Verse 1. “Thus the Lord God showed me,
and behold, He was forming a locust-swarm when the spring crop began to sprout.
And behold, the spring crop was after the king's mowing.”
The "Lord God" is
constantly communicating with us all, but only some are willing to see and hear.
Amos was one who had become willing. It is true that following the Lord
knocked him right out of his livelihood and even out of his own nation.
He no longer was a "herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs"
(Amos 7:14), and he had been sent away from Judah, his country of origin.
As it would be for the apostles of Jesus, a few centuries later, Amos had been taken out of his
comfort zone.
But like anyone who will see and hear, he was given far
more than he lost. In this verse, he was shown an actual vision by the "Lord
God," of what shortly could occur within the nation Israel's farmlands.
A terrible "locust-swarm" was scheduled for them,
which was to devour the essential "spring crop," just when it would begin to
sprout. But there was more. The "spring crop"
was an analogy, a parable of even more that was to come upon the nation itself.
Verse 2. “And it came about, when it had
finished eating the vegetation of the land, that I said, Lord God, please
pardon! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?’”
In the vision that Amos the prophet was observing with the
"eyes" of his very soul right at the moment, he was seeing that ALL "the
vegetation of the land" would be eaten-up by locusts. And as these
chapters in the Book of Amos progress, we will learn that the "locusts" of these
verses, though literal, were also symbolic - hordes of Assyrians would come upon
the land and utterly devour anything that could be called "Jacob,"
also known as "Israel."
This verse is reminiscent of the time God revealed to
Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah were to be destroyed (Genesis 18:20 & context).
Abraham prayed to the Lord, whittling away at the Lord's decision, and finally
pleading that if only ten "righteous" (Genesis 18:23) were in those places, the
cities would be spared. Similar to the action of Abraham, Amos is here
asking, PRAYING that the Lord would spare "Jacob" (Israel).
Verse 3. “The Lord changed His mind
about this. ‘It shall not be,’ said the Lord.”
Amos the prophet had been praying for mercy, that the
Lord might spare Israel (Jacob) from the "locust-swarm" mentioned in verses 1
and 2. Note that the feeling of many in this world is, "What's the use of
praying? God won't listen anyway!" But here in this verse is the
actual historical account of one man changing the course, the future of a
nation through prayer. God heard - and answered!
Jeremiah the prophet often became discouraged, stating,
"Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my
prayer" (Lamentations 3:8). And yet, when he thought about it and
considered the character of the Lord he had known for many years, he recognized
that the Lord is JUST in all his ways, and he called out, "Great
is Thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23), for the Lord is good.
Verse 4. “Thus the Lord God showed me,
and behold, the Lord God was calling to contend with them by fire, and it
consumed the great deep and began to consume the farm land.”
The real aim of these visions was to show Israel,
through the prophet Amos, that unless they repented and turned to the Lord, they
were to be destroyed by invading armies! The "fire" that would "consume"
everything in sight was the Assyrian nation. But Amos, in the vision being
presented to him in this verse, was also seeing a LITERAL fire that would "consume the
farm land" of that nation.
We see much in these verses. For one thing, it is
clear that the Lord often speaks to mankind in SYMBOLIC form about LITERAL
events, much like Jesus would speak in parables about specific concerns of that
day (and for us right now). Another clear presentation in these verses is
this: God answers prayer! Literal fires WOULD have devoured their crops
had Amos not fervently prayed, and as we can see in the following verses, God
heard Amos' prayer and answered him.
Verse 5. “Then I said, ‘Lord God, please
stop! How can Jacob stand, for he is small?’”
Have you ever thought about how the "Lord God" sees us
on this earth? Amos' observation to the Lord in prayer, was that "Jacob"
(Israel) was a "small" country. And he was
correct. "Jacob" (Israel) was a small, break-away portion of the original nation
Israel, and even that country was never very large. But the bigger
question is: "How can (ANY nation)
stand, for he is
(we all are) small?"
Scripture clearly presents us and all of our efforts as
"small" in His sight. "It
is He who sits above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers" to Him (Isaiah 40:22). We think of the Roman Empire
as large, but it is not. The combined nations of Russia, China, the USA,
Europe, Australia and all the rest, are smaller than anthills in the sight of
God. "How can (we)
stand?" is the question. The answer is --- we must look to the Lord!
Father, we understand that our nation, our church, our
families, our very lives can end in a moment. We look to You. Help
us. We look to Your Son for we are small. Save us, Lord.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study –
Amos 7:6-10
Verse 6. “The Lord changed His mind
about this. ‘This too shall not be,’ said the Lord God.”
