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“This saith the Lord: For three wickednesses of Moab, and for four I will not turn away from him” (Amos 2:1). The Moabites adjacent to them were added to the Ammonites. And Amos prophesies about them that they will be destroyed by the Assyrians and Babylonians for serving idols, especially for “burning the bones of the king of Edom to ashes” (Amos 2:1). The Moabites sacrificed the bones of the king of Edom, that is, an idol that was made by the Edomites from his ashes. With such care for the bones of a wicked man, the prophet wanted to announce the resurrection to mortals. “And I will send fire upon Moab, and girdle up the foundations of Kerioth (Karioth)” (Amos 2:2), for the idols after which they walked. Jeremiah also mentions Kerioth as one of the significant cities of Moab (Jer. 48:1). “For three wickednesses of the sons of Judah and for four I will not turn away from them, because I have rejected the law of the Lord” (Am. 2:4), and they went after vanity. “Before you sold the righteous for money” (Amos 2:6). The righteous, sold by them for silver, depict the mystery of our Lord, whom the high priests of the Jews bought for thirty pieces of silver and handed over to be crucified. As long as they sinned against nature and against Scripture, killing the prophets, then all this was forgiven them. But because they bought the Lord for silver and put him to death, “I will not turn my hand away from them,” that is, I will not spare Israel. “And they were wretched on boots, walking on the dust of the earth... and the way of the humble was corrupted” (Am. 2:6-7). Or the poor themselves, because of hunger and nakedness, voluntarily gave themselves into slavery, and the rich treated them as real bought slaves, or, like the Tyrians and Sidonians, they gave the youths as bribes (payment) to harlots and for wine; so the Jews, according to the word of the prophet, sold the poor Jews, their fellow citizens, for boots, with which the dust of the earth is trampled, as for the most insignificant price, for the price of boots is insignificant and their use is low. “And the path of the humble is led astray” - either forced them to change their thoughts, or prevented them from fulfilling their thoughts and desires. “And the son and his father committed themselves to the fornicator,” that is, on the Sabbath, taking advantage of the rest, the father and son go to the fornication, “so that they would profane My holy name with their deeds” (Am. 2:7). Since idol churches were built in all cities and there were harlots with them, seeing all this, fathers and sons indulged in lewdness. “And their vestments, binding with snakes... were placed on them on all sides of the treasury"; they made beds for themselves for lewdness. "And wine... old drink with harlots in the house of their god" (Amos 2:8). “And I rejected the Amorites from before them, whose height was like the height of Cedars, and was strong like an oak” (Amos 2:9). The Amorite perished, and there is no remains after him. Blessed David also uses the same image, saying: “I saw the wicked exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon: and I passed by, and behold, I was not found, and I sought him out, and his place was not found” (Ps. 36:35-36). “And ye wandered about in the wilderness fourty years” (Amos 2:10). I protected you in the desert from hunger and thirst and heat, and I gave you all the comforts that were in the land of the Amorites. “And drink from your sons as prophets, so that they may prophesy to you the destruction of the heathen nations, your enemies, and from your young men to become Nazirites” (Am. 2:11), like Samson, so that they will take revenge on your oppressors for you. “Behold, I will crush you, as a chariot full of reeds is crushed” (Amos 2:13). Just as a chariot, burdened with a great weight of what is placed in it, makes a creaking noise, so you will also cry out on behalf of those who oppress you. And just as ears of corn brought to the threshing floor will certainly be threshed, so none of you, neither the quick nor the strong, will escape punishment. You might be interested in: