He who made the Pleiades and OrionThis phrase highlights God's sovereignty and creative power, referencing two prominent constellations. The Pleiades and Orion are mentioned in other biblical texts, such as
Job 9:9 and
Job 38:31, emphasizing God's control over the cosmos. In ancient Near Eastern culture, these constellations were often associated with deities or mythological stories, but here they affirm the monotheistic belief that the God of Israel is the true creator of the universe. This underscores the futility of idol worship and calls the Israelites to recognize the one true God.
who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night
This phrase illustrates God's control over time and the natural order, echoing the creation narrative inGenesis 1 where God separates light from darkness. It serves as a reminder of God's omnipotence and His ability to bring about change, both in the physical world and in the lives of His people. The cyclical nature of day and night also symbolizes the themes of judgment and redemption found throughout the book of Amos, where God warns of impending judgment but also offers hope for restoration.
who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth
This imagery reflects God's authority over the waters, reminiscent of the Genesis flood narrative and the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus. Water is often a symbol of chaos and judgment in the Bible, and God's control over it signifies His power to bring both destruction and salvation. This phrase may also allude to the blessings of rain and fertility, which were crucial for an agrarian society like Israel. It serves as a reminder of God's provision and the consequences of turning away from Him.
the LORD is His name—
This declaration affirms the identity of God as Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel. It emphasizes His uniqueness and the personal relationship He has with His people. The use of "LORD" in all capitals signifies the sacred name of God, which was revealed to Moses inExodus 3:14. This phrase serves as a call to repentance, urging the Israelites to return to the worship of the one true God, who is both creator and sustainer. It also foreshadows the coming of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate revelation of God's name and character.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
AmosA prophet from the southern kingdom of Judah, called by God to deliver a message of judgment to the northern kingdom of Israel.
2.
Pleiades and OrionConstellations mentioned in the verse, symbolizing God's creation and control over the universe.
3.
The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His sovereignty and power over creation.
4.
IsraelThe northern kingdom to whom Amos is delivering God's message of impending judgment due to their injustice and idolatry.
5.
CreationThe act of God bringing the universe into existence, demonstrating His omnipotence and authority.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in CreationRecognize that God’s creation of the universe, including the stars and constellations, demonstrates His supreme authority and power.
God's Control Over NatureUnderstand that God’s ability to turn darkness into dawn and day into night shows His control over time and seasons, reminding us of His constant presence and involvement in the world.
The Call to Worship the CreatorReflect on the importance of worshiping God as the Creator rather than the creation itself, avoiding idolatry and acknowledging His rightful place in our lives.
God's Judgment and MercyConsider how God’s power over creation is a reminder of His ability to judge nations, as well as His mercy in calling them to repentance through His prophets.
Living in Awe of God’s PowerEncourage a lifestyle that is in awe of God’s power and majesty, leading to a deeper trust and reliance on Him in all circumstances.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Amos 5:8?
2.How does Amos 5:8 emphasize God's power over creation and nature?
3.What does "He who made the Pleiades and Orion" reveal about God's authority?
4.How can recognizing God's control in Amos 5:8 strengthen our daily faith?
5.Connect Amos 5:8 with Genesis 1:1 on God's role as Creator.
6.How should acknowledging God's sovereignty in Amos 5:8 influence our prayer life?
7.How does Amos 5:8 emphasize God's power over creation and nature?
8.What is the significance of God creating the Pleiades and Orion in Amos 5:8?
9.How does Amos 5:8 challenge the belief in human control over nature?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Amos 5?
11.Amos 5:8 – How can we reconcile the claim that God formed the Pleiades and Orion with modern astronomy, which dates these stars to vastly different periods?
12.What does 'Famine of Hearing the Words of the Lord' mean?
13.What does 'Like a Roaring Lion' mean?