This verse, along with the similar verse 3, shows us
much about prayer, answers to prayer (which may include "yes," "no"
or "wait"), and
God's will. We are to pray about "everything" (Philippians 4:6), and the
result of our prayers is revealed in Philippians 4:7 - "the peace of God which
surpasses all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
The peace you have always wanted is found through prayer to the God who loves you.
Amos' prayers are reflected in these verses and we see
that God answered his prayers. The Lord "changed His mind" about the "fire"
(verse 4) that otherwise would have come upon the nation's crops. In the next
verses, we see that God was indeed going to bring destruction on Israel, and note that
Amos did not pray in that instance, for he was sensitive to the leading of
the Holy Spirit and saw it was time for God's final judgment on the country.
Verse 7. “Thus He showed me, and behold,
the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand.”
The "plumb line" was a measuring device, a tool
primarily used by builders to determine whether or not their work was even and
straight. The "wall" being measured here, is
a representation of the nation Israel
of that time, a people originally built by God. They had been carefully
constructed and correctly aligned, but now a defect was revealed; one so
critical that the whole structure had to be torn down.
The sad thing was that the Master Builder, God Himself,
perfectly built the structure at its inception. There was no flaw in it.
Abraham, from whom the "wall" symbolizing Israel was taken, was not humanly
perfect, for he made mistakes just like you and me. But he had FAITH in
the Lord, to the extent that he is considered "the father (the model)
of all who
believe" (Romans 4:11). But now faith was largely missing from that
people, that land.
Verse 8. “The Lord said to me, ‘What do
you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A plumb line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Behold I am
about to put a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel. I will spare them no
longer.’”
The "plumb line" was not only for the construction of
buildings, but it was also used to pull them down (Isaiah 34:11, Lamentations
2:8). God was carefully revealing His will to Amos the prophet, and
through him, to everybody else. The Israel of that time was to be
destroyed. The phrase "I will spare them no longer," revealed to the heart
of Amos that Israel would surely fall.
It is the same with individuals as it is with nations.
There is a point when God's gentle call to repent and turn to His Son is just
not heard by those of this world. Stronger measures must be taken.
"The flesh lusts against the Spirit" (Galatians 5:17), and the flesh must be
defeated in order for the person, the nation to live. God's solution for
Israel and for us all, is Christ: "Those who are Christ's have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24). But
they would not trust in the Lord and be saved.
Verse 9. “The high places of Isaac will
be desolated and the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste. Then I will rise up
against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
When "Isaac" built altars (as in Genesis 26:25), they
were dedicated to the Lord. Many altars existed in the place called
"Israel" at the time of this verse in Amos, and apparently all of them were
dedicated to idols. The tendency of those who built such things was to
place them on hilltops, or "high places," as they are called in this and other
verses.
It is likely that altars previously dedicated to the
Lord by such men as Isaac, son of Abraham, were converted to idolatrous worship.
Jeroboam II "did evil in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 14:24), but he was
popular with the people because of victories in war (2 Kings 14:25-28). The
"sanctuaries" (safe places) in Israel would be destroyed and all the gains of
Jeroboam were to be lost.
Verse 10. “Then Amaziah, the priest of
Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired
against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure
all his words.’”
"Bethel," a name which meant "House of God," was located
12-miles north of Jerusalem, and it had been originally called "Luz."
The place
had been assigned to the Tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:21-22) but was captured
by another tribe, consisting of Joseph's descendents (Judges 1:22-26).
Jeroboam, king of Israel, had set up a golden calf there, making "Bethel" a
place of false worship (1 Kings 12:26-30).
"Amaziah," who had become the priest in that place of
idolatrous worship (Bethel), cleverly "told on" Amos, going to the top (humanly
speaking), by sending word about him to the king of Israel. That Amos had
"conspired" does suggest that OTHERS may have joined themselves at that time to
Amos' way of thinking about life and about God.
Father, give us another way of thinking, that we
might turn to Your Son and be saved. Rescue us from false worship and
deliver us, so we may trust in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Audio Bible Study – Amos 7:11-17
Verse 11. “For thus Amos says, 'Jeroboam
will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.'"
Amaziah, who was the priest in charge of idolatrous
worship at Bethel, in Israel, sent a written account to Jeroboam II, king of
Israel, condemning Amos, God's prophet. Much like a lot of gossip today,
Amaziah's written account was partly correct, but it was also untrue in key
respects. Most important, Amaziah carefully omitted any mention that Amos
was God's spokesperson in what he said and did.
Amaziah falsely said that Amos had predicted a violent
death for King Jeroboam (he would NOT "die by the sword"). In stating that
Amos had foretold the captivity of Israel, nothing was said about Israel's sins
that had led to this outcome. Nothing was said about the hope extended to
Israel if, even at this late time, they repented of their sins; and no mention
was made of Amos' intercession in prayer for them. Amaziah's half-truths
made his statements a lie.
