I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
Ver. 1. I saw the Lord] This seer, Amos 7:12, saw the Lord in a vision; for otherwise God is too subtile for sinew or sight to seize upon him. We cannot look upon the body of the sun, neither can we see at all without the beams of it; so here.
Standing upon the altar] Or, firmly set, sc. to do execution upon that altar, sc. that idolatrous altar at Bethel mentioned before, and formerly threatened by another prophet, 1 Kings 13:1,2. The Rabbis say, God was seen standing upon that altar, as ready to sacrifice and slay the men of that age, whose idolatries and other impieties he could no longer bear with. And hence it is haply, that he is brought in standing; like as Acts 7:55, Jesus, at Stephen's death, was seen standing at the right hand of God, where he is usually said to sit. Stat ut vindex, sedet ut iudex. He stood as his defender and sat as his judge.
And he said] sc. to the angel that stood by, Zechariah 3:7, or to the enemy commissioned by him, or to some other creature, for they are all his servants, Psalms 119:91, neither can he want a weapon to tame his rebels with.
Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake] Smite with a courage, as Ezekiel 9:5. Angels give no light blows. "Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one," Isaiah 10:33,34; that is, by an angel shall he smite to the ground that mighty army which was like a thick wood. See Isa 37:36 Psalms 78:25; Psalms 89:6. So at our Saviour's resurrection, an angel, in despite of the soldiers set to watch, rolled away the grave stone, and sat upon it. And as a mighty man, when he sitteth down, shaketh the bench under him, so did he shake the earth; "and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men," Matthew 28:2; Matthew 28:4. Down with this idol temple, down with it, saith God here, even to the ground.
And cut them in the head, all of them] Cleave them down the middle, so that every post may be sure to fall, being divided from the top to the bottom; and let this act be a sign to them all of what I intend to do to their persons, as many of them as by this gate have entered into this idol temple and altar. A deep cut in the head is dangerous and deadly, Genesis 3:15 Psalms 68:21 .
And I will slay the last of them] I, by mine agents and instruments, as before: for it is but one hand and many executioners that God slays men with. Job could discern God's arrows in Satan's hand, and God's hand on the arms of the Sabean robbers. The sword is bathed in heaven before it is imbrued in men's blood, Isaiah 34:5. "The Lord killeth and maketh alive," saith holy Hannah, 1 Samuel 2:6 .
He that fleeth of them shall not flee away] See Amos 2:14. See Trapp on " Amo 2:14 " and say, Behold the severity of God, Romans 11:12 .