14.Isaiah 40:26: In light of modern astronomy, how can God “bring out the starry host” one by one, given what we know about billions of stars and galaxies?What Does Amos 5:8 Mean
He who made the Pleiades and OrionGod identifies Himself as the Maker of the heavens, naming two constellations every ancient Israelite could spot in the night sky. By pointing to Pleiades (the clustered “Seven Stars”) and Orion (the mighty hunter), He reminds His people that
• every star is placed by His hand (Genesis 1:16;Psalm 147:4)
• He not only formed them but actively sustains their order (Job 9:9;Isaiah 40:26)
• the vastness of the universe underscores His unmatched power and authority over Israel’s present circumstances (Jeremiah 32:17)
Who turns darkness into dawnThe daily sunrise is not a random natural cycle; it is the Lord’s faithful call for light to return. Each morning testifies that
• His mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
• He remains true to the creative rhythm first set in motion—“And there was evening, and there was morning” (Genesis 1:3-5)
• spiritual darkness never has the final word; the “Sunrise from on high” will visit us (Luke 1:78-79)
And darkens day into nightThe setting sun is equally in His grasp. He can shorten daylight or lengthen it, even using darkness for judgment or awe. Scripture shows Him
• sending thick darkness over Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23)
• covering the land at Christ’s crucifixion (Mark 15:33)
• declaring, “I form light and create darkness” (Isaiah 45:7)
These moments remind us that the Lord governs both comfort and calamity, urging repentance and trust.
Who summons the waters of the seaOceans obey His voice. He gathers, holds, and releases them at will (Psalm 33:7;Job 38:8-11). In doing so He demonstrates that
• the most untamable forces remain under His command
• He set boundaries for the seas at creation (Genesis 1:9-10)
• His authority over nature guarantees His ability to judge and to rescue (Jonah 1:9;Matthew 8:27)
And pours them over the face of the earthRain, rivers, floods—every drop arrives on schedule because God sends it.
• He draws up water and lets it fall as showers for the earth’s fruitfulness (Job 36:27-28;Psalm 65:9-10)
• He blesses the righteous and the unrighteous alike with rain (Matthew 5:45)
• He once judged a wicked world by opening “the floodgates of the heavens” (Genesis 7:11-12)
The same power that nourishes can also cleanse and correct, underscoring His sovereign right to give or withhold.
The LORD is His nameAll the preceding acts funnel into this climactic declaration: the covenant God of Israel, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14-15), is the One behind every star, sunrise, sunset, tide, and raindrop.
• His name, Yahweh, carries the weight of eternal, self-existent being (Malachi 3:6)
• He alone deserves exclusive allegiance (Isaiah 42:8)
• He will ultimately reveal Himself as “the Alpha and the Omega” (Revelation 1:8)
summaryAmos 5:8 invites Israel—and us—to look up at the sky, watch the sunrise, feel the rain, and recognize that the same Lord who commands the cosmos also calls His people to repent and return. Every display of creation’s order and power is a living sermon: the Creator is personal, just, and faithful. Turning to Him is not only reasonable; it is the only wise response to the One who holds the stars, the seasons, the seas, and our souls in His hands.
(8) Connected by E.V. with
Amos 5:6 through the verb "seek ye," so that it may thus be linked to
Amos 5:7. To regard it as a solemn assertion "There is one who maketh, &c.," is not satisfactory. We prefer to render,
As for him who made the Pleiades . . .
Jehovah is his name, i.e., The God of the Hebrews is the supreme universal Lord (comp.
Amos 4:13). This is profoundly impressive, since the prophets were surrounded by the pompous nature-worship of the East.
The Heb. word for the Pleiades (seven stars) means properly "heap" or "cluster," and that for Orion signifies "stout, strong one." The appearance of the Pleiades indicated the "sweet influences" of spring, that of Orion the winter solstice. Observe that Amos the herdsman, and Job the Arabian Emir, accustomed to the naked sky of the desert, make these special references to astronomical facts. The death-shadow suggests the darkest experiences of human life. Jehovah pours His light upon the deepest gloom of our lot. He, too, can make the day dark with night, covering the noonday sky with funereal pall, as at the Crucifixion. God is also made the perennial source of the rain, that "river of God which is full of water," and which is ever rising at His command from the great sea.
Verse 8. - Striking instances are given of God's creative power and omnipotence.
