Amos 4:5

And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) The margin is more correct, and gives the key to the passage. Render, and offer by burning your thank-offering of leaven. Leaven was not allowed in any sacrifice offered by fire. Amos ironically calls upon them to break the Levitical law (Leviticus 7:13; Leviticus 23:17), as he knew they were in the habit of doing.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:1-5 What is got by extortion is commonly used to provide for the flesh, and to fulfil the lusts thereof. What is got by oppression cannot be enjoyed with satisfaction. How miserable are those whose confidence in unscriptural observances only prove that they believe a lie! Let us see to it that our faith, hope, and worship, are warranted by the Divine word.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven - But amid this boastful service, all was self-will. In little or great, the calf-worship at Bethel, or the use of leaven in the sacrifice, they did as they willed. The prophet seems to have joined purposely the fundamental change, by which Jeroboam substituted the worship of nature for its God, and a minute alteration of the ritual, to show that one and the same temper, self-will, reigned in all, dictated all they did. The use of leaven in the things sacrificed was forbidden, out of a symbolic reason, that is, not in itself, but as representing something else. The Eastern leaven, like that used in France, consisting of what is sour, had the idea of decay and corruption connected with it. Hence, it was unfit to be offered to God. For whatever was the object of any sacrifice, whether of atonement or thanksgiving, perfection in its kind was essential to the idea of offering. Hence, it was expressly forbidden. "No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven, for ye shall burn no leaven in an offering of the Lord made by fire" (Leviticus 2:11; add. Leviticus 6:17). At other times it is expressly commanded, that "unleavened bread" should be used. In two cases only, in which the offering was not to be burned, were offerings to be made of leavened bread:

(1) the two loaves of first-fruits at Pentecost Leviticus 23:17, and

(2) an offering with which the thank offering was accompanied, and which was to be the priest's Leviticus 7:13-14.

The special meat offering of the thank offering was to be without leaven Leviticus 7:12. To "offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven" was a direct infringement of God's appointment. It proceeded from the same frame of mind, as the breach of the greatest. Self-will was their only rule. What they willed, they kept; and what they willed, they brake. Amos bids them then go on, as they did in their willfulness, breaking God's commands of set purpose, and keeping them by accident.

Rup.: "This is a most grave mode of speaking, whereby He now saith, 'Come and do so and so, and He Himself who saith this, hateth those same deeds of theirs. He so speaketh, not as willing, but as abandoning not as inviting, but as expelling; not in exhortation but in indignation. He subjoins then, (as the case required,) 'for so ye loved.' As if He said, 'I therefore say, 'come to Bethel' where is your god, your calf, because 'so ye loved,' and hitherto ye have come. I therefore say, 'transgress,' because ye do transgress, and ye will to transgress. I say, 'come to Gilgal,' where were idols (Judges 3:19, English margin) long before Jeroboam's calves, because ye come and ye will to come. I say, 'multiply transgressions,' because ye do multiply it, and yet will to multiply it. I say, 'bring your sacrifices,' because ye offer them and ye will to offer them, to whom ye ought not. I say, 'offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,' because ye so do, and ye will do it, leavened as ye are with 'the old leaven of malice and wickedness,' against the whole authority of the holy and spiritual law, which forbiddeth to offer in sacrifice anything leavened.