Verse 12. “Then Amaziah said to Amos,
‘Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do
your prophesying!’”
One response to someone you don't like is to become
aggressive and try to frighten them away. Amaziah, the false priest of
Bethel, was attempting to do precisely that with Amos. In the previous
verse, we saw that Amaziah "stretched the truth," or more accurately, he LIED
about Amos to the king of Israel. This is a good reminder for us all - we are called
by the One who IS the truth, to be men and women OF the truth - at all times.
The false priest wanted Amos to lose heart and run home
to his own country of Judah, to the south. Amaziah acknowledged in his
statement that Amos was a "seer," a prophet, and it should have worried him that
Amos was a spokesperson for God. We should be very slow to condemn anyone,
and especially those who come in the name of the Lord.
Verse 13. “But no longer prophesy at
Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence."
In the many "western" movies that have come out of
Hollywood and other places, the "bad guy" often threatens the "hero," demanding
that he "get out of town!" That's exactly what Amaziah the priest, who
served false "gods," was saying to Amos, God's prophet: "No longer prophesy at
Bethel;" which is to say, "Get out of town!"
"Go home," Amaziah was shouting to Amos, "Flee away to
the land of Judah" (verse 12). "THERE eat bread" (not here), presenting an
edict that Amos was not to eat even one more meal at Bethel! "Go back to
Judah," was the idea he was presenting to God's prophet. We should all
note that it is foolish to say or do insulting things to those who have been
sent by God to help us.
Verse 14. “Then Amos replied to Amaziah,
‘I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a
grower of sycamore figs.’”
As we can see in the wonderful answers of Jesus to the
scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and doctors of the law (who invented questions in
vain attempts to trip Him up), the Holy Spirit is full of wonderful and
surprising responses. Amaziah the priest had called Amos a "seer," (verse
12), and Amos essentially responds, "Nope, not me!" He replied to Amaziah
that he was "not a prophet;" not in the manner that the false priest understood what
prophets were.
Amos did not have some sort of hereditary office, handed
down to him from his father - he was sent by God! He was just a "herdsman
and a grower of sycamore figs," until God spoke to him In Judah and pointed him
north to Israel. "Humility" can also be termed "honesty," and that's how
Amos responded - with simple honesty, as directed by God's Holy Spirit.
Verse 15. “But the Lord took me from
following the flock and the Lord said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'”
This verse tells the story of Amos at the time it was
written, and a similar account would be written in the future, for Peter, also known as Simon.
Amos the herdsman, and Peter, the fisherman that God was to call centuries later,
both reveal how it is to be called and sent by God. God chooses ordinary people
from every station in life and sends us to do works we cannot even understand, let
alone perform; filling our mouths with words that do not come from us.
Amos was speaking to Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, a
man who wore the right clothing; spoke well, and had the ear of the king.
He was part of the "in-crowd," a person well thought of by others. Amos
was an outsider, a "rough" man, who was not considered "well bred" by his
contemporaries. Amos had no political or social connections. It is
GOD who was his authority and God must be ours as well - no one else will do.
Verse 16. “Now hear the word of the
Lord: you are saying, 'You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak
against the house of Isaac.'”
The Lord God, maker of heaven and earth, was speaking
through His prophet, Amos, directly addressing the pompous man who had the
earthly title of "priest" at Bethel. God, through Amos, is repeating
Amaziah's words back to the man, and was about to "throw" them in his face. Amaziah was saying, "You (Amos)
shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you
preach against the house of Isaac..."
We have all sorts of rules in the various cultures of
this world, telling us who may speak in certain situations, and who may not.
We even apply these rules to ourselves and many a call of God has gone
unanswered because of a fear of personal embarrassment when uttering the words
of God. God had chosen His man well: Amos would not back down before this
"notable" person, Amaziah.
Verse 17. “Therefore, thus says the
Lord, 'Your wife will become a harlot in the city, your sons and your daughters
will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line and
you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Moreover, Israel will certainly go from
its land into exile.'"
Notice the word, "therefore," in this verse.
Because Amaziah said insulting words about God's prophet, Amos; because he lied
about what the Holy Spirit had said through the man; because he was attempting
to stop the word and work of God in that place - the judgment of the God he
was denying would fall directly upon HIM.
His wife would become a prostitute because her husband,
Amaziah, would no longer be able to provide for her. His sons and
daughters would be killed. He no doubt owned a lot of real estate, which
would now go to others he did not know. Amaziah himself was scheduled for
exile and he would not return. And the Israel he sought to save through
lies and deceit was to be destroyed.
Father, we have not always received those who come in
the name of the Lord. Let us be discerning, but also help us receive those
You send. Let us be men and women who love one another and give us the
courage to speak the truth. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham,
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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