Amos: The Lord Roars (VII)

Three Visions And A Protest (7:1-17)

Neal Pollard

The style of teaching changes in chapter seven. Amos presents three visions consecutively, the first about locusts (1-3), the second about fire (4-6), and the third about a plumb line (7-9). Each begins with “the Lord God showed me.” The third vision differs from the first two, in that as God presents the first two to Amos he pleads on behalf of the people and God changes His mind about what He will send to punish the people. They are threats, but the prophet pleads on behalf of “Jacob” (Israel). Isn’t it interesting to note that, though his message is rather hard and full of rebuke, Amos has a heart for the people. He pleads, prays, and intercedes for them. His love for them is obvious to us, if it was not apparent to them. His intercession for the nation touches and influences the heart of God. 

After presenting the threat of locust and fire, God overwhelms the prophet with logic. God measures the northern kingdom, as a carpenter or stonemason plumbs a wall. He proves to Amos that the people are “out of plumb,” that they are measured by God’s perfect standard and are irredeemable! He will spare them no longer (8). Their places of worship will be demolished and the royal line of Jeroboam II will be destroyed (9). This judgment is incontrovertible and immutable. It is obvious from the rest of the chapter that Amos shared this vision.

The latter half of Amos seven is dedicated to the clash between the false priest of Bethel, Amaziah, and the true prophet of God, Amos. First, Amaziah reports to Jeroboam II what Amos has prophesied. Amaziah casts Amos as a traitor with a message of doom for the northern kingdom (10-11). Then he taunts the prophet, warning him to go home to Judah and do his prophetic work there (12-13). It is at this point that Amos utters his well-known words, some of the most identifiable in the whole book. He says, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel'” (14-15). Note the humility and deference of Amos. He does not presume himself to be anyone of importance (side note: This is always an attractive quality in a spokesman for God; beware of the boastful or the humble bragger). He defers his own preferences to the divinely-given mission of Jehovah, who chose Amos and gave him this unpleasant duty of warning Israel. 

Reminiscent of other prophets, like Jeremiah (see his response to Passhur in Jer. 20:1-6, as an example), Amos tells Amaziah that his wife will be a harlot, his children will be killed by Assyria, his property would be seized, and he would die in Assyria. He punctuates this startling prophecy be reiterating his original message: “Moreover, Israel will certainly go from its land into exile” (17b). Amaziah would learn the very hard way that it is foolish to oppose God’s truthful message! When faithfully presented, Scripture should be humbly and circumspectly internalized and applied. Resisting or rebelling against it will not change its potency and fulfillment, but it will put us on the wrong side of its warnings and promises. Amos seven is one such reminder of this vital reality.