This pleaseth your gods, that ye be leavened, and without 'the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' 1 Corinthians 5:8. To them then 'sacrifice the sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,' because to Me ye, being sinners, cannot offer a seemly sacrifice of praise. And so doing, 'proclaim and publish the free offerings,' for so ye do, and so ye will to do, honoring the sacrifices which ye offer to your calves with the same names, whereby the authority of the law nameth those which are offered unto Me; 'burnt offerings,' and 'peace offerings;' and 'proclaim' them 'with the sound of trumpet and harp, with timbrel and dancing, with strings and organ, upon the well turned cymbals and the loud cymbals' Psalm 150:1-6, that so ye may be thought to have sung louder and stronger than the tribe of Judah or the house of David in the temple of the Lord, because ye are more.' All these things are said, not with the intention of one willing, but with the indignation of one forsaking, as in many other instances. As that which the same Lord said to His betrayer; 'what thou doest, do quickly' John 13:27. And in the Revelations we read, 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still' Revelation 22:11. These things, and the rest of the like sort, are not the words of one commanding, or, of His own Will, conceding, but permitting and forsaking. 'For He was not ignorant, (Wisdom saith) (Wisdom Revelation 12:10) that they were a naughty generation, and their malice was inbred, and that their cogitation never would be changed. '"

Proclaim and publish the free offerings - o: "Account much of what ye offer to God, and think that ye do great things, as though ye honored God condignly, and were under no obligation to offer such gifts. The whole is said in irony. For some there are, who appreciate magnificently the gifts and services which they offer to God, and think they have attained to great perfection, as though they made an adequate return to the divine benefits, not weighing the infinite dignity of the Divine Majesty, the incomparable greatness of the divine benefits, the frailty of their own condition and the imperfection of their service. Against whom is that which the Saviour saith, 'When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which was our duty to do' Luke 17:10. Hence, David saith 'all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.' 1 Chronicles 19:14."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. offer—literally, "burn incense"; that is, "offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with burnt incense and with leavened bread." The frankincense was laid on the meat offering, and taken by the priest from it to burn on the altar (Le 2:1, 2, 8-11). Though unleavened cakes were to accompany the peace offering sacrifice of animals, leavened bread was also commanded (Le 7:12, 13), but not as a "meat offering" (Le 2:11).

this liketh you—that is, this is what ye like.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven; as all the rest of your will-worship, so this also is against the express law, Leviticus 2:11, but yet you will persist in it; and do so at your peril, try whether it end in good to you.

Proclaim and publish the free-offerings; publicly, frequently, and earnestly persuade your people to voluntary sacrifices, in which you think to please me; but you offer them all to idols; this your religion is impiety.

This liketh you; as you invented it, so it pleaseth you, and you will not be reclaimed.

Ye children of Israel; ye idolatrous, apostate Israelites.

Saith the Lord God; for these you shall be punished by the Lord your God.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,.... Which some observe was contrary to the law, which forbids all leaven in a meat offering; or "burning" it in any offering, Leviticus 2:11; which the word (t) here used suggests was done by these idolaters, as well as eaten by them, their priests not liking to eat unleavened bread; but; though it was forbidden in the meat offering, was allowed, yea, ordered, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, Leviticus 7:13. So Abarbinel understands it here, as what was according, to law, but ironically commanded to be offered to idols:

and proclaim and publish the free offerings; let all know of them when you make your freewill offerings, and invite them to partake of them:

for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God; or ye love to offer such sacrifices to your idols, rather than to the Lord God; preferring these to him, and delighting more in the worship of them than of him.

(t) "incendendo", Munster, Tigurine version; "incendito incensum", Vatablus.

Geneva Study Bible

And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving {f} with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this {g} liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

(f) As Le 7:13.

(g) You only delight in these outward ceremonies and care for nothing else.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. offer] make into sweet smoke (the Homeric κνίση, Il. I. 319), a term used technically of the consumption of sacrifices upon the altar (Leviticus 1:9, &c.). The idea is that of a repast: comp. Genesis 8:19. The root ḳatara in Arabic signifies to exhale an odour in roasting.

a sacrifice of thanksgiving] The tôdâh, or thanksgiving-offering, of Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 33:11; Leviticus 7:12-13; Leviticus 7:15; Leviticus 22:29; 2 Chronicles 29:31; 2 Chronicles 33:16; Psalm 56:12, c. title, Psalm 107:22, Psalm 116:17.

