1 The judgments of the grasshoppers, 4 and of the fire, are diverted by the prayer of Amos. 7 By the wall of a plumbline is signified the rejection of Israel. 10 Amaziah complaints of Amos. 14 Amos showed his calling, 16 and Amaziah’s judgment.
Amo 7:1 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up
Most likely at the time when the second mowing or crop of the same field was beginning to grow. The ravages of the locusts at this season would be most damaging. It has been deduced from this statement that the first crop on certain lands must have been taken by the king for his use.
Amo 7:2 When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”
Forgive. Hoping that he might be able to avert the fulfillment of this prophecy, Amos earnestly beseeches God for forgiveness for Israel. The prophet places his reliance, not upon divine justice, but upon divine mercy.
Amo 7:3 So the LORD relented. “This will not happen,” the LORD said.
Divine threatenings are conditional prophecies, their fulfilment or nonfulfillment being conditioned by our wrong or right action. The locust invasion was seen in vision.
There is difference of opinion as to whether it represented a literal insect invasion, either past or threatened, or stood for earlier chastisements God had employed to lead His people to repentance or referred to enemy invasion such as that of Tiglath-pileser III (1 Chron. 5:26). See further on Amos 7:4.
Amo 7:4 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
Fire. As with the locusts (see on v. 3), there is difference of opinion as to whether the fire represented a searing drought or an enemy invasion. In favor of the first view might be cited the parallel between the judgments here described and those mentioned in ch. 4:6–9. On the other hand the incursions of the enemy preliminary to the final catastrophic overthrow of the nation could also be fittingly represented by these symbols.
The present vision shows that God had been willing to mitigate the judgments He had earlier threatened or visited upon them. However, the people had now reached the limit of God’s forbearance. The plumb line would be set (v. 8) and the people would go into captivity (v. 9).
Great deep.
A possible reference to subterranean fountains and springs (see Gen. 7:11; 49:25) which would be dried up in a drought. Eat up a part. If the fire represents invasion, it is possible that there is here a prediction of the invasion of the Assyrian king when he conquered the eastern and northern parts of Israel, and carried captive some of the people to Assyria (see 2 Kings 15:29).
Amo 7:5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign LORD, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!”
The prophet’s intercession here is the same as that in v. 2,
Amo 7:6 So the LORD relented. “This will not happen either,” the Sovereign LORD said.
Amo 7:7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand.
Plumb line. An instrument used by builders to make their work even and perpendicular. Evidently the “plumbline” symbolizes the Lord’s examination of the conduct of Israel.
Amo 7:8 And the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.
What do you see? The use of a question provides an opportunity for the presentation of an explanation of the symbol (see Jer. 1:11, 13; 24:3).
Setting a plumbline.
To see whether the wall meets the specifications. Israel, of course, fell short of the divine requirements and would be rejected. The northern kingdom is no more to be spared (see ch. 8:2). Israel’s continued adherence to evil offers no hope of her repentance, and so the prophet intercedes no more. The northern kingdom must experience conquest by Assyria and be led into captivity (see 2 Kings 18:9–12).
Amo 7:9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
Here used as a synonym for Israel.
The sanctuaries.
These were the places of idol worship at Dan and Bethel (see 1 Kings 12:26–30), at Gilgal (see Amos 4:4), and perhaps at other places.
With my sword.
There is every reason to suppose that Jeroboam II was popular because of his successful wars and his conquest of Syria (see 2 Kings 14:23–28).
Nevertheless, his “house,” or dynasty, was overthrown by the sword when Shallum murdered Jeroboam’s son, Zachariah (see 2 Kings 15:8–10).
Amos Accused
Amo 7:10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.
The prophet’s straight message, striking at the evil conditions among the people of Israel, naturally aroused resentful opposition. The priest at Bethel (see 1 Kings 12:31, 32; 13:33) accused Amos before the king.
Amaziah was probably the chief of the idol priests. He craftily endeavored to make Amos’ prediction against the royal house appear to be treason. Thus, he hoped to silence the messages addressed to Israel by the prophet Amos.
Conspirasy. In their hatred of the children of God the wicked have often accused the righteous of subverting the government (see Jer. 37:11–15; 38:4; Acts 16:20, 21; 17:6, 7).
Amo 7:11 For this is what Amos is saying: “‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.'”
It may be that Amaziah here misconstrued, somewhat, the prophetic message of Amos. The prophet had foretold a sword against the “house of Jeroboam” (v. 9), which would not necessarily mean that the monarch himself would perish by the sword. However, rightly understood, this punishment was indeed that which must come upon king and nation if they remained impenitent (see PK 286).
Amo 7:12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
Some have inferred from this priestly charge that Jeroboam II took no action in response to Amaziah’s accusation. Perhaps the king felt that the declarations of a visionary need not be taken seriously.
Like Herod, he may have feared the people who, he presumed, were impressed by the message of Amos.
Mat 14:5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
The apostate priest, Amaziah, resorted to his own authority, such as it in his attempt to intimidate Amos and make him leave the country.
Judah.
Perhaps Amos would be received favorably in Judah because he came from there.
Earn your bread.
Perhaps an insinuation that Amos was paid to prophesy and so made gain from his godliness. Amaziah may have attributed to Amos the worldly motives that influenced himself.
Amo 7:13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”
The sanctuary of the king, either founded or patronized by the king (see 1 Kings 12:26–33). Under divine direction the courageous prophet was willing to carry God’s message into the very centre of apostate worship (see on Amos 7:10).
Amo 7:14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.
Unafraid, Amos denies Amaziah’s insinuation (see on v. 12) and declares that he is not a prophet by profession or to gain a livelihood, but simply because of God’s call.
Son of a prophet. Students reared in the schools of the prophets were called “sons of the prophets” (see 1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:5). Amos was not trained in any human institution. It is a common mistake to suppose that those who have not been educated according to generally accepted standards have not been educated at all.
The Lord taught Amos in the solitude of the fields, of the valleys, and of the hills of Judea as he tended the sheep and as he gathered the fruit of the sycamore-fig tree (see on Luke 19:4).
To care of sycamore-fig trees. This indicates either one who gathers sycamore figs for his own use, or one who cultivates them for others. The fruit of the sycamore-fig tree is greatly inferior to the true fig and needs to be punctured some time before it is gathered, in order to render it edible (see on Luke 19:4). Since this tree yielded many crops of fruit during the year, it would provide steady employment to the dresser.
Amo 7:15 But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
God’s commission was imperative, and Amos could not but obey it. Now was no time for the prophet to turn back just because Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, opposed him.
Amo 7:16 Now then, hear the word of the LORD. You say, “‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
Conscious of his divine commission, Amos speaks forth with holy boldness. Those who are sent of God need not fear what men attempt to do to silence their message.
Amo 7:17 “Therefore this is what the LORD says: “‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.'”
Grievous would be Amaziah’s suffering as a captive husband and father. This prophecy does not state that his wife would become a “harlot” by choice; it may simply mean that she would endure the victor’s violence when the city was taken by an invading army (see Isa. 13:16; Lam. 5:11).
Pagan country. A people’s iniquities and idolatries are frequently said to defile the land (Lev. 18:24, 25; Jer. 2:7).
Go into exile. Amos confirms, by repetition, his prophecy concerning the captivity of Israel (v. 11), indicating that the divine purpose is unchanged. As a true prophet of God, he cannot change his message under the force of outside pressure. Captivity would come to unrepentant Israel, and it did come (2 Kings 17:1–9).