Amos 5:8

“[Seek him] that maketh the seven stars, etc.] Which some connect with the preceding words, without a supplement, “they leave righteousness on the ground, who maketh the seven stars”; understanding it of Christ, the Lord our righteousness, who is made unto us righteousness, whom the Jews rejected and despised, though the Maker of the heavens and the constellations in them. Some continue, and supply the words thus, and remember not him “that maketh the seven stars”, as Kimchi; or forget him, as Japhet in Aben Ezra. The Targum is, “they cease to fear him that maketh, etc.” they have no regard unto him, no awe and reverence of him, or they would not act so unjustly as they do. There is but one…”

“the seven stars--literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (Job 9:9; Job 38:31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos mind. He names the stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring. shadow of death--Hebraism for the densest darkness. calleth for the waters of the sea--both to send deluges in judgment, and the ordinary rain in mercy (Kg1 18:44).”

“Seek Him that maketh the seven stars - Misbelief effaces the thought of God as He Is. It retains the name God, but means something quite different from the One True God. So people spoke of “the Deity,” as a sort of First Cause of all things, and did not perceive that they only meant to own that this fair harmony of things created was not (at least as it now exists,) self-existent, and that they had lost sight of the Personal God who had made known to them His Will, whom they were to believe in, obey, fear, love. “The Deity” was no object of fear or love. It was but a bold confession that they did not mean to be Atheists, or that they meant intellectually to admire the creation. Such…”

“The seven stars - A constellation, whose rising about September was usually accompanied with sweet showers. Orion - Which arising about November brings usually cold, rains and frosts intermixt very seasonable for the earth. The shadow of the earth - The greatest adversity into as great prosperity. Dark with might - Changes prosperity into adversity. That calleth - Commands the vapour to ascend, which he turns into rain; and then pours from the clouds to make the earth fruitful. Amos 5:9”

“5:8-9 Amos quotes a second hymn fragment (see 4:13; 9:5-6). Once again, the prophet emphasizes the contrast between the cosmic God and the local gods. • Stars, celestial bodies, and constellations such as Pleiades and Orion were regarded as deities in the ancient world. Not so, says Amos; the Lord made them and placed them in the sky. • water: The ancients had observed a process that they did not understand (evaporation and condensation). However, the Lord understands and controls natural processes that seem mysterious to humans.”

“maketh: Job 9:9, Job 38:31, Job 38:32 and turneth: Job 12:22, Job 38:12, Job 38:13; Psa 107:10-14; Mat 4:16; Luk 1:79 maketh: Amo 4:13, Amo 8:9; Exo 10:21-23, Exo 14:24-28; Psa 104:20, Psa 105:28; Isa 59:10 that calleth: Amo 9:6; Gen 7:11-20; Kg1 18:44, Kg1 18:45; Job 37:13, Job 38:34 The Lord: Amo 4:13 Amos 5:9”