with leaven] of that which is leavened (R.V.). “Leaven,”—a term including, as Leviticus 2:11 shews, not only yeast, but also dibs or grape-honey,—was forbidden as an ingredient in sacrifices (Exodus 23:18; Leviticus 2:11; Leviticus 6:17) on account of its liability to putrefy. In Leviticus 7:14 cakes of leavened bread are, it is true, to be offered with the thanksgiving offering: they are not, however, to be consumed upon the altar, but to be eaten by the offerer, with the flesh of the offering, at a sacrificial feast: the leaven was thus not a part of the sacrifice itself. The custom of not offering leaven prevailed, it may be inferred, at Beth-el: the Israelites of Amos’s day, however, with mistaken zeal, thought to make their thanksgiving-offerings more acceptable by using yeast or grape-honey in their preparation. It is not improbable that luscious sacrifices of this kind were a feature in the Canaanite worship of Baal, and were for this reason viewed with particular disfavour by the prophet (cf. Hosea 3:1; W. R. Smith, O.T.J.C.1, p. 434; Rel. Sem.2 p. 220 f.).

proclaim free-will offerings and publish them] i.e. announce them ostentatiously (cf. Matthew 6:2; Matthew 23:5), and invite all the world to the sacrificial feast accompanying them. The free-will offerings are such as were prompted by the spontaneous devotion of the worshipper: they are mentioned in Deuteronomy 12:6; Deuteronomy 12:17 as a common form of sacrifice.

this liketh you] lit. so ye love (Jeremiah 5:31): this is what pleases you; act accordingly: it is not Jehovah’s choice, and will not deliver you from the impending doom. To like in Old English = to please: so Deuteronomy 23:16, Esther 8:8.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven; more definitely, offer by burning a thank offering of that which is leavened. This is an alteration of the prescribed ritual in two particulars. The Law forbade leaven in any meat offering consumed by fire (Leviticus 2:11; Leviticus 7:12); and if it allowed cakes of leavened bread to be offered on one occasion, these were not to be placed on the altar and burned, but one was to be assigned to the officiating priest, and the rest eaten at the sacrificial meal (Leviticus 7:13, 14). The ironical charge to the Israelites is that in their unlicensed zeal they should not only burn on the altar that which was leavened, but, with the idea of being more bountiful, they should also offer by fire that which was to be set apart for other uses. The Septuagint Version can only be explained by considering the translators to have had a different reading, καὶ ἀνέγνωσαν ἔγω νόμον, "and they read the Law without." Proclaim... publish. Make public proclamation that free will offerings are to be made, or else, like the Pharisees (Matthew 6:2), announce with ostentation that you are about to offer. The essence of such offerings was that they should be voluntary, not of command or compulsion (Leviticus 22:18, etc.; Deuteronomy 12:6). Septuagint, καὶ ἐπεκαλέσαντο ὁμολογίας, "and called for public professions" (as Deuteronomy 12:6, 17, 18). This liketh you; this ye love; Septuagint, "Proclaim ye that the children of Israel loved these things." Their whole heart was set on this will worship. Amos 4:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

