, or shall find no way to take, or they shall have no strength or spirit to attempt it; they shall be at their wits' end, and then they are soon at their flight's end. Are they, as Asahel, as swift of foot as a wild roe? (2Sa 2:18), yet, like him, they shall run the faster upon their own destruction: He that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself, Am 2:15. Or do they say (as those, Isa 30:16), We will flee upon horses, and we will ride upon the swift? Yet they shall be overtaken: Neither shall he that rides the horse deliver himself from his pursuers. A horse is a vain thing for safety. 2. It will be in vain to think of fighting it out. God is at war with them; and are they stronger than he? Is there any military force that can pretend to be a match for Omnipotence? No: The strong shall not strengthen his force. He that has a habit of strength shall not be able to exert it when he has occasion for it. And the mighty, whose should protect and deliver others, shall not be able to deliver himself, to deliver his soul (so the word is), shall not save his life. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, nor trust in it, but strengthen himself in the Lord his God, for in him is everlasting strength. And, as the bodily strength shall fail, so shall the weapons of war. The armour as well as the arm shall become insufficient: Neither shall he stand that handles the bow, though he stand at a distance, but shall betake himself to flight, and not trust to his own bow to save him. Though the arm be ever so strong, and the armour ever so well fixed, neither will avail when the spirit fails (Am 2:16): He that is courageous among the mighty, that used to look danger in the face, and not be dismayed at it, shall flee away naked in that day, not only disarmed, having thrown away his weapons both offensive and defensive, but plundered of his treasure, which he thought to carry away with him, and he shall think it as much as he could expect that he has his life for a prey. Thus when God pleases he takes away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causes those who used to boast of their courage, and their daring enterprises in the field, to wander and sneak in a wilderness where there is no way, Job 12:24.
本章我們看到：I. 神藉先知繼續與摩押爭辯，正如先前與其他國家一樣，Am 2:1-3。II. 祂表明祂與猶大有何相爭，Am 2:4-5。III. 祂終於開始對以色列的控告，前面的一切不過是引言。請注意：1. 他們被控的罪——不義、壓迫、淫亂，Am 2:6-8。2. 這些罪的加重情節——神所賜給他們屬世和屬靈的憐憫，他們卻對此如此忘恩負義地回報，Am 2:9-12。3. 神對他們罪惡的抱怨（Am 2:13）以及對他們滅亡的威嚇，並他們完全無力阻止，Am 2:14-16。