Amos 2:10
Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
Original Language Analysis
הֶעֱלֵ֥יתִי
Also I brought you up
H5927
הֶעֱלֵ֥יתִי
Also I brought you up
Strong's:
H5927
Word #:
2 of 14
to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
אֶתְכֶ֖ם
H853
אֶתְכֶ֖ם
Strong's:
H853
Word #:
3 of 14
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
וָאוֹלֵ֨ךְ
H1980
וָאוֹלֵ֨ךְ
Strong's:
H1980
Word #:
6 of 14
to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)
אֶתְכֶ֤ם
H853
אֶתְכֶ֤ם
Strong's:
H853
Word #:
7 of 14
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
בַּמִּדְבָּר֙
through the wilderness
H4057
בַּמִּדְבָּר֙
through the wilderness
Strong's:
H4057
Word #:
8 of 14
a pasture (i.e., open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication, a desert
לָרֶ֖שֶׁת
to possess
H3423
לָרֶ֖שֶׁת
to possess
Strong's:
H3423
Word #:
11 of 14
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish
אֶת
H853
אֶת
Strong's:
H853
Word #:
12 of 14
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
Cross References
Deuteronomy 2:7For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.Exodus 12:51And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.Amos 3:1Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,Acts 13:18And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.Acts 7:42Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?Exodus 3:8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.Amos 9:7Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?Micah 6:4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.Psalms 95:10Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:Nehemiah 9:21Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
Historical Context
The conquest of Canaan under Joshua involved multiple battles over years (Joshua 6-12). Archaeological evidence shows destructions at key Canaanite cities during this period. Scripture attributes victory to God, not Israel's military prowess (Joshua 1:5, 10:14, 42, 23:9-10). Israel's subsequent apostasy and injustice demonstrated shocking ingratitude—the pattern repeated in church history when blessed peoples forget God's grace and slide into apostasy.
Questions for Reflection
- How does remembering God's past faithfulness combat present presumption and ingratitude?
- In what ways do believers take credit for blessings that are entirely God's gifts?
Analysis & Commentary
After cataloging Israel's sins, Amos reminds them of God's grace: "Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath." The Amorites, representing Canaan's inhabitants, were formidable enemies—tall, strong, entrenched (Numbers 13:28-33). Israel couldn't have conquered them through human strength. God destroyed them "from above" (fruit) and "beneath" (roots)—comprehensive, total destruction. This reminds Israel that their possession of the land was entirely God's gift, not their achievement. The Reformed doctrine of sovereign grace emphasizes that salvation and blessing originate solely with God's initiative and power (Ephesians 2:8-9). Israel's ingratitude after such grace magnified their sin.