Seek him that maketh the seven stars. "Seek him" is not in the Hebrew. "He that maketh," etc., is in direct antithesis to "ye who turn," etc. (ver. 7).
The seven stars; Hebrew,
kimah, "the heap," the constellation of the Pleiades (
Job 9:9;
Job 38:31). The Septuagint here has,
ὁ ποιῶν πάντα, but in Job has
πλειάς. The Vulgate gives,
facientem Arcturum. Symmachus and Theodotion give
πλειάδα in the present passage. The identification of this term is discussed in the 'Dictionary of the Bible,' 2:891. The observation of this most remarkable cluster among the heavenly bodies would be natural to the pastoral life of Amos.
And Orion; Hebrew,
kesil, "foolish," a rebel, the name being applied to Nimrod, whose representation was found by the Easterns in this constellation. Some render
kesil, "gate;" others connect it with the Arabia
sohail, equivalent to Sirius, or Canopus. The Septuagint here has,
καὶ μετασκευάζων, "and changing," which looks as if the translator was not familiar with the Hebrew word, and substituted something in its place. It reads
Ὠρίωνος in
Job 38:31.
Turneth the shadow of death into the morning. "The shadow of death," the depth of darkness. This and the following clause do not simply state that the regular interchange of day and night is in God's hands, but rather notify that God is a moral Governor of the world. He saves men from the utmost dangers, from the darkness of sin and from the night of ignorance; and, on the other hand, he sends calamity on those that offend his Law (comp.
Amos 4:13).
Maketh the day dark with night; literally, as the Septuagint
ἡμέραν εἰς νύκτα συσκοτάζων, "darkeneth day into night."
That calleth for the waters of the sea, etc. As judgments are the prophet's theme, this expression cannot be an intimation of the working of the natural law by which the moisture taken up from the sea as cloud returns upon the earth as rain (comp.
Amos 9:6). Rather it is an allusion to the Flood and similar catastrophes, which are proofs of God's judicial government of the universe, when "he maketh the creature his weapon for the revenge of his enemies" (Wisd. 5:17).
The Lord is his Name. Jehovah, the self-existent God, doeth all these marvellous things, and men presume to scout his Law and think to be unpunished (
Amos 4:13).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
He who madeעֹשֵׂ֨ה(‘ō·śêh)Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6213:To do, makethe Pleiadesכִימָ֜ה(ḵî·māh)Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3598:A cluster of stars, the Pleiadesand Orion,וּכְסִ֗יל(ū·ḵə·sîl)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3685:Any notable constellation, Orionwho turnsוְהֹפֵ֤ךְ(wə·hō·p̄êḵ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2015:To turn about, over, to change, overturn, return, pervertdarknessצַלְמָ֔וֶת(ṣal·mā·weṯ)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6757:Death-like shadow, deep shadowinto dawnלַבֹּ֙קֶר֙(lab·bō·qer)Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1242:Dawn, morningand darkensהֶחְשִׁ֑יךְ(heḥ·šîḵ)Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2821:To be dark, to darkendayוְי֖וֹם(wə·yō·wm)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117:A dayinto night,לַ֣יְלָה(lay·lāh)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915:A twist, night, adversitywho summonsהַקּוֹרֵ֣א(haq·qō·w·rê)Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7121:To call, proclaim, readthe watersלְמֵֽי־(lə·mê-)Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 4325:Water, juice, urine, semenof the seaהַיָּ֗ם(hay·yām)Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3220:A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basinand pours themוַֽיִּשְׁפְּכֵ֛ם(way·yiš·pə·ḵêm)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 8210:To spill forth, to expend, to sprawl outoverעַל־(‘al-)Preposition
Strong's 5921:Above, over, upon, againstthe faceפְּנֵ֥י(pə·nê)Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440:The faceof the earth,הָאָ֖רֶץ(hā·’ā·reṣ)Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776:Earth, landthe LORDיְהוָ֥ה(Yah·weh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelis His name.שְׁמֽוֹ׃(šə·mōw)Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8034:A name
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OT Prophets: Amos 5:8 Seek him who made the Pleiades (Amo. Am)