After this threat directed against the voluptuous women of the capital, the prophecy turns again to all the people. In bitter irony, Amos tells them to go on with zeal in their idolatrous sacrifices, and to multiply their sin. But they will not keep back the divine judgment by so doing. Amos 4:4. "Go to Bethel, and sin; to Gilgal, multiply sinning; and offer your slain-offerings in the morning, your tithes every three days. Amos 4:5. And kindle praise-offerings of that which is leavened, and cry out freewill-offerings, proclaim it; for so ye love it, O sons of Israel, is the saying of the Lord, of Jehovah." "Amos here describes how zealously the people of Israel went on pilgrimage to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Beersheba, those places of sacred associations; with what superabundant diligence they offered sacrifice and paid tithes; who they would rather do too much than too little, so that they even burnt upon the altar a portion of the leavened loaves of the praise-offering, which were only intended for the sacrificial meals, although none but unleavened bread was allowed to be offered; and lastly, how in their pure zeal for multiplying the works of piety, they so completely mistook their nature, as to summon by a public proclamation to the presentation of freewill-offerings, the very peculiarity of which consisted in the fact that they had no other prompting than the will of the offerer" (v. Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, ii. 2, p. 373). The irony of the summons to maintain their worship comes out very distinctly in the words וּפשׁעוּ, and sin, or fall away from God. הגּלגּל is not a nominative absolute, "as for Gilgal," but an accusative, and בּאוּ is to be repeated from the first clause. The absence of the copula before הרבּוּ does not compel us to reject the Masoretic accentuation, and connect הגּלגּל with פּלשׁעוּ, as Hitzig does, so as to obtain the unnatural thought, "sin ye towards Gilgal." On Gilgal mentioned along with Bethel as a place of idolatrous worship (here and Amos 5:5, as in Hosea 4:15; Hosea 9:15, and Hosea 12:12), see at Hosea 4:15. Offer your slain-offerings labbōqer, for the morning, i.e., every morning, like layyōm in Jeremiah 37:21. This is required by the parallel lishlōsheth yâmı̄m, on the three of days, i.e., every three days. זבחים ... הביאוּ does not refer to the morning sacrifice prescribed in the law (Numbers 28:3) - for that is always called ‛ōlâh, not zebach - but to slain sacrifices that were offered every morning, although the offering of zebhâchı̄m every morning presupposes the presentation of the daily morning burnt-offering. What is said concerning the tithe rests upon the Mosaic law of the second tithe, which was to be brought every three years (Deuteronomy 14:28; Deuteronomy 26:12; compare my Bibl. Archol. 71, Anm. 7). The two clauses, however, are not to be understood as implying that the Israelites had offered slain sacrifices every morning, and tithe every three days. Amos is speaking hyperbolically, to depict the great zeal displayed in their worship; and the thought is simply this: "If ye would offer slain sacrifices every morning, and tithe every three days, ye would only thereby increase your apostasy from the living God." The words, "kindle praise-offerings of that which is leavened," have been misinterpreted in various ways. קטּר, an inf. absol. used instead of the imperative (see Ges. 131, 4, b). According to Leviticus 7:12-14, the praise-offering (tōdâh) was to consist not only of unleavened cakes and pancakes with oil poured upon them, but also of cakes of leavened bread. The latter, however, were not to be placed upon the altar, but one of them was to be assigned to the priest who sprinkled the blood, and the rest to be eaten at the sacrificial meal. Amos now charges the people with having offered that which was leavened instead of unleavened cakes and pancakes, and with having burned it upon the altar, contrary to the express prohibition of the law in Leviticus 2:11. His words are not to be understood as signifying that, although outwardly the praise-offerings consisted of that which was unleavened, according to the command of the law, yet inwardly they were so base that they resembled unleavened cakes, inasmuch as whilst the material of the leaven was absent, the true nature of the leaven - namely, malice and wickedness - was there in all the greater quantity (Hengstenberg, Dissertations, vol. i. p. 143 translation). The meaning is rather this, that they were not content with burning upon the altar unleavened cakes made from the materials provided for the sacrifice, but that they burned some of the leavened loaves as well, in order to offer as much as possible to God. What follows answers to this: call out nedâbhōth, i.e., call out that men are to present freewill-offerings. The emphasis is laid upon קראוּ, which is therefore still further strengthened by השׁמעוּ. Their calling out nedâbhōth, i.e., their ordering freewill-offerings to be presented, was an exaggerated act of zeal, inasmuch as the sacrifices which ought to have been brought out of purely spontaneous impulse (cf. Leviticus 22:18.; Deuteronomy 12:6), were turned into a matter of moral compulsion, or rather of legal command. The words, "for so ye love it," show how this zeal in the worship lay at the heart of the nation. It is also evident from the whole account, that the worship in the kingdom of the ten tribes was conducted generally according to the precepts of the Mosaic law.