Amo 5:13 | KingComments | STEP | Amos does not answer the question of whether the prudent person would do well to keep silent. He observes the fact. The prudent person can keep silent because otherwise he will take the hatred of the rich on his neck. He can also keep silent because he sees that nobody is listening anyway and that only the language of money speaks. He can keep silent because an appeal to the governors will be to no avail, corrupt, bribed as they are, so that no justice will be done to him anyway. The flow of evil can be so great that it is pointless to turn against it. If it is a time of spiritual corruption, when all talking and admonishing does not help, “a time” to be “silent” ( ) has arrived. Silence can also refer to the attitude that the prudent person adopts when seeing God’s righteous punishment. He will not rebel against it, because he realizes that God allows His punishments to come because it is a time when evil reigns supreme. In that time the prudent person seeks refuge in the sanctuary. He does not protest, but trusts in God’s intervention. Possibly with this ‘prudent person’ is meant a maskil . The name maskilim means ‘teachers’. This is a group of special men of God. They are men who in the end times will gain insight into the thoughts and ways of God in order to teach others ( ).

‏ Amos 5:13

The Prudent Person Keeps Silent

Amos does not answer the question of whether the prudent person would do well to keep silent. He observes the fact. The prudent person can keep silent because otherwise he will take the hatred of the rich on his neck. He can also keep silent because he sees that nobody is listening anyway and that only the language of money speaks. He can keep silent because an appeal to the governors will be to no avail, corrupt, bribed as they are, so that no justice will be done to him anyway. The flow of evil can be so great that it is pointless to turn against it. If it is a time of spiritual corruption, when all talking and admonishing does not help, “a time” to be “silent” (Ecc 3:7) has arrived.

Silence can also refer to the attitude that the prudent person adopts when seeing God’s righteous punishment. He will not rebel against it, because he realizes that God allows His punishments to come because it is a time when evil reigns supreme. In that time the prudent person seeks refuge in the sanctuary. He does not protest, but trusts in God’s intervention.

Possibly with this ‘prudent person’ is meant a maskil. The name maskilim means ‘teachers’. This is a group of special men of God. They are men who in the end times will gain insight into the thoughts and ways of God in order to teach others (Dan 11:32b-33 ; Dan 12:3 ; 10).