Amos 7:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.
Amos 7:2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
Amos 7:3 The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
This chapter begins with a series of visions given to the prophet Amos. In the first vision he sees a swarm of locusts coming to devour the main part of the harvest in Israel. This causes Amos to seek God’s mercy on behalf of the people. He knew the covenant promises; he knew that Israel had a future time of great prosperity coming according to that covenant. He realized that the locusts represented the enemy’s armies and the crops represented the people of Israel. He didn’t see how Israel could survive such a destruction since they were so small in comparison to other nations. YHWH’s response? He took pity on His people and assured the prophet that the vision would not be fulfilled.
We should never discount the power of a single earnest prayer!
Constable: “Ideally the very first crops harvested in the spring went to feed the king’s household and animals. The crops that the people harvested later in the spring fed their animals and themselves. If anything happened to prevent that second harvesting, the people would have little to eat until the next harvest in the fall.”
Amos 7:4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
Amos 7:5 Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
Amos 7:6 The LORD repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord GOD.
It’s interesting to note that there is no time sequence given regarding the occurrence of these visions.
In the next vision Amos sees YHWH ready to send judgment by fire. The first devours the great deep including a portion of Israel. The “great deep” in Hebrew is a reference to the sea, and the seas in scripture often represent peoples and nations. I would assume that in context here it would be a reference to the host of larger nations that were first conquered by Assyria before they conquered the Northern Kingdom. Again, the prophet intercedes in prayer for the people asking for God’s mercy for the same reason as previously. Again, the LORD grants the request of the prophet. In both cases, it would seem that God is promising the prophet that Israel would not be completely destroyed.
Courson: “What are we to do when se see things that either bug us or burn us? We’re to do what Amos did. We’re to seek the Lord and pray that the situation would change, that the problem would be solved….I wonder how many of our own situations could be changed if, instead of being bugged or burned, we would pray. James tells us we have a not because we ask not.”
James 4:2 “…ye have not, because ye ask not.”
Yet, we must always remember that the Lord will not answer prayers that are made to satisfy our worldly lusts.
James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
Amos 7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
Amos 7:8 And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
Amos 7:9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
In the next vision, Amos sees the Lord standing by a wall that had obviously been built using a plumbline to assure that it was straight, and in His hand is a plumbline. He asks Amos what he sees, and Amos correctly responds that he sees a plumbline. Considering the previous two visions, he was more concerned with what the Lord was holding that might possibly be utilized against the people than he was on the wall by which He stood. The LORD now tells Amos that He is going to judge the people of Israel according to His standards; and if they don’t measure up, He is no longer going to delay judgment. He is going to eliminate idol worship from among His people and see that their areas of worship are destroyed. He is going to bring the sword of judgment against the royal family of King Jeroboam.
I think it is obvious that the plumbline represents God’s word and his covenant with the people. The wall should have represented the people, but, sadly, it did not. In no way did the people of Israel measure up when judged against the covenant agreement they had made with the LORD.
Amos evidently no longer felt he had the right to seek God’s mercy yet again.
I think it is important to note that God sends these visions to Amos knowing that Amos will intercede in prayer on behalf of his nation. He wants us to understand that He hates sin and that sin calls out for His judgment. However, He also wants us to understand His great mercy and longsuffering in light of the power of prayer and His love for His people. Still, we must understand that His patience has its limit, and the judgment of sin is sure. Without this judgment His mercy and patience are meaningless.
Amos 7:10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
Amos 7:11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
Amaziah was evidently the chief priest of the sanctuary at Bethel; he was not a true priest of the LORD. He sent a message to King Jeroboam telling him that Amos was trying to stir up trouble against him among the people. His words were causing fear because he was declaring that King Jeroboam was going to be killed and the people taken captive out of their land.
As usual, notice how those that rebel against God always twist the word of God to suit their own purpose. God’s judgment had been directed at the “house of Jeroboam” not toward only Jeroboam, but Amaziah knew that subtle change would more quickly rouse the anger of the king.
Clarke: “Hireling priests of this kind have ever been the great enemies of the true prophets of God; and when they could bring no charge of false doctrine or immorality against them, have accused them of conspiring against the government; and because they have preached against sin, have held them up as exciting insurrection among the people.”
Amos 7:12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
Amos 7:13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.
Amaziah then takes it upon himself to command Amos to go back to Judah to live and declare his prophecies. He commanded Amos not to speak a message against the king at Bethel again. He reminded Amos that this was Jeroboam’s kingdom, with an implied threat against the prophet if he continued to prophesy.
