In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
shall faint for thirst.
Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria,
and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’
and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,’
they shall fall, and never rise again.”
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:
“Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,
and shatter them on the heads of all the people;
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
not one of them shall flee away;
not one of them shall escape.
“If they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
if they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
from there I will search them out and take them;
and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes upon them
for evil and not for good.”
Comment: Samaria had built special places of worship in Dan and Beersheba. But the god whom they worshiped there was not the True God Yahweh, as He had revealed Himself to His people the Jews. Amos then lists several ways the people will try to escape judgement. i) calling on false gods ii) the enthusiasm and energy of the young iii) the extreme examples of people seeking to escape and hide (digging into the earth, climbing the highest mountains, deep diving in the sea).. God simply says ‘Sorry, you won’t succeed, I’ve got the answer to all those techniques’.
Prayer: Unable to escape, and wanting to be cleansed, please forgive me Saviour Jesus.
As I read it! 