Amos 7:14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
Amos 7:15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
Amos answers boldly and clearly that he is acting in obedience to the LORD. He doesn’t try to be politically correct or soften the message so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Amos declares that he is but a lowly shepherd and fruit gatherer. He had never considered becoming a prophet. But God had come to him and told him to go prophesy to the people of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Amos was sure of his call and sure of his message and committed to obeying YHWH.
Amos 7:16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
Amos 7:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
Amos then goes on to declare God’s message. My paraphrase—“Because you are telling me not to declare the truth of God’s word against Israel, you are going to suffer for it. Your wife is going to become a harlot in the city, and your children are going to be killed. Your land is going to be divided as spoil by those that conquer it, and you are going to die in a heathen land because the people of Israel are going to be removed from the land and taken into captivity.
Amos 8:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
Amos 8:2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
This chapter begins with Amos describing another vision—that of a basket of edible fruit. The Lord again asks Amos what he sees, and Amos gives the obvious answer. YHWH then tells Amos the significance of the bowl of fruit. Just as the fruit had been ripe for the picking, so the people of Israel were ripe for judgment.
“I will not again pass by them” – Their judgment is determined and certain. In other words, it won’t do any good to intercede in prayer.
Amos 8:3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
Instead of praise and worship songs, the temple will resonate with the grief-stricken cries of the people. They will be surrounded by dead bodies. In the end, there will only be “the sounds of silence.”
Amos 8:4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
Amos 8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
Amos 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
As the prophet continues his message of rebuke, he points out some of their more egregious sins against the poor and needy. They impatiently tolerated the ritualistic practice of keeping the Sabbath as they looked forward to adding to their wealth through deceitful business practices that included using dishonest measures, rigged scales, and mixing chaff in with the good grain. Those who suffered the most were those that could least afford it—the poor.
Constable: “Archaeologists have found at Tirzah the remains of shops from the eighth century that contain two sets of weights, one for buying and one for selling. [Note: Mays, p144] Tirzah was the first capital of Israel.”
Amos 8:7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
This has not gone unnoticed by YHWH. In fact, He declares He will “never forget any of their works.” I would assume this to reference the fact that these will be a part of the record of works for which they will be judged at the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20.
Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Amos 8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
As I read through this verse in some other translations, I realized that this was probably referencing the earthquake mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 1 and in Zechariah 14. As I continue to read, I think this is another prophecy with future application to the final “day of the Lord” and possibly the sixth seal judgment detailed in Revelation 6. (See journal on Revelation.)
Amos 8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
Amos 8:10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
I’m sure the people to whom Amos prophesied made a direct connection to his prophecy and the Assyrian invasion. However, this again fits in with the sixth seal judgment, and the expected response of the people of Israel at that time, so I don’t discount future application as well.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Amos 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
I remember this verse really jumping out to me in my study of Daniel. We know that there was a 400-year period of “silence” from God after the ministry of the prophet Malachi until John the Baptist came on the scene. The prophet paints a picture of a time when people are going all across the land in search of a prophet of God and finding none.
This verse convinced me that this was also the primary intent of God’s message to Daniel.
Daniel 12:4 “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
Many teach that this verse in Daniel is a reference to modern modes of transportation and technology, but I don’t agree. Though a valid application can be made, it is not the primary application. I believe it is again speaking of a time when people, especially the people of Israel, will be seeking the truth and knowledge of God’s word, especially during the 70th week of Daniel.
Amos 8:13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
Amos 8:14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
A time of judgment is always one of pain and struggle. The young men and women will not only thirst for the knowledge of God’s word, but they will also suffer physical thirst and deprivation. Those who continue to trust in their worthless, lifeless, powerless idols will die to experience eternal condemnation.
These are great words of warning to the “church” today. We know there are many tares growing among the real wheat in the church today. Those who continue to practice ritual without heart and refuse to submit to Jesus as LORD will one day find out that their time to repent has run out, and they will die in eternal condemnation.
Courson made a good application: “You may wonder why you’re not hearing the words of the Lord, why the Bible is so dry, why there is a famine in your land. As seen here, a very possible reason is that you are worshiping an idol of compromising literature, of questionable entertainment, of overworking to make more money….When you experience a famine in hearing the Word of the Lord, it’s His loving signal that something is amiss. When Scripture is no longer vibrant or important, when the impressions are no longer real or understandable, when spiritual truths are meaningless to you, the Lord in His love says, ‘That’s the first sign I’m giving you that something is wrong in your life. The path you’re on will eventually destroy you.’”